The kayaks finally get a work out

After leaving Mum & Dad at Carnarvon Gorge we headed north to Bedford Weir (near Blackwater). We’ve had a few good kayaking experiences there in the past. Actually, Bedford Weir was where we decided to buy kayaks. We had chatted to some other campers there in 2004 and they had a double kayak. One afternoon they brought the paddles and life vests over and insisted we take their boat out to try it out. We were hooked! This time we weren’t disappointed either, as we spent a lazy afternoon in the sun, slowly paddling among the dead trees, sneaking up on birds.

Our next stop was Byfield State Forest, just north of Yeppoon. It turned into quite a social week as we ended up sharing campfires with fellow travellers most nights. Dazz managed to catch up on a few running repairs that had been added to the list over the previous weeks, we went on a few walks, saw lots of birds (including scarlet honeyeaters), and went for a drive down the coast to Emu Park.



Some of our new friends recommended the Calliope River rest area as a nice place to stop. The river was tempting, but the breeze and croc signs put us off.

A bush camp on the western side of Lake Awonga was the perfect place to finish this part of our travels. We stayed three nights and went kayaking each day. The weather was warm and still, the reflections glassy, and the scenery stunning. We paddled up tributaries lined with water lilies, watched forest kingfishers diving for little fish and rainbow bee eaters flitting in the trees, and brolgas and whistling kites fly overhead and even scared a few schools of good sized fish (presumably barramundi – no bites though!). We’ve put it on our list of places to go back to next time where up that way.





This week we’re back in Toowoomba preparing for our trip to Turkey – only a week to go! Our next blog will probably be from the other side of the world…