8 June 2011 - Apple Tree Creek Rest Area, Childers, Queensland

Another charming spot to camp, albeit close to the Bruce Highway. When we arrived soon after three this afternoon, we were the third caravan in, by four thirty, there were thirteen. I am sure there are many more now, however we are now tucked up inside and the total number of campers tonight will have to remain a mystery.

Our sojourn at the Country Stopover passed without any untoward event. The washing this morning was no drier than it had been when we retired last night, so I decided to give the dryer in the laundry a try. It took my $2 happily then groaned for a while. I popped in to the ladies next door, then returned to find it had quietened down and stopped vibrating, so was apparently not working. The proprietor was duly fetched and he agreed it appeared to be dead, refunded my $2 and assured me that we did not need to be gone by the decreed departure time of ten. This would allow us to relax while nature finished drying the clothes. When I relayed this to Chris, it further confirmed to him that we should be gone from this camp that was so flawed, and becoming more frustrating by the hour. We did agree however that it had potential, and that if any enterprising developer could talk the current owners in to selling, there was infinite scope for improvement.

We returned to Maryborough to find the dump station described in our CMCA bible as being next to the airport. Helpfully there were GPS co-ordinates, unhelpfully the Tomtom took us into a dead end to nowhere just off the busy highway. Fortunately there was another available, back out on the Bruce Highway at the Showgrounds. This we duly found to be both in existence and an excellent facility. We returned once more to Maryborough, filled with diesel and picked up some plump unripe tomatoes at a street side stall, then headed north east toward Hervey Bay.

Our camp experience in Maryborough had perhaps coloured our reports of this charming town. This is absolutely unfair, because we would be very happy to call by here again, to walk through the streets adorned with their lovely heritage buildings and to actually site the statue of Mary Poppins which we somehow missed. The author of the stories of this nanny were written by Pamela Lyndon Travers who was born in Maryborough, and has been claimed by the town, even though she spent most of her life abroad. There is a Mary Poppins festival, and souvenirs galore, and to my surprise, a wonderful complete works of the stories. (I, probably like most, thought it was just a one off story as depicted in the Walt Disney movie, but this was just an adaptation of a veritable collection of tales.)

The marina at Hervey Bay

Hervey Bay is the large area of water between Maryborough and Bundaberg, that is sheltered on the eastern side by Fraser Island, the largest sand island in the world. It is also the name of the thriving city spread along its southern shore, which gathers together all the beach villages that are now no longer separated. Hervey Bay markets itself as the ultimate destination for whale watching and is absolutely oblivious to the fact that Kaikoura has already done that. And of course it enjoys a lovely climate as is evidenced by the profusion of hibiscus, palms and bougainvilleas.

We drove to the far western reaches of the city, parked near the marina and walked about a little before lunching. From there we travelled a short distance westward, pausing at the long 800 metre Urangan Pier. This was originally over 1200 metres long, but time and practicality has shortened it; it still makes for a pleasant walk to the end and back to watch and engage with the multitude of fisher folk who pass their hours there. We spent about twenty minutes with a young chap who had hooked a very big fish about half an hour before our arrival on his very pretty pink fishing rod. He assured us the rod belonged to his girlfriend. We never did see the fish because we were not willing to hang about for the landing. Hopefully he did manage to haul it in without the line breaking, however the odds were against him doing so.

We drove further westward along the Esplanade, marvelling at the fact that the entire coastline on the seaside of this road was reserved for recreational pursuits. While there are small shopping and café areas appearing from time to time, the extent of the bay is mainly unspoiled by commercialism. Having said that, we had noted as we had initially driven in, that every kind of service or shop did appear to be represented, just not polluting the seashore.

And so, quite impressed with Hervey Bay, despite having previously pre-judged it as likely to be another Gold Coast, we headed away, westwards, back toward the Bruce Highway.

Apple Tree Creek Rest Area

As we had travelled toward Maryborough we had seen expansive fields of sugar cane growing. Coming away from Hervey Bay we saw smaller crops such as pineapples being cultivated, scattered amongst smaller beef cattle farms and further sugar cane. We emerged on to the highway at Torbanlea, and headed north again. 

Our camp for the night, promoted in both bibles, the CMCA and Camps Australia Wide, lay a few kilometres north of Childers. We were surprised to see the extent of the sprawling Childers along the highway, busy with little space to stop and explore, however we didn’t need anything. The Apple Tree Creek Rest Area came into view soon after passing through this village, looking most inviting with trees, a memorial, a charming rotunda and the usual toilet facilities, but below the road suggesting that we were unlikely to get television or internet reception. 

We set up beside the rodeo ring, close to a secondary road and hastily hung the damp washing out in the late sun. Over coffee we consulted all our references as to what and where for tomorrow as we head into Bundaberg. In doing this exercise we found significant reference to Childers, the village we had rushed through without exploring.

Childers boasts a Historical Society Complex, a Pharmaceutical Museum, and a Military Museum that apparently displays the largest and most impressive collections of their kind in Australia. There is also reference to paying “tribute at the Palace Backpackers Memorial, featuring an amazing memorial wall full of poignant memories of the regions tragic past”. Is this the backpackers hostel that was burned down with a terrible loss of lives that was so well publicised? When was that? The years go so quickly; was it ten or twenty years ago? Or longer? Needless to say we will make a special effort to retrace our steps tomorrow morning and visit Childers before coming back this way and proceeding to Bundaberg.