Author: Mrs A
Location: Woodgate Beach, Queensland
Sunday – Distance walked: 7.5km
We are joined only by one other caravan here at the Woodgate Beach Hotel, making for a very serene campsite. The whole village is extremely quiet, especially now the weekenders have disappeared back to work.
Despite the beautiful blue sky days reaching into the mid 20s, the strong southerly wind has continued the blow, putting us off swimming and preventing exploration by Packraft. So Sunday morning saw us head off on foot to explore the beach, heading north from where we are staying.
The tide goes out a long way, leaving mirror-like reflections across the sand, and a surreal feeling you are walking amongst the clouds. We walked barefoot, splashing through the warm waters at the edge. For the most part, there was not another person on the beach.
There were many little blue swimmer crabs, most of which ran in their dozens for cover when they spotted us coming, burying themselves in the soft sand. And birds, huge flocks of cormorants, terns and gulls, resting on the sandbanks. In the distance we could see four whistling kites, two of which were constantly fighting and swooping – probably juveniles, jostling for top spot.
We reached the mouth of Theodolite Creek, wishing we had our Packrafts to allow us to cross, but instead enjoyed the peaceful ambience a while, before ambling back to camp, into a headwind this time, a little harder going.
We had a relaxed afternoon, I did a little painting while Mr A read, before having a final explore on our bikes as the sun set.
Mr A got talking to a local resident, an elderly man who had purchased his dream retirement home on an estate here. Our exploration of Woodgate had revealed there are no shops – just the pub where we are staying and a cafe and takeaway near the caravan park.
The nearest grocery shops are 45km south of here. There are also no hospitals or doctors nearby, no police or services – a very pretty yet isolated place to retire, particularly given this resident’s wife has since taken ill and is now receiving care elsewhere. I think he is now regretting his decision to stay. It’s a beautiful place to visit but we wouldn’t want to live here.
Monday – Distance paddled: 3km!
Another beautiful day dawned so we decided to head up to Theodolite Creek to see whether it was sheltered enough to do a little paddle in the Packrafts. We could see a couple of people fishing from kayaks, so decided to give it a try.
We paddled upstream, feeling like we were on a treadmill, constantly battling the outgoing tide. Once we had reached a particularly shallow area full of stingrays speeding along just under the water’s surface, we decided to just roll with it, and put our feet up and let the current take us back. There’s not much more relaxing than that – an extremely meditative experience of just watching shapes in the clouds, drifting with the stream.
After all that exertion (ha ha) we returned to camp to commence packing up. We head off tomorrow, briefly to Bundaberg to complete some tasks, then start our move inland. This will be our last glimpse of the ocean for a couple of weeks.
The walk continued along the coast, with a lookout at Dolphin Point (but no dolphins this morning), giving us a view up the coast towards Fraser Island.
We were rewarded with fabulous views as we went, our walk concluding at Hell’s Gates, which promised Ospreys but failed to deliver!
We strolled back along the coast to Main Beach, where Wendy and I threw ourselves into the water for a refreshing dip and jump in the waves, a fabulous treat after our warm walk. Mr A declined, and instead joined Ray for a coffee at his favourite café.
Back at the ranch, we enjoyed a delicious scrambled egg breakfast outside on the balcony. We could definitely get used to this life, and Miss Tassie quite enjoys it too – she’s so adaptable!
A relaxed afternoon followed and the day concluded with a delicious meal, for which we were joined by Chris and Sue. The goal of this meal was to use up all the food left in the fridge, in preparation for the farmer’s market tomorrow morning. The fun is never ending!
We love having this view of the river, it changes frequently and is always seductive.
We left our bikes, sprayed copiously with deet (the mosquitoes were out in their millions and feeling hungry), and explored the boardwalks. 
Mosquitoes aside, it was a great area to explore, a rare chance to walk amongst the mangroves, spotting the Orange-clawed Fiddler Crabs on the mud flats, and birds flitting around catching flies.
Above – Mr & Mrs A, behind us looking out to Yaroomba and south to Maroochydore.
And here looking all the way south to Mooloolaba…
Looking northwards to Noosa Heads in the far distance…
And inland, to Coolum Creek Conservation Park and beyond. Stunning scenery. The climb down was probably harder on the legs than the way up!
Our afternoon was far less interesting, consisting of a visit to the local car wash, downloading some Netflix at the local library and picking up some supplies at Woolworths!
After checking out the views, we followed a walking trail through the rainforest. Many of the trees are centuries old, with ancient creepers climbing up to the canopy. The birdlife is prolific but very hard to see – mostly up high consuming the rainforest’s riches in fruits and seeds. The scenery is so rich in new sights, with rare trees on every corner, and twisting undergrowth. This rainforest is home to many furry creatures too – we saw flying foxes (fruit bats), and hidden away there are also pademelons (little wallabies), sugar gliders (flying possums), snakes, lizards and more.
Finally our walk came to an end, so we returned to the Maleny Showgrounds, hitched up the caravan and moved just 17 minutes drive down the road to Landsborough. We’d booked this site a while ago, when we noticed it would be Easter holidays when we were in the area. We pulled in realising the campsite is actually nowhere near the actual village of Landsborough, and at the top of a very steep and busy road. Ah – so no cycling from camp down to the local pub from here then. Ah well. In its favour, we are fairly centrally located, and it was just a 20 minute drive from another walk we were keen to do, down in the Glass House Mountains themselves.
This was the circuit walk around Mount Tibrogargan, one of the hikes recommended by our friend Karel, who’s house we stayed at last weekend. It’s not a challenging walk, with some great views around the way and only some short climbing. We tacked on another trail, the Trachyte Circuit onto our walk at the end to extend the distance and experience.
The walk took us through casuarina groves, past giant eucalypts and through melaleuca forest. Dwarf and yellow candle banksia flowers accompanied our journey, along with the odd frog brought out by the wet weather.
Back at the mobile apartment, showers were definitely welcomed, before cooking up a fasting-day Friday dinner of vegetarian red curry followed by fruit, with some more Netflix to entertain us – a couple of episodes of Jack Taylor this evening (thanks Mr Ward for the recommendation!).
We were planning a longer stay down by the Glasshouse Mountains, but the only camping option was this rather squelchy field.
So we moved on, climbing up through misty rainforest into this beautiful hinterland behind the Sunshine Coast.
We were thankful for the V8 of the Cruiser pulling the Zone up these steep hills. We picked a spot at the local showground, power, water and clean toilets for $20 a night – suits us. We wandered up into town through a pretty walkway, and headed for that wonderful cheese shop.
Lunch was very civilised, vegan burgers, and a first for me trying a turmeric latte to wash it down. It’s that sort of place. Some locally made fudge was dessert, and then we wandered past this little brewery. We just had to didn’t we.
Back to the Zone then for a quiet afternoon cosied up with Tassie and Netflix downloads, with the rain justifying this lazy behaviour by lashing down every time we contemplated going for a walk.
It was round the corner then for a curry. Sadly we were very disappointed with the food and service. Ah well can’t win them all. Time to move on tomorrow.
Our brains fuelled by oyster goodness, we decided to drive into the National Park north of Wooli and see whether there was a walk we could do there.
There was not another soul on the walk either, something I am certain will change as we hit Easter this coming weekend, and the Queensland school holidays. Orchids, irises and delicate flowers were to be found with careful looking, not always obvious at first glance.
We stopped for a plum at a cliff top bench with an incredible view. This would be a fabulous whale watching spot in the winter months.
Readers who are still working will then be pleased to know that after all this fun we returned to the mobile apartment where I spent the next 4 hours programming an online research survey, while Mr A relaxed with a good book. Life is all about balance!
The creek is fairly shallow most of the way up, but Dusty preferred to ride on the front of Darryl’s boat rather than swim or bound alongside, while we were entertained with stories of Darryl’s adventures paddling around Cape York, in the far north of Queensland. Tales of large crocodiles, hammerhead sharks and three hour hikes before dawn to find fresh water reassured us we will probably not be paddling in our inflatable boats up in that part of Australia!
We returned for a BBQ brunch and a chat with our fellow Zoners, learning more about the individual tips and hints they had to share.
From the rocks at the mouth of the estuary you can see right up the coast along Moonee Reserve, the salt spray making the air look misty and atmospheric.
This is such a special part of the coast. We wished our family in the UK could be magically transported here – the children would love playing in the sandy shallows, and there is so much to do and see. Some people staying on the site were feeding the lorikeets with honey and bread [below: Scaly-breasted Lorikeets]
Off to pastures new tomorrow, Wooli Beach (as recommended by our good friends Rosemary and Richard in Sydney)…looking forward to finally getting our oysters there!
Yes…home made toasted muesli for me. I will be wearing sack cloth and ashes next. We checked out the spectacular scenery and lookout in the bright morning sunshine after breakfast, before heading back to Moonee Beach….
As we left camp another Zone was coming in, and finally in the late afternoon the last Zoner checked in, coming straight from the factory at Coolum Beach yesterday. So 14 vans have checked in here – around 10% of the total number on the road. I think it’s interesting that we would all be quite happy to come and spend a weekend with mostly total strangers, just because we brought the same product. We think it’s a lot to do with the Zone Owner’s Facebook group that has allowed us to get a feel for the type of people who are buying them. The posts are positive and collaborative, exchanging tips and ideas, all moderated very professionally, unlike some of the other groups we belong to in the caravan space. In these challenging times for Facebook it’s good to remember that social media can also be used very positively, in this case encouraging on-line relationships to be converted to real world connections.
We are also thankful that we don’t have to worry that someone with a semi-automatic is going to break into the pub. The worst we had was a young football team rehearsing some testosterone fuelled war cries. We go to bed with full bellies and I think generally happy hearts. Yes a bunch of us have our health issues, our family problems, but compared to so many in the world… life is good here, and long may it continue.
A fun morning tea was had with lots of laughs and discussion with our fellow Zoners.
We have such good memories of our last visit to Coffs Harbour, the beautiful sights and plenty of walking, paddling and cycling opportunities. Its a beautiful part of New South Wales.
From there we drove to the Forest Sky Pier, a jetty which stretches out over the rainforest allowing a view across Coffs and to the south. The views were magnificent, probably moreso because of the dramatic skies with billowing clouds, showers and rainbows out over the ocean.
We returned to the campground via the Moonee Tavern, confirming our group booking for dinner tomorrow night and booking the courtesy bus to ferry us down there. Before long 6 o’clock drinks were calling us, and we all reunited in the camp kitchen for stories of travels and tips for future adventures.
The rock formations were amazing creating some amazing backdrops for the paddle.
In the afternoon we headed off in cars to start a short walk up the coast though coastal forecast in Ben Boyd National Park. The roos were plentiful, the very lawn like grass indicative of a sizeable mob enjoying this grazing. Dolphins even obliged by appearing on cue, as well as an echidna and bush wallabies. A sea eagle soared overhead, while crested terns dived for fish in the bay.
This area of coast is one of our favourite spots in Australia. It does get busier every time we come, but there is still leaves plenty of space. We would only have seen half a dozen people on the entire walk.
Spending time outdoors in this serene and largely pristine environment is so good for our souls. It’s especially welcome as we mourn the loss of our friend. He’s on my mind a lot of the time, processing thoughts that move from angry to sad in a heartbeat. Our friends provide a welcome distraction, reminding me of the criticality of these relationships to our overall wellbeing.
