HIGH TEMPERATURES

Queensland is having the most amazing August ever in the weather stakes. Temperatures are 10 – 12 degrees higher than normal in most cases but with the high temperatures comes the danger of bush fires. They have already started down in New South Wales and there have been a few in Queensland and last week there was a fire in Canarvon Gorge and all the caravans in the park had to be evacuated. We had a few spots of rain today, just enough to dampen down the dust really but the state is in dire need of some really heavy rain. The temperatures dropped with the rain and after enjoying 30 – 35C for most of the last few weeks it has been a shock to get down to only 19C.

We are in Cania Gorge National Park which is inland between Rockhampton and Gladstone. It is a beautiful spot with masses of bird and animal life all around us. We were woken this morning at 3.30am by the kookaburra chorus that lasted for about half an hour and then about 4.30 the rest of the birds started their sing song. It was just beautiful. Where Stephen lived in St. Ives Chase a few years ago in Sydney they would be woken at day break with kookaburras and he reckoned that they would have their singalong so everybody was awake and then the kookaburras would go back to sleep having achieved their purpose. I just love the sound of them laughing. Last night our van had wallabies, possums and bettongs all around it just nibbling in the dirt. Jim was siting outside reading about 7.30pm and all of a sudden he let out a squawk. A possum had bitten him on the toe. He got a hell of a fright. Tonight the camp put on a camp oven roast dinner which was roast lamb and all the trimmings and vegetables and apple crumble and then we had bush poets and story tellers. It was a magic night.

Since my last blog entry we have slowly but surely wended our way south and have now crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and for the first time in nearly 3 months we have left the tropics and headed into more temperate climates. We loved our week in Airlie Beach and just spent most of our days on the beach or reading round the van. We went for a drive out to Hideaway Bay one day and found two lovely resorts with reasonably priced accommodation and situated on the most beautiful beaches with views over the Whitsundays. A real paradise.

Our next stop was Mackay where we stayed at one of the nicest camps we have yet stayed in that close to a city. Normally city camps are full of permanent campers and aren't the best but Andergrove Camp was very nice. We had never been to Mackay before and really liked it although we could never get our bearings. There are some lovely beaches around the city and the port has been modernised with lots of cafes, apartments and a long breakwater where you can fish or just watch the view. About 30 kms south from Mackay is the township of Sarina. We had a lovely day down there. The town is a sugar town with a huge sugar mill on the outskirts and next door is the second biggest ethanol distillery in Australia. This uses molasses from the sugar mill to produce the ethanol. The company has now installed a molecular sieve unit which enables the plant to produce 100% pure ethanol part of which is blended with gasoline. The balance is either exported to Japan where it is used in the manufacture of sake or to Philippines for the making of gin. It never ceases to amaze me what Australia manufactures. That afternoon we drove out to Hay Point where there is a huge coal port, one of the biggest in the world. You can look down on this massive development from a lookout and see the coal trains arriving on a regular basis. We passed 2 of these trains within 10 minutes of each other and they each had 100 wagons full of coal and drawn by 2 engines in the front and 2 in the middle. There are 2 wharves in this complex and we counted 28 ships waiting out in the harbour to enter. We were sitting on the beach just outside of Sarina reading when I heard a loud whooshing noise. We looked up and there within paddling of the beach were 3 whales just playing in the water. It was a great sight.
Rockhampton was our next stop where we visited the Capricorn Caves. These are ancient limestone caves which are privately owned. We went on a guided tour and the young tour guide was so enthusiastic. You certainly wouldn't need to suffer from claustrophobia as some of the caves were very tight and narrow but it was a great tour. There is a part of the caves that is called the Cathedral Cave where they have weddings and the acoustics are near perfect. We sat and listened to a tape of Anya singing and it was just beautiful. We drove out to Yeppoon and Emu Park. We had stayed there in 1997 but boy, has it changed. It now has high rises and apartments in each bay all along the Capricorn Coast and Rosslyn Bay has a new marina and boat terminal. This is where the ferries leave for Great Keppell Island. The growth in housing is amazing and there is now a 4 lane highway being built from Rockhampton to cope with this.
Last Saturday was our last day in Rockhampton and we'd decided to have a quiet day and get some groceries and have a swim in the pool as it was so hot. It certainly didn't turn out as planned. We had just locked up the van to go shopping when I heard men yelling and then loud hailers. I looked up and just five sites down from us there were armed police everywhere with police dogs barking and straining at the leash. Our neighbour went to investigate and we were all yelled at to get back inside. They took a guy from the unit, forced him to lie on the ground and then searched him, all the while holding the guns on him. It was very exciting but a bit frightening as it turns out. This guy had shot someone in a pub on the Thursday night and then in a domestic situation again later he shot another one. Neither died luckily but he is facing attempted murder charges. I don't know how long he had been staying at the caravan park but this was the top rating park in Rockhampton.
Later that day after our swim I went to step outside and slipped on the caravan step and fell down. As I was falling all I could think of was my back which was hitting the step and that being the end of our holiday. I passed out for a little while and came to lying on the grass. Luckily Jim was there and he was beside himself with worry as he thought the same thing. Gradually I starting moving all my limbs and was delighted when they all worked. I started to get up and found blood pouring from my elbow. It then started to swell and came up like a huge egg. I now look like my arm has been tattooed from top to bottom. It is black and blue from armpit to wrist and right across my arm. It looks a real mess. I was just so lucky that it wasn't a lot worse. Before you all think the same, I hadn't even had a drink!!
We have just returned from having a community morning tea of camp fired damper and billy tea which was really lovely. Some of the caravan parks really go out of their way to make things different and this park is definitely one of these. We leave here on Friday for Hervey Bay and back to the coast but I really love the inland bush and the bird life. Only 6 weeks till we return home so not long to go now. Probably only 3 more blogs.
My photos this time are taken from the restaurant on the beach at Hideaway Bay; Jim & I in the Cathedral Cave; and a king parrot standing in our awning and a little bettong that visited us on our first night here in Cania Gorge. Enjoy!