Do you know what the top 3 most photographed places are in Australia?

Our tour guide told us yesterday and we are thrilled that now we’ve been to them all.

1. Uluru – we went to Uluru in July 2022 while on a 6 week camping trip with our daughter, Katie and her three children, Riley, Ben & Maddie.

2. Sydney Opera House – we’ve been to the Sydney Opera House many times over the years for all sorts of events from School Presentation Nights to concerts and dining. This is one from the archives.

3. Hill Inlet, Whitsundays – what can I say. Hill Inlet is stunning!

Our day began very early as our exciting cruise to Whitehaven Beach & Hill Inlet with Cruise Whitsundays required us to be at the Port of Airlie by 6.45am. That meant departing from our Big4 Adventure Whitsunday at 6.30. We were all ready on time and drove out the boom gates right on time. At the Port of Airlie is a large carpark right next door to the Cruise Whitsundays terminal building. We paid for one day of parking $13 and headed inside. We’d already been sent our confirmation which had a QR code so we didn’t need to check-in, just had to wait for our boarding call.

To fill in time we shopped in their little merchandise stall, as you do!

Right on time our boarding was called and before we made it to the gangway our QR code was scanned. Then down the gangway onto the pier and to the big catamaran that would take us out to the islands.

Once onboard we were directed by crew to the top floor front section that is enclosed and air-conditioned with comfy cloth seats. This area was reserved for only those passengers doing the whole day trip. All the rest had to find hard plastic seats outside and down below.

The big cat moved quickly and in no time at all we’d left the harbour and were heading out to sea. First stop was Daydream Island to drop off and collect passengers then it was on to Hamilton Island to do the same.

It was with great excitement that passengers spotted humpback whales on this section of the journey. One even breached with its entire body out of the water and making a huge splash on landing. What is it about whales that makes humans feel good? I swear there were smiles all around the boat after seeing the whales.

We arrived at Whitsunday Island and the famous Whitehaven Beach and we had to get on tenders to reach the beach. About 30 people at a time were tendered across. It took a little while to get everyone onshore. The crew set up a white marquee on the beach and began setting up all the equipment for lunch as well as beach equipment. They had stinger suits for those who wanted them, beach toys for the kids, beach volleyball and folding beach cabanas for those that wanted some shade.

We wandered along the beach and found a spot to set up and promptly hit the water. OMG how to describe the water? It is crystal clear and, because the sand is 99% silica and so very white, the water colour is turquoise. The sun was out and that makes the water appear even bluer.

It was gorgeous to swim there. Rich went for a long walk along the beach, chatting to people as he went. The rest of us just enjoyed swimming in that gorgeous clear water.

Our BBQ lunch was served right on time and we all wandered across to the marquee where a buffet had been set up. BBQ’d Steak, Bacon & Chicken with a variety of salads and a bread roll was our choices and our little group took ours up into the trees where there are tables set up so we could eat in the shade.

At 1pm we were called back to the beach to depart for our tour of Hill Inlet. The small group of 16 passengers had Tom as our guide. Tom was a lovely young bloke who has worked in a variety of places including working in ski resorts in Canada. We were taken across to Hill Inlet in the tender boat and dropped off on the beach. We had to carry all our bags with us as we were guided by Tom across the shallows.

As we waded through the knee high water Tom pointed out a small Lemon Shark and lots of sting rays. They didn’t seem to be too fazed that lots of tourists were walking through their territory and just fluttered away from us.

We walked past the ‘instagram’ tree. So called because it was one of three to be blown onto the beach during a cyclone and has become one of the most photographed trees in the islands. The whole of Whitsunday Island is a National Park and the NP service removed the other two trees but they’ve left this one behind on the beach. What do you think?

Our walk took us up into the sand dunes where we found a spot with benches for a a brief rest. Tom directed us to leave our bags there and we’d pick them up on the way back down from the lookouts.

Tom said there were 300 stairs and I believe him. The track is a well made and well worn one through the dunes and up and up to the three lookouts. Wow wow wow is all I can say. The views are as stunning as the pictures I’d seen. Tom kept telling us that we’d got a really good day as it doesn’t always look like that so we were very lucky. The sun was out and there were a few clouds but they just make the photos better!

These lookouts are one of those places where I really can’t stop taking photos. The wind changes or the sun goes behind a cloud, the tide changes the swirling sands and your photos are different. It truly is a stunning sight.

Tom explained that we were looking at where one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies was made. It sounded like it was a bit of a disaster really as they had all sorts of trouble. The movie was supposed to be set in the Caribbean however there’d been a hurricane there and the entire crew was moved to Whitehaven. However there are no coconut palms on Whitsunday Island. Two boatloads of fully mature coconut palms were brought out to the island each day, and because Whitsunday Island is a National Park, the palms had to be taken away at the end of each day. This involved a crew of 50!

One of their boats capsized and a huge amount of filming equipment was ruined.

The actor Johnny Depp was also fined heavily because he brought his little dog with him. No dogs are allowed in the National Park and he was fined appropriately.

No wonder it is so expensive to make a movie!

Tom guided us back down the path and steps to a different beach on the other side where we were picked up by the tender boat and driven back to Whitehaven Beach. We had enough time for one last swim before it was time to re-board our big catamaran for the journey home. The tide had come in so this time we didn’t have to be tendered out to the big boat. Instead it pulled right up onto the beach and lowered a gangway for us to walk up. A thoughtful crew man was at the top with a hose squirting all the sand off our feet before we went on deck.

Afternoon tea was served onboard and we settled in to enjoy the ride back to Port of Airlie with a short stop at Hamilton Island. We arrived at the Port at 6pm. It had been a long day but our little group were all happy that we’d had such a fabulous day.

Back at camp it was 6 tired campers that were happy to go to bed early. What a fantastic day!

The day for our much anticipated Crocodile Cruise had finally arrived. We were all up and ready to walk to our meeting point on the footpath outside Big4 Adventure Whitsunday at 8.40am. At 8.50 I called the Cruise people and was told the pickup was not as written on our confirmation but across the road at a pub and the bus was waiting for us. Drat! We quickly had to rush up the footpath and cross the busy main road to meet the bus. We will definitely let them know to update their documentation with the correct info.

There were already people on the bus and we quickly set off towards Prosperpine. In the town of Proserpine the bus went via the caravan park to collect more people then we headed out of town and eventually onto a gravel road and into the mangrove and paperbark forest.

Once we arrive at the Crocodile Safari Base Camp the big bus had to do a three point turn to turn back around and go out the same way.

Base Camp consists of a very large tent roof with picnic tables, BBQ and other cupboards and a central concrete area around the large central tent pole. We were greeted by Stu who gave us a run down of the day and what to expect, as well as all the regulatory safety stuff he has to tell us. As if anyone is going to go in the water!

They have 2 brand new toilets that Stu said was where all the paperwork is done. Everyone was told to make use of them BEFORE we boarded the boat cruise as the cruise goes for 2 hours.

We watched the boat being lowered by crane onto the murky brown river below. The tide was still going out so the water level was a long way down. Luckily for us they have built a substantial metal staircase down to the boat and the boat has a gangway on the front so it was just a matter of descending the stairs and stepping on board.

Again Stu had to give us a safety briefing explaining there is a fire extinguisher on board our fully aluminium boat so probably the only thing that would burn would be if one old us spontaneously combusts. Another safety feature he has to mention is the round life preserver on a hook at the rear of the boat. He did say that if someone had the misfortune to fall overboard we’d probably see a Jesus moment and they’d be walking on water to get back on board rather than worrying about us throwing them a life preserver. The third safety item required by law to be brought to our attention was a life vest. There is one for every passenger and Stu demonstrated how to put one on however he did go on to say that if there was EVER any chance of us sinking he would run the boat as fast as he could and as far as he could up the bank so on one would ever have to go in the water!

All of that was so comforting! NOT!

We set off upstream and we’d only just got around the first corner before we saw our first croc, a small female lying in the mud of the river bank. From then until our return we saw many crocs of all sizes from a huge male at some 5 metres long, smaller females, 2-3 year olds and even some hatchlings near their mother.

Stu kept up his commentary the entire time and I think he could fill a book with his knowledge of crocs and in particular the Prosperine River crocs. He was a wealth of knowledge about these incredible creatures that can live for 100 years.

When a croc was sighted Stu would manoeuvre the boat so both sides of the boat were able to see it and get their photos.

The big males are territorial and in their territory is only them and the smaller females. They kill any smaller males and attack any large ones that dare to come into their territory. We saw three of these huge males who Stu estimates are 60 years old. Sadly the Proserpine River crocs were hunted to extinction and this hunting only stopped when there were none left 60 years ago. Since then hunting has been banned so the big males we saw could only be 60 years old. They could easily live for another 40 years on their patch of the river.

Stu explained that the river is like a sushi train for these crocs. The tide goes in and out each day so the crocs just have to lie in the water facing the way the tide is going and grab whatever prey takes their fancy. Their diet is mainly Barra and Mud Crabs, although when the water level goes up over the banks they have been known to take wallabies, kangaroos and even Brahman cattle.

One thing I learnt was that croc teeth are designed like needles. When a croc snaps its jaws on prey the teeth form holes like perforations of paper. So just like you can tear perforated paper a croc can tear its prey into bite size chunks so it can be swallowed whole. Crocs can’t chew so all their food must be swallowed whole. If a croc catches a big Barra they will take it over to the bank and toss it about until the Barra head is facing towards the throat so it can be swallowed whole.

Crocs are reptiles, aquatic and nocturnal. During the day they mostly lie on the riverbank in the sun to regulate their bod temperature as they are cold blooded like lizards. They are most comfortable in the water though where they can move very quickly powered by their very powerful tail. They do most of their hunting at night in the water and this is when they are wide awake.

They are certainly impressive to see in the wild like that. The two hour cruise seemed to go by in minutes and all too soon we were pulling back up at the bottom of the stairs.

Arriving back at base camp we found our BBQ lunch all ready for us with sausages, chicken, steak, fish and onions to choose from. The central table held bread rolls, butter, potato salad, noodles, green salad, and a variety of dressings. It was all delicious.

Following our lunch the other fellow Steve hooked up a tractor to a number of carriages and took us all on a drive through the wetland forests explaining along the way the significance of these wetland areas and how important they are the the estuarine environment. It was hard for us to imagine how high the water level rises during period of high rainfall such as one recently where they had 2 metres of rain in one day. Yep that is NOT a typo. I did say 2 metres of rain in one day. Staggering!

Steve pointed out the various flora, fauna and birds and animals that call this habitat home. He stopped a couple of times and discussed how indigenous people used certain trees or plants for food or medicine or even poison.

Back at base camp we found delicious camp oven damper waiting for us along with billy tea that Stu made is a huge billy. Stu explained, especially for the foreign tourists, what a billy is and how we make tea in it. Steve explained how the damper is made and we were even allowed to take a copy of their secret damper recipe. I took one so we can try that when we go outback.

Around 3pm it was time to board the bus once more and return to our accomodation. What a great day! I thoroughly recommend the Crocodile Safari at Proserpine if any of you are ever up this way. It is a family business that has been taking tours for 25 years so they really know what they are doing. 5 stars.

Back at the Big4 and Ben & Maddie wanted to head directly to the pool and slides so I volunteered to be the adult supervising and sat myself on a deck chair in the afternoon sun and wrote this up while I watched the kids.

Another lovely day, 27° and sunny. Perfect.

What a gorgeous morning we woke to. Rich turned the TV on to get some news and the forecast for the area was 28° and sunny. Perfect!

Chores!! I made the most of the gorgeous sunshine to do a couple of big loads of washing and get it hung out. Changed the sheets, washed the towels as well as the last few days clothes. This inspired me to give the motorhome a good clean. Bathroom cleaned, everything put away in its place, floor mopped and the inside felt nice and clean again. Shame about the outside. We’ll have to buy a car wash broom to do the outside!

Our travel companions were having a big sleep in.

Our neighbours in a Jucy Van left early and we both remember waking during the night to their whiz-bang door opening and closing. They really do go whiz-bang! I wasn’t feeling too closed in once they left as we now had a large patch of grass next door. Although it probably won’t last and another camper would probably arrive later in the day. The park is very busy.

Who uses the laundry in a park? I usually don’t but these ones looked particularly clean so I gave them a go. They did a great job. The amenities and camp kitchen were also very clean.

After KT and the kids were up we checked to see what they wanted to do for the day and it was no surprise to hear that the kids all just wanted to stay in the park and play. There’s so much to do as well as organised activities such as scavenger hunts, daily find a word, biscuit icing, chocolate ball making, bingo and more. Katie planned to get some school work done so Rich and I borrowed the car and headed off to explore Airlie Beach.

Wow! Airlie Beach is stunning. The water is the most incredible colour. Turquoise is how I would describe it. It only takes 10 minutes from the park to right in the heart of downtown which is really only 3 blocks long. We found our way to the Marina where we were to go on Thursday to catch our Cruise Whitsundays tour to Whitehaven Beach & Hill Inlet. We parked the car in the carpark there. It’s pay parking $13 for the day. We paid $8 per 3 hours and set off on foot back toward the Main Street.

Millions of dollars worth of boats could be seen in the marina. I do love boats!

We continued walking past the Whitsunday Sailing Club and around past an amazing playground with huge rope climbs and slides. The beach looked lovely until we walked by this sign.

We enjoyed a wander along the pathways and found ourselves in the Main Street. We wandered past all the hotels, shops and restaurants. Sadly the fish and chip shop was closed on Tuesdays so we had to find somewhere else for lunch. We ended up at Hog’s Breath Cafe which had a lovely view across the Airlie Lagoon.

We enjoyed our lunch and a couple of cold beers until a poor young waitress managed to spill two schooners of cold beer all over Richard. She seriously did! His shirt was saturated. The other staff quickly grabbed tea towels to help mop up the beer but his shirt was dripping. The new owner was on duty and he gave Richard one of their Hog’s Breath T-shirts to change into. That was a nice touch and much appreciated by Rich. We were able to finish our lunch and Rich walked out looking very trim in his new black T.

We walked back to the car via the Airlie Lagoon. What a fabulous facility with lots of picnic tables to sit at, lovely grass areas under palm trees and the lagoon even has a sand beach on one end. And it’s free.

Back in the car we drove the short distance to Shute Harbour and discovered the harbour there appears to be more for commercial vessels. Shute Harbour is not very big so we turned around and headed back through Airlie to the caravan park.

We’d had a lovely explore of Airlie Beach and it certainly is a stunning beachside town with modern buildings, hotels and lots of holiday apartments.

Back at the park I spent the afternoon watching Riley, Ben & Maddie at the water park.

It was my turn to cook and we made hamburgers. Ben and Maddie assisted Pa cook burgers, bacon and eggs on the BBQ at the camp kitchen while I prepared the buns, lettuce, cheese, beetroot and tomato. Everyone could make their own burger. We all ate together under our awning and discussed our day. We were all looking forward to our Crocodile Cruise the next day.

What a great team we were at packing up camp. Everyone just gets in and does their jobs and in no time at all we were packed up and ready to move on.

We were all excited to be finally going to Airlie Beach. This trip had been in the planning since our last big one to the Red Centre 3 years ago. Early in the planning we decided that the middle of the trip was to be a 5 night stay at Big4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort in Airlie Beach. That park has won best park in Queensland for three years in a row. We were all really looking forward to getting there.

We saw a few cane trains working along their narrow tracks collecting full bins from the farmers to take back to the mill. The whole area is cris crossed by little cane train tracks.

Passing through Sarina again around 10am and the day was a glorious sunny day without any clouds in the sky. The mountains in the distance were a hazy blue with their rugged peaks and valleys. Cattle all looked fat and healthy grazing in the long grass. The cattle around the area were mostly grey Brahman or red Brangus cattle.

Just before Mackay we saw a sign at a huge roundabout indicating that Coal Terminals were off to our right. I thought they would be interesting to check out however we continued on. We used the Ring Road to bypass Mackay and we saw another huge sugar mill in the distance. We were still surrounded by sugar cane fields. It was mostly farming country all the way to Airlie Beach and we seemed to arrive very quickly. The Ring Road was excellent and seemed fairly new. It saved quite a bit of time avoiding the Mackay CBD.

I was surprised how big Mackay is. Some 130,000 people call it home. It’s a big city by Australian standards.

It was 6 excited travellers that finally drove into Cannonvale, the suburb before Airlie Beach. We checked in to the Big4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort, our much anticipated destination. Wow! what a park! Kids were going to love it. We were allocated two grass powered sites that were back to back. The sites are very small and there is just enough room for the van & awning on one with the car parked in front. The motorhome is parked a round the corner and we were able to have both awning & slideout. There’s a grassy patch in between us at the back of our site that the boys have used to set up their swags. We were surrounded by lovely garden beds full of tropical plants.

The park has some 90 cabins of all sizes, 42 powered grass sites in one section, 20 drive-through powered sites, 38 powered slab sites and another section with 33 more powered grass sites. Surprisingly there’s only two amenities blocks for the whole park.

In the very middle of the park is the main feature, the pools with water slides and a mega waterslide park. As well as a tennis court, basketball court, giant chess, a playground, mini golf, badminton court and a dining area with a cafe van. There are jumping pillows and a Kids Club. Right down the back of the park is an animal park with sheep, goats, geese and a variety of ducks.

We’d travelled some 3000km to arrive at this point in our 6 week trip and we were all looking forward to 5 nights in the one place.

After we arrived and set up camp I went for a stroll around the park. Pa settled in with a book. There were kids everywhere and lots of families. Our kids headed straight to the pools and waterslides as soon as they could and spent the whole afternoon going up and down slides. An adult has to be on hand to supervise so I relived Katie for a couple of hours and found a sun lounger to lie in the warm sun and read my book (while I supervised). Heaven!

It was Katie’s turn to cook and we enjoyed spaghetti bolognese sitting at our tables under their awning. It was a happy and delicious meal together.

I promised Maddie a beach walk so we set off in the morning to see what we could find. It is a short walk through the mangroves onto the long beach. The tide was way out again and we enjoyed exploring. Maddie found a coconut and we wondered where that might have come from. A Pacific island perhaps?

We found strange mounds of squiggly sand all over the beach and a couple of jelly fish. Rocks with barnacles and different types of seaweed were other finds as well as a collection of shells.

On the way back to camp we spotted bush turkeys and funny black & white ducks that I later found out are called Burdekin Ducks. They look like they are dressed up for a night out and make the funniest noises at each other. I’m not sure if they are wooing or arguing!

Katie had a school work day while Pa and I took the kids to the Sarina Sugar Shed for a tour. We packed our lunch, water bottles, the kids scooters & helmets and set off in the Prado.

Our first stop was at Sarina Beach to check it out.

Next stop was the Sugar Shed. It is situated in Sarina’s Field of Dreams Parklands. The parklands also house an Art Gallery, Art & Craft Centre, the Tourist Centre, a museum and the Sarina Sugar Shed. The Sugar Shed is a miniature sugar mill and distillery.

The parklands have parking, a dump point, BBQ’s, picnic tables, a playground and lovely grass areas. We found a spot to park and walked along the concrete pathways following signs to the Sugar Shed. We’d booked a 12.30 tour and they last for an hour.

After checking in we had a short wait for a guide. She handed out name tags for us all to wear. People all had different names. Mine was Derek!

Outside the mill our guide explained how sugar cane is grown and how it was once harvested compared to modern day machinery harvesting. She explained and pointed out the various parts of the huge sugar mill we could see behind the fence.

Here’s an interesting fact for you. When they plant sugar cane it is planted in 20cm long pieces flat along the ground. This is because sugar cane has eyes, sort of like a potato, and that is where the cane shoots from. Cane can be harvested after twelve months and then every 12 months for 7 years before it needs to be ploughed in and replanted.

Inside the miniature mill we were shown how the cane is first rolled to squeeze out the juice and then all the processes that follow until you end up with white sugar at the end. All the parts of the process had a name like the ones we were wearing. Derek was ‘Derek the Dryer’ one of the end processes where the sugar is dried.

Here’s another interesting fact for you. What we buy in the shop as Raw Sugar is just white sugar with molasses added to it. Brown sugar also is white sugar with molasses added.

The sugar cane process produces lots of by-products such as sugar cane mulch that people use on their gardens, molasses, and a product called dunder that is sold back to farmers to use as fertiliser.

At the end of the tour we were herded into the tasting room where we could taste a number of jams, relishes and sauces, a range of liquors and the kids watched our guide make them fairy floss.

It was a very informative tour and the kids seemed engrossed in the telling of the sugar story.

We’d also ordered a platter to finish off our tour and it was packed in a takeaway container for us. We found a picnic table near the playground and sat down there to enjoy our platter and our packed lunch.

During lunch we decided to head north and check out Mackay. As we drove out of Sarina we spied another big thing, The Big Cane Toad sitting on his pedestal in the middle park.

We drove northwards to Mackay, through town, over the bridge and out to the marina. As usual with marinas there was millions of dollars worth of boats bobbing on their moorings. You can drive all the way to the end of the breakwater and the views are pretty special. I read on the way back that crocs have been sighted in the waters of the marina so, it might look pretty but do not go in the water!!

Ben and Maddie were ready to burn off some energy so we googled the nearest skate park and found one at Slade Point so we drove out there and they had a good time skating.

After the kids had burnt off some of that boundless energy we got back in the car and drove back across the Pioneer River and all the way back to Cape Palmerston Holiday Park via Serena. It was about 5pm when we got back to find Katie had a very productive school work day and was ready for a break.

We had another little fire and Rich invited our neighbours to join us. They were from Mackay and were camped in a brand new Jaypod. It was their first time camping and they were enjoying the experience.

My turn to cook and we ate lasagne, salad and garlic bread. Scrumptious!

Boy it was cold overnight at St Lawrence. We were glad to have our microfibre blanket to put on top of our doona.

We packed up and got away heading back to the Bruce Highway and headed northwards again. Our objective was the town of Sarina so we could stock up on groceries.

It was only 120km to the Woolworths at Sarina. The countryside changed again and instead of just paddocks of tall grass we started to see vast paddocks of sugar cane. Mackay is known as the ‘capital of sugar’ in Australia so we were expecting to see sugar cane fields again.

We arrived in Sarina and found some parking around the corner from the supermarket. After stocking up and loading all the groceries into our RV’s we wandered down the main street to find a bakery. We found the Sarina Pie Shop and luckily it hadn’t closed. As it was a Saturday they are only open until 1pm. We all bought something and enjoyed eating our lunch at a picnic table in the park across the road. We were immediately surrounded by pigeons looking for food scraps. I did enjoy my pie. I haven’t had a pie for ages and it was a good one.

Back in the RV’s we backtracked southwards for some 50km and turned into Cape Palmerston where we’d booked a couple of powered sites at the Cape Palmerston Holiday Park. $44 per night for 2A powered. We found our spots and set up camp on the lovely grass sites. There was a central power pole for all the spots around to connect to but only one tap. The idea is that you fill up your tanks and then unhook so others can use the tap.

The park is right next to a long beach. Rich went to check it out and came back with a report that the tide was way out and the beach is a very shallow one. The lady at the office assured us there were no crocs at their beach!

Rich saw other campers with fire pits so went to have a chat at the office. He came back with a metal base that had two wood blocks attached underneath to lift it off the grass so the grass underneath wouldn’t burn. It cost $5 to hire for our two nights. Our little Kings fire pit fitted on the base perfectly. It was Katie’s turn to cook and we enjoyed chicken burgers while we sat around our little fire pit. Ah the serenity!

We left camp just before 10am and, after disposing of our rubbish, were quickly back on the main road back towards Rocky.

We needed to make a stop at the Capricorn Caravan Centre so Katie could buy a new water cap as theirs had fallen off somewhere between Bundaberg and Yeppoon. Katie had called them and they assured her they would have one to fit. We drove back into Rocky and found the caravan centre right next to the wide Fitzroy River. A very obliging fellow came out and put the cap in to make sure it would fit and it did. We were so glad they keep them in stock.

We headed northwards again on the Bruce Highway and it was a very busy road. I have never seen so many RV’s on the road. RV’s of all types and no-one was in a waving mood that day. We wave to all the motorhomes coming our way but not a one waved back. We checked with the others and they were waving to the other caravaners but not receiving many in return. We all reckoned they must be grumpy people at the end of the school holidays on their way home.

Some 230km after we left we pulled into the little village of St Lawrence. St Lawrence is one of the oldest towns on the Queensland coast and is situated on the St Lawrence Creek used to service a major port that is no longer is use. The remains of the port and the abattoirs (built by convict labour) can still be seen. The Council Office is the only building remaining from that time. The Courthouse and Police Station were built in 1879. The Anglican Church dates back to 1898. The little town now has a population of 245 people.

The St Lawrence Wetlands are key perennial wetlands and part of the St Lawrence Creek system. It is listed in the Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia. The wetlands support a myriad of fish, birds and other creatures and plants. Each year in June the St Lawrence Wetlands Weekend is held and visitors come from all over to learn about and explore the wetlands..

Camping is allowed at the Recreation Ground. It is unpowered but there is an amenities block with toilets and pay-as-you-go showers. $1 for 3 minutes. There are large areas of flat grass to park on and we found a spot away from other campers and quickly set up camp. All this and thye only aske for a $15 donation to be put in the honesty box. We are always happy to do this and support these tiny towns.

It became very quiet in our camp when I was typing up this blog and I think everyone had nodded off. Well that wouldn’t hurt them after our busy day the day before! I could hear Pa snoring and enjoyed a peaceful hour while they all snoozed.

We were running low on supplies so I had to be creative with our dinner. I had some potato chips in the freezer so they went in the oven and I still had plenty of eggs, a capsicum, some mushrooms and an onion so I made a huge quiche in a baking dish. Maddie helped make a salad with lettuce, cabbage and carrot with mayo dressing. It turned out to be a yummy dinner and afterwards we all sat around the fire telling stories.

The kids wanted to know how and when Pa and I met so that was a long tale with lots of funny anecdotes. What a fun night around the campfire it was.

Wow! What a fabulous day!

We had to be up early to leave the park and drive to Pier One, Rosslyn Bay Boat Harbour to catch a Freedom Fast Cat for our Adventure Tour of Great Keppel Island. The tour we booked included:

• transfer to Great Keppel Island.
• Morning tea onboard.
• glass bottom boat tour with a Marine Biologist
• Some free time to explore the island
• BBQ lunch onboard
• Snorkelling on the reef
• Boom-netting (for the adventurous)
• Afternoon tea
• Transfer back to the mainland

Our confirmation email suggested we pack light for our tour so we set off with just beach bags, swimmers, towels etc. We didn’t even take our water bottles as they are heavy and water was supplied.

We arrived with plenty of time to spare and quickly checked in. Riley and I bought a waterproof pouch for our phones so we could take underwater photos. We weren’t too sure how that would go but we’d give it a try! We were all given pink wristbands to wear indicating which tour we were on.

Right on time at 9am boarding was commenced and our big catamaran cruised out of the harbour very quickly at 9.15am. Maddie became very excited as soon as we left the harbour because she spotted a pod of dolphins off to the left of the boat. The skipper heard her excitement and saw her frantic pointing so he stopped the boat so other passengers could take a look too. Not far further along Maddie spied more dolphins. She became our dolphin spotter!

It seemed no time at all, only 30 minutes, and we were pulling up at Great Keppel Island. The big catamaran just pushes up onto the beach and the crew man-handle a walkway that’s attached to the front of the boat and once it is settled on the sand people can disembark. Our pink wristbands group was told to stay onboard for our morning tea and the crew served us up some lamingtons and a delicious cake along with tea, coffee and cordial.

Next up was our glass bottom boat tour with Brenda, a marine biologist, who skippered us around to some reefs and explained the various types of marine life that we could see below. We saw thousands of fish of all sizes and colours, soft and hard coral, stingrays, sea cucumbers, clams, and more. We toured over one section of reef that had strange man-made star shaped frames over it and Brenda explained she was involved in that project. That part of the reef had suffered a bleaching event and the frames were an experiment to see if the reef could be restored. Small pieces of coral were zip tied to the frames and within 12 months new coral could be seen growing all over the frames. It has been a huge success. The coral just grew completely over the zip ties.

We had an hour to have a wander around the island and we followed the rest of the passengers off the boat. Great Keppel Island used to be home to a 5* resort but sadly the resort did not survive the GFC in 2008 and was forced to close. The buildings have deteriorated and are set to be demolished as they are too far gone to fix. A bit sad. The remaining buildings house a smaller resort called GKI Hideaway Holiday Village and after having a bit of a wander along the pathways and boardwalks Rich and I thought it was a bit run down and tired looking.

In front of the main building which houses a restaurant, bar and shop we found huge sandbags. They were the size of a bus. The sandbags were placed to prevent further erosion after the last cyclone hammered the island. We hoped they work or the building will end up in the sea!

Sadly it started drizzling rain during this time on the island so sitting on the beach or having a swim wasn’t very appealing.

Back on board we enjoyed a delicious and simple BBQ lunch with steak, sausages, onions, salad and a bread roll while the boat made its way to the reef where our snorkelling would be. And the best part was, the sun came out. It was a glorious sunny afternoon.

The snorkelling was definitely the highlight of the tour. All snorkelling gear was supplied so at the back of the boat you were fitted with your wetsuit, fins, mask and snorkel then you could enter the water from the swim platform that had been lowered into the water. I also chose to take a pool noodle with me. Ben was the first passenger in the water and he was the last one to get out. Safe to say Ben LOVED snorkelling! Every now and then his face would pop up from the water and he was wearing the biggest grin.

The marine life on the reef was amazing and again we saw sea cucumbers, an enormous stingray and a little one too, thousands of different fish, so many different types of coral, Ben even found a clam! The only thing missing was a turtle but no luck there!

Once everyone, including Ben, had got back onboard, the crew let down a boom net from the back of the swim platform. Our three kids and three girls and their dad were the only ones giving it a go. Crewman Liam followed behind in the rib in case anyone dropped off the net he could retrieve them. Of course Ben jumped straight in and when he surfaced quickly grabbed hold of the net and was dragged along. More big grins on Ben’s face. The others were all a bit more hesitant but eventually they all tried jumping in, crawling back up onto the boat and jumping in again. What fun! We reckoned all the kids would sleep well.

Afternoon tea was served when the boom netters were back onboard then the big cat manoeuvred back to the main beach to collect all the other passengers before heading back to the mainland. Maddie kept her eye out for dolphins and was rewarded again just as we approached the mouth of the boat harbour. We arrived back at Rosslyn Boat Harbour at 4.15pm.

Back to camp and it was a tired crew who sat around the dinner table. It was off to bed early for everyone. What a fabulous day!

We got away from Rules Beach before 9am and set off towards Yeppoon some 270km away.

At Miriam Vale, population 500, we had to stop at the train lines for the City of Maryborough train to make a quick stop at Miriam Vale station before continuing on through the intersection. There was a sign on the pub that said ‘Our town is so small we don’t have a town drunk, so we take it in turns’. Katie pulled into the Lions Park to use the dump point.

We rejoined the A1 Bruce Highway at Miriam Vale. As it is still Qld school holidays there were lots of RV’s on the road. Quite a few were parked up in the Lions Park in Miriam Vale, probably having some morning tea.

We’d booked into Elysium Retreat & Stays for two nights which is a 10 minute drive inland from Yeppoon. I was excited to be setting off and travelling on roads I’d never been on before.

What a lovely surprise was Gladstone. Gladstone parks & gardens department must have a huge budget. The town is gorgeous with lovely manicured lawns and gorgeous gardens. I didn’t really know much about Gladstone but after our quick visit it is somewhere I would definitely go back to for a further look around.

Gladstone has a population of around 45,000 people and is home to Queenslands largest multi-commodity shipping port and is the fifth largest in Australia.

We drove down towards the boat harbour and found the Visitors Centre. The lady there recommended we drive around the boat harbour to the other side and we would be on a little spit of land between the boat harbour and the coal terminal with views across to the islands and the aluminium terminal.

The Gladstone area is known for coal mines and the coal export terminal is the fourth largest in the world. There was a huge ship at the terminal and some huge tug boats waiting to go out to sea to guide the huge ships in. 50 million tonnes of coal pass through each year.

The Gladstone aluminium smelter is further down the harbour. A fellow in the visitors centre told us 2 tonnes of bauxite makes one tonne of alumina powder and then 2 tonnes of alumina powder makes 1 tonne of aluminium.

We stopped for a bite to eat in the lovely park before heading back out of town.

We passed by a huge power station. The NRG Gladstone Power Station is Queenslands largest power station with six coal-fired turbines. Power has been generated there since 1976. It is jointly owned by Rio Tinto, NRG Energy and others.

We crossed the wide Calliope River and its anabranch with mudflats and mangroves. The kids were convinced they saw croc slides in the mud. They might be right.

A little further on we passed the Rio Tinto alumina mine at Yarwun. The highway went under a conveyor belt bridge that takes 3 million tonnes of alumina to the terminal each year. Continuing northwards and at Mount Larson we rejoined the A1 Bruce Highway again.

Our next stop was for fuel and a gas bottle in Rockhampton on the very busy Bruce Highway. Rocky, as the city is known, is home to some 80,000 people and it felt like a big city. Gold was found in the area in the 1850’s and this led to an influx of people seeking their fortune. The Mount Morgan gold mine was one of the most productive mines in the world at the time and the result of this is the many heritage Victorian buildings.

The Central Queensland University has its main campus in Rocky. Agriculture, particularly cattle production, is a dominant industry and this is recognised in the town by seven statues of bulls, known as ‘the Big Bulls’. I managed to get pics of 3 of them!

We were a bit surprised leaving Rocky that the road to Yeppoon was dual lane but pretty soon we came across roadworks where the road was being made dual lane then it dropped down to single lane for the rest of the way.

There were lots of cone shaped hills that looked like they might be remnants of old volcanos. No wonder the grass was so lush in the paddocks that it comes up to the bellies of the cattle. It’s growing in volcanic soil.

We found our way to Elysium Retreat and after checking in, set up camp. We were next to each other again.

I made a big mistake while Rich was backing in to our site and the motorhome ran into a tree branch. It doesn’t look too bad but I think I’ll get up there and put some tape over it in case there’s a hole in the sikaflex. We don’t want water getting in. Will have to get it looked at when we get home. My bad!!

It was still quite warm so we all dressed in our swimwear and headed into Yeppoon to check out the Yeppoon Lagoon. The water was really cold at first but we all enjoyed a swim. It was great to hear the kids laughing and having fun.

As our tour to Great Keppel Island was the next morning we decided to drive out to the harbour and find where we need to be at 8.45am the next morning. We found it with no difficulty and then timed our trip back to camp. It took 20 mins so we need to leave around 8am to make sure we are on time. There’s a large carpark near the wharf where we can leave the car for the day, and it’s free! Even better! Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea is supplied and they have tea, coffee, water and cordial available all day so we really only have to pack our beach wear, towels, hats and sunscreen. Wetsuits and snorkel equipment are also supplied. How exciting! We will be snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef!

What a lovely relaxing day we had at Rules Beach. I actually slept in until 8.30am and was totally surprised when I woke to see what the time was.

We spent the morning at the beach and what a lovely morning it was. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky and it was 21 degrees. I did stick my feet in the water but it was way too cold for me however the boys went in and enjoyed playing in the surf.

Pa went back to camp to read his book. I stayed on the beach and started another book. Katie watched the kids and they all played, dug in the sand and sunbaked. How nice it was to feel the warm sun after the freezing weather we’ve had so far.

After lunch Katie and I spent a couple of hours planning the next week. Where to go, what to do etc. We have one week until we should be in Airlie Beach so we had a busy time finding tours that we wanted to do and accomodation that would suit the various tours.

One of the big tick items for this trip was to snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately we can’t do that from Airlie Beach as they were booked out already for the whole week next week so we had to be a bit creative. Instead we are booked to go to Great Keppel Island for a tour, glass-bottom boat tour, BBQ lunch and snorkeling on Thursday. So we need to make tracks the next day so we get to Yeppoon where we will catch the Fast Cat to Great Keppel Island.

We did manage to book a day trip to Whitehaven Beach and Hill Inlet for when we are in Airlie and we are really looking forward to that.

So we had to up and ready to get on the road the next morning and get some 280km done via Gladstone and Rockhampton.