Platypus, Beaches and Pies on the Whitsunday Coast

[RB]

Next stop was Pinnacle to indulge in one of the well promoted pies-indeed a pretty good example of a plain mince pie.







We then drove to the Mackay Marina area. Certainly a large protected area & some impressive vessels but we didn’t have the need to see the shops/accommodation precinct. Drove back through the “old” CBD area & then sought out Dan Murphys & a Coles supermarket as we headed north to Cape Hillsborough.

 

[RB]

Cape Hillsborough

Around 50km north of Mackay & an easy drive on the highway. We were spending a Fri & Sat night so it was relatively busy & the local show circuit was in full swing. The road into the park from the highway to the park is well maintained. We had a booking for a Beach Hut-what we expected structurally but certainly could do with a spring clean, a spruce up & some basic maintenance. Location is excellent with a 20 metre stumble leading you onto the beach. Very limited mobile coverage & web connection was very hit & miss but that wasn’t a priority. The caravan park has catering on Fri & sat nights alongside the basic shop. We enjoyed fish & chips one night & pizza on the other-both reasonable attempts & very reasonably priced.











Turn left


Turn Right

 

[RB]

The Andrews Point Track- One of the better walks we have done
Difficult in spots with plenty of steps & some testing downhill turns. Low tide was around 8.30am so this allowed us to start with a walk along the beach to Wedge Island ( still very soft mud in parts) before starting the climb up to the various lookouts along the track. Certainly not crowded but a good number of walkers of various age groups. The views back to the island certainly promote the natural beauty of the area.

Beach & Wedge Island Section first for us, basically clockwise from leaving our cabin













Start of the climb

 

[RB]

View from near the end of the hike for us but only about 500 metres from our hut-not an easy walk though

 

[RB]

The Diversity Boardwalk-only a short drive from the caravan park. An accessible boardwalk for the first 300 metres or so that is more mangrove swamp. There are also sections of melaleuca woodland and open eucalyptus forest. All well set out & plenty of info boards.

 

[RB]

We then drove to have a look at Ball Bay (basic quiet village with no facilities outside the basic campground), Halliday Bay (more attractive, golf course & adjoining campground although not sure of the cabins or the clubhouse) & Seaforth-larger centre, school, shops, food alcohol, bowling club & boating club. Had a great steak sandwich at the bowlo.

Halliday Bay






Golf Course-not many flat lies on the course




Ball Bay-certainly not crowded




Seaforth

 

[RB]

More of Seaforth






Back at Cape Hillsborough

 

[RB]

Cape Horseborough to Dingo Beach
Another easy drive mostly along the Bruce Highway. A Sunday and there were plenty of caravans and motorhomes on the move. We called at Proserpine for a few supplies for our Dingo Beach stay. We had forgotten our Woolworths experience at Mission Beach in 2021 and again we encountered a closed supermarket. The local IGA was open & a large store with plenty of variety on offer. ( the Woolies that we had used earlier in the trip at Airlie Beach was pretty ordinary with a very limited bakery & dairy section). The local road into Dingo Beach is along flat terrain and plenty of cattle stock-mainly seem to be Brahman or Brahman-cross. There seems to be a lot of suckers and general regrowth- not sure of the reason.

 

[RB]

Dingo Beach House
We are staying at a free standing house that we found on Airborne and Stayz. About a 10 minute walk from the pub and with a big yard and 3 bedrooms. Generally well maintained and comfortable, this house is excellent value at just less than $130 a night. Communication with the owner was excellent Air con in every room, gas BBQ, washing machine & dishwasher, full sized fridge and fish cleaning table in back yard, There are limited options in town & this was much cheaper than alternative houses & the pub rooms. We had to supply our own towels & bed linen. There was also the expectation that you dropped your garbage at the free & easily accessible tip as you left town.

 

[RB]

Around Dingo Beach
We spend our time driving & walking around the various bays and inlets and over to Hydeaway Bay & it’s resort. Generally a slow paced few days, a couple of 10 minute walks to the pub for a meal & just enjoying some time away. The General Store has very limited stock but cheap petrol. The food at the pub is good with generous serves & drinks are reasonably priced.

Dingo Beach














Hydeaway Bay

 

[RB]

Cape Gloucestor Resort-out of Hydeaway Bay & pretty isolated but nice views








Taken at the edge of Hydeaway Bay


Looking back at part of Dingo Beach from a hill we climbed

 

[craven morehead]

We always enjoy visiting the Dingo Beach pub

 

[RB]

We always enjoy visiting the Dingo Beach pub

Didn't expect to see a Polestar2 parked there. Good pub with a few rusted on locals. A Sunday arvo,sunshine, decent food, cold drinks and a guitar playing singer made for a good intro

 

[RB]

Dingo Beach to Bowen

Another relatively short haul along the Bruce Highway. Plenty of caravans and the traffic gets banked up by the many sections of roadworks and speed limit changes (think one of the African contractors for the roadworks went bust). We called in at Heronvale, some prime ocean view sites but very little going on and a very quiet lifestyle. Stopped at the Bowen info centre on the south side & got a PAPER brochure & the obligatory photos of the big mango. Called at the Bowen Historical Society Museum-quite a varied collection of stuff from times gone by and very enthusiastic volunteers. Had a general drive around the incredibly wide streets of the CBD and then ventured out to our booking at Horseshoe Bay Resort. Changed our mind here-the booked Beach Balcony room had more of a public car park view than the promoted bay view and the balcony of the allocated room was almost atop the cafe- no privacy on the balcony and the cafe hosts music on a couple of the nights we were to stay- to their credit the owners refunded our money.

Heronvale















Not sure if these were won by drron

 

[RB]

Whitsunday Sands Resort
We ended up at the Whitsunday Sands Resort- pretty good value for the room we could get at that stage as most places in Bowen were showing no/very limited vacancies. Not without it’s problems with very noisy plumbing when adjoining rooms had showers, yet no problems with voices carrying. Only a couple of minutes walk to the Cove Asian restaurant for takeaway & also similar to the Cafe at Horseshoe Bay. Many different styles of rooms & located in various clusters and significant differences in prices



View from front deck of room-kids pool & there was an adjoining larger pool

 

[RB]

Around Bowen
Bowen, QLD - Aussie Towns

A very pleasant surprise was Blowin Bowen. With a population of around 10,000, Bowen is a small country town, with a number of historic buildings dating from 1861 when Bowen was the first port to be established in North Queensland.
Other attractions include Mullers Lagoon (a 23.5hectare park featuring a lagoon which attracts a huge amount of birdlife), a number of excellent, shoreline walking tracks and no less than five lookouts, with the one on top of Flagstaff Hill offering 360 degree views of the town, coastline and islands.
We spent our time walking/hiking, driving around the lookouts & beaches and again enjoying some slow time.





All within an easy 5 min walk of our room






Different wing of the hotel

 

[RB]

An excellent trail left a couple of minutes walk from our room





Get the heart started first up




Our room is over on the far right mid view

 

[RB]

Back at sea level, the circuit runs beside the road









The finish of our loop- an excellent hike

 

[craven morehead]

Around Bowen
Bowen, QLD - Aussie Towns

A very pleasant surprise was Blowin Bowen. With a population of around 10,000, Bowen is a small country town, with a number of historic buildings dating from 1861 when Bowen was the first port to be established in North Queensland.
Other attractions include Mullers Lagoon (a 23.5hectare park featuring a lagoon which attracts a huge amount of birdlife), a number of excellent, shoreline walking tracks and no less than five lookouts, with the one on top of Flagstaff Hill offering 360 degree views of the town, coastline and islands.
We spent our time walking/hiking, driving around the lookouts & beaches and again enjoying some slow time.

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All within an easy 5 min walk of our room
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Different wing of the hotel
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Had a great feed at the Grand View last September

 

[RB]

The food was good- Cove Chinese was excellent, pies from Jochheims lived up to the reputation and the king prawns at Arabon Seafoods were top knotch. While the Mullers Lagoon was a great concept, the birdlife at the time we were there was pretty quiet and seemed dominated by bin chickens, waterhens and seagulls. The outlook from Flagstaff Hill was exceptional ( the interpretative centre seemed to have died). The sunset views at Horseshoe Bay are great but we made no effort to catch the sunrise.









Mullers Lagoon-Frangipani Grove, would be impressive in season







Salt flats Salty but sweet: North Queensland saltworks finally up and running - ABC News





Flagstaff Hill