Monday 22nd August Lake Awoonga

 On this trip we have deliberately avoided staying in large cities or towns we have visited in the past and as a result we have discovered some wonderful new places. We have now discovered a new spot by accident. We had hoped to travel to Hervey Bay but when looking for accommodation were unable to find any available for tonight, hence we looked elsewhere. We found a caravan park on the edge of Lake Awoonga that was only a two hour drive from Yeppoon. It is also inland from Gladstone. This lake has been formed by a dam wall, again built in the 1980’s like the Burdekin Falls Dam. The manager of the caravan park said that the lake is only at 60% capacity as unlike further north, this area is in drought. We arrived well before lunch and soon settled in. We went for a walk down to the lake followed by a drive, to discover the magnificent facilities provide by Queensland Water. Dotted all around the lake close to the caravan park are lovely parks with playgrounds, BBQs, toilets and magnificent gazebos with tables and seats in them and fantastic views across the lake. Lovely grassed areas are nearby.  There is hardly anybody here at the moment but as the temperature increases and during holidays this area becomes busy with families enjoying the facilities. Fishing (apparently there are big barramundi and sooty grunters in the lake), water-sports, swimming etc. are all popular. After lunch I went for another long kayak, enjoying the bird-life and the wild-life on the shore. We thought next time we come this way we would stay for a few days and Rob could play golf as there are at least 2 golf-courses nearby.