Days 40 and 41 Rockhampton to Bargara Beach near Bundaberg

Hello everyone,

Yesterday we drove down from Rockhampton to Bargara Beach which is on the coast just east of Bundaberg.  It was another easy driving trip pulling the caravan.  Because it was Sunday, we encountered very few trucks.  The road conditions were again good although we came across numerous roadwork sites.  Again because it was Sunday, they were not working but we had to travel some longish sections, at least one of them several kilometres long, where the speed limit was reduced to 60  kph.

Our GPS took us off the highway at Miriam Vale with 160 kms to go.  Undoubtedly this was done because it was faster and/or shorter, but the road was very ordinary indeed, very narrow and bumpy.  It was only when we got into the cane country around Bundaberg that is improved somewhat.  On reflection, we may have been better off staying on the Bruce Highway until Gin Gin.  But, on the other hand, we may have been slowed down by even more roadworks.  Who knows.

 Bargara Beach is a very good destination.  The beach itself is not all that good as Australian beaches go.  Not very long and with hardpacked sand between hugh sections of black boulders.  The sand is entirely covered at high tide.  On the other hand, we are now at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef and we are now seeing some surf, not a lot but some and it is big enough to ride, on the incoming tide anyway.  The town of Bargara is very attractive, some great housing, especially along the beach front and with a very enticing cafe and restaurant strip near the beach. We spent a very pleasant afternoon there today, sitting in the shade on the footpath enjoying some very good coffee before walking back along the esplanade to the caravan park.

The caravan park is very big, quite basic, and with a mix of slab and grass sites with the majority being grass sites.  They are also  very close together and not all that easy to get into.  On the other hand, the occupants are a very friendly bunch people our age, who are more than happy to stop and have a chat.  Would you believe that we have already met two couples who live in Chifley.  Well, they live in Chifley for 7 months of the year.  The rest of the time they live here in their caravans.

We had a bit of a misfortune with our caravan awning when we were packing up at Rockhampton.  We hadn't stowed one of the folding arms properly. We heard something crack when we rolled it up and when got here we couldn't roll it down.  So we are now waiting for someone to come this evening to see if he could fix it.  We took  the problem to the Jayco dealer in Bundaberg but he just didn't want to know and was singularly unhelpful.  Apparently, he is like this with everyone.  Another would be, but will not be, customer who is a long-term traveller, reckons that this would have to the worst dealership in Australia.

Lastly, the weather.  Yesterday and today were both pleasant with temperatures in the mid-twenties although today was rather more cloudy.  However, last night was cold, too cold to sit outside and we were very tempted to turn on the heater.

Bargara Beach

Bargara Beach

Caravan Park