Travelling South

Sat 4 July… Mackay looked to be rather a nice town, big, and like Bowen has more than it’s fair share of road works. Nice as it is there is no way we could spend another night in Stalag Marine Van Park. Even the owners dog got into the act by starting his daily barking routine at 6 30 this morning. If we get chance we might have a good look round the area on our way back north. We are putting some K’s on the clock today, about 370 down to Rockhampton ( Beef Capital of Australia) After an hour or so’s driving we stopped at a rest area to walk our legs and use the conveniences. Navigator said there was graffiti on the door in hers saying “ do not stay at Marine Van Park, it is advertised falsely” this was park we have just stayed 2 nights in and Peter would have put it differently.
Not a spectacularly scenic drive down, lots more sugar cane and the occasional glimpse of the ocean through the trees. Rockhampton seems to as big or even a bit bigger than Mackay with lots of traffic. This has come as a bit of a shock to us as the last few months in the outback have been traffic free, and Peter can’t gaze about now whilst driving as he has to concentrate on aiming the van. We may take an inland route to get away from the main highway 1 and hopefully a bit less stress. The main east coast railway follows highway 1 and it seems most of the van sites are situated between the road and the track. Mustn’t whinge, we have internet here and it works.
The weather today was beautifully clear, not a cloud in the sky, though there was a gusty wind. The temp probably got to about 24 degrees, but the temp quickly drops when the sun goes down at around 5 o’clock. Not warm enough to sit out to eat our meal and several layers are going on as I write this! Make the most of your fine weather!