Having spent an amazing time in Halliday Bay Resort, Queensland playing golf, swimming in the ocean, sunning ourselves, walking Max along the beach and meeting some great people who we will stay in touch with, it was time to move on.  We will definitely return to this spot for an extended stay.

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We hooked up and got on the highway heading north as usual on our way to the little town of Proserpine which is close to the renowned town of Airlie Beach.  This drive was one of our shorter trips.  We left pretty early as the free camp in Proserpine is quite a small one that can fill up by early afternoon.  Arriving sharp we have no issues finding a spot in the camp helped by several people giving us the tip that they would be leaving soon, leaving us their space.

We also had our bus mates arriving soon so we asked a couple to take their time leaving to allow the BIG bus to grab the spot which worked perfectly.  

We then took a drive to Airlie Beach which was nice enough but it felt a bit of a yacht club kind of town.  There was however lot’s of back packer accomodation complimented by heaps of bars.  The walk round the lagoon in town was ok but lot’s of “prohibited signs” no doing this or that and we had to follow dog paws painted on the ground so didn’t get to see quite a bit of it.  We considered taking a trip to one of the many islands but decided against it as it would be just a bit rich for us.  

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After deciding we had enough it was back to Proserpine. We also managed to get our second COVID injection done here having failed in Mackay.

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Later that night we headed in to the prince of Wales Hotel which we read about online.   Lot’s of folks had recommended this place as the place in town for food.

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We got in early having booked a table so as not to miss out.  The menu had all our personal favourites.  We started with oysters which were huge, fresh and just a treat.  These were followed up by duck pancakes then it was time for the mains.  I had to have the beef Wellington, Kaz ordered the rack of lamb.  Richo the mixed grill and Rachael the rib eye steak.  If you are ever in this town then I would recommend you get in to this place.  

We had intended to stay for a couple of nights here but decided we would move.  Early  next morning we hooked up heading for the town of Bowen where we stayed in a cheap place just outside of town.  This was free camping so using our own onboard water and solar power.  There was not much to the place although it did have a small camp kitchen a swimming pool but both were pretty old we didn’t use either.We took a drive in to town then toured a few of the many beaches around all had warnings against swimming due to crocodiles and singers.  The towns claim to fame is the very long boardwalk and local hotel both which featured in the movie Australia. We also visited the local fish shop where grabbed some beautiful prawns.

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Having purchased a second solar panel for the caravan from Jayco, our bus mates offered to fit it for us which is amazing.  Richo got on to the job and expertly installed the new panel linking them together and we now have 9 Amps pumping in.  We also have our solar blanket which we can add but don’t see us needing it much.

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We had a couple of incidents in camp.  Ones was a couple of the local kids in 4×4 utes driving along the bush tracks around.  What they didn’t know was that these tracks are owned by the guy who owns the park.  So as they tried to leave the owner stopped them providing them with an education in driving then demonstrated how they would be dealt with if they return. 

The second was incident was a little less funny as the couple who were camping close to us had a couple kids one seemed to be sick with lots of coughing and crying.  This continued in to and carried on in to the night.  Sadly in the early morning with the poor kid still hysterically crying the parents were busy having a full on domestic argument until the mother got in their car and drove off.  As we left we could only hope they got it together for the poor kids.

A bit of a bonus was that we were up early and having filled our water tanks we hit the road with a three hour drive through Townsville to Balgal Beach and the Mystic Sands Golf and Country Club.   Having called we were told that they don’t take bookings as they have so much room.  

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After a three and a half hour drive we arrived to find the place pretty tight with minimal spaces available.  To give them their due some people were parking in a very selfish way taking up more room then needed and not thinking of anyone else.

After our bus mates arrived we spent a stupid amount of time trying to make the place suit us but in the end we decided to admit defeat and motor on to Forrest Beach RV site another 50k north where it seems we arrived at a good time with several good areas to set up.  

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There’s not much here site wise but it’s a great base to tour around.  It also has an amazing wild beach across the way which ensures we fall asleep to the sound of the ocean.