Hervey Bay Weekend Seafood Festival

Day 1 Banora Point NSW to Bauple Qld
With a Friday afternoon departure this time we will be towing in the Jayco 1652.8 Pop-top Caravan for an easy drive North up to Town of Bauple for an overnight free camp at Bauple Recreation Grounds. The Bauple Rec Grounds is away from highway noise and has clean flushing toilets, grassed area for caravans and motorhomes and is only a few minutes east of the Bruce Highway.

Distance is 326 kms and 3 hours 30 mins towing time.

Hervey Bay

Day 2 Bauple to Hervey Bay

We woke up to another beautiful sunny day and had bacon and eggs with a coffee before setting off for our short drive to Hervey Bay.

Our first stop was the famous Urangan Pier which is 868 metres long where we walked out to the end and back. The pier is one of the most popular land based fishing locations in Hervey Bay with some fisherman fishing in the first few hundred metres and the keen ones fishing out near the end in the deep gutters all seemed to be catching fish large and small. Also we walked in the Botanical Gardens viewing the local fauna & flora in their natural surroundings.

It was now check in time at the Fraser Lodge Holiday Park where we had booked an En Suite Powered Site for the night. the Fraser Lodge Holiday Park is in a great location at Torquay and is handy to Shops, Restaurants, The Esplanade and Beach and has a Tour Desk for Booking your Fraser Island or Whale Watch Tour.

Driving Time 1 Hour and Distance was 76 kms

Hervey Bay Seafood Festival

Day 3 Hervey Bay Seafood Festival then home.

Yet another prefect day we started off with a scenic walk along The Esplanade to Pialba. On our arrival at Pialba we found a great Water Side Water Education Park for the kids on the waterfront. The water park features hundreds of spouts and jets, fountains interactive play equipment, water slides, surfing, special play area for under-5’s called TotSide, tipping buckets, music and a giant water screen. The site also includes a coffee shop, viewing decks and boardwalks, educational displays, amenities blocks and the pay-per-use Board Rider wave machine.

On our return to Fraser Lodge it was time to pack up the caravan and leave Fraser Lodge for a very short 5 minute drive to the Hervey Bay Seafood Festival. At the festival we enjoying sampling the Coconut Banana Prawns along with Freshly Cooked Whiting Fillets and Marinated BBQ Moreton Bay Skewers to name a few.

After the festival we left Hervey Bay for our return trip home stopping at Rest Area on the Sunshine Coast for a quick Coffee and Cake in the Caravan.

Distance Travelled 402 kms and Towing Time 4 hours 30 Minutes

Lake Monduran to Noosa Day 4

Today we packed up and left Lake Monduran travelling down the Bruce Highway to Noosa where we setup for 2 nights at the Noosa River Holiday Park, which is the treasure of the Sunshine Coast. The park on is the Noosa River with large powered sites ($44.00 per night) and has good clean amenities. The Sunset from the river bank should not be missed at happy hour.

Driving Time about 3hrs 30mins and 287kms.  

Lake Monduran Day 3

Yet another fine sunny day at Lake Monduran Dam, we ventured down to below the dam wall and saw lots sleeping Barra in the waterhole. We managed to have them chase our lures but failed to catch a Barra today. After lunch we launched the tinny and had a cruise around the lake, then returned to watch the sunset again. Tomorrow morning we leave Monduran for a few days in Noosa and we plan to return the summer months to catch the Barra.

Tiaro to Lake Monduran Day 2

We over nighted at a free roadside rest area leaving just after 8am and detoured to the coast for brunch at the Salt Cafe on the Ocean Beach at Bargara, a coastal town just out from Bundaberg. The coffee, eggs and bacon at Salt Cafe was first class as with the ocean and landscraped outlook. The Bundaberg Regional Council has excellent BBQs, Tables, Shelter, Toilets and children's play equipment along the foreshore.

Moving on to Monduran Dam we set up camp at Lake Monduran Holiday Park which the turn off is 20kms North of Gin Gin and then another 4kms of sealed road into the park. The Powered sites are 10m x 10m grassed sites near the dam wall, Great acmp kitchen and clean amenities $28.00 per site and plenty of grass un-powered sites.
Our fishing from 2pm to 4.30pm was a nil result on the lake and tomorrow we will try the water hole below the dam wall, as large numbers of Barra were washed over the wall in the January Floods. The Monduran Anglers Stocking Association puts 100,000 2" Barra Fingerlings in the dam each year. The Fingerlings grow to about 15" in 12 months and it only takes 3 to 4 years for a fingerling to reach the magic metre mark.
The Sunset over the dam was wonderfull watching whilst enjoying drinks and nibbles.

Driving Time 3hrs 30mins 230kms

Banora Point to Tiaro Day 1

Today we are all packed ready to leave on the first day of out trip which is a easy drive of about 340kms of 4hours 30mins. We will be using the Jayco 1755.5 Pop-top Caravan for this trip.