Aug 2022, Mulambin, Qld

Woody walks into Yeppoon, he’s really getting into this walking caper and dropping weight. I take a coffee and drive into Yeppoon, setting up in the park beside Ross and Fig Tree Creeks to sketch the boats. It’s a tranquil spot and I’m not the only one enjoying it. At low tide, the boats in Ross Creek are high and dry. Fig Tree Creek meanders through thick mangroves and small wooden jetties are almost hidden in the undergrowth.

At happy hour we meet El Prado’s brother R and his wife S, they’re crop farmers from Central Victoria and have dropped in for a few days.

If you are a regular reader of our meanderings you’ll know that wherever we go we run into someone from El Prado’s family. No doubt the term ‘practicing Catholics’ is an understatement when it comes to this mob!

El Prado has secretly organised a lunch for the six of us but we don’t know where we will be going. He picks us up and pulls into the marina on the pretense of buying fuel and we realise that the venue is Waterline, a cafe at Rosslyn Bay Marina and one we haven’t visited.
What appears to be a chandlery is a terrace restaurant overlooking the boat pens. The mood is tropical and the view relaxing. Tables dot the lawns under Norfolk pines and the food is well worth a return visit.

As if we haven’t already stuffed ourselves and run out of conversation, we have happy hour at Bev and Kev’s van and there’s quite a kerfuffle going on at the cabin opposite. The family has been deep water fishing 120kms offshore in their large boat. They’ve caught some huge fish but even at retail prices, I doubt that the catch would cover the cost of the fuel to get out there.