Here we are in Hervey Bay, gateway to  Fraser island. Our daughter, Gillian, worked at Maryborough for a few years and let us know that this area is pretty quiet. Like a great big retirement village in fact! Well it is. There are of course a few young uns around, somebody has to work around here I suppose. Speaking of Gillian, at the Relish Festival we asked some representatives of her employer if any of them knew her. There were shakes of the head but one said she did recognise the name from somewhere. Maybe from her whiting fishing exploits in the Bay.

Torquay Jetty at sunset and sugar cane farm fire

Our campground from the Torquay Jetty, we are in the middle somewhere

Here at Torquay they ARE building a wall. And it is quite a big one. This one is to hold back the sea in front of the camping ground and along the foreshore. And it probably will for a few years. A lot of rock is going into this one.

Building a wall

Building a wall

The camping ground is only about 60 percent full, quite a few nomads from the deep south. Some of those around us have been coming here for 15 years they say and seem to have a rather proprietorial attitude towards the water taps. We had the seeds of a minor skirmish over this on our arrival. We were allocated a site among these characters  and they had cornered all the taps. They suggested it was not their problem and we could put our hose on the taps down there! Gesturing with his outstretched hand and finger. Our hose wouldn’t go that far. Suggestions were made that 15 years was too long. Allthego was about to set off for the park police when one turned out to be a little reasonable and put a double adaptor on the tap for us to plug onto. All’s well that ends well. Homealone wouldn’t let Allthego throw prawn heads and shells under their vans the next night.

The other thing about this place is that there is not a lot to do except walk around the foreshore looking at the Bay (which is very pleasant). And also monitor daily the progress of the wall as it moves slowly along, as many of the nomads do.  There are also the shops and eateries. The Bay’s tourist guides all say to go somewhere else to see things………..Fraser island, Lady Elliot Island, Maryborough, Bundaberg etc. Then of course there is the whale watching, when the season is right. It’s not at the moment.

Urangan Pier, all 800 metres of it

Encouragement for boaters in the Bay

So we went to the shops. It’s an odd collection of establishments along the waterfront. One caught our eye. A second hand book shop. In we went. Homealone has been searching for the 11th volume of a series called ‘The Australians’, there are 12 in total, she has the rest and read them 30 years ago, hasn’t touched them since. They are going yellow on the bookshelf at home. She told the woman at the counter she was looking for Vol 11. Well did her eyes light up, from under the counter next her out it came. Must have seen us coming, $30 thank you! It was a hard back in good condition, out of print etc, couldn’t beat her down. Allthego spotted something interesting ‘Australia’s First Century 1788-1888’. This 900 page epistle is a facsimile reprint of the original work published in 1889. Looks interesting, only $8.50 and I got it for $8.

Homealone’s steal

Allthego’s bargain buy

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Have had a brief go at the Fish n Chips, nothing spectacular to report on. Looks like Yeppoon wins.

We head off home tomorrow after nearly a month away. It’s starting to get a bit nippy at night and in the early morning. Weather has been great, clear sunny blue skies with only a little wind. We will return……on the way to Fraser Island!