From Fraser Island, we crossed back to mainland Australia and followed the Mary River up to the town of Maryborough. After four years of oceans, it is a nice change to be sailing along a river with farmland on each side of us. The river flooded massively last month and we could still see the flood debris high in the trees.
Off Maryborough we anchored below Lookout Point for the night. The next day we moved up to the marina and took one of their buoys so that we could go off biking without worrying about the boat dragging when the tide changes and the boat swings.
We assembled the bikes and then used them for a short exploration of the town. To start we cycled through the suburbs to look at the typical Queensland houses with their raised verandas. Then in to the “town center” to look at the (for Australia) old houses including the post office that dates back to 1865 making it the oldest standing post office in Australia. Queens Park contains a moving war memorial that describes the futility of Australian and New Zealand involvement in the First World War.
Mary Poppins was written in Maryborough and we found a statue of her and also enjoyed the Mary Poppins traffic lights that are installed at the city’s intersections.
On the second day, we were out early to beat the forecast rain. It had been raining all night so we found a few minor floods to cross but managed to return and have the bikes packed away before the clouds opened and drenched the whole county.