Aug 17 Bowen, Airlie Beach, Wilson Beach

The town of Bowen wasn't much, but being located on a point, it is surrounded by beautiful beaches in several directions. We had morning tea at the northern beach where I enjoyed a swim in the ocean. And then we had our lunch at the southern beach. Apart from the guy who pulled up next to us and vomited before he even got out of the car, it was quite lovely, peaceful and scenic.

View of the northern beaches of Bowen from the lookout

Morning tea at the northern beach



Princess enjoys the beach, but she wouldn't come swimming with me



Packing up after a lovely lunch at the southern beach of Bowen

Bowen has a claim to fame in that it was the site used for the movie "Australia" (with Hugh and Nic). There are 2 large vacant blocks down by the south beach where the sets were built and dirt was dumped on the road for the cattle to roam on. The "Information" lady advised that the movie sets were all bombed and burnt. If I had watched the movie to the end apparently I would have understood that it all gets burnt down as part of the story. Now they're waiting for someone to build a block of units there. Looks like it may take a while. We liked Bowen but there wasn't a lot of life in the town.

From Bowen, we went on to Hydeaway Bay. The beach here was lovely, but it was access was restricted because of people's backyards. I think this is wrong when properties extend right up to the beachfront and public access is restricted and difficult. The caravan park was consequently quite some distance away from the beach. Lucky people who get to own such property; unlucky everyone else.

We drove through Airlie Beach, turned around and got the hell out of there. It's like another Gold Coast. People everywhere; tacky shops; showy resorts. And there's no beach; no sand that we could see. Just a marina with a huge selection of over-sized boats.

So we kept driving down the coast and found some beautiful, less-popular beaches. We found a quiet place called Wilson Beach where we enjoyed sushi and noodle salad on the beach as the sunset. Very special. (sorry, no photos)

But, no camping allowed at Wilson Beach. And it was getting dark. We found a quiet spot around the corner from the beach at the boat ramp and thought we would be OK for the night...