Biggenden to Burnett Heads

 06/10/2012
  After another hour of incomprehensible Skype we set off in the van to have a look around the countryside of  the North Burnett Region.  Though not known as a mountainous region it does have it’s fair share of hills and in some ways they remind us of the hills in the Kimberley, W A.
 First we had to pick up our meat raffle winnings from the butcher which turned out to be a $10 voucher, not to be sniffed at. Then we set off in the sweltering heat to look at the town of Gayndah, reputed to be the oldest town in Queensland with the oldest horse racing track. We are sure we have visited other towns with the same claim to fame.  Nevertheless Gayndah is a nice old country town which like many others just shuts down at the weekend.
 Once we had looked around and had a late lunch by the Burnett River we drove back to Biggenden via the scenic single track route just in time to park up then walk into town to the pub for happy hour.

 07/10/2012
 The nearest swimming hole is Paradise Dam about 35K’s away and it was our plan yesterday to go and visit there today. By 10- 30 ish this morning the temperature had crept over the 30C mark and was heading north. It was so hot we just couldn’t be arsed to pack everything away to go for a swim 30 mins drive away, so we have done nothing but sit in the shade waiting for the temperature to reach 40C ( it was close), reading and waiting for happy hour.
 Fortunately there are two pubs in Biggenden as our usual pub was incredibly noisy, it had to be bad, even I noticed it. The free juke box was on full bore and the world cup of pool was being played by a few locals…..unbelievable noise. We adjourned to the pub up the road, very quiet and bloody cheaper….bugger!

 08/10/2012
  So that was Biggenden, remembered as the least expensive caravan park in Australia, so far! We are now on the coast just 5 minutes drive from the city of Bundaberg famous for Bundaberg rum which is distilled there. Not far from here is the town of Gin Gin, (so good they named it twice) so the whole area seems to have some sort of spiritual connection. Our little part of the coast is called Burnett Heads and the van park boasts absolute beachfront location.  It’s true the sea is just 100m away and  we can see it from our van but it’s a boat harbour without any boats and little sign of a beach. A narrow strip of coarse sand is about it. We have had a walk and it is much cooler than yesterday, (25 C ) so we haven’t felt the need to throw ourselves into the sea. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

 09/10/2012
  The tide was out this morning which meant our boatless harbour had transformed into a mud flat, not what we were hoping for at all. In the end we decided on a quiet day working on the tan though even that became a bit of a pain as we have had a howling gale all day.
 The kids may have gone back to school but there are still a few old aged Victorian nomad stragglers who haven’t yet set off south for the summer. Shouldn’t be long before they go but in the meantime they spend their time trying to wear out their air con units in their posh caravans or spend the day polishing their ever so shiny 4WD  vehicles. Call me cynical, but Victorians just seem to get up my nose!