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Australia e-journal |
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Rockhampton, Aus |
Wednesday,
September 25, 2002 |
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Factoids: · At Subway – cookies instead of
chips; pop refills are free! · Town of McKay is pronounced
mah-‘KAI · Distance travelled Tuesday =
500-550 km · McKay public toilet – totally
hands-free (all buttons inside) but still filthy! · Tried new Powerade flavour:
Wallaby Gold Rush · Dreamscape aboriginal Centre – kangaroo
stew, croc strips! |
Ooops – missed a day or two. Departing Hamilton Island was sad – great place to visit. The night before, we tried to do some star-gazing at the end of the pier with little success. There was too much light emitted from the resort to get a good view of the stars. Nonetheless, I saw a lot more stars than I would have around Windsor! (I have never noticed the cluster of stars in the centre of the sky directly above – often mistaken as the ‘centre of the Milky Way’ galaxy… just an abundance of stars above) On Tuesday, the day started of badly – breakfast sucked. Nothing was really edible (this was the mess hall in our part of the resort). The ferry ride to the mainland was OK. Before boarding the bus, we were allowed to check out the shopping on the strip. Previously, I tried to use the Internet at the café but it was not functional. I tried fixing it a couple days ago (stupid Win ME) but couldn’t. The guy had a friend who was a Win ME guru and got it fixed. When I came back, he let me use it for free! (Normally it’s A$5 for ½ hour…) Did check my messages and I did get a snide comment from Dorothy as to why a friend of mine writes to me so frequently. When the bus got all our things loaded, we hit the road south on Highway 1. Our first stop was at around 11 in this town called McKay (prounounced mah-‘KAI). It is an industrial town, not really for tourists. The man road certainly did not cater to tourists, let me tell you that! D & I found a bookstore and flipped through some magazines. I bought a car magazine. For brunch, I stopped at a Singaporean restaurant and ordered ‘char quay teow’. Dorothy wanted a sub from Subway – we opted for a combo and we ate everything in the Subway. Funny thing – you get a cookie instead of chips (crisps, whatever) in Australia. One good thing – the pop refills are free. We sat with Arnault and Rebecca. Guess it was nice getting a chance to know more of the ‘younger crowd’ in the tour. Before boarding the bus, I had to find a loo. In the MacKay Visitor Information Centre, they had a Japanese-style place where everything was push-button. Thank goodness they had the automation – the place was filthy! I’m glad I only had to touch the buttons (not anything else!) The ride south to Rockhampton was rather uncomfortable. A stop to this place called “Paradise” BP gas stop broke up the monotony. I tried this Powerade flavour, Wallaby Gold Rush. It had hints of peach flavour. Pretty good! Not as good as the lemon-lime, however. 
We made it into Rockhampton by around 4:30pm. We stayed in a Motel-6-like place called Country Comfort Inn. This was a 4-star place?! Dorothy and I ventured to the Coles for groceries (apples, water, more Powerade). D paid. Then we strolled along the promenade – what a crappy shoreline. I’ve inferenced as to the name Rockhampton – it was a low-tide, though (see Dorothy photos). On the way home, we spotted a black Honda Integra (no Acuras around here!) For supper, we went to the Dreamscape Aboriginal Centre for a little culture. The guide played a big pipe (did-uri-doo) and told us some folklore. (Goori-Goori bird and little kids, milky way formation, etc) Supper consisted kangaroo stew (texture of beef but it tasted gamey), corcadile deep fry (not bad but had lots of batter), chicken, coleslaw, carrots and peas, potatoes, dessert (pavlova, fruit salad, apple strudel). We then had entertainment in the form of dance. Somehow, us young people got coerced into becoming part of the entertainment! Arnoult, Rebecca, Dorothy and I all participated and made fools of ourselves. Andreas got it on his digicam. (I suppose it was better we went up – it would have been awful if one of the elders broke a hip…) We went back to the hotel afterwards. A very lengthy discussion with Dorothy ensued (re: future). Things sounded really bad but it turned out OK. The morning, it was an early start (luggage outside the room for 7AM!) We had breakfast in the hotel. Food was rather unimpressive – more egg, hash brown, sausage sandwich like I always make… Boarded the bus and proceeded south. We got a picture of us at the Tropic of Capricorn. Now we are headed south to Gladstone and eventually Brisbane??? |