road trip (blog 7)

after our time in Brisbane it was time for our road trip to Cairns.

our Australian ride

Day One

Brisbane to Hervey Bay KM 347km 

We picked our car up from Brisbane airport and made our way as directed towards the sunshine coast. Our first sight of Cairns on the motorway sings said it was 1874 kilometers away, we were in for a lot of driving

Our first stop was Hervey Bay at a hotel called Nightcap at Kondori resort. it had a large bar and dining room, and you could tell it was good because it was full of locals.

it was this deep all the way out

Before dinner I had my first dip in the Pacific Ocean.

It wasnt very deep, but I did get my feet wet.

We enjoyed our meals at the hotel. I had Ribs, and then a banana cheesecake.

Day Two

Hervey Bay to Rockhampton 400kn

We had a long driving day today, but we decided to take a detour. We had seen a place on the map called Agnes Water so we headed there. (my joke is its Alice Springs Sister). It was Idyllic there and I got my feet wet again, and so did Wilma. (no picture of me).

We had lunch and started to head for Rockhampton.

Agnes Water

When we left Agnes Water we had a long drive to the Bruce highway. once we got on that there were 175km to Rockhampton. For most of the way the picture on the right is all we could see. with the occasional car in-between.

Day Three

Rockhampton to MacKay  336km

Another long drive, but we decided to take a detour to a place called Nob Creek Pottery. It sounded like a great idea. A 77km drive out of the way, but we had all day, and it should be worth it. Well it wasn't! It was closed when we got there as it was only open of a weekend in the autumn and winter.

The route back to the Bruce highway took us nearly all the way back to Rockhampton and we had about 290km

Day Four

MacKay to Townsville  388km

We had heard that there was a place near Mackay where the Kangaroos are on the beach at dawn. When I spoke to the lady on reception about it she said that they are there all fay in the cooler weather. So we made our way to Cape Hillsborough where this is said to happed.

It was another lovely place with a campground close to the beach, but for us there were no Kangaroos. We did have a walk on the beach, but no paddling this time. So we went on our merry way after our second bum steer.

We stopped at an information place for the toilet and it had a giant mango outside.

As we got nearer to Townsville we saw sighs for Billabong Sanctuary. where they had crockodiles and aligators. before that we were in time for the reptile show where I got to hold an Aligator and touch a very lively snake. Wilma moved away when both came close.

They also had a Cassowary

Later on, after seeing some Koalas and Kangaroos they fed some Alligators

In Townsville the hotel wasn't up to much, but we found a great place to eat.

a great place to eat.

Day Five

Townsville to Cairns  348km

A final flourish to Cairns today with a stop at MAMU tropical skywalk. Its a 'bridge' in the trees that is about 2.5km long and takes about an hour to walk it. As we got closer the rain came in and when we got there it was torrential.

We decided not to do it and headed for Cairns after another bum steer.

Along the way we did notice how much sugar was being grown in the region and also bananas.

We arrived at our hotel in Cairns and took the car back then out for an indian meal before bed.

Total miles so far approximatley 12400 miles (including Taxis, boats and Planes)