Rockhampton

Had we arrived during daylight, we would have seen what an endearing campsite this really was. As we arrived in darkness, all we found was a vast empty space with one other car parked with a tent pitched next to it. Darkness, shadows and imagination didn’t make for a peaceful night’s sleep.

When we woke up (early) we walked around the site. Kangaroos and wallabies roamed around. The site was exactly a recreational ground used for events. There were large kitchens and a bar. There was a horse race track. The camping area was simply the car park and the local town utilising the space, the toilets etc, to make money when it wasn’t being used for anything else. The town of St Lawrence was a few hundred yards away on the other side of the rail tracks. We had showers (had to pay $1 for 3 mins), and then I made breakfast

We set off to St Lawrence to refuel. The town is a single, very wide street, but the street has planted areas between the two lanes. As we drove along and reached the end of the street our hearts sank as there was no sign of a fuel station. We turned down the other lane and decided to drive around again and stop at the store to ask them where the fuel was. We pulled up behind a big lorry to find he was refuelling from a single, very old pump. Bertha’s fuel tank is on the off side, so on a one way street I wasn’t sure how I would fill her up as the pipes were certainly not long enough to go around her. When I asked the driver filling his lorry what to do I could just see the disbelief in his face, he must have thought - what an utter drongo, “go up the road, turn around and come down the wrong way”. Obvious when you think about it.Read more