A sign of holiday time

During the first week of our stay this time, it co-incided with the Queensland school holidays. This 'look' - the railings decorated by brightly coloured beach towels, cozzies (1) and rashies (2) was a common sight then!


1) Cozzies - Aussie slang for "swimming costumes
2) Rashies - slang for 'rash vests' used for surfing or just sun protection!

Birds at Woodgate and an Award!

Eagles (above) and hawks are a common sight in rural areas and Woodgate Beach appears to be no exception. I snapped this fellow early one morning above the beach. The only other birds I saw on the beach itself were gulls - many were doing high speed dives into the water and some sort of sea bird could be seen bobbing out in the waves most mornings having an early feed.

There are many other birds just back from the shore though - butcher birds, minahs and kookaburras were seen frequently. Others seen occasionally were bush hens (black with red) and ibis'. Heard, but not seen was the storm bird. Apparently it is an all black bird similar to a crow with a mournful call - that often rings out at night when its quiet, so its hard to miss. Obviously, as its name implies, its supposed to be warning of coming storms.

The kookaburras were in full song at times throughout our stay as well. I'd heard as a young child that a kookaburra's song meant rain was on its way and was informed by a local that this prediction was more accurate should the kookaburra laugh before dawn. I taught my girls the "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" song that I recall learning in kindergarten at school back in the late 60s. Their talent is definitely not in singing in tune, but we had a good turn at singing in rounds - something they apparently don't do in school any more!



Before I go, I must say a huge thank you to Annie at My White Homestead who visited this blog and bestowed upon me a Stylish Blogger Award! Thank you so much Annie :)



As part of this award I need to reveal seven things about me and pass this award on to three other stylish bloggers :)

OK, to the "reveal":

*I find our holidays at Woodgate Beach totally energising. I'm up early every morning, I exercise every day and I love the quiet that only the beach can bring. Hubby on the other hand, collapses into a heap and either sleeps or reads all day ;)




*I eat far too much chocolate ... in any form. Its best if it's expensive and rich. But, really, I'm not THAT fussy. If its chocolate, it's usually good!



*I hate gardening. I love nice gardens and I wish it happened by magic. Unfortunately it doesn't and every rose and fruit tree in my garden is hardy, drought tolerant and obviously really wants to live (despite my apparent disregard).



*I have a soft spot for Matt Damon. He reminds me of hubby... honestly!



*I have no vision bigger than about the size of a table. Sad but true. Hubby has the grand/big visions and he could picture our house and its style perfectly. I couldn't and was thankfully thrilled when it came out beautifully :) My vision on a smaller scale is great though - rather fortunate considering I make jewellery!



*I left the nest at 17 1/2 when I'd finished high school. My dad gave me $500 cash, organised an apartment for me to rent and a part time job, patted me on the back and wished me luck. Sounds like tough love, but it worked!



*My first apartment was in a block of art-deco flats and the whole building had an air of faded elegance. My next door neighbour had lived there since the 1940s and rarely stepped out of her door. I used to go there and listen to her stories regularly. She was quite the woman about town in the 40s and had the most amazing collection of hats - a couple of which she gave to me. One was a little navy velvet evening fitted cap/hat with peacock/blue sequins and the other was a black horsehair sweeping number with black velvet. I think I still have them locked away in a trunk somewhere - I must try and find them!



Now to nominate 3 other bloggers with the award :

The wonderful A Refocused Life - always gorgeous, inspiring photos!

Amanda at Small Acorns - she has the most fabulous boutique in NZ and her photos make you want to go there, right now!

And the incredible Heidi of 101 Cookbooks who doesn't only give you recipes, she feeds your soul with her outlook on food and her mouthwatering photos.

Sunrise Sands

In high tide, the sands are often a small sliver that is well used and churned up from previous days feet. But the sands come into their own when the tide is low and receeding.

Wet and shining the sand takes on the hue of the sky like this marvellous blue and pink image. Mother nature is such an artist! In the early light the drier sand takes on a perwinkle blue - purple hue. As the sun gets higher the white-beige sand of a normal day appears.

Spring Blossoms

I found some lovely flowering shrubs on the walkway. No idea what they are (some kind soul that knows their gardening might like to let me know!). There was no strong scent and they didn't bring on any hayfever symptoms in me. They're lovely to look at, don't you think?

A Child's Piece of Beach Art

Queensland holidays had drawn to a close and the busy state of the beach reduced substantially. But the morning following the close of the holidays I came across this little piece of beach 'art' that a child must have created before they left.

Leaves, shells and twigs were used - the twig created the form with the shells and leaves resting upon it. The top white shell had a hole near its top and had been threaded onto the stick giving its height and keeping it in place.

A nice little piece of art to find on my morning walk.

Sunrise from the esplanade

This day I went down to the beach pretty early - the light was dim and everything I passed - houses, gardens, grass had lost their colour. As I approached the beach from the Esplanade the sun lit the light clouds in the sky with a rosy glow and this tree had a wonderful outline against the colorful sky.

A place to sit and contemplate

Dotted all along the foreshore are fixed tables and chairs and at most smaller entrances locals have added some chairs under the trees, so there is plenty of opportunity to sit and contemplate life, the universe ... and everything!



Or you can just watch the sun play on the water, the waves and the people. So relaxing.

The beach and holiday skies

Although its been a few months since we were there, I hear that Woodgate is looking quite lush with recent rains and the kangaroos must be thrilled with all the green lawn grass to nibble!

The beach is beautiful though regardless of if has been wet or dry and it goes for miles in either direction from our little entrance ...

To the north:

To the south:


Notice how the beach is almost empty (albeit at an early hour). Only one other walker can be seen in the distance to the south. I'm looking forward to our next visit so that I can walk it again and enjoy the fresh early morning breezes and hear the gentle waves lap the beach.

Take a walk along the Esplanade

The Esplanade is the main street of Woodgate that runs along the beach. And between the street and the beach itself is a wonderfully shady paved path for walking and bike riding.



And every so often (approximately at each street intersection opposite the Esplanade) is an entrance down to the beach.

Our Woodgate holiday rental

There is no need to pack for a day at the beach - situated one street back from the beach near the corner of Mackeral and Tenth Avenue, it is only about a 100m walk to the beach! You can easily see the ocean through the trees on the Esplanade from the verandah :)

Enjoy the early morning sunshine from the verandah that is accessible from the lounge, bedroom 1 and bedroom 2. In the afternoon the verandah is in the shade from the hot sun and catches the sea breezes straight off the ocean.

Let the kids chill in front of the TV/DVD in the rumpus area downstairs while you relax in the comfortable loungeroom:



Fall to sleep listening to the waves lap the beach and enjoy the sea breeze all night long in the hot weather.

Bedroom 1


Bedroom 2


Bedroom 3


The top floor also has a fully equipped kitchen, a full bathroom (incl. bath), a laundry chute from upstairs to the laundry below, a verandah at the front which accessible from the loungeroom, bedroom 1 and 2. There are ceiling fans throughout. The loungeroom also has a TV, DVD and CD stereo.

Downstairs is a rumpus area with large TV and DVD and comfortable chairs. A second shower and toilet is perfect for kids to use after being to the beach rather than invading mum and dad's privacy upstairs! The laundry has a washing machine and dryer and there is a clothes line in the backyard. A BBQ is also supplied for guests use. The garage is indoor for one car.

The back yard is fenced and the property is pet friendly - but only for outside dogs. A dog kennel for a medium sized dog is provided.

If fishing is a favoured pastime, there is a sink with tap at the side of the house for cleaning your catch :)

If you would like to have a holiday here, please click the house photograph in the right hand column which will take you to the realtor's booking site for the house.

Kangaroos!

Woodgate is FULL of kangaroos. If they're not there in the flesh they've left a trace on the lawns LOL. However, you usually see them either nibbling the grass on the lawns or sprawled out beneath shady tree or shrub.

Of course they ARE cute, however you must remember that they are a WILD animal and as such a respectful distance needs to be kept. Their claws are long and sharp and their tails are massively strong. Stay a few feet away and even further from the larger males.


I remember getting a very large shock when I went around our water tank at the rear of the house and was confronted with a male kangaroo taller than me! I backed away slowly!!


Early in the morning you may be fortunate enough to see some kangaroos along the beach. They go down to the water's edge and wash themselves with the salt water, purportedly to remove parasites from their fur.

One very famous photograph of a kangaroo hopping through the edge of the water was taken well over a dozen years ago by a local and the photo features heavily as the local postcard. The same photo is reportedly a large feature in the London office of Qantas. Perhaps you'll get a great photo of one on the beach too!

Discovering Woodgate - 2006

We ventured north for our annual family holiday in September 2006. As we had friends in Maryborough and Bundaberg we wanted somewhere not too far from either place, so I looked at an aviation map and saw the village of Woodgate Beach, situated on a thin strip between the ocean and National Park.

It doesn't appear on most maps unless they are localised area ones, so I was fortunate in the map I chose! I googled a query for "holiday accommodation Woodgate" and found that real estate agents listed holiday properties for weekly rentals. Perfect.

I booked a house on The Esplanade - it looked pretty basic, but just across from the beach. A couple of weeks later we left home and arrived in Woodgate Beach.

What a surprise! A strip of pristine beach a massive 15km long and hardly a soul on it. There were kangaroos everywhere, hopping down the street or lazing under shady trees on people's lawns.

The majority of houses showed the village's roots as a place for the 'weekender' for those living not too distant or holiday cottages for those living further away. Most houses were fibro or weatherboard and pretty basic and a lot of them circa 1950s. Our rental that year was no different!

The very basic nature of the house (small, fibro, old furniture, basic amenities and the only bathroom downstairs under the house and only accessible by going outside, down the steps and back under the house!) was easier to ignore when just across the road was a magnificent beach!

We discovered that the village was actually packed during school holidays, when half of Queensland (it seemed) came to stay! But we were outside of the Queensland holidays and so there were very few holiday makers - mostly just the year round residents.

The real estate agent thoughtfully provided a brochure on what was for sale in the area when we checked in, and it was hard not to look through it. No one was more surprised than us when, a week later, we had bought a house!

Unable to afford the million dollar price tag attached to the shacks on the Esplanade, we chose a house located one street back from the beach - or second sand dune back as my husband describes it!

The house had "good bones" - two storey, with a rumpus area, shower, toilet, laundry and garage on the bottom and the living areas upstairs - a lounge, dining room, full kitchen, full bathroom and three bedrooms as well as an upstairs verandah along the front, facing the beach.

We took possession a few weeks later and spent a full week from dawn to dark painting, cleaning and preparing it for the Christmas holiday rental season.

Since then it has continued as a holiday rental, including being our holiday house for a fortnight a year! We never get up there enough - but we love it when we do!