During our stay in Queensland, we decided to do a little side trip up the coast. A short 370-odd kilometre side trip but I wanted to revisit a place that I had visited during my first year in Australia.
We left early, the sun is an early riser up here and it heats up quick so getting on the road at a decent time is highly recommended.
The first leg was on the Bruce Highway to Gympie, not so bad now that the holiday traffic has died down a little. After Gympie, we took the Wide Bay Highway (love these names) and then the Bauple Woolooga Road towards Biggenden. This route took us a long way from the holidaymakers, through farmland with wandering cattle and (slightly unsettling for me) 6km of gravel road. This was a little unexpected but the quality of the road was great and it was a great challenge for me against my phobia of gravel. Even though the road was lacking in curves, the scenery was just lovely, real country Australia with narrow roads and considerate drivers.
We fuelled up at Biggenden (apparently the short cut to everywhere!) and on towards Childers. We were treated with a few beautiful curves just before the town, which made the deviation worth it.
On to Bundaberg, through sugar cane fields and over numerous sugar cane railway crossings, a series of very narrow gauge railway system covering a huge area of Queensland, specifically set up to support the sugar cane industry. We didn’t see any trains on the railway but we saw plenty of sugar cane waiting for harvest.
Bundaberg done, we continued north on a very straight road following signs for ‘Town of 1770’. More beautiful scenery, a stop at a town of 448 people for a stretch – yes, it was very quiet- before arriving at Agnes Water, next to Seventeen Seventy having skipped the ominous rain clouds threateneing in the distance.
And now we have a couple of nights here, at this gorgeous seaside town, before returning to the Sunshine Coast and then onto Brisbane. If we find an interesting route home, I’ll post about it. Otherwise, Happy New Year!
Lady on Motorbike 