2020 Far North Queensland
 

Rockhampton - Thu 23/07/2020

2020 Far North Queensland
We're at Mackay Beach on the southern side of the city and realise that Joan must have meant breakfast at the marina on the northern side. We decide against going back north again and head south for Rockhampton. We fill the car on the outskirts of Mackay and continue on to Sarina, a distance of 150 kms. I remember this as being the worst part of the whole trip. There are seven major roadworks and we stop for several minutes at five of them. The irritating thing for me is that these “upgrades” are a lot like putting lipstick on a pig. When the roadworks are finished, it’s still a pig. At Sarina, I buy a sandwich, Jenni buys a pie and we have a pee. From Sarina, it is another 85 km to Clairview. It is dead boring but thankfully there are no roadworks. At Clairview we see a sign thats says "Dugong Sanctuary" so we take the turnoff and drive in expecting to find a dugong sanctuary. It turns out that Clairview itself is the sanctuary; there is no specific part where the dugongs loiter. Our expectations of seeing a dugong plummet to zero. Despite that, Clairview is gorgeous.
We walk along the beach front and it is completely untouched and undeveloped. It is pretty much the same as when Captain Cook "discovered" it (forgetting for the moment that it was already the home of first nations peoples for 30-40,000 years before that). It is hauntingly beautiful and if the dugongs hang out here, it must be a great place for dugongs. This beach is one of the few places a short drive off the PCW where you can actually see the ocean. With the wonders of modern smart phones, I take this picture and transmit it to Jim Hoffman in Phoenix.
I am fascinated by the blue rocks in this part of the beach, visible in this picture. I grab a couple of small samples to take a further look when I get home. We don't see any dugongs so we get back in the car and head south again. My Movie 15 Half an hour later we see a sign that points us to the St Lawrence Wetlands, a 6km drive off the highway on good road. On the way, we don't argue with a goods train. It's only a small train but the track is part of the main north coast line which goes for 1400kms.
The North Coast Line runs the length of coastal Queensland between Nambour in the south and Cairns in the north. We expect this to be a bit uninteresting but it is quite good. The wetlands result from the overflow from the St Lawrence River which connects with the ocean and is (duh!) tidal; it looks like those wastelands in the cowboy movies This is very different from the wet tropics.
Taking the previous picture As an aside, we are still in the dry tropics. We still have a couple hundred kilometres to go to Rockhampton so we decide to get serious. The road for most of the way is quite fast without roadworks until 32 km out of Rocky. The countryside into Rocky is a bit boring being mostly dry flat, scrubland. We arrive at 15:45 and check into a motel on the riverfront, very nice, and for once we get a motel that has proper Wi-Fi (40 mbs). On our way north, one of the highlights was dinner in Rockhampton at Pacinos. I have the same meal as I had before (prime rib) as does Jenni (fillet steak). Both meals are disappointing and the service is rushed and perfunctory. We leave without adding a tip.
On the way back, I am reminded of discussions I have with my good friend Ken Anderson who is a climate change sceptic. I take this picture and send it to him with appropriate suggestions to help with his rehabilitation. 2029-07-13FNQld-17 2029-07-13FNQld-18  
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