1770 After one extra night in Bundy to settle the battery, we set off for the town of 1770. This town was so called as it was the first spot in Queensland where Captain Cook set foot on land, in May 1770. Just before we left Bundy, we heard from our friends Faye and John that they were in Queensland, and wanted to catch up with us. When I mentioned where we were planning to go, John said this was one of his "must do" places he really wanted to see, so they would...

The Spirit of Australia Hervey Bay had a market on the Sunday morning, but it was really not very impressive. So we quickly moved on to Bundaberg. You could tell we were getting close to Bundaberg from the number of sugar cane fields along the highway. On the way we passed through Childers, which is a small historic town (not another one,) also involved in the sugar industry. It had some sculptures depicting its history. Bundaberg's main claim to fame, obviousl...

Hervey Bay We were planning to stay a few days in Rainbow Beach and soak up the sun and sea, but it rained all night and the morning broke dark and overcast. Without the beach, there really was not much else to do, so we moved on. The next port of call was to be Hervey Bay, but to get there we had to pass through Maryborough. Maryborough used to be the second biggest port after Sydney, and was a thriving hub. There are many historical buildings in town, and one...

Time and Tide Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, and apparently has been building up over hundreds of thousands of years. It has no rock, and no soil. Apparently it started as a large sand bank, which grew some grasses that decomposed enough to allow some larger plants to grow. Then there were layers of sand, followed by more layers of plant material. This went on over and over until it became a large island of over 100 kms long and 20 kms wi...

Dolphin and Rainbow Magic - No, I'm not going all New Age. As we were informed in Gympie, the main tourist things in this area are Tin Can Bay, Rainbow Beach, and especially Fraser Island, which is accessed via a ferry from Rainbow Beach. Tin Can Bay is on a stretch of water called the Great Sandy Straits, which opens to the sea between Rainbow Beach and the south end of Fraser Island, where the ferry goes. Fraser Island then goes on about a hundred k's further...