Hervey Bay to Bargara

08/10/2014 to 15/10/2014

With no great rush we set off on the road heading to Bargara but first we made a couple of stops, first stop Bunning's to buy some timber for modifications to the trailer and then to Stockland's Shopping Centre to stock up on stores. This done we hit the highway and headed north. The highway was a lot quieter now school holidays are over and many of the grey nomads are heading south.

We stopped at Childers for lunch, they have signs up as you enter for long vehicle parking behind the Isis RSL Club, with our unit with trailer being 12 metres long we have to look for parking where we will fit. This was handy as the RSL has a back entrance so that is where we had lunch. It was a good friendly place and the meals are quite good.

After lunch it was back on the road and heading for Bargara, we had driven over to Bargara some years ago when we sailed into Bundaberg we hired a car and drove over to Bargara and found it to be a quiet and pretty place so this is one of the reasons we are going back to there for a week. We are still sorting things out in the transition from being on a large boat to that of a motorhome.

We arrived at Bargara via Bundaberg and went to the Absolute Ocean Front Tourist Park, this is a reasonably small park with colourful cabins about thirty plus caravan/camping sites. There are a few permanent people on the area and staff and locals are very friendly.

(Ocean View)

(Absolute Ocean Front Tourist Park)

(Our rig under the large tree)

The ocean front is just that and very beautiful although there is no beach here the shoreline is black rocks.

Nearby is a Chemist, take away food shop that has some grocery items magazines and papers and a hairdressers. Plus there is a post box for mailing out. About fifteen minutes in the other direction is Bargara Lakes Tavern the prices here are very reasonable in the catering and the bottle shop and the staff are friendly. The owner who also built this tavern is very friendly we went down there with our two wheel trolley to purchase a carton of beer and a couple of bottles of wine, which they had some great specials. When paying for them he asked if we wanted him to deliver the beer rather than us carting it back. I explained we had our trolley outside and thanked him. It was then he was telling us about the place and we decided to come back for dinner that evening, he said if we did he would make sure that we got a lift home.

(Bargara Lakes Tavern)

We did return that night for dinner and the meals were very nice, normal menu main courses around $25 - $30, very plentiful and well presented, they also have a specials board offering good meals for around $10 - $12.

Kelly's Beach

Kelly's Beach is about 10-15 minutes' walk from the tourist park and the most popular section is up towards the northern end of this beach near the lagoon and Moneys Creek. People can swim in the sea here or in the creek and lagoon with lifeguards at hand for safety. There are toilets and showers nearby plus a takeaway food caravan. Continuing northward either via the causeway or at lower tides take your shoes off you can walk through Moneys Creek onto the beach the other side and continue up to Bargara Beach and into Bargara itself.

(Moneys Creek entrance and Kellys Beach)

(Moneys Creek crossing, there is a causeway a short distance away that crosses the lagoon)

(Friendly swan on the lagoon)

(Bargara Beach)

As you approach Bargara along the beach you come to The Basin, this is a good protected swimming whole which was created by the South Sea Islanders (Kanakas)  in the 1800's when Blackbirding was rife, the islanders built the safe swimming area to protect against sharks.

(The Basin)

Bargara is a quiet place with lots of high rise apartments being built, real estate appears  to be picking up in these areas as prices are still reasonable, the waterfront centre of Bargara has cafes and restaurants and a few shops, hotel and motels. Down the road a little way is a Liberty fuel station, this is a great place it sells everything from plumbing fittings to bread and milk, it is a hardware, fishing gear, auto  store, there is not much he does not sell.

(Bargara Restaurants and cafes in the forefront)

(Liberty service station that sell many items)

A good walk down from there is a Woolworths shopping centre, this place as certainly gone ahead since the last time we were here but it is still the quiet type of place for a relaxing break away from it all. There are families that come here for holidays but it is probably the other end of the scale of places like the Gold Coast.

What we did.

08/10/2014 - Our day of arrival and after setting up we just rested, later we sat outside and watched the eclipse of the moon which was going well until cloud started to move in.

(Nancy set up with her camera)

(These were my photos not the best)

09/10/14 - I got out the timber that we bought and had cut to size at Bunning's, emptied the trailer and started to construct a forward compartment for the light weight equipment, this compartment is 450mm from the front panel and  has two levels. This will ensure the heavier gear like tools and the smaller generator plus other heavier items are over the axle and wheels being centre of the trailer, so it was a good days work. I also installed a small pull-out clothes line on the back of the trailer.

10/10/2014 - Bit of a rest day doing photos on the computer for this blog. We had a short walk along the waterfront.  I mentioned to Nancy last night that looking at the weather the next few days we have  N-NE winds, many of the yachties would be taking advantage of that to head south. Sure enough they have been sailing passed since early hours this morning. I see them sail by and I get the same feeling as I did when seeing a naval ship after I left the navy, yes I am going to miss it.

11/10/2014 - This is when we went to the Tavern to buy beer and wine all important stuff and later returned for dinner on the night, other than that a little cleaning.

(Sunrise at Bargara)

(These were right next to where we were sitting eating the new pollen on the leaves)

12/10/2014 - Went for the walk to Bargara along the beaches taking photos here and there which probably took around one hour. After checking the shops out and buying gear at the Liberty fuel station, items like hose fittings a sun hat for Nancy and some other small items we went back to one of the cafes and had a coffee. We then headed back slowly with Nancy taking numerous photos and got back to Kelly's Beach take-away food stand for lunch. We then returned to our home base.

13/10/2014 - Did a few jobs around the place, I had cut a board to sit on top of the galley sink so Nancy could use this as additional bench top space, I sanded and varnished this. I also modified the BBQ plate I purchased from Tent City for the Webber BBQ. A thing my mate Brian put me onto, a Webber BBQ plate for the Webber costs around $45 - $49, a generic brand from Tent City cost $27. We have the Baby Webber so the carry handle lugs on the sides of the plate had to be ground off a little to fit in the Webber.  We was going for a bike ride but the new pump I bought to pump up the tyres that I used once, the flexible tube leaked and would not allow me to get air in the tyres, in fact what air was in the tyre it let out.

(Three cans as the varnishing bench)

(Varnished and in place)

14/10/2014 - Not much happening the storms started at 0630 hours this morning, rain was predicted for the day, it did clear around lunch time and I went for my haircut appointment. A little later I walked to the Tavern to use the ATM machine, so to be sociable with the locals I had to stay for a couple of beers as you do, it wouldn't be Australian unless I did. Saying that reminds me of a time we were down at Lake Macquarie at friends Brian and Colleen's, we are having an unplanned BBQ lunch and as we men are at the BBQ cooking Brian said, "I haven't got a cold beer in the fridge" and I said, "I should have brought one from the boat if I knew we were staying for lunch". Then Brian said "the son-in-law across the road has some in his fridge, I could go and grab a couple", discussing it we said we would go without. Then Brian said "it would be un-Australian to cook a BBQ without a beer in your hand" and promptly took off to raid Michael's fridge.

The storms continued after dark but soon left, we had a quiet night, we will head off tomorrow.

15/10/2014 - Before leaving I have to give the motorhome a clean, the storm and winds along with being under this large tree we have dirt and leaves everywhere. I asked the manager if it was alright to move out to where there is open grass sites and give the vehicle, he had no objections and even asked if I needed a ladder. With the vehicle clean we headed into Bundaberg to the Bundy rum factory. I do not drink rum normally or abnormally, but I do like there Bundaberg Royal Rum Liqueur, it may have something to do with it being  coffee and chocolate flavoured, but mixed with a little cream and ice it is to die for. The problem is, is that it can only be bought at the Bundy Shop in Bundaberg. When we arrived it was a little early and the end of the road was closed off and marquees were being erected, this weekend is a Bundy festivity a big promotion of Bundaberg Rum releasing a new shaped bottle. These lovely items purchased we hit the road again.

Cheers.