Off to Rocky for the Day

We decided to head in to Rockhampton today, about half an hour inland. This was despite knowing that the weather there today is hovering around 36 degrees - whereas here on the coast it was 31 degrees.

We drove via the back end of Mount Archer, trying to find a road up to the lookout at the top. Unfortunately, the pretty back roads did not lead to any lookouts so we back tracked and headed into town straight to the botanic gardens and the zoo. We were disappointed that dogs weren’t allowed in the botanic gardens so we had to eat lunch in the shade just outside the gates. Gadi then went for a walk in the gardens and explored the zoo while I drove to the other side of the city to the banks of the Fitzroy River where I could let Cadbury out and we could hopefully find some shady trees to keep out of the sun. There wasn’t much to see or do in the area I’d parke in, but eventually we headed beck to pick up Gadi, who was waiting for us at the kiosk, hand feeding lorikeets. He enjoyed the botanical gardens, with trees from all over the world but was disappointed with the small variety of animals at the zoo. Just as I was picking him up he’d been swarmed with birds wanting some of the lemonade he’d just bought at the kiosk!

Next we were determined to get to the lookout on top of Mount Archer, so found the road up from the Rockhampton side (which makes sense given it’s also a suburb of Rockhampton) and wound our way up the 604 metre mountain. We walked around the top but the heat of the day made it quite hazy and the view wasn’t as clear as it could be.

We headed back to the coast via Yeppoon to check out al the local beaches. Gadi went for a quick swim in the infinity pool and we drove around trying to find the best vantage spot to watch the sunset. Eventually we headed back to our caravan park where I was the only one in the pool as it turned dark and the pool lights shone making it an iridescent blue.

Time to head inside. Good night from the Central Queensland coast!Read more