Blue Dolphin Marine Tours - Hervey Bay

Whale Watching

August 12th 2021 

Hervey Bay

Blue Dolhin Marine Tours 

Cost: $1700 pp

Full Day - 7:30am - 4:00pm

Rating: 5/5

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Travelling with: Fiona, Steve and Melinda, Jacinta and John, Tony and Tina, Scott and Courtney + the 3 munchkins, Maddie and Josh, Cameron and Angie

It was an amazing day whale watching. We saw a large number of mother whales with their calves, who were active throughout the day. It wasn't exactly a mugging, but it was very close.

Chevallan Archery Park - Gympie

 August 27th - 29th  - our 2nd vsit in 2 weeks

Hervey Bay to Gympir 116km
Accommodation: Chevallan Archery Park
Our Rating: 5/5
Cost: $25.00 Pn Unpowered Site
Camp Fires: Allowed
Image Gallery for: Chevallan Archery Park

Travelling with: Fiona Ellis, Dave Sarah Rodwell

The accommodation

Chevallan Archery Park is located 18 km east of Gympie at Wilsons Pocket, the property is 30 acres in total area with 750 meters of Tinana Creek frontage on two boundaries. The property is mostly flat with a gentle slope to the rear and creek area. It is all mowed and landscaped and provides a perfect location for camping with easy access to all the local attractions in Gympie, the Cooloola Coast and the Sunshine Coast regions.

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Our 2nd visit in as many weeks, and still not dissappointed at all.

We all arrived just on dusk on the Friday, Fiona and us from Hervey Bay,and the Rodwells from Brisbane.

A Quick set up, crank the fire up, crack open a drink, put some dinner on, and than a night of non stop laughter and stories. Its been a while since we have had the last ctach up, and the 3 of us had done our western trip, so plenty of stores to be told, Next thing we hear Kat saying its 11pm Im going to bed, and next thing it was just Dave and I left, and Midnight turned up, and I had t go....

Saturday morning, started with a Bacon and Egg Flan, 1st time Kat and done this, and if she says we having it again, I will not complain.

SO after breakfast, we wandered up to the ofice and met up with Garry, to pay for the weekend, and to arrange our Bows and Arrows, he mmet us down at the archery range to give tio give Fiona and the Rodweels some lesson, as Kat and I were experts from the last weekend...

Once again, this is just so much fun, shooting at these targets, Cats, Foxes, Deers, Straw bails.

After a hour of shotting we headed back up to camp, and than wandered off to Cooloola Berries for some lunch, not as busy here on a Saturday, as it was the previous Sunday, I think they are known for their paella Sunday sessions, and live music, If you havent been. this is another must do place.

Back up to camp after lunch, back into another sessions of Archery  until about 4pm and than wandered back to get dinner on,

Tonights dinner was a Lemon Chicken and a Sour Dough pull apart 

Folloed by Desert, which was a a 2 flaming marshmello between a Tim Tam and a Mint Slice, if you have not tried this, JUST DO IT....Sunday, we woke up to overcast and a wet morning, just a slight drizzel, which lasted until about 8:30am, before we could head on down to the arcgery field, for our final shoot.

Dave deceided we needed oranges to make this a little more interesting, late yesterday Dave took a onion down when he and Sarah went for a shoot by themselves, Sarah, came back with the winning shot, i think they used the onion for dinner.

So off we went for the Orange Arhcery Cahaalenge Championships. 2 oranges, in front of the fox.

Dave, Sarah Fiona and I were in the shoot out, Kat was resting.

We lined up the orages in front of the fox, and started shoting, I managed to score the first hit, dead centre in the middle, and I than scored the 2nd hit, just on the side of the orange, and than Fiona managed to score the third hit with a side penetration of  the orange. But we all realised that our shoooting was getting better, as we managed to get 20 arrows in the bail of hay around the fox, with out overshooting .

Serious amaounts of fun was had, Put this place on your bucket list

Chevallan Archery Park - Gympie

August 20th - 22nd  

Hervey Bay to Gympir 116km
Accommodation: Chevallan Archery Park
Our Rating: 5/5
Cost: $25.00 Pn Unpowered Site
Camp Fires: Allowed
Image Gallery for: Chevallan Archery Park

Travelling with: Jacinta Holt, John Bell, Fiona Ellis

The accommodation

Chevallan Archery Park is located 18 km east of Gympie at Wilsons Pocket, the property is 30 acres in total area with 750 meters of Tinana Creek frontage on two boundaries. The property is mostly flat with a gentle slope to the rear and creek area. It is all mowed and landscaped and provides a perfect location for camping with easy access to all the local attractions in Gympie, the Cooloola Coast and the Sunshine Coast regions.

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WOW WOW and WOW, what an amazing place, I have seen this place a lot when looing for somethiung new in the region, but for some reason have skipped on going there.

So we deceided to catch up with Jacinta and John, who Kat had not seen since Febuary this year, due to Lockdowns and Jacinta doing a 4 month posting in Vanautu, so we booked into here, Camp fires and Ddgs allowed so it ticked all the boxes for us.

Finished work at 3:00pm headed home hooked up the van, packed the last of the gear, and Kat was home just after 4pm, and we headed off to Chevallan Park, about 1 hour 30min drive, getting us there just on dark.

Pulled up and we were met by Gary, the host, and the smell of there dibnner drifting through the air, My wide says OHHH that smelles good, and Gary comment was my wine smells better,, We knew we were going to be in good hands, we could pick were ever we wanted to stay, Jacinta and John arrived shortly after us. Fire was oing Dinner was cooked, and the night just slowly disspaaerd in chatter and laughter, and some crazy deserts, Melted Marshmellows between Tim Tams and a Mint Slice... Was to die for.

A perfect night for sleeping, just the 2 blankets on, but we woke to this magnifcent sceneery covered in a layer of Fog. Started the morning off with getting the Camp fire raging, todays was goign to be a day of Camp Oven Cooking and Relaxing... 
Kat started the morning off with some of her hiome made scones, (Dont tell her i said this, but these were her best ever) , they went down ike a treat, and after a break she decided toremake the last batch of the day.... Love my Vegemite on a scone.....
Bloody lazy day, playing cards, tried to learn a new board game, back to cards, meanwhile the fire is raging, lol, we actually had to maove away it was that good.
Kat started preparing for tonights dinner "BEEF STEW"  with a "SAVORY DAMPER" , our mouths were watering all afternoon.

So while the Stew was on the fire we deceided to partake in some Archery, What an aboslute BLAST was this. I think i was in year 12 the last time i had done this, Kat says she never had done Archery, John and Jacinta both said in School, but that was just a few years back for them.......

So Gary gave some some in struction, and some workplace health and saftey issues. Once finised shooting, place bows on ground, and wait until everyones bows are on the ground before crossing the line to retrieve your arrows.
So we had some targets to aim for A Deer a Fox and a Cat, from large to small.   Off we went 5 arrows each, started with the Hay bails, and they were getting easier tohit, so them we started on the animals,  WOooooHooooo, KILL KILL  lol, and we did the poor deer end up losing its head .

Day 23 - Heading Home - 2021 Getaway

Sunday 8th August

Yarraman to Home  116 klm

Accommodation -  HOME 

Our Rating: 

Cost

Traveling with : Fiona Ellis 

"We've reached our final day of the trip - it's hard to believe that three weeks have passed so quickly. Today, we're travelling from Yarraman to Hervey Bay which is a 116km journey. On the way, we stopped at Goomeri to have lunch at Joe's Grand Hotel. During our previous trips, we were warned by a local that the pub was expensive but I found the prices to be very reasonable.

I ordered the Angus Beef & Bacon Cheeseburger which was served with a 180g Angus beef patty, local bacon rasher, double cheese, BBQ sauce, sweet bacon onion jam, American mustard and aioli on a warm Goomeri Bakery roll with chips and salad for $24.00. It was one of the best burgers I've ever had in Queensland! I regret not having my camera with me to show the size of the burger.

While most people visit Goomeri for the bakery, I think the pub is worth a visit for a meal."

Yarraman Caravan Park - Yarraman

August 6th - 8th

Jandowae to Yarraman  (116Km) 
Part 10 of our 2021Adventure

Hervey Bay to Yarraman 1813km
Accommodation Yarraman Caravan Park
Our Rating: 
Cost: $3200 per night Powered Grass Site
Camp Fires:  Allowed
Image Gallery for: Yarraman
Travelling with: Fiona Ellis

The accommodation

Yarraman Caravan Park & Cabins is a great base to stay while you take in the sights of the South Burnett and Northern Down regions, including the Bunya Mountains and Palms National Parks, forest walks and oof road expereinces, the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail, wineries, historic sites and the Great South East

After a relaxing night's sleep in the chilly 0-degree weather, we packed up our camp and headed to Yarraman. We chose to stay at this location because we wanted to have a campfire, and couldn't find any closer places to Narangba that allowed them.

We were advised to take the road leading towards Kingaroy, which would take us through the Coopers Gap Wind Farm. This wind farm consists of approximately 125 wind turbines and has a capacity of 453 MW, producing around 1,510,000 MWh of renewable energy. This is enough to power around 264,000 average Australian homes.

The Coopers Gap Wind Farm is situated 250 km northwest of Brisbane near Cooranga North, between Dalby and Kingaroy. The land on which the site is located is mainly used for cattle grazing and other farming activities. It was surprising to discover that we lived so close to this site yet were unaware of its existence.

Wind Farms

We came to Yarraman with the intention of visiting the Narangba markets, but upon our arrival, we were informed that the markets had been closed due to COVID-19. We then considered going down to Blackbutt for a bike trail, but the lady at the caravan park advised against it, as it was in the lockdown zone. We quickly set up camp and explored Yarraman, checking out the Head of the Rail trail and the old Yarraman station. We were told about a 4WD track through Pidna State Forest, but it led us nowhere, and we eventually reached a locked gate just 20m from the highway. We did a quick nine-point turn and headed to Yarraman State Forest, where we explored a track by foot, which led us to the car park. We then did some 4x4 around the state park, encountering some steep hill climbs and a rutted-out climb that Kat struggled with.

Yarraman Camp

Headed back to camp to set up for dinner and a camp fire, and to plan the Saturdays adventure...

Saturday 7th August

Today, we are planning to explore the Bunya Mountains. None of us have ever been there, so everything will be new and exciting for us. We started our journey from Yarraman, and our first stop was going to be Coomba Falls, located just outside Maidenwell. It was stunning, a true paradise. I could only imagine how amazing it would be for a swim in summer or after some rain.

Combo Falls

We stopped by at McCoys Cafe in Cooyar for a morning tea, where we were fortunate to meet Garry McCoy, an Australian former professional motorcycle racer. He is a legendary figure who has won races in the 125 cc and 500 cc World Championships, as well as in the Superbike World Championship. He is known for his unique oversteering style of riding, which earned him the nickname "The Slide King". Garry personally made us some delicious coffee and served us amazing food. If you're in the area, we definitely recommend stopping by McCoys Cafe.

Fiona & Gary McCoy

During our trip, we made a stop at Muntapa Railway Tunnel. This tunnel was constructed for an old railway branch line that used to run between Oakey and Cooyar from 1913 to 1964. It is the longest straight railway tunnel in Queensland at 287 meters long. It is also the only tunnel in Australia that connects two different water catchment areas, crossing between the inland and coastal sides of the Great Dividing Range. The tunnel was bored through for about 13 months, and the families of the workers lived on site at Muntapa during the construction. The government even established a school on site to provide education for their children, as most of them lived in tents.

Muntapa Railway

We drove up to the Bunya Mountains from the western side, through beautiful country. Suddenly, we reached the base of the range, where there were signs warning that the roads were not suitable for trucks and vans. Luckily, we had left ours behind. The climb was very steep, and the views back towards Dalby were amazing. The ranges rise very steeply from the surrounding plains, reaching up to 1100m above sea level.

Our first stop was Munros Camp, where we took a short walk to Carbines Cgute. The walk, which is about 2 km return, starts at Munro's Camp along the Bunya Mountains Road. It takes you to the top of one of the old logging chutes. Although there is nothing left of the chutes that were constructed to lower logs down to the valley, the location offers a nice view.

From there, we went across to Fishers Lookout. It is an amazing place to take in the breathtaking views of the Bunya Mountains, offering almost a 360-degree view. Our next stop was for lunch, which we had at Poppies on the Hill. It is located in Mowbullan, which is the hub of the Bunya Mountain. It felt like we were in the Alps of the Snowies, and I think in the middle of winter, it could snow.

We had been recommended to visit Poppies on the Hill by the lady at the Yarraman caravan park. She really gave us some great places to see and eat.

Bunya Mountains

We made our way back down to Yarraman despite the sign indicating that trucks and caravans were not allowed. However, some were parked in the free camp area in the middle of the town. Personally, I would prefer a cozy chalet up here during the winter season. 

VIdeo

Well this is it, our FINAL night of our trip.... 1 last fire, the final sleep in the van, and 1 more shower in our lil van, before we get home.........