We woke to fog and everything was covered on heavy dew so we packed up our tents wet and moved to a picnic shelter for breakfast. Tony took some pictures for your pleasure.
It was pretty cold so we were happy to be on our way. It was so foggy we had our lights on so we could be seen. The fog cleared after about an hour and we rode in bright sunshine until we reached Tiaro after 50 kms. We stopped for morning tea. This is the sort of town that you pass through and don't notice. It was very warm in the sun sitting outside the general store. Great shepherd's pie though.
We rode on to Maryborough, a town of 2 halves. The older, heritage area was mostly deserted with a lot of empty shops and a newer shopping mall which was where all the action was. These malls are pretty much the same wherever we have been with the same shops. Boring.
Found the Tourist Information next to the town hall. We have got super service from most of the tourist centres, they can't do enough to help. Maryborough was the exception, poor attitude, poor service and wrong information. The woman shut up shop not long after we left. We figure she wanted us to leave so she could go home. Her attitude was the complete opposite of the 2 previous sites we visited where the staff couldn't have been more helpful.
We had lunch in the shade in the Town Hall gardens, dried the tents and then stretched out on the lawn for rest. We had already ridden 90 kms but the prospect of a rest day in Hervey Bay motivated us to go a further 40 kms.
I met up with another tourer, Tomas a Dutch guy about 18 who had come over to Australia by himself and had already ridden from Melbourne to Canberra, to Sydney and up here. Fantastic effort.
I passed him about 30 k out of Hervey Bay, had a chat and then took off as he was travelling quite slowly. Next thing I know we are about 10 k out and he is sitting on my wheel. I had heard someone behind me, but thought it was Joe.
It became slog particularly after reaching Hervey Bay only to find it is a large town and it took a further 30 minutes to reach the hostel. But it was great to get there. After settling in and having our 1st showers in 3 days we went to the YHA bar for a drink. It was the quietest backpackers I have ever been in. Nothing happening, no-one there, so we walked to the Boat Club for dinner. It was a bit of splurge after a long week (680 kms). The Boat Club was filled with people that take advantage of the cheap meals too often. There was a guy there doing covers, and was OK, but Joe reckons he was playing air guitar, but with a guitar.
After dinner we went back to the hostel and met up with Tomas who Tony had met out on the road earlier. He is also heading to Cairns although his schedule in different to ours.
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