There’s a sleepy little sea change region
I visited when I was 18 called Seventeen
Seventy,
located about 2 hours north of
Bundaberg (QLD), which I ventured to again with my bestie over the new year’s
period to escape the chains of our Brisbane desks.
What had stuck in my head as a sedate little
paradise of Captain Cook fame, boasting colourful locals, bronzed surfers, plenty of Australian
bush and ‘beer o’clock’ had barely changed one bit to my delight!
No supermarkets in sight just speckled with a few little convenience
stores, surf shops, some beautiful beaches and places to refresh our
thirst. My favourite watering-hole was
called ‘The Tree’ enticing a mix of locals and some holiday makers, serving a
mean Long Island Iced-Tea. The tucked away gem overlooked the glistening water where the house
boats docked as well as the cruising, diving and fishing boats that frequented
Lady Musgrave & Elliot islands, Great Barrier Reef and the surrounding area.
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| View from 'The Tree' |
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| Long Island Iced-Tea time at The Tree |
Our friend Neil offered to take us for a sand boarding
excursion out on one of the island-hopping businesses he owned, however I was not prepared for his
‘hybrid fleet’ of vehicles that sparked my childish imagination in an excitable way.
Was it a boat? Was it a steely people mover,
was it potentially a submarine? …it was a
LARC! Was it way awesome? Yes!
It was essentially a boat with wheels and an engine that
could handle road, rough and soft terrain, and of course water! An amphibious vehicle they affectionately called it. This was like
the monster truck I have always wanted to own that would enable me to drive over anything, including other cars, and park anywhere during the dreaded Christmas shopping periods at malls
when I have left all my present acquisition until the
last minute.
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| Rear view of the LARC at one of our island stops |
The inner child in me struggled to contained itself. Not
only were we gliding through water with ease, dolphins greeting us right beside
the boat, switching to land mode caning it down the beach, but we were also going
to slide down a big ass sand hill on a tiny little board. It was a beautiful
sun-kissed day and both me and my mate Jodie couldn’t wipe the smiles off our
faces despite our 5 hours sleep.
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| Caning down the beach! |
We arrived at the dunes on Middle Island after passing one
idyllic beach with rugged wilderness views after another, and we were greeted
with the largest ‘hunk’ of sand mountain I have ever seen in my life. I’m no
sand dune connoisseur but, it was prodigiously impressive even to this seasoned
beach lover. I was actually
apprehensive! I thought when we got there I would be face palming children out
of the way to get to the top first, but even the littlies embarrassingly beat
me to the punch. It took me a while to envisage which part I was going to
face plant first.
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| Jodie in front of one of the dunes |
Jodie and myself finally ran up the sweltering hot sand with
board in hand to have our first crack. We were told to let our toes touch the
sand for a bit to create a little bit of resistance on the way down
(sophisticated braking system). I watched Jodes disappear over the edge of the
sandy abyss before lying flat on the board for my go. As Neil pushed me off (something I’m sure he delighted in) I slid easily down the first part of the hump revealing the drop off before
me, which I went bolting down! Sliding and spinning out over water at the end,
the coolness offered a refreshing respite to the fire I was quite certain must have been
coming off my feet as I hurtled down forgetting to remove my toes even once!
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| The sandy drop off that shoots you over the water! |
After a couple of goes flying down the dune with speed,
cooling swims, lunch and Jodie getting stung by a jellyfish we had already
forgotten about a thing called work and were making the blissful transition to
holiday hippies!
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| Holiday Hippies! |
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| The LARC is no match for my immaturity! |
The verdict? Awesome five hours of day trip fun! The sand is a scorcher on feet, but the plus
side is you could bet someone that you can walk over hot coals later (down at
The Tree) and almost pull it off with the lack of sensitivity in
your feet. However I wouldn’t actually
recommend that, not until consumption of at least 4 Long Island Iced Teas ;)
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| Prawns and tropical cocktails back at The Tree |
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| Sunset view (zoomed) from The Tree :) |
