Queensland Roadtrip – Days 62-65 – Born To Travel Australia

Bundaberg to Caloundra

Our next stopping point was going to be Golden Beach in Caloundra. The trip south started smoothly.

Love the old buildings in Childers.

Lots of roadworks after that until we passed the turn off to Hervey Bay.

We stopped in Gympie for cheap fuel. After paying about $2.35 per litre of diesel for about a month we purchased it for $2.06!

Eventually started to see signs for turn offs to various parts of the Sunshine Coast. Within twenty minutes we were there.

Distance travelled – 289 kms

Golden Beach

We booked in to Golden Beach Caravan Park. It was tricky to back in the caravan at first but another guy came out and guided me in a bit. Once we were set up we ate lunch. Next we drove back down to Woolworths to stock up on food for the next few days. Towards the end of the afternoon we took a walk along the foreshore trail. We could see past the northerly sand bar of Bribie island.

As we walked along a ship came into view further out.

After a while the path became a boardwalk

through an area that was well signposted telling walkers what plants had been planted. There were lots of mangroves

and some Melaleucas (paperbarks) that handle wet salty conditions.

Our walk ended with a roundabout trip to the local shopping precinct which had a large number of cafes. The next morning we walked down to one and had a hot chocolate and a croissant to kick off the day.

Our morning walk saw us continue along the Mangrove boardwalk and further south, after having a good read of the information boards.

The tide was well out.

The local RSL Club had a colourful mural on the back of their building.

Even though it was sunny the temperature wasn’t hot.

We kept moving and came to where a canal entered the sea just as a boat motored through.

At this point we turned back as we would be driving this way to have lunch with friends who were staying in Maroochydore. Back at the caravan we changed ready to go out to lunch. The drive from the caravan park to Pelican Waters pub wasn’t very long, just a few minutes. We met our friends in the carpark and soon had a table outside on the balcony overlooking a canal. It was quite cool, even in the sun, but Mel was allowed outside on the balcony but not inside.

From the balcony we had a lovely view of the canals and the impressive houses built in the area.

After an enjoyable lunch and chat we farewelled our friends, having arranged to catch up the next day for a walk. However Mel needed another walk so after returning our car to the caravan park we set off in the opposite direction along the foreshore trail to that we had been so far. It was a peaceful walk, although quite cool as the sun was beginning to set.

Along the way we spotted these two pelicans gliding along the water.

We also spotted some more murals in a picnic shelter. The detail was very impressive. Apparently all the birds can be seen in this area.

The next morning, as arranged, we drove up and met our friends and took a short walk along the beach at Maroochydore.

The finishing point was at their campsite at the Cotton Tree Holiday Park, a caravan park we had stayed at in 2019 on a previous trip. The kettle was soon boiled and we sat for a cuppa and a chat. They were in a lovely spot just near the Maroochy River.

As time went by we decided to eat lunch at the nearby Alexandra Heads pub. We found a sunny spot on an outside table and enjoyed another nice meal and chat.

Lunch finished we said our goodbyes and drove back to our caravan park. We had arranged to meet some other friends, who live at Twin Waters for afternoon tea and a chat. They had an appointment in Golden Beach so it worked out well. Back in 2015 we had travelled around the Loire valley in France for a few days and had since kept in touch. It was great to catch up and share stories of recent trips we each had done and our plans for future overseas trips in 2023. They headed off as the daylight was fading so we had time for a quick walk with Mel along the foreshore trail at Golden Beach, just as the sun was setting.