Today we had the return 600 odd kilometer journey back to the Sunshine Coast and home.
We packed the car with the majority of our luggage last night so only had a small bag to go this morning. After showers and a cuppa, we thought we would get pastries at Baked on 44 again.
Then we topped up the fuel tank and drove through Rockhampton and onto the A1 heading south.
We had a bathroom break at Bororen before travelling onto Miriamvale for morning tea/brunch at the βBig Crabβ. M almost got a crab pie but was a little dubious of how fresh (or not) the crab might be and decided not to risk it. He finally settled on a Corned Beef and White Sauce and I had the bacon and egg pie. Back on the road, we drove further south to Childers for sandwiches at the bakery. We got home around 3:30, unpacked our bags, put a load of washing on and had a light dinner.
Tomorrow is back to work and start dreaming of when we might be able to go away again.
Today is our last day of this break before we head home tomorrow. It has been raining most of the day, so our plan of having a lazy day of food,TV, reading and relaxing.
After a sleep in and a slow start, we walked up the road a bit to the Lure Living Cafe for a late breakfast. I had the Smashed Avo and M had the Big Breakfast. together with a pot of tea, it was a great start to the day.
After breakfast, we returned to the apartment and spent most of the day relaxing, watching TV and reading. lunch was a simple sandwich as we planned a dinner for our final night.
In the afternoon, we repacked and loaded the car ready for an early start in the morning.
Ready for dinner, we walked up the road to the Strand Hotel. I chose the Buttermilk Chicken and M had the Lamb Rack. Back to the apartment we went to bed fairly early knowing we want to leave early in the morning.
Lamb Rack
Buttermilk Chicken
We have enjoyed our time here and will certainly be back to look around further.
Awoke today to another gloomy day π We thought we would go to into Rockhampton and have a look along the River Precinct and look at the heritage buildings, have lunch somewhere and go to the Zoo in the afternoon.
That plan got quashed when we got to Rockhampton to find out that the Rocky Nats had taken over and the streets were closed. I knew they were closing on Saturday with a parade through the city, but I did not research enough to find out that the Sunday events meant the Riverfront Precint was closed on Sunday as well.
Deciding on just driving around a “getting lost” before going to the Zoo, we drove around Rockhampton “looking” I must admit I had no idea the Rockhampton, and Yeppoon were so hilly. Lots of hilltops with nice views over the city.
Finally, we made our way to the Zoo. It was threateing to rain so we made sure we took our umbrella with us. We only needed it for a couple of minutes – but for sure if we didn’t take it we would have got wet!
Zoos are always fun and this little Zoo is no exception. Their main draw-cards are Meerkats and a Chimpanzee troupe – 2 of my personal favourites.
The small group of 4 Meerkat were fun to watch as they dug their way into various holes and hollows in their enclosure. It was certainly a difference to these ones in the cool than the last Meerkats we saw at Dubbo Zoo. Those poor little things were SO hot they were splayed out in the sand trying to keep cool
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The next exhibit was the Chimpanzee. We spent a while watching their antics and listening children laughing at the baby and its Mother.
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At one stage one of the “boys” decided to wrap himself up in a blue blanket and go for a walk. He wandered around the enclosure for a while before climbing up to a “hammock”, spreading his blanket out ever so carefully and lay down for a rest.
We wandered around the rest of the zoo for a while before leaving and wondering what to do. We notice a big shopping centre and decided to find the Food Court and get something to eat. M found a carvery and had Rissoles with Gravy and Potato Bake while I had Chinese.
Back at the apartment we did “nothing” for the rest of the afternoon.
We awoke to find a grey and drizzly day looming. The weather reports had shown we were in for a wet Easter, so we felt lucky to have dodged rain for the last couple of days.
After breakfast in the apartment we decided to head into Rockhampton to have a look around and find “something” to do. Before that though we knew we wanted to visit a French Patisserie/Providore for morning tea. Baked on 44 did not disappoint. I chose an Apricot Danish and M had a Vanilla Cannoli. I forgot to take pictures but you can be assured they were both perfect. The range of goods in the shop was extensive with something for everybody.
We decided to go to the Rockhampton visitor information centre to get some inspiration for the days activity. The information centre is location ON the tropic of Capricorn and its Spire acts as a sundial to show Earth’s movement around the Sun.
With the main street of Rockhampton being closed today due to the Rocky Nats car festival, we decided to take a drive out to Mount Morgan. It is a fairly short 35-40 min trip. About half way the road climbs up the range with a stretch of highway that is very steep and windy. Luckily the speed limit is only 40km/h and it was not too scary π We stopped at the Mt Morgan Lookout at the top of the range. This lookout was designed to replicate a mineshaft and provides a great view over the valley toward Rockhampton. I am sure on a fine, sunny day we would have a much better view.
Somewhat grey view from the Mount Morgan Lookout.
We arrived in Mount Morgan shortly after and found the bakery for lunch. Mount Morgan is a typical Aussie country town, with a number of historic buildings. Sadly (as is often the case when we travel at Easter) many of the attractions and museums were closed for the holiday. We sat at a picnic table to have our pies before heading back toward Rockhampton and home.
The trip back toward the coast was a bit slower as it was raining most of the way. We got back to the apartment shortly before 4:00, did a load of washing, prepared dinner and had a quiet night watching TV.
We were just about ready to turn in when we heard “boom boom boom” I realised it was 9:00 and the noise would be fireworks from the “Easter Extravaganza” at Emu Park. We opened the front door of the apartment and sure enough the sky was filled with colour. Just about everybody from the resort was out watching – most in our pj’s. We enjoyed the show for about half an hour before finally going to bed.
Whenever we travel over the Easter break, we make sure we have self catered for Good Friday knowing that not much is open.
We had a nice sleep in and had a leisurely start to the day. The shower in the apartment was really nice and I had a lovely long shower before making a breakfast of bacon and eggs.
After breakfast we headed downstairs for a walk around the block and to have a look at the waterfront. Luckily the weather was nice, just very windy with a few clouds but it did not look like we were going to get rain at all.
Our resort is in the middle of the main waterfront strip. We walked a few hundred meters south the the Keppel Bay Sailing Club before crossing the road and walking along Anzac Ave looking at the shops and cafes. Surprisingly, many were open and were able to book dinner at the restaurant below our resort.
The council has spent a lot of money on the foreshore and it has many areas for families to have picnics and fun.
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We bought an ice-cream and headed back to the resort to collect the car and go for a scenic drive.
A short way south of the resort is the Yeppoon Lagoon, from there we travelled further south to Emu Park. It had been many years since either of us had been here, but we knew that due to the gusty conditions today the βSinging Shipβ monument would be singling loudly today. We were not disappointed. Click on the video below to hear the ship “singing”
From Emu Park we headed back toward Yeppoon, via the Rosslyn Bay Harbour. The Great Keppel Island ferries leave from here and we may do a day trip over there to have a look around. While at the harbour, we drove around to look at the marina and noticed the biggest Water Police boat we have ever seen. A bit of Google research and we found out that this large “floating police station” is one of 5 such vessels in service.
Back on the road and we saw a sign for “Wreck Point Scenic Lookout” Well.. we nearly got blown back to Yeppoon!! Reading the story of the ship that was washed up here is incredible. The Pine River where the ship departed from is over 630kms south!!
Looking South
Looking North
Driving back through Yeppoon we headed north along the waterfront. Not far outside of Yeppoon we saw signs for Capricorn Resort. We were aware of this resort as being a controversial development in the late 1980″s so we thought we would go and have a look. Neither of us were expecting to find it totally abandoned. It looked really eerie with overgrown gardens, security fences and locked gates everywhere. It looked like it had been just locked up and left in a hurry. We could see curtains hanging in the windows and outdoor furniture in the gardens and on some balconies.
When we got back to the unit, I googled it and found this story from 2019. The Iwasaki Group have plans to refurbish it, but it will certainly take a LOT of money to bring it back to its former glory.
We got back to our apartment at around 2:30 for a cuppa and a relaxing afternoon before going downstairs for a beautiful dinner at Vue
We chose an entree to share then both ordered different steak dishes which we also shared. We did not need dessert!! It was a lovely meal.
Seared Scallops On Pork Belly With Truffle Cauliflower Puree
Tender Eye Fillet Wrapped In Bacon Served With Creamy Garlic Mash, King Brown Mushroom, Wilted Spinach & Mushroom Jus
Darling Downs Wagyu Sirloin, Marble Score 8, Served With Creamy Garlic Mash, Green Beans, Pedro Tomato with Red Wine Jus
Any travel through this CoVid time is a challenge, but we had decided that we did need a break but we would need to stay within Queensland.
We chose Rockhampton as it had been a long time since either of us had been in the area. A quick “Google” showed lots to do and see, but on further investigation we could not find accommodation. I knew Yeppoon is the beachside locale of Rockhampton so decided to look there… Still not a lot available but I knew Easter would be a very busy time. I finally found “Salt Yeppoon Apartments“, a newish resort right on the oceanfront. It promised that every room has an ocean view. A few clicks and we were booked in a 1 bedroom apartment for 5 nights.
This holiday is going to be a little bit of a different “foodie adventure” I found lots of interesting cafes in Yeppoon, so we have chosen not to take too much in the way of food with us. Normally we tend to self cater (especially breakfast) and take food from home to cook in the apartment. This trip we are only taking milk, bread, butter, tea and condiments. We have packed a full day’s food for Good Friday as we know that most places will be closed.
The week prior to this trip saw 2 CoVid clusters form in Brisbane and a subsequent 3 day lockdown of the greater Brisbane area. While we do not live in the lockdown area, there was a chance that the area may be adjusted to include the Sunshine Coast if more cases emerged. This would have meant that we would be unable to leave π
Through the week there were no Sunshine Coast cases, although a couple of concerning reports of a man who had tested positive had visited premises on the route we were due to take. As we were due to leave on Thursday morning and the Chief Medical Officer was to due to give her recommendations as to the lifting of lockdown at 9:00am Thursday we decided to risk it and go, knowing that we would only be a couple of hours away from home when the news was announced. and if we needed to return, it was not too far to go.
Thursday morning we left early as planned and were on the road just after 7:00am. It is an approximately 7 hour – 650km drive to Rockhampton/Yeppoon but as we are very familiar with the road for the first 300kms between the Sunshine Coast and Childers, the plan was to stop at the roadhouse at Gunalda, get a cuppa and wait for the news at 9:00 then head straight to Childers for morning tea, then we would “amble” the next 350kms, stopping if we saw anything interesting.
We arrived at Gunalda at 8:50, just enough time for a stretch of the legs, a bathroom break and a hot drink while we waited for the 9:00 news. The news was GOOD!!! The Premier announced that Brisbane was allowed out of lockdown early at midday and Easter is “good to go!”
This news was indeed good, and I felt much better knowing that we were not likely to have any issues, and the mandated mask wearing for the next 2 weeks is not a big problem.
Our next stop was the Childers Bakery Sandwich Bar for an early lunch. M stops here most weeks on his delivery run to Bundaberg, so I thought it was about time I experienced their food π I had a bacon and cheese sausage roll that was indeed VERY good π We also bought a loaf of fresh bread and a couple of HUGE sandwiches that would be dinner.
Travelling north, we passed through the town of Gin Gin. We did not stop as we had been here not to long ago. We thought we might stop at Miriamvale but decided we did not need to so kept going. A little way further north we came to Bororen and a “Big Giraffe” The cafe must be good as the carpark was packed as was the road in front π We pulled over at the park across the road to use the amenities and kept heading north. I am hoping we can check out the “Big Giraffe on the way south.
We stopped for a “driver reviver” free hot drink at Calliope. This stop was in the Calliope Historic Village. I dropped a few coins into the donation box and we sat and enjoyed our cups of tea. The men in the kiosk asked where we were travelling to, and when we said said Rockhampton, they asked if we were coming for the “Rocky Nats” We said no ( as we had no idea what that was) They explained that there was a huge car show and race meet thing happening. When I looked it up I understood why I was not able to find accomodation.
As were were having our drinksI could see there was a number of caravans down by the river to the west, so when we were back in the car, we went to have a look. We duly found the Calliope River Campground. This is a such a lovely spot and I would imagine it would be a relaxing spot for a few days.
A bit further north we passed an intersting looking sign that alerted us to beware of trucks carrying explosives?? In the distance to the west we could see a number of buildings and a very secure looking fence on the highway. Google told us that the area is the site of a Queensland government explosives reserve. (Who knew)
We rolled into Rockhampton around 3:00pm (right in time for school pick up time) Traffic was quite heavy but we made it through Rockhampton and on to Yeppoon. We made a quick stop off at Woolworths to pick up some provisions and we checked into our apartment just after 4:30. We had a quiet night after our big drive.