Capricorn Coast: sunshine and warmth

Here at Yeppoon, the air is so clear you can almost reach out and touch Great Keppel Island, even though it is a good half an hour away by fast ferry.

The days are quite warm – sometimes hot – although the nights are chilly. The sky is clear and blue, the sea calm – thanks to the protection offered by the Great Barrier Reef.

Right: looking out to sea from Yeppoon.

We have found this part of the Capricorn Coast, 36 km from Rockhampton, very different from what we have experienced so far.

There are lots of black cockatoos, which make an enormous mess of a tree that looks like a type of fig, to get at the fruit. We tried to identify the tree at the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens, but the only one that looked like it was a South African Fiddleleaf Fig. Any ideas anyone?

Above right: black cockatoos in a Casuarina tree...and (right) the mess they leave in a kind of fig nearby.

We met some very nice people at our caravan park, about 9 km south of Yeppoon, including a man who had to be rushed to hospital when his head blew up like a pumpkin.

It turned out he had a staph infection in his ear. Thankfully he recovered after a few days on antibiotics. He and wife are from Victoria and are staying a couple of months in the park just to get away from the cold. He gave me some good advice on hitching our rig.

Yeppoon itself still has that old fashioned look and feel even though there are major resort developments to the north and south.

It’s also well endowed with trade services – I had no problem replacing two tyres on the Pajero at short notice on a public holiday when I discovered tears caused by hardening of the rubber.

Away from the hustle and bustle

We went for a long drive south to a remote seaside place called Keppel Sands. It is the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle, with a caravan park, a single general store that also doubles as a pub, and a handful of houses occupied by people with the most serene expressions I’ve encountered in a long time.

It’s on our list for next visit.

Some observations:

There are signs everywhere warning about box jellyfish and what to do when stung (see picture, right) , and some signs warning about crocodiles although apparently no-one has been taken by one in this region.

We have seen some extraordinary caravan/motorhome rigs, including the biggest fifth-wheeler I’ve ever seen, bigger than a large pantechnicon, and another towing a small helicopter.

Where in the south, you might own a surfboard, here you must own a boat, preferably one with a big outboard. I have never seen so many big fish brought ashore by boaties. Nearly everybody has a boat or has a neighbour with a boat, which are used almost exclusively for fishing.

Coconut trees are becoming commonplace amongst the beach vegetation.

Finally, the tides are enormous (as our pictures show) , which means if you do go fishing you need to take account of the tides when finding your way home.

Right: the beach near our park, with the tide out.








Right: high and low tide at a nearby creek.









This has been a quiet time, as we have no relatives to call on. We’re looking forward to setting up next in Airlie Beach.