Sydney the Stick Insect

For the last few days we have had a lodger at our house, Sydney the stick insect mostly sits on the outside of our screen door and watches the world go by. He is the biggest stick insect I have ever seen, (and certainly makes Jenny’s old pets seem like dwarves!), measuring at least 6 inches long! His little head moves around and watches us going in and out of the house. This morning though I am sad to say he has moved on (or been eaten :-( ) and vacated his position.

View from the our room at the Clarion Hotel at the Marina

We dropped Ben off in kennels for the night and then went to go to the hotel that Andy had told me he’d booked in town. On the way Andy told me to divert to the Marina because there was a surprise there for me! He had actually booked us in at the best hotel in Mackay, the Clarion at the Marina which is really really nice!! Our room was fantastic - huge with a sea view!
We had a walk along the Harbour Beach at teatime and then ate at the posh restaurant at the hotel and even squeezed in a bottle of wine after swearing I wouldn’t drink again for a long time!

The next morning we sunbathed by the pool and then had a booking for the car to have an initial service at Ford. We dropped the car off, went shopping for a few hours, spent a fortune, and then picked Ben up and back to Moranbah.

Grass Tree Beach

Even though we had had a massive drinking session the day before at the races, we had decided that we would head off to Mackay at dinnertime on the Sunday, as we had a car service booked for the Monday. After a medicinal KFC meal to kick-start our bodies, we set off to the coast. I had decided that we’d try a different beach and go to Sarina which is South of Mackay so we took a lovely road through the countryside and arrived at the very beautiful beach front at Sarina, only to find that dogs had to kept on a lead on the beach. I totally agree that dogs shouldn’t be allowed off the lead where people are sunbathing, but on these huge beaches usually they say that dogs are ok as long as you aren’t in the main area so it was a bit disappointing. We eventually ended up at Grass Tree beach (after several more unsuccessful beach stops) and just decided to keep him on the lead until we got to the sea. Grass Tree beach was gorgeous, very picturesque with a lovely park at the side with the obligatory BBQ area.

The Bar!

The drinks were all served from big containers filled with ice!

We called it a night at about 11pm and got the bus home. My one huge mistake was now apparent… I’d had no water and my head was screaming at me before I even went to bed. I woke up feeling extremely delicate and had one of those horrible hungover days where your brain grumpily tries to regain some moisture and your body feels like you’ve gone 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.
But, I always say that a hangover is bearable if you had a great time creating it, and we certainly had a fantastic day!!

On the Dancefloor!

As the blazing ball of fire in the sky started to set, the temperatures became more bearable and as it got dark there were some great fireworks!
Then it was disco time!! I think Andy phoned everybody on his phone book while I danced the night away!

Bundaberg Rum and Coke in a can...mmmm!!

My outfit

Sorry about the unglamous toilet block background!!
As you can see, there is some grass about now because we had a week of heavy rain in the evenings. However, the ground is very sandy soil and it was like walking on a beach - people were washing their legs in the toilets (mine just stayed dirty!)!!

All dressed up!

Coming up to the finsish line...

There were 5 races in all, and some had about 15 or so horses competing so that was quite impressive. We were very amused by the rather over-sized jockeys who we think must have just finished a shift at the mines before mounting the horses, one man was almost chewing his knees – he must have been 6ft! There was also a good selection of bookies to throw your money at, and they all did extremely well out of me as I didn’t manage to pick a single winner. Andy had a couple of big wins though so that was good.
There was also a camel race (you don’t tend to see that at York) which anybody could enter!

The Racecourse

The day began with a bus picking us up to go to the racecourse at about 12pm, by the time we had waited for the bus for 5 minutes in the searing midday heat then Andy’s shirt was already stuck to him and his feet were on fire in his black shoes! Needless to say, there weren’t many men in suits and the ladies didn’t have to fork out the money for jackets to go with their dresses! We were very glad of the marquee which had a few fans blowing into it and kept us out of the sun a bit, but if we ventured outside to watch a race we frazzled instantly in temperatures around 35 degrees! The only thing for it was to drink more!

Moranbah North Race Day

Last Saturday, when all of you in the UK were celebrating bonfire night and huddling round burning Guy Fawkes effigies, we were all dressed up for the Moranbah annual race day.

Ever since we arrived in Moranbah in August, people have been talking about how drunk they were at last year’s event and what they were wearing this year. It all seemed like a long way away back then, but 3 months has passed and there we were getting ready for the big day. The day is organised and paid for by Moranbah North Coal Mine (where Andy works) and it is free entry for everyone. All Moranbah North employees however get the chance to pay $50 (£22.50ish) for the pleasure of having free drinks all day and a huge seafood (oysters, prawns, bugs (like lobster – not the other kind!), meat, salads etc etc) buffet all in the comfort of a big marquee. Champagne was on hand for everyone and all the ladies got a Moranbah champagne glass as they arrived (yes, even me!). Luckily for me, the manager of the mine drinks Strongbow cider and insists on it being served at the bar so I helped him out with drinking a few bottles. All the men got commemorative stubby holders to keep their cans cool and hands warm.

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY KATE!!!!

Hope you have a fantastic day/night!!

For those who don't know who this gorgeous girl is staring at you, it is my little sister (or daughter number 2 as she prefers to be called ;-) ) who, as you will have gathered, is now legally able to drink and go to 18 certificate movies!

The Whitsunday Islands

The hotel from the ferry

Sunset from hotel beach

Wallabies by the Pool

On our way back to our hotel room we saw a sight that you will only ever see here in Australia… next to the other pool were 4 wallabies munching away on the grass without a care in the world!! We stopped for a while and went really close to them, they just don’t seem to be bothered by humans at all.

Long Island

Long Island is one of the Whitsunday Islands and is accessible via a boat from Shute Harbour up near Airlie Beach. Long Island is mainly national park with 13km (or 20km as stated elsewhere!) of bush walking tracks amongst rainforest leading to secluded beaches.
There are 3 resorts on the island, and we were going to the Long Island Beach resort as we had got a good deal on t’internet and booked it, packed and headed off at the weekend!
However, this particular time we weren’t there for the walks, we just wanted to relax in the sun for a few days. We caught the ferry at 2pm and 20 minutes later we were being transported on a golf-buggy train to the hotel. We had a hotel rep go through all the facilities (pools, spa, games room, free buffet meals, mini golf, tennis, walks etc etc) and we felt like we had arrived on a two-week holiday!
We were straight down to the pool and sunbathed for the afternoon at the main pool overlooking the beach and sea – instant relaxation!

Stingers

It is Stinger season from October to May, which means that if you stick your toe in the water and happen to brush past a box jellyfish then you could potentially die. Box jellyfish (stingers) are incredibly nasty creatures, with tentacles so long that you are usually stung several times before you even see the jellyfish. The pain of being stung by one is meant to be excrutiating and can cause your heart to stop beating due to the shock.
It’s a bit like Russian-roulette walking along the edge of the sea, especially when it looks so tempting. Alternatives to being stung and possibly dying are wearing a wet suit, or a very unflattering stinger suit, which is just like a fine net body suit. Ideally you should be kitted out in foot, hand and head covers too – so by the time you are ready to go in the sea you look quite ridiculous. This is the time of year when Ben can really gloat, as according to the vets we have asked, his hair acts as a stinger suit so he can’t get stung.
I have put up a photo of the signs you see at every beach here, because we find the line “Don’t give up, most victims recover’ amusingly scary.

Ben is back in action!

After an agonising 3 week wait (for us and him – he is not a good patient) it was finally time for Ben to go to the beach again. He couldn’t contain his excitement when we opened the car windows and he smelt the sea air, then he leapt out and raced straight into the sea for a swim!! After his swim we bundled him off to kennels for a night like the caring owners we are! Then it was time for our much deserved trip to Long Island for a night.

Copperfield Store

This shop has remained in one family for over 100 years and traded from the late 1800’s to the 1970’s. It still stocks merchandise from years ago and operates now as a tourist attraction for a few hours a week – hence it was shut when we got there!
After stopping here we set off back home to Moranbah. To say we were only away for 6 hours, we managed to see loads of things and had a great afternoon out.

Copperfield Chimney

In 1862, a 10m wall of solid copper ore was discovered here at Copperfield (unsure what came first, the place name or the discovery – but I could hazard a good guess as it would be an extreme coincidence and incredible foresight otherwise!!). Queensland’s first copper mine opened and operated until the 1880’s. Only one of the 22 original chimney stacks still stands. Incidentally, the bricks were made in Clermont by Welsh tradesmen!

Duncan’s Dozer

Don’t think this needs any explanation, other than how cool it is!

Theresa Creek Dam

I had read about this dam alongside information about Clermont and discovered it was a reasonable 22km journey from Clermont to get there. We didn’t really know what to expect, other than a lot of water, but we headed off to see it anyway. Part of the fun getting there was that 6km of the journey was on unsealed (dirt) road so we got to challenge the Territory (our car) a bit on the way!! The dam apparently holds 10000ML (I assume the M isn’t ‘milli’ otherwise we’d have been looking at a small pond) of water and contains enough water to support Clermont for 2 years when full.
It is a gorgeous place, very picturesque, with camping and BBQ (of course) facilities all for a bargain $5 a night (about £2.25). It also has a powerboat and ski club, and it is a popular fishing spot (due to a fish stocking group kindly topping up the numbers of fish every year). There is also a designated swimming area there. We’ll definitely be back!

Clermont Race Course

No, don’t mistake this for the Knavesmire at York or Cheltenham… this is Clermont race course, bless! Most of the courses here seem to be of the all weather (no grass) variety and this is no exception. There had been a few days of rain before this which has helped but I don’t think the going will ever be ‘soft’ here.

Railway Wagon Murals

The railway station at Clermont was built in 1884, and it took 100 years for the railway line to be extended to Mackay on the coast. There are four wagons near the station painted with murals depicting the industries within the area. The paintings were excellent; the one shown above is showing the farming industry.

Commercial Hotel

This is (according to the Clermont history guide) the last remaining example of the old style hotels.

Hood’s Lagoon

After visiting the flood memorials we found the lagoon which I had read about previously. The lagoon is natural but has had a footpath/boardwalk constructed all the way around it (about 1.8km), along with statues and monuments to detail the history of Clermont as you walk around. It is also fully illuminated so can be walked around at night too! It was all very impressive for a small mining town and it turned out to be a beautiful walk. There were lots of birds around, but the highlight was when we spotted some little terrapins sunbathing at the side of the lagoon! They jumped in when they saw us so no photos but it was great to see them in the wild!

The Tree Stump Flood Memorial

This is the official memorial for the 65 people who perished in the flood, it has been designed as a tree stump because trees saved so many lives during the flood.
Again, the line on the stump marking the level of the flood waters isn’t as high as the infamous piano allegedly rose to – although I guess a tide of water could have temporarily reached higher?

The Piano in the Tree

On 28th December 1916 a flood destroyed the original township of Clermont and left in its aftermath a reminder of how high the water reached in the shape of a piano stuck 32 feet high up a tree. At the entrance to Clermont there is now a fake piano in a tree, with an original photograph of the actual piano/tree next to it. The one thing I don’t understand is that they went to all this trouble and then didn’t put the piano 32 feet high when they replicated it – which surely defeats the object of illustrating how high the water got?!! Anyway, here it is, (alas, not as high as the original) still an unusual sight!

Wide Loads

When driving along the highway, we frequently come across wide loads. Now, us English are accustomed to this meaning that we need to give the lorry a bit of a wide berth due to the odd holiday home being moved, or the machine on the back sticks out by a few feet. Of course in Australia, where everything is big, they don’t mess about with piffling little machines with a sign on saying ‘wide load’. No, at least 2 police escorts will drive quickly towards you on the wrong side of the road, forcing you to actually off-road before they smash into you. If you don’t get yourself fully into the field/grass/bush at the side of the road then a monster of a truck with an impossibly big piece of machinery on the back, taking up the full width of the road, will hurtle along the road at about 100km/hour and crumple you like you were a matchbox car. The photo above is an example of one we saw on the way to Clermont. Yet another hazard to Australians - I am quite surprised that they live to any age over 30 here, or aren’t nervous wrecks by the time they are that age.

Clermont

Sorry about the delay with this post, this working lark is no good I tell ya!

A bit of a historical read for you today!

After a few weeks of not going away, due to Ben’s foot and my new job, on Sunday 23rd we spontaneously decided to go somewhere for the afternoon. The challenge was where to go that was less than an hour away from Moranbah. I had picked up some leaflets a while ago about a place called Clermont, about 110km away from Moranbah, so we decided to go and explore there. We left Ben at home as his foot was still not healed and we weren’t sure whether there would be anything there for him.

We set off in the opposite direction to our usual route to Mackay on the coast. It was amazing how totally different the scenery was as we drove along. At first there were thick trees, and then it became totally barren land apart from huge odd-shaped rocks jutting out unexpectedly on the horizon. We were driving through the Peak Range National Park at this stage which we will have to explore further another time.
A section from ‘Geological Elements of the National Estate in Queensland’ describes the Peak Range as:

“A chain of prominent and picturesque mountains to the east of Clermont which is visible from a considerable distance across the plains of the central highlands. It consists of a number of groups of sharp peaks separated by flat plain country similar to the surrounding district. The Peak Range district is underlain by an extensive sequence of basalt flows and rhyolite/trachyte intrusive bodies, which were erupted and emplaced between 30 and 26 million years ago (middle of the Tertiary period), probably as this part of the Australian crustal plate drifted northwards across a ‘hot-spot’ deep below in the Earth’s mantle.”

It is amazing to think that these strange rock formations are a result of activity millions of years ago!

A bit further along the road I was surprised to discover farmed land, this is the first we have seen (apart from sugar cane) since we got here. On stopping at a plaque at the side of the road we discovered that the land in the area of Wolfang (named due to one of the rocks/mountains which is in the shape of a wolf fang) was first used for farming after the second world war when the Queensland British Food Corporation used crops grown here to be sent to ‘Mother’ England. The plots of land here still continue to be farmed by various landowners.