Rockhampton to Carnarvon Gorge

Back to my travel tales……

After our week in the Rockhampton and Yeppoon area it was time to start heading back south.  This time we were going to get to Carnarvon Gorge, as the weather was predicted to be good.

Our route could be just backtracking to Banana.  Yes, there is a tiny town in Queensland called Banana, not after the fruit, but a pale coloured bullock, that back in the 1860s helped stockmen round up wild cattle.  We have the city of Orange just up the road from us here, named after the Duke of Orange, and further south in NSW there is the town of Berry.  Quite the fruit salad……I digress.

We saw no need to backtrack if we could find an alternate route to Banana. So, out came the map and we decided to head south down the Bruce Highway to Calliope.  I got in trouble for pronouncing it Cal-ee-ope.  I was informed that the correct pronunciation is Cal-eye-oh-pee.  Anyway, it is really just a satellite suburb of Gladstone these days.  From there we headed inland to Banana.  It was a nice, quiet, scenic drive that we thoroughly enjoyed, and was yet another new to us road.

From Banana, it was just a short drive to Moura, which was our destination for the day.  We had heard of the town, as our friends used to live there, but we didn’t know much about it.  It turns out that it is a major coal mining centre with a rich history.

We set up camp in the Rotary Park, with a lot of other travellers and then went for a walk to the museum, which is housed in a relatively new building, along with the library.  It was a really interesting museum, covering both the coal mining and agricultural side of things.

There is a painted water tower next to the building.

Also, outside, there is a small sound shell, and memorial to the coal miners, which was really well done.

After our walk, I enjoyed doing a bit of my knitting.

The next day, we headed further west to the small town of Rolleston.  We have actually stayed there when travelling on our motorcycle some years ago, but we just arrived as it was getting dark and left first thing in the morning, so didn’t see anything.  

It is just a small town, but with a nice park, complete with a community coffee cart.  

Of course we had to stop for coffee and delicious home made cake. 

A lady was taking photos for their facebook page, and took our photo, so we're famous.  Well, my hands holding the coffee and cake are famous.

Next to the coffee cart is the former post office, which houses a gallery and has a kitchen out the back where the food is prepared for the coffee cart.  

It was a fun exhibition inside.

There was also an old hut that had been relocated from out of town.

From there it was time to head south to Carnarvon Gorge.  The road was fairly rough in places and some nice person had actually painted signs on the road warning of the worst potholes and damage.

It was a very pleasant drive and before long we came to the turn off to Carnarvon Gorge.  The road into Carnarvon Gorge, once you leave the highway is only narrow, but in much better condition.

We have stayed here once before, with the motorcycle, in 2003, so quite some time ago.  That time we stayed in the caravan park down near the gorge.  Since then, a new seasonal campground has opened, situated up on the ridge surrounding the gorge, so we took that option this time.

It was good to have finally made it here, after our earlier aborted attempt on the way north.  

More soon.

A Finished Crochet Rug and Wrap With Love Knit In

I have my first finished project for July, being the crocheted Corner to Corner Rug for Wrap With Love.

I started this way back in March and have been plugging away at it ever since.  

I thought it was finished at the end of last month, but a few more rounds on the border were needed to make it wide enough.

It is good to get it finished in time for the knit in.  

As the co-ordinator is one of my neighbours, I generally give a hand with setting up.  At the last minute, a lot of squares were donated that needed to be joined and have an edging added.  I was given the job of doing the crochet on one.  It didn't take too long.

We set everything up on Monday, ready for yesterday’s Knit In.  

There ended up being just over 200 rugs ready to deliver to Sydney for distribution around Australia and the world.  Not a bad effort for a little band of women who only meet up to knit together once a year.

There was a wide variety of styles and techniques, in both knitting and crochet, as well as a vast array of colours.

There were about a dozen women who stayed most of the day with others dropping in for just a little while to just have a look at all the rugs.  

Of course, most of us brought along a plate of food, so no one went hungry.

I have started my next rug.  For me, this is just a fill in project that can be picked up when I have nothing else planned.  This time I am also using the Corner to Corner pattern, but just making ten inch squares to be joined together, as it will be a much more portable project.  I seem to have ended up with quite a few pastel yarns, in both variegated and solids, so will have a play with them.  It should be fun.

Great Keppel Island

Remember this photo I showed looking out to the islands from Yeppoon?

Well, the largest of those islands is Great Keppel Island.  Despite visiting the area many times, we have never managed to visit.  The weather had either not been cooperating or we haven’t had the time.  This time we were making a point of visiting.

It used to be a very popular holiday resort island, but the resort is now defunct.  However, there is still a small amount of accommodation, a couple of shop/cafes and that’s about it.  There are a few permanent residents. You can also take day trips, which is what we did.

We caught the ferry out, and it was the perfect day.  I’m not a good traveler, but I had no trouble at all. The weather on the days before and after weren’t nearly as good, so we were blessed.

When you reach the island the boat just runs up to the beach and you disembark down a ramp onto the sand.

We then boarded another, smaller, glass bottomed boat to do a tour of the coral, as this area is at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.

We were all rather intent on looking down into the water.

It was hard to photograph, but we saw a variety of corals, some giant clams and various fish.  

This is a Barracuda.    We also saw one small shark and a stingray, among others.

The hexagonal structures have been put in place to give the coral something to grow back on after storm damage.  Apparently, it is working well.

The island had been battered by cyclones in recent years, causing a large amount of beach erosion.  These giant sand bags are now stabilising the worst affected areas.

Now, isn’t that the idyllic tropical island beach.

The tide was low, so we could see all the little shell inhabiting creatures crawling around the rocks and sand.  Intriguing to watch.

Yes, I picked up a few more shells and took their photo.

Someone had done a rather clever drawing in the sand.  Not us, we just got it admire it.

Mick and I had a play with our shadows.

And then, before we knew it, it was time to return to the mainland, enjoying seeing the hazy light on the other islands as we went.  A rather lovely way to spend the day.

Yeppoon

We spent quite a bit of time at Yeppoon while away.  We always have to see who can say “I can see the sea” first as we drive into town.

Much of our time was spent just hanging out with our friends, but we did play the tourist a bit.  Don't you love the hibiscus in our friends' garden.

We took a drive down to Emu Park one day.  Where Yeppoon is a reasonable sized town with two shopping centres, a big Bunnings and lots of services, Emu Park is quieter, and therefore a nice holiday spot.  

It is also home to the Singing Ship, which was created in 1970 to commemorate 200 years since Captain Cook sailed through the area.  It was a really windy day, so it was singing away.

The view out to the islands was lovely.  Everything was so sparkly.

We had morning tea down at the surf club, which has some fun murals on the walls. 

Rather a pleasant spot to sit and take in the view.

On another day we took a drive along the Yeppoon coastline and visited a couple of beaches.  I like to keep an eye out for shells and found a few, as the tide was out.

I had a play laying them out and left them there.  I don’t need any more shells here at home.  We wondered what the rib bone came from.  I know, I'm a big kid at heart.

The view from Wreck Point Lookout was also lovely.

I liked how the play equipment was made to look like a ship wreck.

An ice cream topped off the day.

Remember how my friend and I made our apple pincushions.

Well, while we were doing that, Mick was having a little go at doing some wood turning.  Now, his trade is a fitter and machinist, so he spent much of his apprenticeship working on a metal lathe.  Despite that, he decided that wood turning is not going to be his next hobby, but it was nice to have a little go.  He will admire the workmanship from afar.

And that about sums up Yeppoon.