Escaping Cyclones (Part Two)

We left 1770 vowing to return to explore more of this wonderful place. Our next destination was Bundaberg, or more specifically Bargara Beach. We found the Bargara Beach caravan park at the northern end and had an early dinner, as we had booked in for a Mon Repos experience tour.

Mon Repos is a world renowned turtle hatchery. Every year from November to February, three types of sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs in the soft sand. And then from January to March, the eggs start hatching and the baby turtles make the treacherous journey to the ocean to begin their life in the ocean. The visitor centre is exceptional, with plenty of information about these special marine creatures. 6 out of the 7 species of sea turtles in the world are found in Australia, and Mon repos is the perfect location to view them in their natural habitat.

We waited as part of a group at the information centre for several hours before heading for the beach to view some baby turtles making a run for it. What an amazing experience.

We were allowed a light touch of the hatchling turtle

Their flippers were going like mad

One of the displays in the information centre

The fantastic climbing trees in the caravan park, right beside our tent!

As we left Bargara the next morning, tropical cyclone Yasi was shaping up as the biggest storm ever seen in Australia. It was definitely time to escape this storm! We headed straight for Karens parents place in Maleny. The camper trailer is parked safely in the garage, while we are safe and sound staying in the house.

I quickly found a job in Brisbane repairing schools that were flooded, and have work for as long as we need it. We need it for about 8 weeks, to pay some bills and get ahead a little bit.

We watched with the rest of the country as the cyclone ravaged North Queensland and felt relieved that we weren’t there at the time. We are very pleased that no-one in our families was hurt or sustained too much damage during the storm.

So now we sit on the sunshine coast for two months and feel jealous every time we read a travel story about somewhere fabulous to visit. Never mind, we’ll be on the road again soon……