Day 81 – Friday 8^th October 2021 –  230 Km

Packed & away on the road by 8.50am driving further south. The road tracks inland away from the coast & the countryside is mostly very poor looking with dry grass, scraggy gum trees & very poor looking cattle. We do see a cane farm burning & going up in smoke ready for harvest. The traffic is reasonably light and we are only stopped once for roadworks near Gladstone.  We turn off not far past the roadworks & head towards the coast through rural farmland and lifestyle size blocks of land. We drive past a group of small mountains that are the plugs of extinct volcanoes, some are mostly just rock, they are very striking on the landscape. As we get close to the coast the trees & grasses look a lot better, obviously a lot more rain.

Around midday we arrive at our destination of Kinka Beach (near Yeppoon) after 230km of driving. I check in to the van park, step around the big beautiful peacock as I walk out the door & then we set the van up. It is in a really nice spot under a group of gum trees. As we finish a lady in a pie truck drives past & stops, ringing a bell. Pies for lunch it is.

We decide to drive in to Emu Park for some grocery shopping, it is only 5km down the road from Kinka Beach. We drive around the ocean front at Emu Park looking at the scenery & houses before heading in to the centre of town & shops. We always seem to buy a lot more than what is on our list. The Drakes IGA supermarket is very good with a great range & well priced.

Overlooking the shops & beachfront is a monument on the headland that we decide to have a look at, the Singing Ship. This is an amazing sculpture that makes musical notes as the wind blows through the pipes, a very impressive piece of art. It is to honour James Cook, the navigator that named Keppel Bay, the waterway that Emu Park is built next to.

From the Singing Ship there is a Memorial Walkway that is a boardwalk along the cliff top that leads down to a memorial pavilion with displays that remember & honour the men & women that served in the First World War. It was a project by the Emu Park RSL & is an amazing memorial. This is one of the very best memorials we have ever seen. The adjoining park overlooking the Emu Park Beach has an amazing children’s playground plus lots of seating & BBQ areas. It is all very neat & tidy with well kept garden beds & mown grass. The views out over Keppel Bay to Great Keppel Island & all the surrounding islands is stunning as well. We are very impressed with this little town of Emu Park.

Back to Kinka Beach & our van where Tereza unloads & packs the groceries away before preparing dinner. Another great day.