Scooter-Roo!
The bus from Hervey Bay arrived at Agnes Water at 8pm after a two hour delay in Bundaberg due to an air bag fault. We had to get a taxi to the bungalow we’d booked in nearby 1770. We’d heard the town of 1770 - named after the year Captain Cook sailed into it and first set foot in Queensland - was a worthwhile stop between Hervey and Airlie, where we go next. However, our accommodation wasn’t in 1770 at all it was inconveniently located in the middle of Agnes and 1770, about 4km in each direction. It was a nice enough place, although as Foley put it, more of a caravan-without-wheels than a bungalow but at least we had a TV.
The decision to leave was made at 8am the next morning when we were all woken by the sound of a pneumatic drill right outside our door where the toilet block was being refurbished. So we checked out and managed to hitch a lift back to Agnes Water, checking in to the Cool Bananas backpacker hostel. The three of us fancied doing something proactive so we booked ourselves on something called the Scooter-Roo tour. We were picked up at 2.30pm and driven to a little shack in the middle of nowhere, outside of which were a couple of dozen scooters and mini relica Choppers. There was no question which one I’d be riding. Ever since watching American Chopper on Discovery I’ve had a hankering to be cruising down a long open road, holding on to those wide handlebars with a menacing look on my face. We were given a brief talk on how to ride them and then we were off, 10 or 11 of us all in a straight line along the quiet, narrow roads of Agnes Waters.
My chopper looked pretty mean - even if it was capped at a rather modest 58kph. We rode around for a while following Roy, the guy in charge, and then he signalled us to stop on the verge just across from a little lake. “There’s a croc in that lake over there, I’ll point him out when we drive past. Don’t stop there though, or he’ll come out and getcha.” Sure enough there was a bigish crocodile resting in the murky water with it’s mouth wide open. We didn’t stop.
Further along we stopped again to photograph the first kangaroos I’d seen in the wild; then carried on to the town of 1770. Here we were guided up and down the hilly coastal road and stopped for a beer and wedges at a harbour-side pub. We ate and drank on the rocks watching the sunset before heading back to Scooter-Roo HQ. It was a good four or five hours of fun and worked out at only £12 to do. You can find some real bargains when you’re travelling.
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