Platypus, Beaches and Pies on the Whitsunday Coast

Next stop was Pinnacle to indulge in one of the well promoted pies-indeed a pretty good example of a plain mince pie.

1656996693099.png

1656996722127.png

1656996765954.png

We then drove to the Mackay Marina area. Certainly a large protected area & some impressive vessels but we didn’t have the need to see the shops/accommodation precinct. Drove back through the “old” CBD area & then sought out Dan Murphys & a Coles supermarket as we headed north to Cape Hillsborough.

1656997120411.png

1656997173308.png

1656997200231.png

1656997240005.png

1656997271478.png
 
Cape Hillsborough

Around 50km north of Mackay & an easy drive on the highway. We were spending a Fri & Sat night so it was relatively busy & the local show circuit was in full swing. The road into the park from the highway to the park is well maintained. We had a booking for a Beach Hut-what we expected structurally but certainly could do with a spring clean, a spruce up & some basic maintenance. Location is excellent with a 20 metre stumble leading you onto the beach. Very limited mobile coverage & web connection was very hit & miss but that wasn’t a priority. The caravan park has catering on Fri & sat nights alongside the basic shop. We enjoyed fish & chips one night & pizza on the other-both reasonable attempts & very reasonably priced.

1657069704127.png

1657069742618.png

1657069791750.png

1657069827282.png

1657069877187.png

Turn left
1657069919612.png

Turn Right
1657069974203.png
 
The Andrews Point Track- One of the better walks we have done
Difficult in spots with plenty of steps & some testing downhill turns. Low tide was around 8.30am so this allowed us to start with a walk along the beach to Wedge Island ( still very soft mud in parts) before starting the climb up to the various lookouts along the track. Certainly not crowded but a good number of walkers of various age groups. The views back to the island certainly promote the natural beauty of the area.

Beach & Wedge Island Section first for us, basically clockwise from leaving our cabin
1657070545664.png

1657070579438.png

1657070622357.png

1657070654774.png

1657070703184.png

1657070735078.png


Start of the climb
1657071077055.png

1657071504114.png

1657071565621.png

1657071605806.png
 
The Diversity Boardwalk-only a short drive from the caravan park. An accessible boardwalk for the first 300 metres or so that is more mangrove swamp. There are also sections of melaleuca woodland and open eucalyptus forest. All well set out & plenty of info boards.

1657072197415.png

1657072249163.png

1657072280243.png

1657072585805.png

1657072365715.png
 
We then drove to have a look at Ball Bay (basic quiet village with no facilities outside the basic campground), Halliday Bay (more attractive, golf course & adjoining campground although not sure of the cabins or the clubhouse) & Seaforth-larger centre, school, shops, food alcohol, bowling club & boating club. Had a great steak sandwich at the bowlo.

Halliday Bay
1657072982452.png

1657073023964.png

1657073048871.png

Golf Course-not many flat lies on the course
1657073074066.png

1657073107182.png

Ball Bay-certainly not crowded
1657073210984.png

1657073240016.png

Seaforth
1657073322354.png
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Cape Horseborough to Dingo Beach
Another easy drive mostly along the Bruce Highway. A Sunday and there were plenty of caravans and motorhomes on the move. We called at Proserpine for a few supplies for our Dingo Beach stay. We had forgotten our Woolworths experience at Mission Beach in 2021 and again we encountered a closed supermarket. The local IGA was open & a large store with plenty of variety on offer. ( the Woolies that we had used earlier in the trip at Airlie Beach was pretty ordinary with a very limited bakery & dairy section). The local road into Dingo Beach is along flat terrain and plenty of cattle stock-mainly seem to be Brahman or Brahman-cross. There seems to be a lot of suckers and general regrowth- not sure of the reason.

1657153723287.png

1657153625940.png

1657153890916.png

1657153928326.png
 
Dingo Beach House
We are staying at a free standing house that we found on Airborne and Stayz. About a 10 minute walk from the pub and with a big yard and 3 bedrooms. Generally well maintained and comfortable, this house is excellent value at just less than $130 a night. Communication with the owner was excellent Air con in every room, gas BBQ, washing machine & dishwasher, full sized fridge and fish cleaning table in back yard, There are limited options in town & this was much cheaper than alternative houses & the pub rooms. We had to supply our own towels & bed linen. There was also the expectation that you dropped your garbage at the free & easily accessible tip as you left town.

1657154484971.png
1657154701363.png

1657154754175.png

1657154813327.png

1657154841352.png

1657154893568.png

1657154922300.png

1657154945553.png

1657154980637.png
 
Around Dingo Beach
We spend our time driving & walking around the various bays and inlets and over to Hydeaway Bay & it’s resort. Generally a slow paced few days, a couple of 10 minute walks to the pub for a meal & just enjoying some time away. The General Store has very limited stock but cheap petrol. The food at the pub is good with generous serves & drinks are reasonably priced.

Dingo Beach
1657155410033.png

1657155645877.png

1657155687234.png

1657155797729.png

1657155915545.png

1657155946695.png

1657155986554.png

Hydeaway Bay
1657156046040.png

1657156127966.png
 
Dingo Beach to Bowen

Another relatively short haul along the Bruce Highway. Plenty of caravans and the traffic gets banked up by the many sections of roadworks and speed limit changes (think one of the African contractors for the roadworks went bust). We called in at Heronvale, some prime ocean view sites but very little going on and a very quiet lifestyle. Stopped at the Bowen info centre on the south side & got a PAPER brochure & the obligatory photos of the big mango. Called at the Bowen Historical Society Museum-quite a varied collection of stuff from times gone by and very enthusiastic volunteers. Had a general drive around the incredibly wide streets of the CBD and then ventured out to our booking at Horseshoe Bay Resort. Changed our mind here-the booked Beach Balcony room had more of a public car park view than the promoted bay view and the balcony of the allocated room was almost atop the cafe- no privacy on the balcony and the cafe hosts music on a couple of the nights we were to stay- to their credit the owners refunded our money.

Heronvale

1657248004605.png

1657248034133.png

1657248070806.png

1657248163105.png

1657248216708.png

1657248243639.png

1657248272754.png

Not sure if these were won by drron
1657248319110.png

1657248570354.png

1657248720336.png
 
Whitsunday Sands Resort
We ended up at the Whitsunday Sands Resort- pretty good value for the room we could get at that stage as most places in Bowen were showing no/very limited vacancies. Not without it’s problems with very noisy plumbing when adjoining rooms had showers, yet no problems with voices carrying. Only a couple of minutes walk to the Cove Asian restaurant for takeaway & also similar to the Cafe at Horseshoe Bay. Many different styles of rooms & located in various clusters and significant differences in prices

1657346769229.png

View from front deck of room-kids pool & there was an adjoining larger pool
1657346977701.png
 
Around Bowen
Bowen, QLD - Aussie Towns

A very pleasant surprise was Blowin Bowen. With a population of around 10,000, Bowen is a small country town, with a number of historic buildings dating from 1861 when Bowen was the first port to be established in North Queensland.
Other attractions include Mullers Lagoon (a 23.5hectare park featuring a lagoon which attracts a huge amount of birdlife), a number of excellent, shoreline walking tracks and no less than five lookouts, with the one on top of Flagstaff Hill offering 360 degree views of the town, coastline and islands.
We spent our time walking/hiking, driving around the lookouts & beaches and again enjoying some slow time.

1657356280654.png

1657356343260.png

All within an easy 5 min walk of our room
1657356409938.png

1657356447897.png

1657356492855.png

Different wing of the hotel
1657356536530.png

1657356598751.png

1657356644189.png

1657356744966.png
 
Sponsored Post

Struggling to use your Frequent Flyer Points?

Frequent Flyer Concierge takes the hard work out of finding award availability and redeeming your frequent flyer or credit card points for flights.

Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, the Frequent Flyer Concierge team at Frequent Flyer Concierge will help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

Around Bowen
Bowen, QLD - Aussie Towns

A very pleasant surprise was Blowin Bowen. With a population of around 10,000, Bowen is a small country town, with a number of historic buildings dating from 1861 when Bowen was the first port to be established in North Queensland.
Other attractions include Mullers Lagoon (a 23.5hectare park featuring a lagoon which attracts a huge amount of birdlife), a number of excellent, shoreline walking tracks and no less than five lookouts, with the one on top of Flagstaff Hill offering 360 degree views of the town, coastline and islands.
We spent our time walking/hiking, driving around the lookouts & beaches and again enjoying some slow time.

View attachment 284103

View attachment 284104

All within an easy 5 min walk of our room
View attachment 284105

View attachment 284106

View attachment 284107

Different wing of the hotel
View attachment 284108

View attachment 284109

View attachment 284110

View attachment 284111

Had a great feed at the Grand View last September 😋
 
The food was good- Cove Chinese was excellent, pies from Jochheims lived up to the reputation and the king prawns at Arabon Seafoods were top knotch. While the Mullers Lagoon was a great concept, the birdlife at the time we were there was pretty quiet and seemed dominated by bin chickens, waterhens and seagulls. The outlook from Flagstaff Hill was exceptional ( the interpretative centre seemed to have died). The sunset views at Horseshoe Bay are great but we made no effort to catch the sunrise.

1657428362908.png



1657428421699.png



Mullers Lagoon-Frangipani Grove, would be impressive in season
1657428602871.png


1657428705997.png

1657428736917.png

Salt flats Salty but sweet: North Queensland saltworks finally up and running - ABC News

1657428958947.png

1657429023376.png

Flagstaff Hill
1657429078991.png

1657429470429.png

1657429512287.png
 

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top