2WD drive around oz

26^th June

After our night in Hervey Bay, the Lorikeets had left their mark(s). Sofie needed a good scrub.

27^th June. 2010.

Who has time to shell peas? I do. Couldn’t resist a bag of farm fresh peas from a growers market. Shelling them brought back memories of our childhood as Nancy and I crouched on the carpet in front of the “wireless” listening to The Argonaughts, and shelling our share of the night’s peas. I don’t remember that they tasted the least bit remarkable in those days, but today, after years of consuming frozen peas, this cup of fresh beauties tasted fantastic.

            Bundaberg today and a lot of information to take in. First, the Hinkler Aviation Hall; an interactive museum devoted to Bundaberg’s favourite son. Although I knew of some of his aviation achievements, I had no idea of his inventive and engineering genius. A wonderful exhibition set in the very beautiful surroundings of the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens.

            The tour of the Bundaberg rum distillery was interesting and informative, but I’m sure James would have enjoyed it even more than we did. Nevertheless we came away with a bottle of Liqueur, the same as Heidi gave us one Christmas… very delicious.

            Tonight we are camped at another freebee campsite just north of Gin Gin, along with some 40 other free loaders. We did our bit and bought our groceries in the town.

            Tomorrow we head to Rockhampton and hopeful, once North of Capricorn the weather will be warm enough for swimming.

28^th June.

Didn’t make Rockie. Instead we stopped for lunch at a beautiful riverside free camp spot at Calliope and decided to stay all afternoon and evening. Campers are catching bream in the river and up on the grassy bank, we lazy ones are just enjoying the peace and the birdsong.

I can hear so many different birds. Have seen lorikeets, blue eyed honeyeaters, a hawk, ducks and a cloud of finches. There are also some very plain little grey chaps with quite long beaks that I haven’t seen before.

29^th June.

Rolf had a couple of dizzy spells today, so after we had climbed the beautiful range to Mt Morgan and found a delightful little town of Queenslander weather-boards, with a railway museum, which for some inexplicable reason houses a piano in the ladies toilet room, we called into a medical clinic, and the Dr sent Rolf post haste to Rocky for a CT brain scan.

We drove in the afternoon, through a remarkable landscape to Yepoon: a lightly treed plain with individual hills sitting on it as far as the eye could see. Two were perfect green pyramids and the others, odd shaped carbuncles rising up from the flat surrounds.  Then, thank you Neryl for the suggestion, on to Emu Park. This must be one of the last relatively unspoiled coastal villages. No high rise yet, and a wonderful view from the hill that is home to The Singing Ship. This is a huge wind chime sail that is a monument to Captain Cook who sailed past in 1770 and named Keppel Bay.

30^th June.

As I walked along the beach this morning with the sun coming up over Great Keppel Island, dog owners galloped their pooches across the low tide shallows to beat the 8.00am doggie beach curfew and I wondered if Captain Cook had tried to imagine, as he sailed past, what this place would be like in 200 years. He certainly would not have imagined my stroll along the beach, as I answered a beep in my pocket, which was an email from Pam Parodi in Monte Carlo. What an absolutely extraordinary world!

I don’t even want to try to imagine what this place will be like in another 200 years.

We picked up the results from Rolf’s scan. He now knows that he has a brain cyst but has been reassured that he has probably had it all his life and it is nothing to be concerned about. No answer to the dizzy spells. Hope they are just a one off.

Thursday1^st July.

Rolf’s birthday finds us camped in a wee non-descript place, St Lawrence, about 130km south of Mackay.  The free campsite has good facilities, three toilets and showers for each gender, and is full of grey nomads. The night sky last night was just spectacular. Phil Montgomery would have loved it. A cricket, caught somewhere in the van sang to us most of the night. I have no idea how Rolf slept through his rendition. It was actually ear piercing. We opened the roof hatches and hope he has found freedom this morning, but somehow I think he might still be hiding and tomorrow he will be hundreds of  kms from his family.

            Non-descript it may be, but it is all happening here in St Lawrence this morning. We are apparently right on the edge of a polo field and a three-day meet begins today. The horses have been arriving since crack of dawn. Kids, mainly teenagers and twenties, have been unloading, hosing down and saddling up. One hundred and eighty horses are expected and some are already in the paddock practising their sharp turns and stops. Twenty teams will be competing. Mums are heaving loads of food to the canteen area and a few Dad’s are in charge of the bbq. I would love to stay and watch the action…have always enjoyed polo, but I promised Rolf a grand dinner for his birthday so we will head for Mackay. Anyway I don’t believe the three loos and three showers will really suffice for the numbers expected.