Thomas Family Road Trip: Seventeen Seventy (1770) (25/3/12

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Seventeen Seventy (1770) (25/3/12 - 27/3/12)

We set off from rainy Bundaberg on Sunday morning. We had only driven 35kms when we came to a detour - the main road we needed to take to 1770 was closed due to the rain in the past 3 days. No surprise. Unfortunately the detour added 80kms to our trip. However, when we arrived in 1770 we discovered we were lucky to have got in at all. No one had been able to get in or out of 1770 for the past three days up until the morning we arrived.

1770 is a gorgeous little coastal town. Famously known as the birthplace of Queensland, 1770 was named by Captain Cook and his crew who came ashore on their ship the Endeavour on 24th May 1770 and discovered Queensland. 1770 and nearby Agnes Water are seaside communities connected by kilometres of beach, and the start of the southern Great Barrier Reef.

We stayed at the 1770 campground, which was right on the beach. Great location. Unfortunately we didn't swim here as it is well known for stone fish and a fellow camper spotted a blue ringed octopus the day we arrived. Despite this, the kids had a ball at the beach digging holes and building sand sculptures. The crocodile was a stand out. As has been the case the last few stops, we had one day of rain and one day of sunshine.

Simon got his boat fix by going out with Trevor, another camper and pulling his mud crab nets. Trevor became Donna's best friend as he generously gave us 2 huge crabs he had caught. Donna's favourite seafood!

We visited the site of Captain Cook's landing, not far from where we were staying. Chloe and Ben had their history lesson here.

We went to Red Rock Reef in Agnes Water. A surf beach and not at its best. Unfortunately because of the heavy rain recently, the river water has flowed into the ocean, so it is brown. Not very appealing at all. The kids still managed to have fun - playing on the rocks and in the ocean foam!

1770 also has one of the nicest pubs in terms of location. It has stools and benches facing out to the ocean. Beautiful and very enjoyable.

We enjoyed watching the sunset at 1770 - its been a long time since we have seen the sun set over the water.

We had thought we would stay at 1770 for 5+ days. Unfortunately, Rockhampton was put on flood alert, with the Fitzroy River expected to peak on Thursday. As Rockhampton is only 130kms north of 1770 and we need to pass through Rockhampton to progress north, we decided to move on and pass Rockhampton prior to Thursday.