May 23 - Airlie Beach Rest Day - 0 km

Awake and up before 6:00 am.  Too much noise from street sweepers and other maintenance happening.


Went for a wander about 7:00 to get some breakfast and saw police redirecting traffic away from the main street.  Turns out there was a hit and run last night.


Picked up at YHA at 8:30 to go sea kayaking at Shute Harbour.  Weather was grey, wet and windy.

Paddled out to one of the small islands and saw a sea eagle, a couple of sea turtles and a dugong.  Not the best conditions for looking at wildlife.  Sea was rough and the song from Gilligan's Island kept going through my head.  Tough paddle out to the island against the wind and tide, but an easier trip back.




Stopped at White Rock island and had a look around.  Here is Joe reviewing the weather.

This is what he is looking at.


















Came back and had lunch and decided to go to the LBS (Local Bike Shop) to pump our tyres up.  Glad we did.  We went to the one and only bike shop in Airlie Beach that had been open just one week.  

Chris the owner was really helpful and lent us the pump and as we were chatting, it turned out she had ridden from Cairns to Cape York a few years earlier.  Her first big ride and introduction to touring.  What a way to go!

She did the Cape York ride with 3 other girls.  Gutsy effort. Wish I was doing the Cape York ride with 3 girls.  Don't tell Joe though.

Chris spoke with us for quite awhile about conditions, the route, what to take, how to set the bike up etc.  Great stuff and thanks for the advice Chris.

Chris has just started her business in Airlie Beach and needs customers.  She is a real cyclophile and is VERY passionate and enthusiatic about cycling so if you are up there drop in and have a chat and buy something.  Her website is at www.ridewhitsundays.com 

Went to a bar and watched the first half of State of Origin. Queensland won again.  Interesting watching the crowd though.  Left at half time because Joe was having too much of a good time.

May 22 - Proserpine to Airlie Beach - 30 km

We started off at the usual time to head for Airlie Beach.  Weather was cloudy and wet and we had a head wind most of the way.  This is Joe heading for the hills.

Weather had cleared a bit as we reached the top of the hill on the way into Airlie Beach.  Great view.

Quickly reached Airlie Beach and booked into the YHA.  I had reserved a room at the YHA the night before and was told we could get on a tour if we got there by 9:00am. We were there by 8:30 and told it was too late to get on a tour.  Not happy, but booked in for the following day for a sea kayak/snorkelling tour out of Shute Harbour.  


Our room wasn't going to be ready until 1:00 pm so we showered and wandered around the town.  Once we got access to the room we did our washing and read books by the pool.  A lazy day.


Went looking for some nightlife about 6:00pm, but turns out there isn't any, at least not at the times Joe and I go looking for it.  So after a few beers and pizza back at YHA we headed for bed.

May 21 - Mackay to Proserpine - 135 km

Last night we couldn't be bothered with cooking so we headed down a local Thai restaurant called "Noodlek" and enjoyed some green curry (I had prawns and Tony had chicken) and rice with some beer. After we got back to caravan park we went over to the kitchen area to work on the blog and chatted to a family who were just finishing dinner.


This family of seven from Bairnsdale (5 kids under 8) were living in tents while they try to get some housing. Dad is a mechanic working on mining machinery. There is huge demand for accommodation up here because of all the mining work. The situation was the same in Gladstone where the caravan park is full of permanent residents working on the mining related infrastructure projects. Everyday we have seen huge pieces of mining equipment being transported on the highway. A real eye opener about the 2 speed economy.


We adopted a steady but relaxed pace this morning. The first stretch had some rolling hills but nothing too strenuous. After 35 km we stopped at Kuttabul for morning tea. The was a road crew laying some new bitumen out front and had put out witches hats to guide drivers around the new work. We were greatly amused when one bloke driving a campervan manoeuvred through the witches hats over the new work to get to the petrol pump instead of going around. Not even sure that he was conscious of what he'd done such was his focus on getting to the pump.


Our next stop was Calen. you've heard of the pub with no beer?  Well this is the town with no pub.  Its burnt down.








We went to the general store for some food for dinner.  What a classic place.  Obviously run by a hoarder.  It had boxes and boxes of stuff everywhere.  you can even see the front veranda is filled in by empty crates and boxes wired together.


A lot of it was bizarre, for example we spotted a box of shuttlecocks. The box would have contained 100s. Not sure how many shuttlecocks a small country town would go through but it didn't seem that they were big sellers. 


The lady running the store took our picture to send to to local paper, the Mercury. She told us the store was owned by a local woman in her 80s who had very strong ideas about what the shop should stock. Unfortunately there was a lot of stuff and not enough of the right stuff.


After the Calen the wind picked up and we raced along until lunch which we ate beside the primary school at Bloomsbury.


One of the hazards riding is this sort of thing.  The big truck on the right has just passed a slower 4WD moving into Joe's lane and then back to his lane.  The second white truck has also moved out into the oncoming lane to pass.  Pretty scary looking at two big trucks coming towards you taking up the whole road.  Lucky this road had a good shoulder.  If you look closely you can see Joe clenching his cheeks.


We originally planned to stop at Midge Point short of Prosperpine but decided to take advantage of the tailwind and push to Proserpine. Also Tony had bad experiences at Sandfly Point on the Milford Track and did not want a repeat.

Joe was running out of steam as we arrived so we decided to find a caravan park as we did not see the rest stop marked on the map.










Before going to caravan park we spotted an Irish Pub with a backpackers sign. Unfortunately there was no vacancies. The proprietor reckoned he could ridethe extra 30 kms to Airlie Beach in 20 minutes. It was bulltish but it seemed like a good pub so we went back for dinner.


The council-run caravan park was excellent and we had the camping area to ourselves.

May 20 - Clairview to Mackay - 139 km

A beautiful sunrise to start the day at Clairview. Fortunately the 1.4 metre crocodile that the caravan park owner alleged was around had not visited our campsite

We again had a tailwind and made good speed all morning. We had morning tea at Carmila after 35 km and then pushed on up the road until Duff Creek where traffic had come to standstill. Doh!!

Duff Creek is where the water comes from for Duff beer for you Simpsons fans.

It turned out that there was an accident involving a tractor and boat. Not something you see everyday. Couldn't see if anyone was hurt. There were police on hand to direct the traffic.


Had a chat with a couple in a car while we were waiting to get through as they were interested in what we were doing.  The lady's uncle was in Europe and was doing a 7000 km cycling trip.  Impressive.


Not much further on we passed this hotel with a crocodile hanging from front. I jumped off to get a photo of Tony passing under it however I wasn't quick enough and Tony hadn't realised I had stopped. I had to jump back on the bike to chase him. Fortunately he dropped his chain a short time later otherwise I would have been chasing him with him thinking I was still ahead.



We stopped for another break at a roadside stop where this motorcycle was parked. We had a good chat to it's owner and to a very tough looking German-Australian with a mohawk and Muay Tai Ultimate Fighter t-shirt. A mean looking guy.  Tony wanted to get a picture of this guy but was too scared to ask.



By lunchtime we had covered 80 km and had reached Sarina. Tony took some pictures of some local artwork depicting the sugar industry. This whole region is pretty dedicated to sugarcane.

This picture is for the Salvos girls.

This truck that parked in Sarina is an example of the monsters we have been encountering on the road.  These are the worst ones because they push so much air in front of them. At one point this morning we were overtaken by a over-sized truck carrying a bucket for a front-end loader used at the mines. It was huge.

After our lunch, another "yardlong" Tony needed a nap to recuperate before we headed off for Mackay.

This friendly local wanted a picture of yours truly. Bit surprised  to find her wandering about the Tourist Information office dressed liked that.  I've always been attracted to women with one long arm.  Don't tell Lisa.

May 19 - Marlborough to Clairview - 120 km

 

An early start again on another beautiful sunny morning. There is nothing between Marlborough and Clairview except roadkill and more roadkill. Not much traffic, good road surface and a strengthening tailwind meant that we raced along. 

We took a break at the 40 km mark and fortified ourselves with sesame snaps. Another 40 km and we stopped to devour the hard-boiled eggs we were carrying. 

The last 25 km was a slog but we finally reached Clairview and found a lovely campsite beside the sea.

The rest stop was beside a community centre. It and the amenities had been colourfully decorated by local artists.

The tide went out rapidly after we arrived. Within a couple of hours the waters was at least a kilometre away. 

 The only commercial establishment in Clairview is the caravan park but as the rest stop allows 24 hours stays we only went to the caravan park for supplies after we ate our cheese and tomato sandwiches.


While we were having lunch we had a chat to Chris who was coming back from a Carbon auditing course and heading for Rockhampton where he lives.  Chris is a touring cyclist who rides a three wheeler recumbent cycle.  We did not have anything for breakfast so Chris gave us the last of his oats.  Thanks Chris.

The television was on in the bar and there was an AFL game so we watched for awhile before heading back and setting up our tents. 

We spent a quiet afternoon resting until dinner. After we packed away our dishes and this possum came down from his tree to check out what was going on.

May 18 - Rockhampton to Marlborough - 107 km

Great to sleep in a real bed, but still awake early and got up for an early breakfast.  As you know ATO officers are constantly scanning the environment for wrong doing, and just because we are on holiday we are ever vigilant.  Saw this in the meals room at the YHA.








Joe saw this pie shop and couldn't resist taking a picture.  Apparently Cranno has a sideline ready for retirement.








The next major town is Mackay, about 350 km away with not many towns in between.  Our goal today is to get to Marlborough about 100 km away although we are not sure what is there.   Headed off about 7:30 am with Joe riding well and Tony struggling to get going. It normally takes me between 10 - 20 km for my knees to  loosen up, but today didn't happen till about 25 km mark.  Still made good time.


Stopped at this old style petrol station at Yaamba at about 9:00 for morning tea.  (See, we did get to Yaamba Sean)  Lovely world wearied lady served us as we fuelled up.  70 km to Marlborough and we thought we could do it before lunch.



About 30 km from Yaamba stopped at this roadside stall for some fruit.  Tony enjoyed resting his bum on the old bus seat.  Heaps of junk that the guy was selling, but most of it could go straight to the rubbish dump.  Good oranges and mandarins though.




Got to Marlborough about 1:00 pm.  Nothing here but a pub and a general store.  The pub let us camp out the back and use their showers for $5.00 each.  Great deal.  Set up tents and got some food at the general store for lunch and had a shower.

Currently in the public bar having a schooner.  Interesting pub though.  Main bar walls are covered in comments from people who have passed through. 







Jack Corry cycled through here. We hope we can still push the pedals at 80. We will add our comments before we leave.








Dogs wandering in and out. Mostly sniffing Joe and taking off again. Joe didn't want this one to get away though.


 Just had an old bloke walk into the bar, throw money on the bar and say "$7.40 there, throw me out when I'm drunk".


Had a few more beers then had some good pub tucker and a few games of pool.


We went in the raffle for the local primary school.  Winning prize was a meat tray.  We were hoping Joe would win it because he's pescatarian, but he didn't.



Only bar I've been in that has all the local cattle brands burnt into wood hanging on the wall.







Saw this lizard on the wall.  I think it is a rare one so took a picture.  Can anyone tell me what sort of lizard it is?










We signed the wall to make sure they don't forget us.  Apologies for the artwork.












Saw these other posters up too.  Particularly liked the one about 50 year olds.

 

 

We had an early night but the locals kicked on.