 |
| Grays Bay |
BOWEN BASE CAMP
~~oOo~~
Firstly, we both were very impressed with Bowen.
Most travellers stop at Airlie Beach, 45 minutes down the road and then just drive by Bowen. Big mistake. Having been to Airlie Beach a couple of times, it is just like any touristy developed beach. Bowen, on the other hand is smaller, still has everything you need, for example Wollies and Coles, but the beaches here are something else. More about that later.
Finally the constant rain had gone and we had sunshine again. So we took advantage of this and booked a Hip Camp for 5 nights as it was also Easter and we did not want to pay an exhorbitant amount to stay in a Caravan Park.
Our host Trudy was lovely. This was just $20 a night. Amazing! We paid in cash which was much appreciated by our host. Along with the gorgeous view overlooking the mountains, Trudy gave us the use of her pool which was an extremely nice gesture. We bought some fire wood for $10 and enjoyed our evening fires. The bird life here is fantastic. Every afternoon at dusk we were greeted with flocks of black cockatoos, parrots and all sorts of other birds.
Base Camp is just a short 10 minute ride into town. Along the way, we passed Bowen train station and often saw people waiting for the train up to Cairns or down to Brissy.
 |
| Moon Through Fly Screen ~~oOo~~ DON RIVER  ~~oOo~~ Not too far from camp, we found the river for a swim. The water is crystal clear and refreshing.    |
~~oOo~~
BOWEN INFORMATION CENTRE
~~oOo~~
Mango country!
Bowen Information Centre is not far from Camp. Trudy volunteers here.
The staff are very nice and helpful. We enjoyed Mango ice-cream cones. Yuuum.
~~oOo~~
BIRDS FISH BAR
~~oOo~~
We asked at the Information Centre where we could get some fresh fish and chips. Birds Fish Bar won hands down.
Located at the Bowen Marina are two fish and chips shops. Birds Fish Bar is the one down the end. It also has a licenced bar and table and chairs overlooking the Marina.
Fish was definitely fresh and juicy and the chips were pretty good too. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we came back another time to buy their local mixed prawns for $20 a kilo.
Down around the corner on the main beach is another small Inforation Centre with another smaller Big Mango.
~~oOo~~
QUEENS BEACH
~~oOo~~
Queens Beach is a long stretch of beach from the Golf Club leading up to Grays Bay and Horseshoe Bay. Be careful of the crocks and stingers.
We were here right at the end of stinger season which goes from November through to April, so we decided not to go for a dip at this beach. It has showers, picnic tables and free BBQs dotted along, as well as lovely big hanging curtain figs.
~~oOo~~
GRAYS BAY
Move over Whitehaven Beach and Twilight Beach. Grays Bay has swiftly become my second favourite beach in Australia. First still being Paradise Beach, Coral Bay WA.
My first encounter with this Beach is when hubby luckily found a parking spot on the headland at Horsehoe Bay. This part of Grays Bay is located just down the hill next to Coral Cove Apartements.
Hubby went off to climb up the big hill to the lookout and I wandered down and found this gorgeous bay. There were 2 couples already swimming here and I said to them, if you stay out there, and I swim here, does that mean that the stingers will get you first?.... That got a laugh out of them.
😁
But seriously, the water was crystal clear and not a stinger in sight and it looked fairly protected here. No waves and it got deep quick. So I took the plunge. So, so beautiful.
Hubby was glad too after his hike up the mountain to take a refreshing dip here. We liked it so much that we came back another 2 times.
~~oOo~~
HORSESHOE BAY
~~oOo~~
Just around the corner from Grays Bay is the popular Horseshoe Bay. This is a busy place with not a lot of parking so just keep driving around slowly and eventually a space may become available. There is a caravan park here too so that is added congestion.
I managed to capture this photo with just a couple of people in that I sucessfully photoshopped out.
We went to the Cafe for lunch. Make sure you book as we did because it is very busy. The food was good, but I was expecting juicy tomato based chili muscles and was a little disappointed with what I got. My bad for not checking beforehand. However it was good. Hubby's pizza was nice too. But the best part was the entertainment. There was a nice lady singer with a good strong husky jazz voice. She sang some great old numbers. I enjoyed it very much, especially overlooking this nice bay.
~~oOo~~
SOME RANDOM STUFF
~~oOo~~
If you are checking out the Australian Silo and Art Trail, the Bowen has a couple of nicely decorated Water Tanks on the hill. Photo taken from Wollies.
On the road to Bowen, we stopped off to check out the Big Thongs at Calen Hotel. Unfortunately, I couldn't see them. They certainly were not outside the Hotel. Must be out the back. But I wasn't going to head in just to take a photo. Oh well.... 🙄
Proposed photo of The Big Thongs at Calen Hotel is compliments off the net. Let me know if you see them. I took a photo of the Hotel, just to say that we were there. 😁
Lastly, a random photo of the road on the way to Bowen. We crossed a lot of rivers. No wonder why it floods up this neck of the woods.
~~oOo~~
BOWEN GOLF CLUB
~~oOo~~
The Golf Club is located right at the end of Queens Beach. As we were here for a few days, hubby decided to get the clubs out.
We had a late breakky here which was pretty good. I had the mushrooms and hubby had poached eggs and bacon. I knew there was a reason why I do not like hollandaise sauce. It's made with egg. Don't think I will order this again. Not fussed with the sauce. The rest was good. In hindsight, I much prefer to eat lunch out.
When we came back for hubby's Golf, I took my art lenses and had a play. Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment