December Story 24: 29/12/2020 Harvey Bay to Brissy

The next morning in Hervey Bay had little moments of magic.

We went to Enzo’s On The Beach, a restaurant that did breakfast and had vegan options on the menu. It was crazy magic watching the waves roll in on an overcast morning. Early risers were getting a quick swim in the ocean before going about their day, and lots of people were out walking their furry friends. The sound of the waves crashing in on the shore was incredible. We were one of the first to arrive and it seemed to be a ‘reservation only’ place that filled up super quick, the moment it turned a reasonable hour of the morning to be out of bed for most people. We had a bit of serenity until then, because it quickly became the coolest place to be, and meet friends and family for a large group breakfast.

Next stop was the Botanic Gardens to spend some time until the aquarium opened up. We found a #HerveyBayRocks painted rock in the garden. It was a nice reminder that we are all connected, and part of a community, so I posted some pictures and our story to Facebook. Often you get lucky and the artist sees it, and reaches out to say hello and thank-you for the acknowledgement. All kinds of connected joy.

The aquarium was a family-owned business and with the strong messaging about the environment were in the rare position to have two turtles there. With the change of laws about keeping animals in Australia over the years it was unlikely that a place like that would ever be set up again. The age of the turtles and the fact that that they had lived there too long, meant that they could not be released.  Turtles are Kirra’s favourite animals and we thought it was pretty special to feed them a little handful of lettuce and touch their beautiful fins and flippers as they glided by.

We totally missed the big free water park that they have in the town so we will have to go back. The drive back to Brisbane was an interesting one, with historical sites along the way and old buildings. I wonder always, what it would look like before Aboriginal people were displaced. Something that made me happy was to see a plantation of gum trees instead of the classic pine tree plantations. We stopped off at Buderim Ginger Factory for ice-cream but it was uneventful, and we hit some ‘standstill’ traffic on the drive home. The girls did craft with their new kits, and Kirra played with the Cannon camera after testing out the small toy one that had revolving photos of reef animals. It reminded of the viewfinders we had as kids. Home sweet home!