The Great Sandy Straights Marina on Hervey Bay is a pretty decent place to call home for a day or two. It has an extensive network of shops and services at the top of the ramp and some pretty decent restaurants and bars. We wandered over to the Hervey Bay Boat Club one afternoon for a beer and were amused to find that it was a great big open hall with tables, a bar, a bandstand and gambling machines. The place is packed with 70 (plus) year old Gramas and Grampas just kicking up their heels to the 60's duet that was playing. Glen teased the very young bar girl that he felt like a teenager here! Our new favorite beer is Toohey New. From here we wandered down the impossibly long Esplanade that runs along the ocean past four different beach front communities. We only made it as far as the middle of the first downtown before making our way back to the boat. Everything is different in Australia as far as the trees, the birds, the animals, it is amazing. Our attention is riveted to a rainbow of colour in one of the bushes, it is a beautiful Rainbow Lorakete (kind of a parrot type bird). Oh, he was so charming and exquisitely coloured, just like a rainbow!
The next stop on our way south is an anchorage in the Great Sandy Straight, beside the Kingfisher Resort on Frazer Island. Frazer Island is the biggest all sand island in the world and is a complete national park. The thing to do here is hire (rent) a 4x4 and blast through the bush on a single lane sand road - the sand is baby powder fine and about 2 feet deep, it is like driving through snow banks. There are a multitude of destinations, but there are only so many you can see on a one day rental so with our lunch box packed we spin out of the parking lot at 8:00am, Eric, Ann, Bear, Glen (driving) and me (navigating) and bounce our way across to the Eastern Beach. This beach is 75 miles long and is the best highway on the island. You access all of the sights by deeking in from the beach and then back out to travel up to the next one. We saw a dingo! Dingos are not dogs, but they sure look like dogs. On our itinerary are two beautiful inland lakes, one head lands look out - that is stunning, a beached wreck of a very large ship, the beach itself, rainbow sand cliffs and a small resort. It is a great day and we enjoy the rugged beauty that unfolds before us. Glen even got us through all of the rough spots without getting stuck - a big change from when we would 4x4 as youngsters - the goal then was to see how often you could get stuck and then get out! Sometimes it is nice to be older. Our day was finished in fine style at the Kingfisher's pool bar, Bear got to swim and we adults refreshed ourselves with drinks, Pizza was our dinner. What a great day.
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