The next morning saw us up bright and early and heading for Bundaberg. We had a good run north. We passed Hervey Bay in the half light and headed out of the shelter of the Sandy Straits – a little rolly but not too bad. The only objects of interest were a couple of whales, mother and calf, which followed us for a while 
and a very concerned fisherman in a very speedy runabout who had crab pots strung out across our route. He was well out of sight of land and in about 15 meters of water. This is an area that supports a number of spanner or frog crabs – which are a Queensland delicacy and no doubt his target.
We arrived in Bundaberg around 2pm and after securing the boat, I headed out for a walk around the headland through the park. All lovely and serene except for several pairs of extremely aggressive plovers who attacked me with great vigor whenever I got near their nests – which seemed to be dotted all over the park. My walk consisted of dashing from clump of trees to clump of trees (and spending some time in sheltering in the toilet block hoping they would lose interest) to escape their increasingly daring swoops.
After these exertions I headed for the amenities block for a lengthy shower and then we adjourned to the Marina restaurant for drinks and dinner. After a very lengthy wait – with me becoming increasingly annoyed – our seafood marinara arrived. I don’t think I have ever seen such a magnificent dish. My fettuccine was in a cream wine sauce and piled high with fish, scallops, prawns and crab and topped with two halves of a Moreton Bay bug – well worth the wait and so large and crammed with seafood I couldn’t finish it and resorted to eating all the seafood and leaving the pasta. Ed’s was the same in a tomato-based sauce.
We had given George and Pip Lewis a call on the way up and they arrived the next morning to take us on a tour of Bundaberg and then back to their farm for lunch. We checked out The Hummock, which is the remnants of an ancient volcano that has left rich volcanic soil for many kilometers around. This area is so fertile that it sells for $35,000 an acre and is used for sugar cane, sweet potato and increasingly Macadamia Trees. 
The Hummock also has a monument to Bert Hinkler and fantastic views of the surrounding countryside – being the only mountain for many kilometers. 
George and Pip work the farm with their son, who lives in the main house. George and Pip live in a house cleverly constructed from three shipping containers all neatly joined together and fitted out. The ceilings are high and the floor is the timber from the shipping container sanded back and polished. They have a verandah which looks out on to a large dam – currently housing a breeding pair of black swans and three cygnets. We had lunch on the veranda with a couple of their friends and Beth Newton, who we have known for about 50 years. Altogether a very convivial occasion with lots of reminiscences.
After lunch we did a tour of their plantation and watched the grafter ply his craft. All the trees are grafted on to a strong rootstock before being planted out. I’ve always been interested in grafting and watching the way he did it was very educational. Must give it a go when we get home!
We arrived back at the Marina in time for sunset drinks on the boat with their friends and after a light meal headed for bed and an early start for Pancake Creek the next day.
We have fallen into the pattern of early to bed and early to rise so the next day saw us up bright and early and away a little after sunrise. There was a bit of a breeze and the sea was very sloppy which was a bit uncomfortable but we were soon joined by a whale mother and calf and not long after that another crab fisherman in his speedy little boat. This one was not as wild and wooly as the previous one and had his crab dilly’s clearly marked with flags.
We curved back along the coast near Round Hill and admired the endless beaches – some 20 to 30 kilometres long. 
Seventeen Seventy is at the mouth of the Round Hill Creek and is very sheltered and popular with all sorts of water sports with kayaking being very popular. It was the second landing Cook made after Botany Bay in 1770, hence the name
The ocean was full of coral spawn as we rounded Bustard Head, named by Captain Cook in honour of the bustard bird a landing party shot and ate, and headed for the entrance of Pancake Creek. 
All the way up we had been hearing boats on the radio advise that they had anchored at Pancake Creek and were logging off so we were relieved to see that there was still some room! We made our way right down into the creek, anchored and headed for the beach where we had a walk and a swim in beautiful warm water.
Back on the boat and it was time to try some fishing. Ed took the dinghy out and I fished from the back deck. 
Not a nibble. Is this the case of persistence pays off or do we just give up now!! Never mind – it was a beautiful sunset. 
The next morning we went over to the sand spit beach which was really lovely. The tide was going out and there were lots of little crabs and shells. We rounded the point and the beach stretched out for at least five kilometres in front of us. We could have walked for hours but were a little concerned that our dinghy might end up high and dry so returned back to the boat.
We had had some trouble with the generator earlier, which kept cutting out, so with lots of frozen food on board we decided to head straight to Gladstone and shore power. We had already booked the boat in for a service at Gladstone so decided to bring it forward and see if we could get the problem solved.
Sadly we departed Pancake Creek – it is a great anchorage with lots of places to explore. As well as the beach walks there are walks to the restored lighthouse with lovely views down to Aircraft Beach. 
We had a smooth run with lots of whales quite close to the boat. 
On the way we had a look at Lily’s Inlet as a possible anchorage. Looked lovely and quite sheltered but you would need to go in with the tide at least half as the entrance was very shallow. They recommend you don’t swim due to the number of sharks observed in the area. Point taken!
We are now at Gladstone Marina whilst we ponder our next move!.