Hervey Bay and a night at Inskip Point

After our adventure at Kroombit Tops National Park, we were looking forward to returning to the coast.  Sea breezes by the sand was what it was all about, however we found out that there was plenty to see on our way to Hervey Bay.

After morning tea at Mount Perry we continued on towards the coast on this road less travelled.

Not far our of Mount Perry we turned off on the unimaginatively named Tunnel Road.  We soon found ourselves on the old railway embankments heading towards the Boolboonda Tunnel - the longest unsupported man made tunnel in the southern hemisphere.  I was nervous that we wouldn't fit through the tunnel, being a rather broad car, with plenty on the roof.  I was worried that if we couldn't fit, I might not be able to turn around with the trailer on.  I needn't have worried - a huge F250 ute with a tinny on top had just come through - meaning we would have plenty of room

And we did.

Boolboonda Tunnel Entrance

As we drove through the tunnel, we paused to look at the Bent Wing Bats that make this place their home.  The hand hewn rock was full of crevices and nooks of all shapes and sizes - perfect place to make your home - except for all the tourists driving through!

192 metres with no supports at all

We continued on uneventfully to Hervey Bay.  Our short stint on the Bruce Highway was enough to remind me how much I haven't missed the maddening pace of the east coast.  After the car in front of us was nearly taken out by an oncoming driver almost half way over on our side of the road, I took a deep breath, and opened up another three seconds to our five second gap.

As we drove into Hervey Bay we were confronted with all the usual manner of billboards and signs - typical of any city.  One struck out, one that we hadn't seen since we pulled out of Victoria last February, it was Aldi.

Aldi!!

We took up the extremely kind offer of a place to stay in Hervey Bay by Greg and Donna.  Greg was the brother of one of Jo's oldest friends, however Greg hadn't seen Jo for many years.  Many changes had happened in the intervening years, such as parenthood and a few extra grey hairs, but it was fantastic to reacquaint, and establish a new friendship.

Our gracious hosts

There is no small reason Hervey Bay is such a popular place to live, and we spent a bit of our time exploring some of the best bits of the town.  The old Pier was nearly demolished after it was retired from service.  After much lobbying, the Pier was saved, and has become a wonderful way to gain a perspective on this glorious coastline.   

Checking out the Pier

We took the opportunity to restock our larder - glad to be able to take advantage of Aldi, bought some new inner tubes for the boy's bikes, and enjoyed a couple of hours at the local library.  Whilst we could have visited many more attractions in town, we really enjoyed the simple pleasures of wandering along the Pier, and the company of Greg, Donna and their beautiful family for our short stay.

We bade farewell, and made our way to Maryborough.  Matilda was booked in for a new pair of shock absorbers - so we killed a bit of time in Queens Park, by the river.  We were captivated by the magnificence and grandeur of the old buildings in the city centre.  

It turns out that when the colony of Queensland was considering which site would be the best for their capital city, Maryborough was high on the list.  A lot of government money was invested in the town, but a couple of devastating floods saw the government ultimately choose another town on a river... Brisbane.

Maryborough- almost the Capital City of Queensland - but the flood markers give a clue as to why it isn't.

One of the legacies of the government investment is the glorious architecture that adorns this town.  Unfortunately some of the timber used in the heritage buildings when they were built was imported from Africa, and inside the timber were a hardy - difficult to spot - and tenacious termites.  We found one building completely wrapped up - with gassing imminent.  This fumigation process has to be repeated every ten years, as eradication of the termites is impossible to achieve.  We tested the wind, and chose our route carefully back to the car in order to stay upwind... just in case.

Termite Fumigation

And so, food and water filled to capacity, we refuelled at Rainbow Beach before reaching our camp for the night at Inskip Point.  This popular area has hundreds of camp sites, and we decided to stay here before taking the ferry over the Fraser Island the following day.  We found a nice camp just off the beach, behind some sheltering bush and settled in for a magnificent sunset just over the way.

Inskip Point

Going for the sunset shot

Sunset

For the Little Fisherman, it was a perfect opportunity to try his luck at fishing again.   If ever there was an argument for daylight saving in south east Queensland, fishing would have to be it.  Sunrise was at 4.49am, and guess who wanted to be up before the sun to catch his breakfast!  

Unfortunately, despite a couple of decent nibbles, the fish stayed in the ocean and breakfast was a couple of toasted crumpets.  Nonetheless it was good fun, and we enjoyed a bit of time enjoying each others company.

Fishing - up against smart fish - again!

We returned to camp, and to the morning's entertainment.  The soft sand around the camping area caused more than one two wheel drive car (and a larger Winnebago) to get stuck - providing merriment for all.  I figured shovelling sand was all good practice for what was ahead of us - so pitched in. 

We were in no hurry as we wanted to wait until well after high water before taking the ferry over to Fraser - so dropped into Rainbow Beach for a quick swim.  The Little Helper also had a reaction to some little creature that had decided to bite him, so after a visit to a GP, a quick script to fill, it was time to head back to Inskip Point for our first adventure on Fraser Island. 

Waiting for the barge at Inskip Point

We sat on the point waiting for the ferry to return full of excitement.  The boys love playing in sand, and the thought of playing on the worlds largest sand island was thrilling to say the least.  Jo was looking forward to seeing the perched freshwater lakes, and I was looking forward to seeing magnificent scenery and some great four wheel driving.  It turned out to be all that, and more - but it almost ended in disaster.