From Agnes Waters to Airlie Beach.

After a rough night’s sleep on the hardest beds in Australia,  here we are getting ready for a long trip north.  We piled all the suitcases around Chris who packed the back of the cruiser.

 

We stopped in at 1770 and had a look where Lt. Cook (aka Capt. Cook) landed.  We were chased off the beach by midges and in urgent need of coffee and breakfast.

 

A little while later with our bellies full, we landed in Rockhampton and had a quick tour around the heart of the city.

 

 

 

Here we took a detour off the highway at Clairview.  The driver thought we could get to the top of a mountain for views, but this is the only view we had apart from a brahma or two.

 

We stopped in at Clairview.  This is one of our favourite spots to stay overnight.  There’s only a small handful of houses along this road and it’s miles from Rockhampton and miles from Mackay.

We landed at Hillsborough National Park. Our beds were MUCH nicer than last night and with the direct sea breeze, the night was cool as well.

 

 

As we headed further north, the effects of Cyclone Ului (pronounced oo-loo-ee)became evident.  Trees were stripped of their leaves, branches were broken everywhere and even a tree or two was down.  We had to ring ahead to make sure that there was electricity available.  Most didn’t have power and were using generators.

 

 

Here we are at Airlie Beach where trees were down, boats were washed ashore, and the power was only just restored to the town.

We had a little drive around and stopped for a late lunch/early dinner.

Fish n Chips were the order of the day.  Tempura Spanish Mackerel, which was voted “ok” by those who ordered it.  I prefer crumbed fish, so I ordered Ratatouille.

 

 

 

 

After lunch, we continued having a look around the town.

 

 

 

 

Well, we finished the day off with Sarsaparilla floats and peanut brittle.  I’m off now to get some sleep as we have an early morning out to the reef to do some snorkelling.  I’m just hoping that we’ll have a sunny day.  Either way, it will still be warm.  Good Night!