11/11/17 Big wind came and blew it all away

 Leaving Lake Monduran , we headed out to Bargara for a few days - we are still here .
Played golf on Saturday last week , but the heat & humidity got to me a bit and wasn't the best game . After having a relaxing Sunday , cycling here & there for some exercise , and basically just relaxing , we decided to recoat the dining table . A trip to Bunnings in Bundaberg and a few necessary purchases , we headed back to the beach . Here's a couple of photo's of the bike track near sunset .

  Another side story - we got a bullseye stone chip in the windscreen when we went up to Cape York , it decided to crack in a couple of directions - one straight across the line of vision of the driver , so it's time for a new windscreen . We found Bundy Windscreens and went to check in - Tuesday 8am it is !
  Tuesday dawns so I'm off into town for the windscreen , arrived at 7:55 and was back on the road again at 9:15 , how good was that !! Back to the van to play with the table again and spend some time on books and puzzles . That afternoon a front was coming through , promising thunderstorms , rain & lightning . It started off with some very light rain , then lightning & thunder , then some more heavy rain . It was predicted to get windy , but the forecast direction was on the opposite side to our door and awning , so we left it out , it was tied down as well . Next thing we knew there was an enormous wind gust , the van shook , the awning started to flap , bit's of trees flying around everywhere and torrential rain !! I had thoughts of going out to untie the awning but that was never going to happen , it was far too dangerous outside !! Next thing , the awning was bouncing , there was a loud bang as it bounced around and the roller hit the edge of the roof above the door , ropes were loose or lying on the ground . The rain finally let up letting us go out to check the damage .

 The awning was totalled  awning was ripped for about 1.5m this end and pulled out of the track at the top of the far end for about 500mm . An aluminium arm had snapped to allow this to happen . After surveying the damage and taking some photo's for insurance purposes I cut the remaining awning off and removed the arms from the van . Meanwhile the rest of the park looked like someone had gone berserk with a chainsaw trimming branches from every tree , water was lying around , some vans had water views , some had water lapping at their steps .

 It took park staff 2 days to clean up all the tree debris and tidy up . Bundaberg was hit with a one in ten year storm , trees were ripped down , and had 14,000 people without power for the night and next day - funnily enough we still had power and never lost it , others in Bargara had no power till Wednesday night !!
 Fortunately for us , the park has skip bins so we could throw all the bits and pieces of awning into them . The roller is 18 feet long though , so we needed to borrow a hacksaw to cut it up - I asked the park staff if I could borrow one , they arrived on site with an angle grinder and proceeded to cut it up for me as well !!
  A few phone calls and the insurance claim was underway , just have to wait for approval and the replacement to be fitted , and we are good as gold again .
 The wind has stayed for the rest of the week , with constant 30klm hr winds gusting up to 50-60 , so not a lot of anything else has been done . Golf today in the wind was going to be interesting , but I managed to play to my handicap with 36 points .
 That's it up to date , Cheers

4/11/17 Down the lake

 Leaving Emu Park , we headed south making our way toward Hervey Bay at the end of the month . Stopping at Miriam Vale we bought some extremely nice mango's from the local supermarket . Lunch & a little walk around done , we headed off down the wonderful Bruce Hwy to Lake Monduran .
  Arriving early afternoon , we set up and had a relaxed afternoon . Happy hour rolled around so we chatted to 2 couples set up near us - there weren't too many here - nice and peaceful . During conversations we learned that one couple , Rick and Vicki , knew Garry & Linda - our friends in Rockhampton - small world !!
 Checking the dam wall & spillway out , we found approx 300mm of water flowing out of the dam meaning there is a lot of water flowing in 2 weeks after the big rain . The stains on the spillway wall give an indication of how much water was flowing out at the peak of the flood - around 3m deep - that's a lot of water !!

 The brown & orange stain shows on the rocks further down as well .

  The kayak came off the roof and hit the water , there was also visual evidence of the water levels in places along the way .

 This lake is quite large and goes back about 40klms to the north , with arms stretching out to the east & west . At the moment there are many islands , but as the water subsides the islands will join back up to land areas .

We paddled about 2 klms then turned to the left into one of the areas that covers about 500 acres . We chased the shade as the sun was starting to bare down us - you could fell yourself starting to bake . There is a nice little spot we found , had a log we could sit on , bottlebrush trees lining the bank and hundreds of birds flitting around the trees - made for a really nice lunch spot .

 The lake is a very popular spot for fishermen / women , with many boats zooming all over the place . You can hire small boats here as well as houseboats - would be a nice relaxing holiday on the water .
 Here is some of the scenery as we saw it .

  That's us for the moment , here's a map link :- oops Google not willing to let me do a map tonight , so no map , Sorry !!

1/11/17 Emu's in the rear vision

 Well here we are again , we've left Emu Park and headed down the wonderful Bruce Hwy . But before we went , the drone came out for a fly early one morning , and we also headed out to Byfield .
 The singing ship is quite an attraction here , as the wind picks up , the tubes on the sail start to make music - they don't stop till the wind drops !! Here it is on the headland .

 The tide was out , so there's plenty of sand & rocks .

 The dark walkway you can see is part of the Anzac Memorial - quite a good one as well !!
 While the drone was buzzing around , I took a short video - came a bit close to some plants , rocks & the railing - the wide angle lens make it look closer than it actually was though hahaha .

   Heading off to Byfield , our 1st stop was Upper Stoney Creek - a picnic area on one side of the creek and camp site on the other . Here's the creek .

 The water here is this colour all year round , and was cool , but didn't stop anyone from going for a swim . Along the sides of the creek were some flowering shrubs and of course Lantana - but the flower looks great .

 Next stop was Red Rock campground , Stoney Creek also runs beside here , but also has crocodile signs up .

 Further up the road , we arrive at Byfield and go up to Raspberry Creek Homestead . It was a homestead located in what's now Shoalwater Bay - an Army training area . They used the homestead for accomodation for a while before donating it to Byfield Community , it's now being used as the Library & Community Centre .

 This Slab timber cottage was also on the farm originally - some of the slabs have been replaced .

 The gardens around the yard edges had a variety of flowers .

 Next on our drive was Waterpark Creek . This is one of the most picturesque places you will find , the rainforest just melts into the water and flows down the creek - beautiful !!

 We headed back in toward Yeppoon , stopping at Bangalee Beach - views back down the beach to Yeppoon .

  Back into Yeppoon and a look down the esplanade and beach . The council has done a lot of work along the esplanade , with a water park for kids , playgrounds , grassed areas and a stage & terraced seating .

  After all that , it was time for a beer , that's it for today , here's a map link :- https://drive.google.com/open?id=1dUYjRBDsAkQW6AA8ACS-slAiSQo&usp=sharing