Author: Mr A
Friday
Our last day in Hervey Bay, we decided we should at least take a look around the surrounding area as we hadn’t left the town. We drove up the coast to the picturesque (well relatively so by Australian standards) fishing settlement of Burrum Heads.
Mainly holiday rentals and a caravan park, the river was pretty broad and would have been fun to explore if we had our big kayak with us. The brisk southerly that had blown up meant getting the packrafts out would have been a struggle.
Saturday
It was time pack up and head up the coast, actually as the crow flies just the other side of the river, but we had to do a big circuit inland to get there as there was no bridge across. Oh to have an amphibious rig. I did Google “amphibious motorhome” the other day and its quite amazing what’s out there already. If you have the money of course.
But back in the real world, by lunch time we were pulling up at the Woodgate Hotel. We had heard good things about the spot from a fellow Zoner so thought we would give it a try. The small campground behind the pub was really well laid out. Power and water all nice and convenient, and a brand new shower and toilet block. We decided to put up the fly screen tent, not that the flies were about, just to give us some extra space and a bit of a novelty.
After a lovely salad for lunch, it was time for a read for me, quickly followed by a nap, I’d had another 5am wake up this morning.
Our usual bike explore was called for, along the path by the beach. A beach that actually scored in the top 10 “best Australia beaches”. It did look pretty lovely, even with the fresh southerly still blowing up the normally calm waters of the bay into white caps.
There are some pretty swanky houses here, a mix of holiday rentals and retirees we would guess by the demographic of the residents we saw.
Just over 10km. under our belts, Ms Tasmania decided to take a pre-dinner stroll – returning at full gallop to the “safe Zone” once the magpies and minor birds had spotted her and let their feelings known shouting “Cat! Cat! Cat!” (or so it sounds like to us!).
For dinner we decided to test out the pub’s very predictable menu. We shared a plate of oysters. I asked where they were from which threw the kitchen into a hubub – apparently no one has asked that before. For main Mrs A had a nicely done Red Emperor with chips and salad, and I had the locally caught Barra. Very nice…even though the pub has all the atmosphere of a bus shelter. Nothing unusual about that of course – situation normal in Australia.
We chose an interesting wine from the Eden Valley, absolutely delicious, and recommended by our sommelier who clearly knew her stuff. The Alejandro Saperavi was initially fruity on the palate but had a lovely dry finish, complimenting our menu choices perfectly.
Our food commmenced with bite sized steamed buns containing fried chicken, sriracha mayonnaise and pickles, followed by a shared dish of fresh locally caught snapper with beetroot, apple, raddish, smoked almonds and pork scratching. Finally we shared a small portion of sticky beef short ribs with coconut and ginger caramel. All this came with two sides – triple cooked fat cut chips with a rosemary aoli and pan fried broccoli topped with chilli, garlic and anchovy oil. All dairy-free! Delicious, every bite.
It was a little window into life in Hervey Bay. It’s an economy based on whale watching tourism, although the biggest employment sector is healthcare. Perhaps this is reflective of what seems to be an older demographic. The town is experiencing a significant population boom, and is one of the top 10 fastest growing areas in Australia. Let’s hope there are jobs for those who want them.
The rest of the day was spent pottering along the bay on our bikes, and a little siesta went down a treat. We are really enjoying the quiet pace of life in this friendly little town.
An off-road cycleway follows the coast for several kilometres, commencing at Urandangi Pier to the south and leading to Point Vernon in the north. We’re staying in a suburb called Torquay (now where have I heard that name before?!) so we started there and headed north. It’s the first time in a long while (since South Australia) that we have seen flat water along the coast, the islands and reefs offshore calming the waves. The beaches are pristine and empty – it’s like a little paradise, a long way from the Hervey Bay I remember. I first visited this town 19 years ago as a backpacker – it has changed substantially since then, becoming more of a destination in its own right than just a hopping off point for Fraser Island.
The pathway winds its way along the coast through picturesque scenery, through parklands and bush, along cliff tops and past mangroves. We had a small diversion to a bike shop on our way so Mr A could check out a strange clicking sound on his bike. The bearings had worn down and needed replacing. He later found someone to do the job on the spot for $55, for a 45 minute job. Certainly not Sydney prices!
The expensive part of the day came later in the afternoon – our faulty plug and under-spec wiring in the car was replaced, we had to purchase three new batteries for the caravan (replacing the ones which had been damaged and no longer held a full charge), and a 160 watt portable solar panel…more than $2k in total spent – gulp! At least we are back on track again for getting off the grid without sleepless nights worrying whether our fridge will still be running in the morning.
A guy bounded out and with my city hat on, I wondered what we had done wrong. But no – he had come to check we had enjoyed our stay on their free RV camp. He owned an adjoining property and was himself building an RV park on his other property just outside of town. We chatted about the likely demand, and what customers are likely to be looking for. I am so enjoying this different pace of life in the country where strangers are still willing, and have the time, to talk to one another.
Then after some hectic calling around to determine a supplier to help us with some battery charging issues, we headed for Battery World in Hervey Bay, a relatively short drive down the busy Bruce Highway.
We were promptly met outside by a very polite technician who started to diagnose what was going on. I’m in no position to assess anyone’s technical skills but I can see when someone is clearly sincere about trying to help customers. That was Dan. Then the girls in the shop were just as helpful, one of whom even gave Catherine a lift to a hair appointment she was running late for. Finally we met one of the franchise owners Dave, who picked up where Dan had kicked off and soon had the issues isolated.
Lunch enjoyed, we picked up a few other supplies in town before heading back to Kenilworth, hitching up and saying goodbye to our fellow Zoners.
Bauple is the ancestral home of the macadamia nut, discovered thousands of years ago by local aboriginals. There is a little museum here, a petrol station and free wifi for the residents between 9am and 12pm. There are even clean toilets for campers open beside the museum, complete with green tree frog!
It’s extremely peaceful and Miss Tassie enjoyed a d.o.g free stroll around the area during the afternoon. We camped for free in the RV rest area with a lovely view across the park towards the hills in the distance, not another soul seen.
We were soon sampling a plate of Tibetan dumplings, I had an Argentinian empanada which was simply delicious, also some dairy free donuts packed to go. We then spotted the Japanese pancake stall, we had not seen these since Sydney. Wow…a taste sensation.
Suitably sated we picked up a small bowl from a pottery stall we could use a mortar, plenty of peanuts and chillies to grind up for our Pad Thai creation for instance.
We all then started to prepare the camp for tonight’s visitors from Zone RV. They had kindly offered to give up their Saturday afternoon and evening and have a bit of a chat with us about our experiences with their products and service.
It was great to hear Dave Biggar, one of the directors, talk about some of the initiatives they are taking to mature their build processes and strive to offer even an more consistent quality experience to their new customers. He was joined by key members of the Zone team in customer support, systems improvement and marketing. There were 14 customers there, and all of us really appreciated the effort the team made to come and meet us and openly discuss where they were at as a business and seek input from us on their initiatives.
One of the customers, Phil Clem, had a surprise for everyone as darkness drew in. He had brought along an enormous hollow tree trunk to burn on the campfire, and had taken the trouble to carve out ‘Zone RV’ into the side with a chainsaw, so when the fire really got going the letters shone out. What a star.
It seemed a fun and educative night was had by all, and we were very grateful for the effort they made to come out and visit. Their journey to being a leader in the industry has not been an easy one. They have pushed the boundaries on design with materials and finish. That doesn’t come easily, and clearly there have been some significant hurdles along the way. But these guys have pushed through and are now at the stage where they just need to bed down this innovation with robust processes allowing on time, on spec builds at the lowest cost to them and their customers. We think they will do it, and are proud to have been a small part of their journey.
Greg had only paddled a Canadian canoe in the past, so the sit on top kayak was a new experience for him, but he did really well. We took our time, enjoying the scenery and birds, mostly letting the current guide us down the gravel races (we prefer to call them rapids!)
Rainbow bee eaters, cormorants, black kites, red backed wrens…the list of birdlife was endless and made the paddle even more interesting.
The Mary River and its surrounding valley was saved from being flooded for a reservoir by the discovery of an extremely rare fish. The Australian Lungfish is only naturally present in this river and one other in Australia. Lungfish fossils were found in New South Wales which date back 100 million years, virtually unchanged, making this creature a living fossil and really important ecologically.
We had a great hour or so paddling downstream 4.5km, finishing up at our camp for showers. Greg then dropped us back at our car and Mr A and I drove to the Kenilworth Hotel (pub). As we walked in we discovered the Sunshine Coast Ukulele Festival was on in town with the pub hosting some of the performances. It’s funny how you can spot a ukulele player – rainbow coloured tie died outfits and funny crocheted hats! Some performances were better than others, but we avoided the stage and found a table inside.
After a great feed, Mr A and I farewelled Andrew and headed back to camp to catch up with the next batch of Zoners who had arrived.
We chose a site on the lush banks of the Mary River, and then right behind us pulled up another Zone, it was Greg Nolan in his almost matching rig, the grey Landcruiser and shiny caravan, albeit a slightly longer one.
Phil Clem was due to arrive at lunch as he had thoughtfully organised to bring some gazebos and firewood, but sadly got an irreparable puncture and was delayed until late afternoon. However, once here he was his usual whirlwind of activity and we soon had gazebos up and firewood all stacked ready.
We rode down Gyndier Drive, a locked gate road winding up through the forest. The route is used as part of the Noosa triathlon and twice a year the site for road and race cars which enter the Noosa Hill Climb, with 14 corners to race through – just us there today though, on our private road.
Everything seemed to be against us, as the rain fell down as hail, and then in ridiculously heavy torrents. The road was mostly unpaved and the orange mud ran down in rivers, making the surface sticky and slippery as well as it already being extremely steep. We kept on going. Finally, we reached the carpark with some relief, and the rain stopped!
We left the bikes leaning in the car park, hoping nobody would steal them, and hiked up the final kilometre to the summit, with fabulous views over Noosa Heads and the next rain shower heading our way.
We enjoyed the view, then retraced our steps (wheels?) a short way before heading through the forest along an ‘easy’ route.
I’m certain it is easy when dry, but the wet conditions had us slipping and sliding sideways down the tracks, thankfully staying upright. It was a short way from the end of this track back to our caravan, with just over 20km under our belts. Boiled eggs & Marmite soldiers burned off I think!
We headed back to camp for a relaxed evening. We move on from here tomorrow…