A VISIT TO BEACHMERE AND BRIBIE ISLAND...

 We were due for our Covid boosters early January and because we were away from home, we had to find somewhere on the coast to have our shots.  That is easier said than done as we do not have local GP's down here at the moment...

As Covid is suddenly rampant down here since we opened our Queensland border, I decided to go on line to try and book in to have it as it is over six months since our first shots so didn't really want to have it and get it over and done with especially with so many coming down with it around us...

Going on line to book an appointment meant that the earliest appointment we could get to have our booster was the 22nd of February and we really didn't want to wait that long...

In the end, we got talking to our neighbour who is a nurse in one of the medical practices down at Beachmere and she was happy to bring paperwork home for us to fill in and then if we wanted to be at the surgery she works at by 7.30am on the following morning, she would be able to give us our shot before their clinic started for the day.  We thought this was an ideal opportunity for us so we took her up on the offer..

Booster done and dusted..

Since we had to come all this way we decided to make a day of it and check out Beachmere and even Bribie Island.  We were out of the surgery before 7.45pm and our neighbour recommended that we check out the bakery in town as it was really good.

We also noticed that IGA was open, so I suggested to Steve that he might like to check out and see if they had any toilet paper as the supermarkets back closer to us were all out.  Lots of empty shelves again.  With the kids staying with us at the moment, we are going through a heap of toilet paper so we were very fortunate that Steve managed to find a pack of 12 still on the shelf.  Mind you, it was incredibly expensive toilet paper at almost a $1 a roll.  With that done and dusted, we picked up something for a snack to have down at the park and also bought some fresh lamingtons for morning tea...

Having a snack down at the park at Beachmere...

After our snack, the children had a little play in the playground before we headed down to check out the beach.  We walked down through A & M Lehman Park which had a couple of picnic tables, an electric BBQ and some sculptures in the park,  this led straight onto a landing which led down onto the beach and a jetty that led out into the water....

 

Taking pride of place in the park is one of Luke Zwoisman's stone sculpture titled "Osmosis".  This sculpture represents "Exploring the nature of water, it's ever changing state and it vitality to life".  It was commissioned by the Caboolture Shire Council back in 2007.  It is an interesting piece of work and the sculptor Luke Zwoisman has established his place as an acclaimed Asutralian stone sculptor and master stone mason.  His specialty is working with granite.

The other interesting sculpture in the park was a piece entitled "Oxygen".  This piece was created by Glen Manning and Kathy Daly and the inspiration for this piece was taken from the endemic plant, animal and marine life as well as the importance of the local natural environment, lifestyle and recreational activities.

The interesting thing about this piece of sculpture is that we know one of the artists.  His older brother was a good friend of Steve's at high school and if we are correct, he was born and bred in Bundaberg and his father owned a pie shop there....  It's a small small world. 

A very interesting fence...

From the park here I noticed a very interesting fence on a house adjoining the park.  I got to have a bit of chat to the owner who was cleaning her front windows.  Apparently her son had wanted them to look after his dog whilst he was away for an extended period of time and they were worried that their fence would not contain him, so there son designed and hand cut their new addition to heighten their fence.  She also informed me that lots of people come past and admire it and take photos of it just like me...  Each piece has a story to tell about their family life...

Pretty much a full tide with very little beach left..

By the time we got down to the beach front, there was very little beach left as the tide was almost right in.  It was a pretty high tide with the little jetty almost under water.  It was a very calm day with no waves whatsoever, so the children walked down onto the beach and then out along the jetty.  Max wasn't too keen to wander out too far onto it, but Willow walked pretty much out to the end...

The water was lapping the jetty

By the time the children walked out onto the jetty it was almost all covered in water..

We probably spent a good hour down on the beach front with the children before they needed a toilet break.  On the way back to the toilets, the kids came across this awesome skate park, and of course, they needed to check it out.  We were pretty impressed with this little sleepy village..

 

 Beachmere is a great place and a real "hidden gem".  There has obviously been quite a bit of money spent and also being spent building and upgrading their properties.  We also noticed a lot of work going on and expansion of retirement living complexes and also money being spent on developing the foreshore.  Whilst Beachmere is only a stones throw from Bribie Island, it doesn't have the high price tags that properties and rentals in Bribie Island have.  

Beachmere derived it name from an early residence owned by Thomas Edwin Bonney by the name of Beachmere, meaning a beach upon marshy ground.  Bonney is believed to have been the first settler in the area, having arrived in 1870. 

Whilst there are  lots of pretty amazing houses right on the water front at Beachmere.  I am not sure that I would want to be quite so close to water as you would really have a problem with rust, and the cleaning from the sea spray would be endless...

After visiting the public amenities, we decided to go for a little drive along the esplanade at Beachmere.  There were a few vacant block of land, but also lot of recently newer homes built on the water's edge.  We did come across a rather interesting fence with some amazing fish made from scrap wood, old coat hangers and other bits and pieces.  It was quite impressive, so I stopped to take some photos of it...

It's things like this that making places like Beachmere interesting...

One of the other things we had seen on our drive into Beachmere was their painted water tower, so we were keen to stop close by and have a good look at it and photograph it also...

The painting of the Beachmere Water Tower is a pretty new addition to the town, having been painted by Brightiders in April and May of 2021.  The water tower was transformed with vibrant artwork to coincide with the community's 150th anniversary celebration of the seaside town.

The design features a colourful display of local wildlife, capturing the community appeal of Beachmere. During the voting period, the community  preferred to see the more locally common yellow-tailed black cockatoo on the tower rather than the red-tailed variety used in the design. So the artwork was updated accordingly! 

The design features a colourful display of local wildlife, including the black cockatoo, pelican and soldier crabs. The design captures the community appeal of Beachmere, where the ribbed-patterned sand makes the perfect playground for families of all generations.

From Beachmere we decided to head towards Sandstone Point.  Where we could we kept to the Esplanade and the coastal road, exploring the beaches and boat ramps where we could.

Boat ramp we discovered along our drive

We found a few hidden gems whilst exploring having found a little little lagoon area that had lots of black swans swimming there.   It seemed to be a breeding ground for them.  On the other side of the road where lovely homes that were built down onto the beach.  It was a lovely setting and we came across some very interesting flower trees there also. 

Lots of black swans on the water

Not sure what plant this was, but it was a sort of cactus but the flowers were amazing...

We came across some beach access and Steve was keen to check out the beach here as elsewhere the water came right in to the rock wall that had been built along the coast to protect against beach erosion.  Max was keen to hop out of the car and explore the beach with Poppy...

 

The kids were starting to get hungry again by now,  and were keen to stop somewhere for a play, so we headed towards Sandstone Point.  We hadn't been to this area of the coast previously also, so thought it was worth exploring on our way to Bribie Island.

As we drove around the coastline we came across Sandstone Park.  This was an interesting park with a trail that could be followed documenting the story of the explorer John Oxley and his discovery of the Brisbane River and this area of the coast..

Sandstone Park is also a pleasant spot for a picnic or a play. There were several fisherman trying their luck in the passage when we arrived, although we didn't actually see them catch anything. . The park is quite large and had a large grassed area and a nice shaded picnic area and playground. The car park is fairly large and a public toilet is available.  The park is also locally known as "Cardboard Hill" as it has a steep grassy hill which kids bring cardboard to slide down on.  Whilst we were there, there were several young children sliding the hill on sheets of cardboard...

It is also a great place for swimming and paddling and there were several families there enjoying the water. There was also a local RSL Memorial there along with a great playground which our kids enjoyed playing in...

We had bought lamingtons back at Beachmere so the kids were keen to try them out for morning tea.  They were lovely and fresh and we enjoyed them.  The only thing we wished was that we had packed our mugs and Thermos in so that we could have enjoyed a cup of tea with our treat...

Enjoying his lamington..

After their morning tea, the children enjoyed a play in the playground.  

and whilst they didn't have any cardboard to slide down the grassy green slope, the next best thing was to race up and down the slope and they sure had a lot of fun doing this...

 

 

 

 

From Sandstone Point, we headed across the bridge to Bribie Island.  We wanted to take the children out to Woorim and show them some of the relics from the South-West Pacific Area of operation in the Second World War.  Along Ocean Beach foredunes on Bribie Island you can find weathered gun emplacements, searchlight buildings and other remnants of a defence battery used to protect Moreton Bay and the Port of Brisbane.
 

Along Ocean Beach foredunes on Bribie Island are weathered gun emplacements, searchlight buildings and other remnants of a defence battery used to protect Moreton Bay and the Port of Brisbane.

 Bribie Island was important to the defence of Brisbane as the main north-west shipping channel runs close to the shore here. Fort Bribie was strategically located near Bribie Island's northern tip to secure the shipping passage south.

In the 21st century Fort Bribie is under threat from forces that span geological eons to powerful seasonal events that can change the shape of the coastline overnight. This historical fortification is being recorded through images, maps and 3D modelling so that it’s important role in protecting Brisbane can be appreciated now and into the future.

This is a beautiful area of the coastline and whilst here the kiddliwinks ventured down onto the beach. 

I think they were a little disappointed that we didn't bring their togs.  Max in particular has really been enjoying swimming in the ocean these holidays.  This is such a huge step forward as this time last year, he didn't want to venture into the surf at all and even in the pool he was clinging to your neck..

Whislt we were on the beach, we also witnessed a rescue with the coast guard bringing in a smaller craft.  This is the second time we have witnessed a rescue like this having also witnessed one back on Mooloolaba beach towards the end of last year...

 

 From the beach we headed along the path back to the car park.  The coastal bush landscape is quite interesting at this time of year with quite a few of the plants in flower...  The kid enjoyed the walk and Max thought that some of the bansia's actually looked like echindas.  He has a wonderful and vibid immagination. 

Max thought this looked like a bush echinda..

From here we headed back to Woorim Beach.  This is the main beach area along the ocean side of Bribie Island and is also where the Surf Lifesaving Club is situated.  

 

Earlier in the year when we visited Bribie Island we came across the Thong Trees near the parking area (southern end from the surf club).  There are a few dead trees shich have been decorated with numerous thongs or flip flops as overseas tourist call them.  There is a crate next to one of the trees where you can donate your unwanted thongs.  I am not sure though how tourists of folk manage to nail them right up the top of some of these trees though.  The sign is significant and catchy as it reads "A PLACE FOR LOST SOUL" - World's largest Thong Tree...

 

The children were impressed and once again I took a few too many photos...

 

One giant thong at the top of one of the trees. 

One of the other real tourist attractions at Woorim Beach is their painted water tower...

The Woorim Water Tower is one of two painted water towers on Bribie Island which were both painted by artists Scott Nagy and Mike Shankster in June 2018.  Working in collaboration with the Bribie Island Community, the design called “Woorim Beach” reflects Bribie Island’s beach culture and the families that have chosen Bribie Island as their home.

Scott and Mike teamed up to paint the water tower after successfully submitting Scott’s idea for the artwork to Street Art Murals Australia. It was the first large scale mural, especially something this high that Scott had ever accomplished, fulfilling one of his life long ambitions.

 Because of the ground around the tower being mainly sand, it was necessary to source a machine that was propelled by tracks, therefore minimising the chance of it sinking into the sand. 

This artwork forms part of Unitywater’s public art program to enhance the appliance of highly visible water towers and reservoirs.

The kids were getting a little sick of being in the car and were getting a little hungry.  They were also keen to head home.  We had left home at 6.30am this morning and it was now after 1.30pm so we decided to head back via Bongaree so that we could see the final water tower before leaving the island.  This is the other painted water tower on the island, and not quite as impressive as the one at Woorim.  It is also a lot harder to get too, to photograph but we wanted to try as we had missed photographing it when we were on Bribie Island earlier in the year...

The Bongaree Water Tower was the second water tower to be painted on Bribie Island and was it completed around June 2018. Once again the duo of Mike Shankster and Scott Nagy teamed up to paint this masterpiece. A mural that also brings awareness to the public of the region’s delicate ecosystem and the important balance of humans living in harmony with nature.

 Drawing inspiration from Bribie Island’s marine life and waterways, this artwork depicts the thriving aquatic life that is unique to Bribie Island.

 The native turtles that return to Bribie Island each year, the lush seagrass beds beyond its shores and the sunrays shining through the pristine waters, provide a glimpse into the paradise that hides just below the water’s surface.

We didn't stop here for too long.  Steve had one final stop before heading home.  He wanted to stop at Apple Shelving at Caboolture  to price and check out their shelving as we are interested in getting quite a bit of it for storeage in our shed back home.  

Before we got to Apple Shelving though the children spied a Mac Donalds and were suddenly starving hungry and wanted to stop there for lunch.  How could we say no to them as they had been perfect kids all day.  Mind you it might be their favourite place to each out but it certainly doesn't appeal to Steve and I.  In the end, whilst they enjoyed a happy meal, Steve and I just enjoyed a chocolate sundae and I an ice cream in a cone.  

Once their tummies were full and they had a little play in the playground, they were quite happy to hope back in the car and let Poppy check out his shelving...

He wasn't that look in the store. He was quite happy with what he had seen and we will be coming back within the week to collect some...

Much to the children's delight it was then home to the Coast.  

We did drop down to the Kawana Shopping Centre later in the afternoon where the kids encountered the dog and rabbit sculptures just out the front of the food court...  They were quite eager to have their photos taken with these characters....

It's been a pretty full on day.  We have been out for most of the day and I am sure we will all sleep well tonight... More adventures again tomorrow...