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Showing posts with label Agnes Water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Agnes Water. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Agnes Water, Queensland.

Agnes Water Main Beach.
Agnes Water Main Beach:
Agnes Water Main Beach is accessed from the parking area off Agnes Street in Tom Jeffery Memorial Park Road. There are good facilities here and the beach is patrolled. Signs warn that swimming is not advised from November to April due to marine stingers. Times vary so check the Surf Lifesaving advisory boards before entering the water. Agnes Water Beach Holidays Caravan Park is conveniently located next to Tom Jeffery Park on Jeffery Court and has cabin frontage to the beach.


Agnes Water Information Centre
Located on Springs Road next to the Library and Museum. The staff were very helpful and we picked up some brochures for the local area. You can also book tours from here for a boat trip to Lady Musgrave Island or a trip on the highly acclaimed "Larc" to Bustard Bay.


Discovery Trail
This walking trail can be accessed from the large car park behind the Information Centre and Museum on Springs Road. The trail can also be accessed from the park next to Workman's Camp Ground. Although the trail is signposted there doesn't appear to be an actual map and I haven't been able to find any details for how long the walk is. Perhaps that's why it's called the Discovery Trail. Regardless it is an enjoyable walk of about 40 minutes. Side by side, there is both a natural lookout and a man-made lookout with scenic views.


Man-made Lookout
Natural Lookout
View from the lookout to the north: Agnes Beach.

View from the lookout to the south: Workman's Beach

We saw quite a few Bordered Rustic Butterflies and Joseph's Coat Moths along the trail.


Joseph's Coat Moth

The reptilian world was represented by Lace Monitors, an Eastern Striped Skink and several Rainbow Skinks.


Rainbow Skink

Paperbark Forest Board Walk:
This interesting 400 m walk can be found in Reedy Creek Reserve, Springs Road. Dogs are prohibited. As the trail passes through a paperbark swamp it is essential to spray yourself for mosquitoes and/or wear protective clothing. Don't be deterred though as this is quite a fascinating walk into an environment that is usually hard to access. Two sections of the trail involve walking across water via concrete filled pipes.


Trailhead for the Paperbark  Forest Board Walk.

Where only the brave shall venture.

Red Rock Trail:
The entry to the Red Rock Trail and Springs Beach is opposite the entry to Reedy Creek Reserve. The 800 m road into the car park is unsealed and quite rough. The trail is 3 km one way and has a time guideline of 2.5 hrs. There is a convenient map of the trail at the start of the beach access down to Springs Beach.


Springs Beach

We walked south along the beach to the trailhead for the Red Rock Trail. We saw several Whiptail Wallabies grazing on the edge of the beach. Sea turtles lay their eggs at Springs Beach.


Whiptail (Pretty Face) Wallaby.

At the trailhead there are signs stating this is a Turtle Conservation Area and prohibiting dogs. We climbed up a few stone steps to the headland where views to the south opened up. It was drizzling when we started the walk but we hoped any rain would be light and pushed on for a while. 


Pandanus along the headland.
Rain setting in.

Unfortunately, persistent rain set in and we were unable to complete the walk. We were happy to briefly see an Olive-backed Sunbird alongside Springs Beach as we returned to the car.

Wildlife we saw in Agnes Water:
Butterflies & Moths: Bordered Rustic, Evening Brown, Common Crow, Joseph's Coat Moth.
Reptiles: Rainbow Skink, Wall Skink, Eastern Strip Skink, Lace Monitor, Sand Goanna.
Macropods: Whiptail Wallaby.


Monday, December 11, 2017

Workman's Camp Ground, Agnes Water, QLD.

Workman's Camp Ground
Workman's Camp Ground
While visiting the Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy area we camped at Workman's Camp Ground on Springs Road. We managed to find a nicely shaded spot.


Our set-up at Workman's Camp Ground.
The campground is clean and well cared for by the friendly and helpful caretakers.  Technically, the facilities are in a park adjoining the campground. While trying to spot the Frogmouth family that lives in the park we noticed a goanna surveying the world from above.


Amenities and picnic tables in the park next to the campground.
Interesting bracket fungi in the park.
Goanna
There were lots of Wall Skinks in our campsite.


Wall Skink Cryptoblepharus virgatus
Both Workman's and Chinaman's Beach Picnic Area can be accessed on foot from the campground. It is also only a short walk via the Discovery Trail to the Information Centre, Library and Museum. I will cover the walks in Agnes Water in the next blog.

Workman's Beach:
You can't see Workman's Beach from the campground but it is only a short walk to this lovely secluded beach. The beach is unpatrolled but here are plenty of rocks to explore on the southern end of the beach.


Workman's Beach
Southern end of Workman's Beach
Chinaman's Beach Picnic Area:
A walk of about 700 m leads from the campground to Chinaman's Beach Picnic Area and a lookout. I imagine that the lookout would be excellent for whale watching in the winter. A different branch of the walk can be taken to overlook Chinaman's Beach.


Lookout at Chinaman's Beach Picnic Area.
Chinaman's Beach

Details for Workman's Camp Ground:
Where: Springs Road, Agnes Water, QLD.
Access: Suitable for all rig types.
Sites: 38 clearly defined and numbered sites. The size of the sites varies, some are big enough for big rigs some are quite small. 
Fees & Bookings: No bookings. Arrive at anytime and simply set up in a vacant site. Vacate by 2 pm. $9.20 per person per night, $25 for a family of 2 adults and 2 children under 17 yrs. Fees are collected daily by caretakers who give receipts. Camping is allowed for up to 42 nights however we have heard that this time limit may be reduced in the future.
Facilities: Bins. In the adjoining park there is 1 amenities block with 3 toilets (1 with disability access), 1 outdoor beach style cold shower, tables and free electric BBQ's.
Permitted: Dogs on leash. Low noise generators from 7 am to 7 pm.
Prohibited: No vehicle access to beach. Fires. Noise after 10 pm. Can't leave site unoccupied for more than 2 days.
Caution: Swimming in the ocean is not advised from November to April due to the presence of marine stingers. Check the patrolled area on Agnes Water Beach for swimming details.