Agnes Waters and Seventeen Seventy

Agnes Water is a coastal town and a locality in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. Agnes Water is in Central Queensland approximately 80 kilometres (50 mi) south-east of the Bruce Highway, Queensland’s major coastal route. The town of Agnes Water takes its name from pastoral holding first leased by Daniel Clowes in 1883, which he named after the coastal schooner Agnes, which was lost at sea in the area. The schooner left Bustard Head on 15 June 1873, en route from Mackay to Brisbane.

I booked into the Resort at Agnes Waters. I had a great unit in a beautifully maintained garden, a short stroll to the beach and the shops. The town has a visitor information centre on Round Hill Road. The town also hosts a community centre, coastal camping reserve, life-saving club, state primary school (1990), and a museum which houses the Miriam Vale Historical Society. The Agnes Water Library is at 71 Springs Road and is operated by the Gladstone Regional Council. The main beach is 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) long, running from Round Hill in the north down to Agnes Water. The beach is relatively straight and faces east-north-east. Most of the beach is backed by a low dune and natural vegetation.

I went on 3 tours…. to the Paper Bark Forest Walk, to Kangaroo Feeding and to see the Sunset and walk the coast at Seventeen Seventy. All were great tours and well worth doing. I found the Paper Bark Walk fascinating. This short but spectacular forest walk will take you into the heart of a very special type of forest – an intact patch coastal melaleuca forest – rarely seen in such pristine condition. The specially designed track makes it possible to penetrate the thick lush undergrowth and tiptoe through the wetlands (without getting your feet wet) until you’re completely surrounded by hundreds of paperbark tree trunks and the majestic green fronds of the cabbage palm.

The Sunset Tour was amazing. We went to Seventeen Seventy. The shuttle dropped us at the start of the Coastal walk, and we walked to the top of the hill in time to have a glass of champagne with a great cheese dish and enjoy the sunset. After that we drove to the Marina and then returned to Agnes Waters.

Seventeen Seventy (known as The Town of 1770) is a picturesque seaside village surrounded on three sides by the Coral Sea and Bustard Bay. Historic as the second landing site of James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour in May 1770, the area is rich in wildlife and natural beauty and offers scenic vistas in every direction. The Joseph Banks Environmental Park preserves much of the peninsula with fauna and flora indicative of the area. Rugged granite rocky outcrops, both an outer surf and inner still water beach. Seventeen Seventy is also a departure point for reef cruises and fishing charters to the Southern Great Barrier Reef. Day tours and wilderness camping transfers operate to nearby Lady Musgrave Island