Lake Wivenhoe, well this huge, and I mean huge dam. It had to release millions and millions of gallons of water back in 2011. This lead to some of the worst flooding the area had ever seen.
We are based for the next few months just a short drive away in the Ipswich area. Well when I say short, it is still about a 40-minute drive. Which in the grand scale of things over here, is just around the corner.
So off we went, an afternoon in the sun and barbecue food (mmm cheeseburgers and onions). Yes, so many places over here have gas barbecues. I was left thinking, WOW. They looked immaculate, no graffiti, no vandalism, nothing. Anything like this over in the UK would have been destroyed already. I love the idea of rocking up, cooking food, cleaning the barbecue top and then it’s done. No having to lug a barbecue around (i don’t think you can use coal barbecues over here anyway. Well especially this part of Queensland).
Anyway, we went to a place slightly north of Ferndale (oh my god, the bakery is incredible). It was reasonably quiet, which was great. It was here, we saw our first wild Kangaroos. They were only small roos, but even still, it was great to see some of these wild animals.
So, it was hot. Blisteringly hot. But it was nice to head down to the dam itself and paddle those feet. It is not somewhere I would strip down and jump in. But certainly was great for wadding in to cool down.
As much as Wivenhoe Dam is an enormous place, it is not somewhere we could spend all day at. What we would suggest, then head up to the Wivenhoe lookout. It is well worth the drive around the other side of the dam.