Agnes and 1770

A relocation to the northern side of Deepwater N.P. brought us to the 2 small towns of Agnes Waters and 1770.  Cool fact...1770 is the only place on earth with a number as it’s name. Capt. Cook stopped in the river here on his voyage in 1770. I expected an historic feel but the towns actually lacked a visible record of their journey, there were no old beach houses dotted around, everything was just too modern, and plenty of new housing still going up.

The weather was grim when we arrived but we managed to have a quick drive around to get our bearings. The rain set in and we had only 2 sunny days out of 6. With very wet and windy days we spent 2 days in the van, had one day on the headland at 1770, then 2 more days in the van, then one full day to do 3 other walks. We had a great walk into town with our raincoats on to break the day, and lovely fish and chips at the river between showers. We actually didn’t feel cooped up or bored, probably because we have hardly had to spend time in doors, we have been blessed with excellent great weather.

 Our second set of solar panels (we have a fixed set on the roof) ensured we had plenty of solar on the rainy dull days. We loved our view and space at our very rustic campground 2km out of town,  but were very exposed on the hillside.. and had trouble making it feel cosy and homely.  Our plan was to stay at Workman’s Beach camp ground but it is still closed.

The headland walks we did at 1770

Views both sides

 The river, definitely prettier with the tide in

Butterfly rainforest half way along the trail

Awesome lonely mangrove, we don’t know how it survives

Agnes Waters headland walk .... view from lookout, also did Workman’s and Springs beach trails

Back towards Agnes main beach and 1770 headland


Too choppy to fish or swim

A big favourite was the 400m circuit walk through the Paper Bark forest....the filtered sunlight made it feel enchanted

Glad we left it for a sunny day




Beautifully cooked steak and roast veg on our Baby Q Weber BBQ....thanks Derek

And finally our bird of the week a magpie nesting on top of a sporting club house at Miriam Vale........seriously?

Deepwater Dreaming

We spent the second half of the week an hours drive further north through cane farms to a camp ground next door to Deepwater NP at Deepwater Dreaming. It sounded very relaxing, and we weren’t disappointed. We were camped 800m from the beach so had lots of walking to do, (or could drive down a 4WD track to the beach) also we backed onto a rainforest which was also fun to explore.

There are tons of liked minded travellers about now, and we are finding caravan parks look very full, but as we prefer wide open spaces we don’t mind being a short drive or walk to the beach, and it doesn’t matter that there are no facilities we are handling being off grid well. We did have water here.

The causeway over Deepwater Creek....pristine freshwater, it would easily flood the road

Our beach

We had a day in the NP at Wreck Rocks, walks were interesting but fishing was lousy...just a few bites, it was suppose to be a fishing hot spot

And a day exploring and fishing down at Rules Beach and Baffle Creek...we caught 6 fish all too small

An estuary cod...our first...he got a second chance


We spend a lot of time walking and reading and I probably spend too much time watching the forest for birds, but saw quite a few Kingfishers and black cockatoos plus a scarlet honeyeater for the first time.  It is amazing how many pretty birds there are in Qld.. AND along with lots of Kangaroos we had 2 emus, and a huge Macadamia nut plantation on one side.

Burrum to Burnett

A short trip to drop in on dear friends of ours who have recently been living in Europe for a few years gave us the chance to visit this amazing section of the Fraser coast.  We stayed on the beach front at Burnett Heads, explored Mon Repos the turtle breeding beach, touristy Bagara and peaceful Elliott Heads.

Burnett Heads camping spot

Our glorious sunsets from our caravan 

Lighthouse and breakwater


Pale Headed Rosella, our bird of the week, found on our walk out to the lighthouse and breakwater

Mon Repos is famous for its Turtle hatchery, and we took the time to do the Turtle Track and explore this conservation area which included a bush walk, and secluded beach track

Mon Repos is a french name, “my rest” named by the French when an underwater telegraph station linked North America and Australia via New Caledonia in the 1880s.

Elliott Heads 

Cairns here we come

We have skirted around Brisbane, we still miss our family and friends, but as life is getting back to a more sustainable norm for most and people are out and about more, we thought it prudent to get on our way to Cairns in Nth Qld.  But, this time we have 4 months to get there in time for her 3rd birthday “date” with Ayla.

We have never had the opportunity to travel the Qld coast this slowly, and we want to discover out of the way places that will be less crowded, as our fellow travellers from NSW and parts of Victoria all head across the border into Qld this weekend.  Hopefully we have a head start.......

BURRUM HEADS, TOOLOOM & HERVEY BAY in the Fraser Coast region

10 nights at this great camp spot Trinity Islands on private property backing onto the Burrum River, less than 10 minutes from town, fabulous warm days in mid 20s, nights not cold, great spot for exploring the little fishing villages, great walks, beaches, tonns of Rainbow lorikeets, beautiful sunsets, but not so lucky fishing.

8 weeks in lockdown in a National Park has given us a preference to being “off grid”, as we are fully self contained.

Our “bird of the week” is the Rainbow Lorikeet, found in numerous numbers in each coastal town

Hervey Bay pier, our lake and Tooloom

Burrum Heads


On the river at the back of our camp.

Tooloom, when the tide is out it is ALL the way out