HOME HILL has brought new meaning to the words, comfort stop.
If you have a caravan and you’re always on the lookout for rest areas where you can stay overnight, prepare to be very pleasantly surprised. The Burdekin Shire Council has constructed a $400,000 complex especially for visitors. Use the kitchen and hot showers at the Comfort Stop. You can stay up to 48 hours for free.
The town also has caravan park facilities if you prefer, along with motel accommodation. While you’re here, discover all that Home Hill and Ayr have to offer, and visit nearby Alva Beach as well. Also see the Burdekin Falls Dam. This is an important landmark in the region, as it replenishes a vast natural underground aquifer that makes the area virtually drought proof. This has enabled the Burdekin to become one of Australia’s richest agricultural areas. The Burdekin was built on sugar, and grows more than eight million tonnes of cane each year. Other rural industries thrive here as well, including vegetable production and mango growing.
And while water is the lifeblood for local growers, it also makes the area a wonderful place for visitors. Go fishing, crabbing, windsurfing and waterskiing while you’re here. Throw in a line at Lynch’s Beach (Alva), Wunjunga at Beachmount, Groper Creek and the Haughton River, or try your luck in the calm, clear ocean waters. It’s a birdwatching paradise as well, with 280 species of birds in the region.
Back in town, take the Juru Walk at the rear of Plantation Park in Ayr. The walk winds its way through what is believed to be the Burdekin’s last remaining remnant rainforest and is a link to the Burdekin’s aboriginal history. An artificial lagoon is a highlight.
Marvel at nature on a different scale at the Ayr Nature Display at 119 Wilmington Street. Ornitologist Allan Eye and his wife Jess have an incredible display of mosaics created with Australian insects, shells, fossils, reptiles and artifacts. There are many more attractions and events, so drop in to the visitors centre to find out what’s on while you’re in the region.
