NOW: THE CAPRICORN COAST
Yeppoon, Byfield National Park and the Keppel Islands are all on the Capricorn Coast. The 350 kilometre drive from Mackay to Yeppoon was our longest hop for a few weeks with sugar cane and vegetables growing on the river flats.
The Singing Ship, a memorial to Captain Cook, sits on the headland at Emu Park just south of Yeppoon. Looking out across the sea from here are the Keppel islands which Cook named on his journey along the coast.
North of Yeppoon is Byfield National Park where we’d been told we could take our Tvan to some good camping spots so we thought we’d take a look without the Tvan first. We could easily access the inland camps in the Byfield State Forest and Water Park Creek but the coastal camp access was another story!
To access Five Rocks and Stockyard Point you need to conquer Big Sandy – a 3km long soft sand dune! We’d been told about it so we were somewhat prepared. Tyre pressures down, diff locker on, hang on and hope the wheels don’t spin too much. Three kilometres later we were up but we certainly weren’t going to tow the Tvan up Big Sandy!
There’s a good campground at Five Rocks with boarded sites but the only access is up Big Sandy so we picnicked and enjoyed the view for the day. From the headland at Stockyard Point we saw whales swimming along Nine Mile Beach and dolphins herding fish for lunch.
Having admired that beautiful blue ocean from headlands it was time to get wet with a day snorkelling around Great Keppel Island at Monkey Beach and with the huge fish at the now abandoned Underwater Observatory.
The weather wasn’t great but we only got 10 raindrops. When the clouds cleared the ocean was that gorgeous blue again.
But if you have a storm you get wind and if you want to sail wind helps so we were able to sail home after a day in the waters of the Keppel Islands.
We’re slowly heading down the coast to Melbourne to have our Tvan serviced at the home of Track Trailer in Bayswater and then home for Christmas with our kids. However we’re not finished this trip yet, SO……
NEXT: TWO YEARS DOWN AND STILL GOING AND THEN….. OFF TO TASMANIA!
See you on the Emu Track
Cheryl and David
