Capricorn

Monday 23 April, Coolum Beach


In the morning we drove up to Noosa Heads, one of the main tourist centres of the Sunshine Coast, with popular surf beaches around the headland. We took a walk in the Palm Grove and along the Coastal Walk, watched the surfers. We walked around the city, saw lots of elegant shops without many shoppers, went up to a lookout, then drove along the lagoon.

Surfers waiting for the right wave at Noosa Heads
A jó hullámra várnak a szörfölők Noosa Head-nél

At noon we met Jodi's parents (Jodi is the partner of our son), who live in the next place to the South of Noosa Heads, Weyba Downs  - or Peregian Beach according to the new official nomenclature, which sounds much more like the Sunshine Coast. Whatever the name, their house and garden looks down to Lake Weyba, a wonderful quiet, peaceful place, and only 3 kms by bike from the beach. We had a lovely lunch with Sue and Peter and their friend Carol, and a nice walk around the garden and to the lake. 

Lunch with Sue, Peter and Carol on the verandah
Ebéd Jodi szüleivel

This was enough activity for a day, we went back to the caravan park and allowed ourselves a free afternoon and evening. I even had a dip in the ocean, but the surf was very strong, did not dare to go further than knee-deep in. The weather was nice and hot, but very humid.


Tuesday 24 April, Town of 1770


This was a travelling day, we drove about 400 km up North. Sugar-cane fields dominated the landscape all day. We stopped in Childers for a little walk around the historic city centre, had lunch and a bit of rest. In the afternoon we went through Bundaberg, the "rum capital" of Australia, but did not stop. By 5 pm we arrived at the Town of 1770 and made camp at an "absolute beachfront" campground recommended by our daughter - it was a good choice, a very nice place. The weather was again very nice, warm but not too hot, and less humid than the day before.

Historic streetscape in Childers
Childers utcakép

Wednesday-Thursday 25-26 April, Town of 1770


This place was so nice, we decided to stay for 2 more days. The "town" got its name from a historical event: on 24 May 1770 lieutenant James Cook landed at this place. Surprisingly, there is no historic township, no old houses, only a few modern holiday houses, a few caravan parks, eateries and a small shopping centre at the nearby Agnes Water. There is also a secluded bay and little port, and a nice, very well maintained park along the beach. The only historical monument is the Cook memorial with a plaque remembering the big event.  

The Cook memorial

We enjoyed doing very little for a few days, morning and evening walks along the beach, a few swims in the calm and warm water of the bay, relaxing, cooking and reading. 

Dinner preparations at the beach
Készül a vacsora a szabadban

Unfortunately the weather has changed by the last day, it was cloudy and much cooler but still much better than in Sydney...


Friday 27 April, Rockhampton


Today we continued our trip North, but only a short jump, about 200 km. On the way we stopped at Calliope River historic village. This is like a skanzen, a number of old houses and buildings, furniture, tools, etc. collected and transferred from the region and presented to the public. There is a railway station with old carriages, a railway museum, with lots of old tools, signs and equipment, a hotel, church, school and fire station. We spent almost 2 hours going through most of the buildings and sites.

Old farmhouse in Calliope River histroic village
Régi farmház Callioe River skanzen-ben

We stopped for the evening in Rockhampton at the Riverside Caravan park, at the Fitzroy river, just across the city centre. We went to the city for a walk to check out any changes since 1991 when we first came through here on our way up to Cairns. The same nice old buildings - the Post Office and the Customs House - are still here, but the pedestrian mall was handed back to car traffic and parking. 

The Customs House in Rockhampton
A Vámház Rockhampton-ban

Our caravan seems to work very well, it is comfortable and we feel very much at home in it. In the evenings so far we always had good internet connection, which is good on one hand, as we could keep in touch with our family by email and skype, but it also meant that we did not have much time for anything else. We brought a lot of recorded films and documentaries (thanks to Sebastian...), but so far we have not touched it. 


Tomorrow we continue to the North, across the Tropic of Capricorn.


See our itinerary on the Google Map at the following link:
http://g.co/maps/wcwv8


Ezen a héten két napot a Sunshine Coast-on, hármat az 1770 nevű kis településen töltöttünk pihenéssel és kikapcsolódással, közben meg tovább utaztunk észak felé és ma elértük a Baktérítőt Rockhampton városban. Noosa mellett meglátogattuk Marci partnerének, Jodi-nak a szüleit akiket még nem ismertünk. Útközben megálltunk több kisebb városkában (Childers, Calliope River), ahol itt már történelmi érdekességnek számító százéves épületeket láttunk.
Továbbra is nagyon élvezzük a lakókocsinkat, minden nagyon jól működik, kényelmes és minden igényünket kielégít. Az utazás, létfenntartás és kapcsolat-tartás (internet, email, skype...) teljesen kitölti a napjainkat, alig marad időnk olvasni, film-nézésről nem is beszélve.      
Az útvonalunk a következő Google Map-on látható:
http://g.co/maps/wcwv8