Yepoon

We were excited but a little bewildered to be leaving Mackay.  It was meant to be the destination for our next work stop, but seeing there was no work for Marty we decided we would go down to the Sunshine Coast to see Boof, Nik and Ella for Chrissy and try our luck for work there.  

It was a nice 4 hour drive down from Mackay to Yepoon.  We had heard from a lot of travellers that this place was a little ripper and had to be experienced.  As we headed down towards Rockhamptom once more, seems like we've driven this Bruce Highway so many times now, we went past the familiar "Are we there yet" signs, which still made us all chuckle.

Pretty straight to the point hey....

Infamous "Are we there yet" signs begin as
we get closer to Rocky...

1

We arrived at Yepoon in mid afternoon and had booked a waterfront beach site at the council run Beachside Caravan Park, but when we got there it was found that the site was too short for our van.  Luckily they still had a vacancy that we could go on but it was right on the roadside of the park.  Still, we had plenty of room to stretch out and hopefully the traffic noise won't give us too much trouble.  The price per night at the park was a bit hefty l thought for a council run park, but this was a popular beach side town l suppose.  It cost us $44 per night and we ended up staying for three nights.  Was great to be back by the ocean again, always lovely listening to the rolling waves, however, it was being drowned out by the noise of cars driving past!

Camp site for the next 3 nights....

After we set up we chilled out and had dinner then we took a stroll down on the beach at sunset.  Was a little windy and chilly but it seemed the place to be as many had the same ideas as us.  Up the beach a bit we came upon a (thankfully) dead sea snake.  I had never seen one up close like this before and they look a little different to the ones we have encountered on land previous with a flat tale, which l presume aids in their swimming ability.  Even though it was dead, l didn't get too close, still hate the buggers, dead or alive!

Beautiful Boo....

Sea snake....dead snakes a good snake l still say!

Boo's such a poser!

Girls had a great time searching in the rock pools for creatures!

Time to head back, another day gone on our adventures....

The following day we took a drive up the northern coast to check things out.  We headed up to Emu Park, a beautiful little seaside town in which after driving around reckon if we are ever around the area again we would probably stay here rather than Yepoon.  We went up to check out the Singing Ship monument in town, was really brilliant how the wind made the hill come alive with music from the monument. Here was the land area first discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770 and the lookout also overlooks the islands of Keppel Bay, including the Great Keppel Island in the distance.  After having a quick sqizz round we made our way to Bluff Point at Roslyn where we went and hiked up the summit track to the Meg's disgust.  She pretty much whinged, as usual, all the way. We have all learnt to ignore her now and know that she will just catch up to us if she falls behind.  The view from the top was glorious, overlooking all the bays around.  The walk up wasn't too strenuous and thankfully was shaded for a lot of it.  Everyone loved the downhill walk rather than the winding one up to the summit!!

Boo's at a fabulous age to take in the the history of places now.

Singing Ship monument....quite loud!

View of the surrounding islands around Keppel Bay....

Old small aquarium the town used to have running, pretty cool
to find this in the middle of nowhere!

Not the biggest walk we've done but still a goodie!

Girls not too enthusiastic!

Great green canopy shading our path...

View of the bay below along our walking track!

Bloody got the fright of my life when l saw this up close....

Back to less frightening views....so beautiful!

Finally u/p the top of the summit and the girls have some fun!

Love this pic.....innocence and beauty!

Nice people at the top offered to take a family pic for us...

Even did some silly ones!

Panoramic view from the top of the Summit....

Probably a weed but looks great in this pic!

Yet another spider!!!

Green ant nest....

Keppel Bay township in the distance....

After our morning out we headed back to Yepoon where we hung out and relaxed.  The girls had fun lazing on the picnic blanket reading and playing, later loving dressing up as little Indians and doing a dance.  Their creative play is so wonderful to watch, they definitely know how to amuse themselves (when they want to!).  I headed out for a walk around town, still unable to run due to my hip problem, l still manage to get out and clock some k's out on the footpaths.  It was great to get out and explore the town by foot, bloody windy along the breezeway into town though.

Outdoor quiet time!

Views from my walk into Yepoon...

Told you it was windy...when kite surfers are present their
is always wind!!!

When l got home from my walk l found the girls in their Indian costumes!

We are loving our homemade pizza's at the moment!

The next morning we set off to check out the town market, which when we got their looked like it was shut.  Instead we found a pretty much non-existent market with a few cheap type stalls.  Really nothing to get out of bed for that's for sure!  When we got back to the caravan park the girls and l took to the beach for the morning, Marty not interested in coming down for a swim.  The girls and l had a great few hours getting the boogy boards out, building sand castles and also managing to chill out under the shade of a tree and read a book.  Love these relaxing times on the beach....

How spectacular is this shot??? Bird in flight!

Found this little guy on the way down getting
some shade....

Huge crab mounds....

Girls ready for some beach fun with mum!

Great morning out with my two spunky girls....

Later that afternoon l suggested to Marty we get out and about again and head to Byfield National Park for a look.  Our mates, the Hambrook's, had raved about this place so best see it for ourselves l reckon.  On entering the park the road in was fine but then it became quite sandy and boggy, Marty wasn't really happy with risking the Patrols health until we get the car totally checked out.  We had been having a few suspension issues since doing the Gibb River Road in WA, poor patrol was shaken to bits and is well overdue for a overhaul.  So we turned around, and stopped off at a waterhole within the national park for a cool off.  The water was freezing, but that didn't perturb the girls from getting in for a dip.  Was quite the popular place for a swim with a few aboriginal mob taking a dip.

Small water crossing Marty even not sure about...

Meg's in straight away...

...Boo's not so sure!

Bit cold l think!

Had some fun with the camera while
we waited for the girls to cool off...

Fun times....

Just floating around!

Our three nights in Yepoon went quick but was worth the visit.  Would have seen a bit more if the Patrol was in better condition but still, reckon we got a good look at the surrounding areas.  We enjoyed some relaxation on the beach, checking out some local history and as always, had fun with each other along the way.  Since Mission Beach Marty has taken up riding his bike so we have been in competition with one another with distance and speed.  We took many long rides out of town and back, think Marty is in the lead still.  Hope he keeps up with it, finally has found his exercise of choice.  Would be great if we had minders for the kids so we could take a competitive ride together by ourselves once in a while though...... Time to head off again, next stop Agnes Waters. 

Bell Xxx