Well I'm back to doing another catch up post in an effort to get back to the normality of only being a few weeks behind, not several months behind.
MISSION BEACH
After leaving the Tablelands we headed of to Mission Beach for Linda's Birthday and the AFL Grand Final (last years) before heading in to Kurrimine Beach to help out at Marcus & Kay's van park (Kurrimine Beach Holiday Park).
Linda put up all Collingwood gear and I put up a timber fence to stop the rocks hitting the van; they did win so her indoors was happy. The park we stayed at was Dunk Island View and it is one of the cheaper (if not the cheapest) parks at Mission Beach; I may have blogged this previously but just to clarify the rates are good and they offer seniors and the 7 for 6 nights deal, it does have a pool but no other equipment kids wise. Amenities are clean and plenty of shower/toilet cubicles. The park is opposite the beach (one road to cross) and is approximately 2km from the small shopping centre that has a Woolies.
Above: Lin's Collingwood gear out and just before I built the fence.
KURRIMINE BEACH
Post Mission Beach we headed into Kurrimine Beach; Marcus & Kay needed a break and we offered to manage the park for them for a few weeks. This is a great little park situated between Mission Beach & Innisfail, it has around 50 sites and 10 cabins and is great if you want to fish or just relax without the hustle & bustle.
Kurrimine has a few shops but the majors are either Mission or Innisfail. I have blogged this park previously.
Lots of palm trees within the park so it is a constant battle keeping it neat and tidy.
Linda in the office checking site availability (or playing solitaire).
When it comes to the shed Marcus keeps a lot of his gear in it is definitely a mission to find anything; Marcus had a knack of finding what he wanted but for me it took quite some time.
Whilst we were in Kurrimine the A/C in the van decided to die in the backside; after a lengthy battle with Dometic the best they would offer was to replace the complete rooftop section for $1000 plus I would also have to pay the $200 labour. Admittedly the unit was out of warranty but given the low usage it to me was a bit off. Following Marcus & Kay's return we headed to Townsville to get the new A/C fitted before heading further south
On our way back to Brisbane we stayed at a few overnighters (no pictures, sorry) they were Home Hill (after the A/C was fitted), Kutabul & Malborough. All of these were okay for overnight stays which is what they are on the main highway for; any longer and you would go nuts.
CALLIOPE
We made it into Calliope to stay with our Niece Tara, hubby Shannon and their daughter Sarina.
I just love these free stays; gypsy trash in a new housing estate, who cares; not I.
AGNES WATER / 1770
After leaving Calliope we headed into Agnes Water / 1770 as we were contacted by them to see if we wanted a few weeks work following Christmas. We agreed to this so further on you will see more on our time at Captain Cook.
The park is Captain Cook Holiday Village and it is situated between Agnes Water & 1770; the park is very rural and is well treed so if you are not fond of the bush and a heavily treed environment then it is not for you. The park is very peaceful and quiet so is more suited to the mature generation. It has a pool which good but no other kids equipment (suits me); the amenities (2 blocks) are first class and kept in an immaculate condition and maintenance within the park is always up to date. Prices here at the time were $32 per night; it is a Top Tourist park so 10% discount applies but if you are not TT the you can still get a week and pay for 6 nights.
The main shopping is at Agnes Water with an IGA and Foodworks; there are several smaller shops, cafe's, eateries etc. The town does have a pub and service station. As far as major shopping goes it is either Bundaberg or Gladstone which are about 130km away; it is best to stock up on food lines as the IGA & Foodworks are not the best place to be doing a major shop for food as they can be quite expensive.
If you are intending to visit I would check availability as coming in all this way off the highway to find all the parks are fully booked can be quite upsetting; there are 4 parks in the area so plan ahead to avoid disappointment.
One of the sites at Captain Cook; as I said most are under trees.
View from the back of the park; as you can see there are lots of trees (you know my thought on trees).
MUDJIMBA
Decided to stay at our Daughter Rebecca & Nick's place in Mudjimba for the Christmas week; we could fit up the driveway and get the awning out but to do that I had to drive the car into the garage with the van so as still to leave room in the driveway. It fitted perfectly with the only downside being we could not use our car once in and set up; Bec & Nick had cars so no big deal as we used their's when needed.
Made for a great Christmas with all the family turning up over a three days (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day & Boxing Day). It was good times for all with Kid's, Grandkids, Nieces & Nephews all turning up.
Above is our van tucked neatly into Bec's driveway; the car was in front and stayed there for the duration (1 week).
One of the many gut filling meals we all ate over Christmas; there was never any shortage of food.
After the main Christmas week we headed off to our usual Christmas place of residence, Scarborough to catch up with a lot of our friends for a few weeks. I have not bothered to blog this as it is always where we will be if we are back in Brisbane for Christmas.
1770
Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's of to work we go; yes we did agree to do 4 – 5 weeks managing Captain Cook Holiday Village in February whilst Tim & Vanessa (the usual managers) took time off.
All up we were at the park 6 weeks doing hand over on the first week; we used our van on this occasion although we could have used one of the cabins, as all our stuff was in the van we opted to stay on one of the sites. On the 3rd week of us being at 1770 our new A/C unit died again (3 months use); bit of story to follow about this but I'll leave that for the next post, I call it the “A/C Shuffle & Chase”.
To give you an idea the park has 28 cabins of various sizes from basic bungalows to 2 bedroom villas; there are about 70 sites, most powered. The park has a general store, incoming mail boxes for 1770's mail and a restaurant & take away. There are approximately 12 staff which alternate on cleaning duties (depending cabin usage), office relief and a cook a waiting staff. There is also 2 grounds staff that assist throughout the park.
Above shows the general store and check in area; the managers residence is above the shop.
Above shows part of the general store and the shop counter.
After the mail was delivered each morning it was sorted and put in the relevant pigeon holes behind the counter for collection by 1770 town residents.
Front of the Deck restaurant; it was closed when this photo was take as some renovations were taking place. Must admit the food is very good here and well priced, it is also fully licensed.
Above was Linda at the till which at times seemed to be a little possessed; the bloody thing would sometimes lock up and not open. When it happened it would drive you nuts especially when the shop and check in area was busy.
If anyone tells you that managing/working a caravan park is easy or “it's a doddle” don't believe them as it is not so much hard as continuous and pretty much seven days a week. Just because the office says hours of 8.00am to 6.30pm be assured the hours are much longer than that.
Whilst we were here it was during the period that cyclone “Yasi” hit far north Queensland; it did not affect us directly but it did cause serious damage the Marcus & Kay's park at Kurrimine Beach.
After we handed Captain Cook back to Tim & Vanessa we headed north to Kurrimine to see what had happened and also give them another break. This was also where the A/C Shuffle & Chase began.
That will be in the next post along with some photos of the outright destruction caused by “Yasi” and why the sudden jump in banana prices.
Hope to do another catch up run and have it up in a week or so but will always email to let you know about the update.
Until then stay well and travel safe; our love & warm regards goes to all our family & friends.
David & Linda – The DavLin Rig
