Whenever we travel over the Easter break, we make sure we have self catered for Good Friday knowing that not much is open.
We had a nice sleep in and had a leisurely start to the day. The shower in the apartment was really nice and I had a lovely long shower before making a breakfast of bacon and eggs.
After breakfast we headed downstairs for a walk around the block and to have a look at the waterfront. Luckily the weather was nice, just very windy with a few clouds but it did not look like we were going to get rain at all.
Our resort is in the middle of the main waterfront strip. We walked a few hundred meters south the the Keppel Bay Sailing Club before crossing the road and walking along Anzac Ave looking at the shops and cafes. Surprisingly, many were open and were able to book dinner at the restaurant below our resort.
The council has spent a lot of money on the foreshore and it has many areas for families to have picnics and fun.
We bought an ice-cream and headed back to the resort to collect the car and go for a scenic drive.
A short way south of the resort is the Yeppoon Lagoon, from there we travelled further south to Emu Park. It had been many years since either of us had been here, but we knew that due to the gusty conditions today the “Singing Ship” monument would be singling loudly today. We were not disappointed. Click on the video below to hear the ship “singing”
From Emu Park we headed back toward Yeppoon, via the Rosslyn Bay Harbour. The Great Keppel Island ferries leave from here and we may do a day trip over there to have a look around. While at the harbour, we drove around to look at the marina and noticed the biggest Water Police boat we have ever seen. A bit of Google research and we found out that this large “floating police station” is one of 5 such vessels in service.
Back on the road and we saw a sign for “Wreck Point Scenic Lookout” Well.. we nearly got blown back to Yeppoon!! Reading the story of the ship that was washed up here is incredible. The Pine River where the ship departed from is over 630kms south!!
Looking South
Looking North
Driving back through Yeppoon we headed north along the waterfront. Not far outside of Yeppoon we saw signs for Capricorn Resort. We were aware of this resort as being a controversial development in the late 1980″s so we thought we would go and have a look. Neither of us were expecting to find it totally abandoned. It looked really eerie with overgrown gardens, security fences and locked gates everywhere. It looked like it had been just locked up and left in a hurry. We could see curtains hanging in the windows and outdoor furniture in the gardens and on some balconies.
When we got back to the unit, I googled it and found this story from 2019. The Iwasaki Group have plans to refurbish it, but it will certainly take a LOT of money to bring it back to its former glory.
We got back to our apartment at around 2:30 for a cuppa and a relaxing afternoon before going downstairs for a beautiful dinner at Vue
We chose an entree to share then both ordered different steak dishes which we also shared. We did not need dessert!! It was a lovely meal.
Seared Scallops On Pork Belly With Truffle Cauliflower Puree
Tender Eye Fillet Wrapped In Bacon Served With Creamy Garlic Mash, King Brown Mushroom, Wilted Spinach & Mushroom Jus
Darling Downs Wagyu Sirloin, Marble Score 8, Served With Creamy Garlic Mash, Green Beans, Pedro Tomato with Red Wine Jus
Any travel through this CoVid time is a challenge, but we had decided that we did need a break but we would need to stay within Queensland.
We chose Rockhampton as it had been a long time since either of us had been in the area. A quick “Google” showed lots to do and see, but on further investigation we could not find accommodation. I knew Yeppoon is the beachside locale of Rockhampton so decided to look there… Still not a lot available but I knew Easter would be a very busy time. I finally found “Salt Yeppoon Apartments“, a newish resort right on the oceanfront. It promised that every room has an ocean view. A few clicks and we were booked in a 1 bedroom apartment for 5 nights.
This holiday is going to be a little bit of a different “foodie adventure” I found lots of interesting cafes in Yeppoon, so we have chosen not to take too much in the way of food with us. Normally we tend to self cater (especially breakfast) and take food from home to cook in the apartment. This trip we are only taking milk, bread, butter, tea and condiments. We have packed a full day’s food for Good Friday as we know that most places will be closed.
The week prior to this trip saw 2 CoVid clusters form in Brisbane and a subsequent 3 day lockdown of the greater Brisbane area. While we do not live in the lockdown area, there was a chance that the area may be adjusted to include the Sunshine Coast if more cases emerged. This would have meant that we would be unable to leave 🙁
Through the week there were no Sunshine Coast cases, although a couple of concerning reports of a man who had tested positive had visited premises on the route we were due to take. As we were due to leave on Thursday morning and the Chief Medical Officer was to due to give her recommendations as to the lifting of lockdown at 9:00am Thursday we decided to risk it and go, knowing that we would only be a couple of hours away from home when the news was announced. and if we needed to return, it was not too far to go.
Thursday morning we left early as planned and were on the road just after 7:00am. It is an approximately 7 hour – 650km drive to Rockhampton/Yeppoon but as we are very familiar with the road for the first 300kms between the Sunshine Coast and Childers, the plan was to stop at the roadhouse at Gunalda, get a cuppa and wait for the news at 9:00 then head straight to Childers for morning tea, then we would “amble” the next 350kms, stopping if we saw anything interesting.
We arrived at Gunalda at 8:50, just enough time for a stretch of the legs, a bathroom break and a hot drink while we waited for the 9:00 news. The news was GOOD!!! The Premier announced that Brisbane was allowed out of lockdown early at midday and Easter is “good to go!”
This news was indeed good, and I felt much better knowing that we were not likely to have any issues, and the mandated mask wearing for the next 2 weeks is not a big problem.
Our next stop was the Childers Bakery Sandwich Bar for an early lunch. M stops here most weeks on his delivery run to Bundaberg, so I thought it was about time I experienced their food 🙂 I had a bacon and cheese sausage roll that was indeed VERY good 🙂 We also bought a loaf of fresh bread and a couple of HUGE sandwiches that would be dinner.
Travelling north, we passed through the town of Gin Gin. We did not stop as we had been here not to long ago. We thought we might stop at Miriamvale but decided we did not need to so kept going. A little way further north we came to Bororen and a “Big Giraffe” The cafe must be good as the carpark was packed as was the road in front 🙁 We pulled over at the park across the road to use the amenities and kept heading north. I am hoping we can check out the “Big Giraffe on the way south.
We stopped for a “driver reviver” free hot drink at Calliope. This stop was in the Calliope Historic Village. I dropped a few coins into the donation box and we sat and enjoyed our cups of tea. The men in the kiosk asked where we were travelling to, and when we said said Rockhampton, they asked if we were coming for the “Rocky Nats” We said no ( as we had no idea what that was) They explained that there was a huge car show and race meet thing happening. When I looked it up I understood why I was not able to find accomodation.
As were were having our drinksI could see there was a number of caravans down by the river to the west, so when we were back in the car, we went to have a look. We duly found the Calliope River Campground. This is a such a lovely spot and I would imagine it would be a relaxing spot for a few days.
A bit further north we passed an intersting looking sign that alerted us to beware of trucks carrying explosives?? In the distance to the west we could see a number of buildings and a very secure looking fence on the highway. Google told us that the area is the site of a Queensland government explosives reserve. (Who knew)
We rolled into Rockhampton around 3:00pm (right in time for school pick up time) Traffic was quite heavy but we made it through Rockhampton and on to Yeppoon. We made a quick stop off at Woolworths to pick up some provisions and we checked into our apartment just after 4:30. We had a quiet night after our big drive.
Today we decided to get in the car and do some sight seeing.
After a quick breakfast at the bakery of Pie (chunky steak with peas) and a chicken, asparagus and feta quiche, we headed east to the beachside towns of Shoalhaven Heads, Gerroa and Gerringong. It is a very pretty stretch of coastline with lots of caravan parks and holiday accommodation
We headed back to Berry and decided it was still early, so we headed out to Kangaroo Valley. Kangaroo Valley is only 17kms from Berry, but it is a very windy, narrow road. We had many tight corners where the speed suggestion was just 15kph.
Just before the Kangaroo Valley village we saw a sign that said Fudge for sale Fudge at the farm gate. We were surprised to see a fridge on the side of the road (and a bull) with an honesty box. We bought some Rocky Road and some Fudge.
Arriving in Kangaroo Valley, we had morning tea and explored the shops. I was hoping to visit Kangaroo Valley Olives, but the man at the information centre said they were closed for Easter. 🙁
Rather than return to Berry on the same windy road, we chose to travel to Nowra then back to Berry via the Princes Hwy.
We had a late lunch in Berry then bought some very yummy looking Lamb Shanks from a providore in Berry.
First up though is breakfast :). We found a nice cafe yesterday called Hedgehogs. We are having poached eggs on toast and pancakes with maple syrup (can you guess who is having what ?)
Then we waited for the shops to open as I had seen a lovely cable knot throw rug that I wanted. I had seen these type of throws in decorator magazines and had admired them, but had never actually seen or felt one. Oh my!!! It is so soft and cozy, I just had to have it 🙂 Lucky we have brought the big suitcase with us to fit all the shopping in to get home 🙂
We had a lovely lunch with M&C and then some more shopping. We had lunch at one of the pubs in the village. Just for something different, we chose the Alpaca burger. It was a nice meat that was quite similar to lamb. http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1948132/berry-hotels-alpaca-mystery/
After our guests left, we again went into the village for a lovely steak and salad dinner and then back to the cottage for a quiet night.
We both had a great nights rest and a good sleep in this morning. We had a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs and headed into the village to see what was open.
We not not expected much to be open due to today being Good Friday, but we’re surprised to see so many shops open. We had a good time exploring many of the boutiques and cafes deciding where we should return to in the coming days.
Returning to our cottage, we made dinner and watched TV before turning in.
