Byfield National Park

National Park (NP).... As beautiful as some of them are, they are dreaded words on our trip. NO DOGS. So with some prior planning we drove the quite boring stretch of road between Mackay and Rockhampton to take Bear & Xena for a 2 night stay of their own at a well researched and very reputable boarding kennel near Yepoon. I imagine it's like having children really, dropping them off and saying goodbye, hoping they'll be happy and looked after. I was very sad leaving them for the first time on our trip, I felt we had left something behind! I am not sure why I worry though... they have always had so much fun playing with other dogs at the kennel in the past.

So with the kids dropped off we weren't too much further from the entry of the park. Since moving to Mackay, both Ben & I have been wanting to visit Byfield but better late than never! Known for its great sandy 4wding and fishing... we were very excited!

Wow.... Nature at one of it's best! We drove through a large amount of state forest before reaching the NP, confronting us with towering sand dunes, narrow tracks, long stretches of beaches (white and sandy as i knew them, not coral), deep blue ocean.... and NO-ONE ELSE TO BE SEEN! It seemed we had the entire NP to ourselves for the weekend. Woohoo!

We set up the camper behind the dunes right on the beach, in between 5 rocks and the inlet and not having to walk the dogs, we weren't entirely sure what to do next. We are still getting used to this RELAXING thing they talk about!

I can't wait to go back to Byfield NP, the sea was a bit rough to launch our small boat this time around, and I can't remember why we didn't get any fishing done here??? From memory I think it was more to do with Ben's keen enthusiasm for 4wding! For the one full day we had in the NP we explored the "Orange Bowl", an amazing sand blow that, to Ben's disappointment, can no longer be driven on. So, in attempt to satisfy his need for speed, we explored on foot and Ben revisited his childhood of tobogganing down the sand dunes. As fun as it looked, I decided to be the photographer!

This really is a place you could explore for days. It's a shame we didn't get a chance to catch any fish or crabs, it really looked like a promising place... and so peaceful. We didn't see another car, besides the ranger, all weekend! Next time I think we will stay for a week. Another thumbs up location!