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Sunday 13 July 2008

Calliope River


July 12 – Saturday

Departed 8.00am, bright and early as we had left the car and caravan hitched. It is surprising how much difference in time it takes not having to hitch up. Beautiful morning, although quite cool at 12o! We had decided to make the long drive (400km) straight through to Rockhampton and have a rest day there.

The road was a bit hilly and bumpy but we made good time and fuel economy – very important with the cost of diesel now. We paid $1.85 today, which is cheaper than $1.91 in NSW. We pulled into a rest area on the Calliope River for lunch and discovered it was a free camp area, with about 30 caravans spread along the bank of the river. Absolutely beautiful, lovely wide river with fish jumping, small sandy beaches and flat rocky banks as well. We will definitely keep it in mind on the return trip.

Lots of sugar cane to look at today, along with macadamia nuts and oranges. We also passed a few trains, including an incredibly long coal train with two engines in the middle as well as at the front. There were some interesting roadside animal warning signs (eg kangaroos next 10km) in the Bundaberg region – they showed a white koala instead of the normal black silhouette. Drop bears or Bundy bears???

Arrived at Rockhampton about 2.00pm and found the caravan park without any trouble – being on the highway also helped! Beautiful park with lots of palm trees and hibiscus plants. At 4.45pm I am sitting under our new awning while Les tries to work out how the barbecue goes together. Unfortunately, the new little gas cylinder has a small outlet and the barbecue has a large inlet! Perhaps we should have tried it before leaving! We are officially in the tropics, have been dressed in shorts, shirts and thongs today. The polar fleeces are definitely under the bed!

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