In June we did a short trip up to Yeppoon. We stayed at the Causeway Caravan park for four days. So many adventures were to be had during this trip!! We were true survivors!
Three times we underestimated just how much water disappears when the tide goes out up here, a huge area of water can turn into a sandy dessert it an hour or two.
Our major adventure occurred when we decided to explore a bay. We spent the day fishing and having a lovely lunch on a deserted beach. We then found a great fishing spot and sat for too long catching queen fish and flat head. We started to think that the sand atoll next to us was getting rather large, by the time we pulled ourselves away from the fish we discovered that the great expanse of water we traversed to get to this fishing spot was now nothing but sand and puddles.
Tide not due to come in for another 6 hours, we are all dressed in shorts and singlets and it is about to get dark and cold, what to do?
I decided to walk back across the sand to see if i can find any jumpers in the car or at least the picnic blanket to keep us warm, lee and kids are waiting behind to gather wood for a fire. I walk for 40 mins only to get to the only amount of water left which is too deep and wide to walk across to get to the car. I manage to wave down some guys in a boat further up the river who very kindly run me to the other side to get to the car and back again, they also offered me some blankets and a torch.
I trudge 40 mins back across the sand. Lee is very happy that while i was in the car i happened to find the lighter he thought he had with him to light a fire! He was beginning to worry that if we couldn't light a fire to keep mozzies away and keep warm he might have to bury the kids up to their necks in sand!!!
We light a fire and cuddle up under the blankets and wait for the water to start coming in. It is freezing and the mosquitoes could carry us away. Of course we dont have any bug repellant, i do however have some conditioner i had used that day to treat jas hair for lice! So, i rubbed that all over my legs which amazingly kept the mosquitos at bay!
We sit and wait, finally we detect some water movement, it is time to go back to the boat.
Unfortunately it is still not enough to go any where but we need to wait in the boat because the tide comes in very fast. As the water gets a little deeper we start trying to row the boat because it is just too cold to sit and wait any longer. While doing this the water begins to really move and we can finally start the motor. We are still not in the clear though, the way back is wrought with further danger posed by all the dead trees and logs that stick out of the water everywhere. The torch we were lent is on its last legs of battery life so can only be used sparingly. So we motored along painfully slowly switching the torch on every few minutes to scan ahead for trees.
When we finally reach the bank we are so relieved to be back, stiff from the cold we welcome the warmth of the car. However, the night is not over yet.
With the boat loaded on the trailer and a joyous kirkman family finally ready to head to a warm shower we start to pull the trailer out of the shallows, unfortunately the sand is very soft and the wheels just spin and dig into the sand! Not to be beaten we gather leaves and branches from nearby trees and place them under the wheels to help gain some traction, two attempts later and success!!!!!
At 11.30 pm the kids eat mac and cheese in bed and we finally get to snuggle up in a warm bed and go to sleep. What a day!!!! What an adventure!!!
