McCarthy's Go Round

  1-6 December: Agnes Waters Set off to Agnes via a morning stop in Rockhampton. A larger town than i had expected, with some beautiful historic buildings and a great riverside park. We arrived in Agnes Waters-  a beautiful secluded beachfront camp, like a hidden gem within the Gladstone region. It feels like a definate change of patronage though, with no interstate travellers, more queenslanders on their annual holiday.  There was plenty of body boarding & surfing, soccer & games on the beach, morning runs, picnics in The town of 1770 & exploring the area. The town of 1770 has been built on the site of the second landing in Australia by James Cook & the crew of HM Bark Endeavour in May 1770. It is one of 4 places on the east coast where you can enjoy the sunset over the ocean.  We spent a day exploring the beautiful Paperbark Forest near Agnes. We also enjoyed 4wdriving through Deep Water National Park where we swam & surfed at Wreck Rock. We had...

  Sunday 29- 1 December: Emu Park Emu Park is a small coastal town on the Capricorn Coast. Home of the famous singing ship monument which sings with the ocean breeze. There is precious little information about first Nations People in this region, more a shrine to Captain Cook who sighted the area in 1770. We enjoyed our slow pace in this laid back seaside town. Riding bikes, walking through the impressive ANZAC Commemorative Precinct, playing in the park & doing some craft back at camp. We spent our last evening back in Yeppoon exploring the foreshore, park & of course skate park. It's a really impressive town. 

  Wednesday 25-29 November: Pumpkin Island We have been looking forward to our Island getaway since being in Darwin. It was quite an effort packing up everything we needed for our stay as nothing is available on the Island. Part of the intrigue in visiting Pumpkin was linked to this Island being Australia’s first and only carbon positive island, a place where you can positively contribute to climate change action. The Island has attained Australia’s highest ecotourism certification and long- term operational permits granted by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. The focus is on sustainability- saving water, power, minimising carbon emissions, conserving and protecting the natural environment and reducing their ecological footprint.   This tiny island eco-retreat is 13.8km off the coast of Yeppoon in the Keppel Islands. It is located in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park so is fringed by reef. The Island has been in operation as a low key, low impact destination for...