Brisbane to Hervey Bay

Shakedown trials - 30/09/2014

After sorting out our gear we spent one week in at the Brisbane Gateway Resort which is a very nice place with units caravan and camping areas, as we were staying more than four nights we were given a 10% discount. The place is clean and staff are very accommodating.

It has been many years since I have stayed in caravan parks and although there is a similarity with marinas I find that people's behaviour a little different which I will detail later.

We used this as a base for a week to get some things sorted out and to get settled into living aboard our land ship, coming down in size from the 13 metre catamaran with four queen size cabins with heaps of storage to an 8 metre motorhome and  a trailer so we have had to sacrifice a few items which we probably did not use. We visited Sunliner with a couple of defects nothing major just minor things.

(On our site at Brisbane Gateway Resort)

The facilities at the Brisbane Gateway Resort are very good they do have things like tennis courts, table tennis and swimming pool that are all free to use, the amenities are kept very clean but some campers leave things in a mess at times, which gets back to my earlier comment about the difference between marinas and caravan parks/campgrounds. Sailors that use the marinas are usually more often than not very clean, they usually tidy up if they make a mess in the amenities or if using a BBQ they clean it after use, in the caravan parks they do not appear to be as tidy and as far as the BBQ's they use it and walk away. Talking to one of the staff that cleans the BBQ's say it is the norm they use it and walk away. I assume that it is this way because the travellers are not permanent travellers like most sailors around marinas. We always use the BBQ black mats that we purchased from Coles in the BBQ section, these keep your BBQ clean and can be used to cover a dirty BBQ.

(Left BBQ used, centre, me cooking with BBQ mat and right, the BBQ when I had finished. The benefits of the BBQ mat is that you can use it on the dirty BBQ if there is not a clean one to be had)

After a week in the caravan park it was time to take off on the shakedown trials with the motorhome and trailer. We had decided to do a couple of short trips before heading out on the bigger journey to test the vehicle and to get used to it.

We headed off via Manly to check on our mail and pick up a few items, I am used to carrying some spares nuts bolts screws and  these items stayed with the boat so I have to get a few things just in case. This done we hit the highway and we decided to free camp at Gunalda rest area for the night which was only a couple of hours away. I must say I was happy with the performance of the IVECO with the 3 litre turbo diesel and 6 speed gearbox it handles the road very well. As we headed north and the traffic lightened I used the cruise control and sitting on 90kms the vehicle handled the hills very well just occasionally changing back to 5th gear on the hill and then back to top it was quite smooth.

 (In with the big rigs)

(Nancy chatting with two truckies)

We stopped for lunch at one of the roadhouses a truckies stop which is usually the sign of good food, with our vehicle and trailer being 12 metres long we had to park with the truckies which looked a little odd with us being small amongst them and yet we are large when parking alongside cars.

We arrived a Gunalda mid afternoon and found a site to park there were others already set up which included a fifth wheeler a few 4x4's with caravans and couple of small campervans. The facilities there are a wood fired BBQ, that cannot be used on total fire ban days, toilets and a building used by Driver Reviver when they operate.

 (Gunalda Rest Area)

(Set up at Gunalda Rest Area)

The toilets although cleaned once a day have many visitors but generally clean although old, I read a comment on Wikicamps where one bloke complained that the water only trickled in the basin, the reason for this is the water comes from a rainwater tank mounted outside the building so one would not expect any high pressure especially when there has been little rainfall. Some people expect too much I think or is it just a shortage of common sense? Let's face it, it is a free camp area.

The campsite is a short distance off the main highway so the road noise is quite low compared to some sites that we passed.

One of the camper invited us over for happy hour which we know as sundowners on the water, we gladly accepted and went over with our chairs and drinks. Another couple also joined us that were from WA and had a fifth wheeler that they had been busy working on as Ben had broken the springs on the axles. He showed them to me and it looked like the break had started some time ago as there was a rust mark on part of the broken section. Ben said he was lucky it had happened now as he was able to go into Gympie 20kms away and purchase new springs, if they had broken when crossing the Barkley or other remote areas it would not have been fun.

After the sun had set we ventured back to our home had dinner and a good night sleep.

Wednesday - 01/10/2014

Today we are heading for Hervey Bay, we have booked in for a week at Harbour View Caravan Park which is located next to the Boat Club and the marinas, yes I know we can't stay away from the water. We chose here for a couple of reasons, we have long time friends from the Alice that live here Bob and Grace Clark and we also have sailing friends here that we will meet on Friday at the boat club.

On the way we called into the massive shopping centre of Stocklands, used to be known as Centro, we parked the furthest area from the shops allowing us to take up about five car spaces, we did some shopping for a few groceries and drinks.

After booking into the park we got set up and settled then went for a short walk around the waterfront to stretch the legs, we had a quiet night. This park is now owned by the Boat Club and it is believed that in the future they will remove the caravan park and build units. The club also has a marina and two fuel stations, one being next to the club and the other about one kilometre away and brag that they have the cheapest fuel in town which I believe is true.

 Last time we were here the waterfront shops appeared to be on the decline but today it appears to be thriving with about eight boats working the whale watching that go out twice a day. I think after the financial down turn and the high rise in the Australian dollar the amount of backpackers declined enormously, two years ago we saw this all up the coast, Airlie Beach being one of the backpacker Mecca's was suffering badly two years ago.

Hervey Bay is quite large and spread out and is like a big country town, people say g'day as you walk passed and are quite friendly, they say it has the most electric riders in the country basically because the area is quite flat which makes it easy to get around. It is a very relaxed place and has one of the best protected waterways on its doorstep being the Great Sandy Straits and along with that Fraser Island. We have sailed extensively in this area over the years and my advice if going around the water is to take some insect repellent with you as a lot of places have the sand fly and mossies.

Thursday 02/10/2014

Good friends Bob and Grace Clark came around to see us and invited us to join them and Debra and David for dinner Saturday night for Debra's birthday, (Grace and Bob's daughter), after that we went for a walk to get some parts from the chandler and ended up at the Waterfront Restaurant for lunch, we have been here before and the food is great. It is a short walk from the harbour, just follow the path in a northerly direction and you will come to it. We then continued to walk along the waterfront and ended up in Torque which is quite a long distance and needless to say we caught a taxi back to the park.

You may ask why the chandler since we no longer have a boat? The fact is chandlers have to sell the high quality stainless steel items and although may be a little more expensive it is the better quality screws, nuts and bolts.

Friday 03/10/2014

Shaggers night at the Boat Club, (Shag Islet Cruising Yacht Club), yes we will continue being members with this mad bunch of people. They are great fun, we had a great night with them a few drinks and a few laughs. The Boat Club has live entertainment, on the ground floor you can choose to order meals at the Cafe or on the other side of the large room they have The Carvery, the third option is the Restaurant upstairs.

Saturday 04/10/2014

Dinner at the Lotus Restaurant, with this name you probably think it maybe a Thai menu, well it is an Australian menu and I must say the meals are excellent, we had a great night  and if when you book you state that it is for a birthday the birthday person has a $30 free meal. Grace did not do this however but people on the next table did and they brought out a desert with candles singing happy birthday.

Sunday 05/10/2014

Shaggers BBQ at Judi and Warwicks place, although Warwick is still skippering a friends yacht and won't be back until Monday. There was a good group at the BBQ and we had a lot of fun.

Monday 06/10/2014

Quiet day.

Cheap Tuesday 07/10/2014

Yes the Shaggers group rides again. We meet at the Boat Club at 1730 hours, the group then decides where we go to eat that is cheap, The Kondari Hotel was the place so we catch the Boat Clubs courtesy bus to the Kondari Hotel, the special is that you buy one main course meal and get your partners at half price and the meals are very nice. After dinner we were ferried back to the Boat Club where we had another drink before going home.

Hervey Bay Review

Hervey Bay has a lot to offer it is one of the gateways to the Great Sandy Straits and Fraser Island if you want to get on the water. Whale season this is a good spot to go out and see the whales and get some time on the water. Cost of Whale Watching is around $100 to $110 per person there are about eight boats to choose from. There are good beaches around for those that just want to lay on the beach or swim and many restaurants and hotels. Some of the older motel's are reasonably priced and if you are travelling in the off season you can get a bargain.

Harbour View Caravan Park where we stayed I think was very good, the amenities although aged are kept clean and tidy, it is handy to the waterfront activities, however, the closest large supermarket is 20 - 25 minutes' walk or a short drive. There is a bus stop just up near the Boat Club and the bus runs about every hour and does the circuit ending at the Stockland's Shopping Centre before continuing back towards the Boat Club.

(This is the largest Whale Watching Catamaran)

Cheers