2010 Flooding on a property on the intersection of Woodbury & Bungundarra Roads

The last 2 days have seen some huge rainfall figures in the Yeppoon region, with Pacific Heights & Bungundarra receiving over 220mm. Most areas within 30km of Yeppoon (including Byfield) have received at least 90mm.

Beach erosion due to high tides and runoff has occurred in some areas, although Kemp Beach has been hit the hardest. Access to Kemp Beach by its southern entrance and carpark is limited, the easiest access is from the northern end at Rosslyn Bay.

I hope to have photos of the erosion up by next weekend.

Flooding has effected road closures in various low spots around Yeppoon & Gracemere, below is a list current as of 5PM today (1st February 2010). Not mentioned in the list is the closure of the two lower lanes on Farnborough Road near the Bluff. This post will be updated tomorrow with reopened roads, etc.

Yeppoon Road Closures

• Byfield Road at Stoney Creek and at Merrivale
• Coorooman Creek Road at Coorooman Creek
• Daly Creek Road, Bundgundarra
• Old Byfield Road at Limestone Creek (Mt Rae end)
• Barmaryee Road
• Bungundarra Road at Daly Creek
• Bangalee Boat Ramp beach access
• Alpis Creek Road

Gracemere Road Closures

• Malch – 9 Mile Road
• Alton Downs – 9 Mile Road
• Fairybower Road
• Aermby Road
• Capricorn Street
• Middle Road
• Macquarie Road
• Johnson Road
• Bajool road 1/2 covered with water – may also be cut very soon at Raglan and Marmor

At the moment the panoramas are only in JPEG format, and there a not many 360 degree views. However I plan to add 360 views in the Quicktime VR format, which allows people to pan and zoom around in a full circle.

Anyway, please have a look at the photo panoramas and tell me which ones you like best. For your information, I photographed most of them using my Canon A720 and the included photo stitching software.

Last Saturday I went with my family to Kemp Beach, because we wanted to explore the creek there, especially after the recent rain. I was a bit disappointed, because it was only flowing under the footpath at it’s usual slow rate. However when we walked up a bit I discovered that it mostly goes underground near the footpath, but further along it flows freely.

Anyway, just a couple of meters into our exploration I spotted a small snake with a yellow belly and a black top sunning itself. It wasn’t scared at all, because even when I stood on the other side of the stream it just stayed put.

Later on I had a glimpse of another snake, and from what I saw I think it was about 3 times thicker with the same markings as the little snake. Unlike the little one, however, he was definitely no hanging around, so he took off as soon as he saw (or heard) me.

The snake – which I think is a tree snake or a yellow belly.

As we progressed, we found quite a few small waterfalls such as the one above, although that is more like a minature waterfall.

Further up, we came out of the fairly dense tree cover and emerged into the open, where we could see up the rest of the hill.

In one particular spot we found there were heaps of little ferns (I think) growing under a tree.

We kept going up and entered into some more tree cover, where I found some really brightly coloured tendrils that were creeping across the rocks (in some places there was just sold rock that the water ran over).

Eventually, after I’d found some really pretty green moss and caught a glimpse of a much bigger snake with the same markings as the small snake, I reached the top. The above is a view over down the creek, over Kemp Beach and Rosslyn Bay, and in the distance, Yeppoon.

[tags]yeppoon, creek, water, kemp beach, mountain[/tags]

Kemp Beach

This picnic spot is actually part of the Capricorn Coast National Park. It’s located right on the beach, and walking trails that go around the hill near it are very popular with joggers. There are many bush turkeys living around the area too, so it is not advisable to leave food unattended. There are lots of trees covering most of the picnic area, so it is nice and cool most of the time. There is a large parking area a little bit away from the picnic area.

Three gas BBQs, at least three tables and at least three taps are provided. Showers and toilets are also provided for use. I do not advise you to swim in the area directly down from the picnic area though, as the sand below the water is covered in rocks of all sizes and degrees of sharpness. Instead I recommend that you go up the beach until you get to the area which is nearer to the road. There isn’t any rocks below the surface there.

To get there, head south from Yeppoon, passing over the Ross Creek bridge. Continue along that road until you reach Kemp Beach!

Lammermor Beach #1

This is the first of two good picnic spots on Lammermor Beach, located closer to the southern end of the beach. Although it’s not a designated lunch spot, it’s still one of my favourite ones. It has fantastic spreading trees straight over the top of the table, which provide shade and (you guessed it) climbing opportunities. There’s also a small creek called Williamson Creek near the picnic area, which flows out into the ocean.

It only has one table, one tap and no BBQ, so it is not for multiple groups of people. It is near the road, but the main reason it is so nice is because the beach access is only a couple of steps away. You can park wherever you like.

To get there, head south from Yeppoon, passing over the Ross Creek bridge. Continue along that road until you reach the start of Lammermor Beach, then drive a little slower and be on the lookout for the first round-about. It will then be straight to your left.

Lammermor Beach #2

This is the second of two good picnic spots on Lammermor Beach, located closer to the northern end of the beach. Definitely more popular than the first Lammermor picnic area, as there are often many people in this spot. This area is popular for celebrations like birthdays. One difference to all the others that I have mentioned is that it is on the top of a small hill, with the beach below you.

The area features about three tables, a few taps and BBQs, a toilet block and a car-park. The picnic area is quite exposed, both to the sun and the road. However, the tables have shelters over them to keep out the sun. Be careful with bare feet around the beach access and picnic area, there are lots of prickles and sometimes broken glass. The beach has lots of big rocks all over it, and there are lots of rock-pools that have been created in them.

To get there, head south from Yeppoon, passing over the Ross Creek bridge. Continue along that road until you reach Lammermor Beach, and the picnic area is just on your left.

Farnborough Beach

Out of all the picnic spots on this list, Farnborough Beach is the closest to Yeppoon. The particular spot that I am writing about now is right next to the Beachside Caravan Park. There is parking, taps and tables, but BBQ’s were given a miss.

The tables are all roofed under one section, with slats of wood separating them from each other. It does mean that you don’t get much privacy, but it’s a popular, nice place just next to the beach. The beach access is about 50m away from the tables. The tables themselves are usually fairly clean, although they do feature graffiti on them.

To get there, drive (or walk) a little less than 1km from Yeppoon, and the picnic spot will be the one closest to the Beachside Caravan Park.

The Homestead at Rydges Resort

At last, on to my favourite spot! The Rydges Resort is always a pleasure to be at, and this place is no exception. Although no tables or BBQs are provided, plenty of rocks and logs are available for sitting on. The place is hardly used, so that means it’s always very clean with no rubbish. The toilet block even has soap and paper towels in it! The Homestead is actually just an old building that has been converted into a function area, so it’s always locked up and isn’t the focus of interest. The focus of interest is typically the wetlands, which are a glorious sight to behold after lots of rain. Rydges has kindly built a small tower so that visitors can get a good view.

Parking is provided, but not clearly marked out. I don’t think Rydges would mind if you parked anywhere you liked on the grounds. At least, that is what my family does The place that we usually use for eating at is a cluster of trees right of the main entrance. It’s about a 250m walk to the toilet block though, so it won’t suit everyone. There are logs much closer to the toilets, but we found them too hard to prepare food on. Until recently, it used to have a few warped and broken tables there, but now they have taken them away. I suspect that is because of the safety risk for the horses wandering round.

That brings me to telling you that they have set up stables and horse rides there, and about every twice a day, a lady comes with a group of people to go on horse rides to Rydges and back. To walk to Rydges, there is a bike and walking trail that starts from the opposite side of the road as the entrance to the Homestead, and takes you out near the Archery set-up that Rydges have. The horses use a different route that is much sandier and quite hard to walk along.

To get there, drive north of Yeppoon until you come to a round about. Turn right towards Rydges, and follow that road until you come to a T-intersection. Turn right, and soon you’ll see a turn-off on your left pointing to the Homestead. If the gate there is shut, keep driving up the Corio Bay road for a few hundred metres and there should be a small turn-off to the left. Follow that for a hundred metres or so until you come to a gate which shouldn’t have any locks on it. Drive through there and you’ve arrived at the Homestead!

Below is an an image from Google Maps that shows the road and satellite views. Don’t be put off by the dry scenery, this image was taken in the middle of a very bad drought!