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1770 is still the kind of place where there are more convenience stores than swanky, zinc-top cafés. Where you can surf in the morning, fish in the afternoon and cook your catch over a campfire in the evening. It's scruffy, informal and friendly - old Mavis, who has lived in the area for 60 years, waves cheerfully to passersby from her house overlooking the foreshore.

Away from the hubbub, theme parks and apartment blocks that characterize so much of Australia's Gold and Sunshine coasts, 1770 is tucked away in central Queensland, along the Capricorn Coast. Most people get there by flying from Brisbane to Bundaberg and then renting a car - it's about an hour and a half north of Bundaberg. I decide to do it a little differently and take the Greyhound bus from Bundaberg to Agnes Water, where I rent a scooter.

The rental place, staffed by a crew of motley characters - dreamy-eyed Great Dane, head-scarf-clad owner and barefoot boy, old enough for acne but too young to be smoking - is an adventure in itself. I ride off buffered with knee and elbow pads, skidding and wobbling over the corrugations in the track but gradually getting the hang of it as I zip between 1770 (named to commemorate Captain James Cook's landing in May of that year) and neighbouring Agnes Water. The former is on the bay and sunset side of the peninsula, the latter on the north-facing surf side.

For those who want to learn more about the history of the area, a small and rather endearing museum in Agnes Water houses an eclectic and fascinating collection assembled by dedicated volunteers. Captain Cook memorabilia is displayed alongside exhibits of local interest - from shells and aboriginal artifacts to 1949 editions of Women's Weekly.

I choose 1770 as my first base and stay at Bustard Bay Lodge. The simple, self-contained accommodation boasts uninterrupted views over the bay where Cook first came ashore and shot a 17½ -pound bustard. The town is small, with just 131 registered blocks, and the bitumen road linking it to Bundaberg is a recent addition.

It is not difficult to see why this area, with its year-round temperate climate, is popular with surfers, fishermen, families, campers and those in pursuit of a peaceful holiday. Laden with natural assets - breathtaking views, lush tropical vegetation, pockets of wetland, mangrove creeks and bush right down to the sea - it offers pristine beaches for surfing or swimming. And, of course, there's the reef; this is the closest point to the southern Great Barrier Reef and the most northern surf break.

A naturalist friend who knows about these things recommends that I visit Fitzroy Reef Lagoon. He insists that it is much more colourful and less frequented than the more popular Lady Musgrave Island. It's my first opportunity to experience the reef since 1996 and I am more than a little excited. I book a trip with 1770 Holidays, one of only two companies with a permit to visit the coral outcrop at Fitzroy Reef. Within minutes of setting off, we strike a rock and the boat has to return to the dock for repairs; the bay at 1770 is on an estuary and environmental regulations prevent it from being dredged.

Suppressing bitter, childlike disappointment, I transfer to the same company's excellent eco-tour aboard the bubble-gum pink LARC, an amphibious vessel built in the United States for supplying ships with cargo. As we sweep across the bay and back onto land across unblemished sands, we are entertained with gripping stories of the early settlers - mud crabbers and cattle farmers.

Our pink chariot then tackles the steep, boulder-strewn incline to the lighthouse, built in 1868 and manned until 1968. Coming back down the slope, we get unobstructed views of Pancake Creek, an area of rare estuarine coral with colour and intensity, our guide Col tells me, to rival the Great Barrier Reef.

The next day, I opt for a spot of fishing. Damian Robeck and his wife, Meg, run Hooked on 1770, which offers small, personalized tours of the area's waterways and creeks. Cruising in a motorized canoe toward Round Hill Creek (1770 was originally called Round Hill), we catch a glimpse of a jabiru stork, strutting prince-like along a distant sandbank. I learn that jabirus are monogamous and, sadly, this one has lost its mate. Not so with the pair of white-crested sea eagles whose youngster plunges into the water right in front of us, swooping back up to a treetop to devour his gleaming prey.

Fishing in the mangrove creek, watching fiddler crabs burrow into the mud with their distinctive orange claws, I land a decent-sized flathead, which I cook that evening. It is succulent and utterly delicious in the way only very fresh fish can be. Damian also runs tours of Pancake Creek with a glass-bottom canoe and offers drift snorkelling over the coral.

The next day, I join one of Rod Sheridan's Scooteroo tours. A mixed group of backpackers, baby boomers and retirees, we cruise along the back roads - the younger ones on choppas - marvelling at wallabies and kangaroos bounding away into the bush (hence the "roo" bit) before congregating at 1770's local watering hole, The Tree. Watching pelicans coming in to land against a canvas of unexpectedly intense oranges and purples, we sip our beers as the sun slides from view.

For my last two nights, I move into Agnes Water, swapping sunset views and tiny nectar-feeding honeyeaters for roaring surf and raucous kookaburras. Walking down to the beach from my unit at the family-run Sandcastles resort, with its well-equipped living and dining area and private lap pool, I pass a gang of seasoned surfers with deep tans and salt-encrusted hair.

For some, surf is what Agnes Water is all about. In March each year, the Sunrise at 1770 Longboard Surfing Classic is held here. On the beach, local surfing instructor Paul Millroy teaches a group of backpackers. I tell him I'm writing an article, and he asks me if I have found Jesus. I chuckle to myself, thinking that perhaps Jesus is the ultimate surf dude: he who walks on water.

The gentle pace of life and winning combination of bay and surf beaches here are attracting not only tourists but also investors and property developers. The caravan park just back from the surfing beach in Agnes Water is being transformed into a luxury resort and spa, Sansara, and five kilometres to the south an exclusive resort, Sunrise at 1770, is being built to strict environmental standards, with designer homes discreetly set into the natural surroundings. There's even talk of an out-of-town airport.

More visitors will undoubtedly mean more traffic, swanky cafés, gourmet eateries and boutique shops. But nestled between the two national parks of Eurimbula and Deepwater, with some of the land owned and managed by Bush Heritage, Australia's largest conservation organization, much of the coastline in the area is protected, and one of the best ways to explore will always be by four-wheel-drive truck and tent.

Getting up early to catch the Greyhound bus on my last morning, I am treated to a particularly raucous burst of laughter from some nearby kookaburras. The natural world still rules the roost in this quiet, unhurried corner of Queensland.

Pack your snorkel

Getting there

QantasLink flies from Brisbane to Bundaberg (http://www.qantas.com). The Greyhound from Bundaberg stops once a day in Agnes Water (http://www.greyhound.com.au), or the Bundaberg Shuttle Service can be booked ahead (07-4153-3532).

Where to Stay

Bustard Bay Lodge 17 Endeavour St., 1770; 07-4974-9639; http://www.stayat1770.com

Sandcastles 1770 Motel and Resort 1 Grahame Colyer Dr., Agnes Water; 07-4974-9428; http://www.sandcastles1770.com.au

Mango Tree Motel 7 Agnes St., Agnes Water; 07-4974-9132; http://www.mangotreemotel.com

Sansara Resort & Spa Complex Lot 55, Jeffery Court, Agnes Water; 07-4974-7761; http://www.sansara.com.au

Where to Eat and Drink

Kahunas 1 Grahame Colyer Dr., Agnes Water; 07-4974-7033

The Tree Bar and Saltwater Café Capt Cook Drive, 1770

Agnes Water Tavern 1 Tavern Rd., Agnes Water; 07-4974-9469

Tours

Hooked on 1770 Estuary fishing and scenic tours; 07-4974-9794; http://www.1770tours.com

Scooter Roo Tours 07-4974-7697; http://www.scooterrootours.com

1770 Holidays 1770 Marina, 535 Capt Cook Dr.; 07-4974-7555; www.1770holidays.comDive 1770 Snorkel and diving tours to Fitzroy Reef, Fairfax

and Hoskyn islands; http://www.dive1770.com; 07-4874-9359

The LARC 1770 Environmental Tours; Capt Cook Drive; 07-4974-9422, http://www.1770larctours.com.au

Other stuff

The Miriam Vale Historical Society Museum is on Springs Road in Agnes Water (07-4974-9511). Golf and diving trips are also on offer. All information is available at the Discovery Centre, 12 Endeavour Plaza, Agnes Water; 07 4974 7002.