Today's route from Hervey Bay to Caloundra would see most of our travel along the Bruce Highway. We've seen the traffic increase the closer we get to the coast and Brisbane. And with the Bruce Highway being the main road North, traffic today was quite heavy, with quite a variety of vehicles on the road, including several Army vehicles. We had to detour around Maryborough because of road closures, which we discovered later was due to setting up a course for the 24 hour human powered vehicle event, part of the Fraser Coast Technology Challenge. It provides opportunities for students, teachers, parents and local industry to work together to design and construct a variety of human powered vehicles, solar powered machines and innovative robots that will represent the collaborative energy of teams across Australia.

To get a break from the traffic we decided to stop at Gympie for some morning tea. It was pleasing to find some dedicated and well signposted caravan parking bays close to the city centre. Walking from the parking area to the main shopping strip we walked up a laneway lined with eight mosaic murals as part of a memorial. Entry to the laneway memorial from the shopping strip was through the Gympie and Widgee War Memorial Gates. 

The Prince of Wales - later King Edward VIII - unveiled the Gates in 1920 in tribute to 167 local men who died in WW1. Their names are inscribed, along with those of two locals who died in the Boer War, on large sculpted sandstone pillars facing the street and supporting the ironwork gates. Located behind the main gates is a second set of pillars, similar in design to the main outer pillars. These bear the names of local men who served in WWII and the Vietnam War. They are joined by the same decorative arch as the front pillars and have the words Lest We Forget on the flat plates. A lantern also hangs from the centre point.

We had learned while in Maryborough that naming of the Mary River and Maryborough itself was in honour of Lady Mary Fitzroy, wife of Sir Charles August Fitzroy, Governor of New South Wales. Despite having never having set foot in the area, Gympie must have felt she had a significant role in shaping the region because there is a life-sized bronze statue of her in the main shopping strip of Gympie. And would you believe that is named Mary Street. The $30,000 sculpture created by Sydney artists Gillie and Marc features Lady Mary dipping her toe into the water, in recognition of the impact floods have had on Gympie.

Returning to the car after our morning tea we walked up the zig zag path through Calton Park. The Park was originally planned as a project for unemployed miners, with construction commencing in the mid-1930s. It is said that the zig-zagging course of the pathway allowed residents to climb up and down the hill without perspiring. The refurbished Park was reopened in 2009 as part of Queensland's 150th celebrations.

  At the top of the Park is a monument commemorating miners who lost their lives in the Gympie and Kilkivan gold mines between 1868 and 1952. During that time 149 miners lost their lives. We left Gympie with the impression that it was a very tidy and prosperous place - somewhere we'd like to revisit and spend more time exploring. Perhaps that's reflective of the fact that with the discovery of gold by James Nash in 1867, this city did much to save Queensland from bankruptcy.

Just after 1pm we arrived in Caloundra, a place we've holidayed several times, but this would be the first in our caravan. From our site we could see up to the Sails Resort apartment we'd stayed in back in 2014 just after retiring from full-time employment.

Sitting in the shade outside the van we saw a bit of wildlife. Firstly a lizard came out of the bush beside the adjacent creek and began sunning itself on a rock. Then we noticed an eagle in a very large nest which had been constructed atop the tower carrying antennas for the Caloundra Coast Guard. 

 

Dinner was scotch fillet steak and egg cooked on the Weber accompanied by chips. We were skeptical about microwave chips, but found them surprisingly good. Perhaps the Birds Eye ones we had a few days ago were better than the McCain ones we had tonight.

Unfortunately the Boomers lost in double overtime to Spain tonight, but still have the chance to claim a Bronze Medal if they can rebound to defeat France again on Sunday.