Sorry about the lack of blog last night – just wasn’t really much to report – we left the lovely and rather over-developed and over-priced Whitsundays and travelled about 500 km southwards diverting into McKay for a few hours, and ending up in a free camp site just north of Rockhampton. It didn’t have much to recommend it – basically a carpark next to a pub – but as usual, once we were inside and all cosy, with the television on and a warm dinner in our tummies it was like home! The highlight being a warm shower at the back of the van under a ‘try-hard’ moon! Delightful really! (See how far I have come in regard to open air showers!? Rich rigged up a tarp and poles against the side of the van, then boiled water and put it into a solar shower bag – pretty rough but a warm shower - it was just the silhouette cast onto the tarp from the lamp inside that was ‘interesting’ – say no more). Oh yes, it is now REALLY cold at night – a bit of a shock for us ‘warm weather wanderers’! and a definite sign that we are on the homeward-bound journey.
This morning we were up bright and early and headed into Rockhampton. I think I have said before that I often have in my mind an idea of what a town should be like – based usually on the name, and often it is nothing like that at all – and Rockhampton and surrounds was a pleasant surprise! A possible retirement place actually (not that we are vaguely thinking about that) – especially the two little satellite towns of Emu Point (Emu caution signs all over the road) and also Yeppoon – a little seaside town that was just delightful. Lovely water front with nice coffee shops, but not too commercialised – beautiful views out to sea and more of those lovely islands similar looking to the Whitsundays (volcanic plug) but without the price tag.
We spent a lovely morning exploring, having coffee, checking out various beaches and walking to view points. Lunch on the beach and then we headed on to Gladstone – and just as Rockhampton was a positive surprise, so Gladstone was a disappointment – I dunno, Gladstone makes it sound happy somehow, when actually it was just another horrible mining town with great ugly conveyor belts for coal loading, a dirty harbour, oil refineries and power stations, aluminium smelter (Rio Tinto has been busy again, and that is why they need the extra coal-fired power stations), train trucks and lines everywhere – couldn’t wait to get out of there! Rich says I am a hypocrite because I enjoy the wealth of Aussie and this is actually where it comes from – hmmmm! (this was more a challenge to me as well) Maybe, but nothing can change the fact that mining is ugly, seems to just take and seldom seems to give much back!
The Boyne River, Beranaby, QLD
Highlights of the day:
- Rich: Catching a snake – (Common Tree Snake – not poinsonous) on one of the walking tracks we were on.
- Kim: Coffee on the beachfront at Yeppoon.
Tomorrow:
We will head to a real caravan park (which is always a highlight when you have been free camping for two nights) booking in for two nights and spending the day in between on Fraser Island. We will catch a ferry over and back – should be great fun!
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