Janet and John on a Roadtrip

Today was a transit day really but because Janet and I are so excited about the start of our road trip through Central Queensland I thought I'd do a quick update.

The first leg was from Rockhampton to Airlie Beach which is about a 5 hour drive.

We broke up the trip by visiting Mackay for lunch overlooking the harbour.

Mackay harbour was lovely and most notable for the mutant oysters they served us for lunch!!

We arrived in Airlie beach just in time to catch the sunset. Our bargain cabin at Magnums Backpackers  has turned to to be lovely overlooking a creek teaming with wildlife as well as mosquitoes (reaches for the DEET)

I'm enjoying a brief return to the backpacker scene that took up much of my year travelling so cheers!

Janet and John do Rockhampton Day 4

With another auctioned packed day ahead off us Janet and I set off early for a trip to Rockhampton Zoo in the Botanical Gardens. It was closed off in a lot of places for renovation work, but as it was free we couldn't complain too much!

They did least have some kangaroo. Proving to me once an for all that they're not a myth....

Next up was the Archer Park railway museum.

bizarrely this was recommended to us by a tram driver in Melbourne as it contains the only remaining working steam tram in the world. We especially went along on a Sunday as it's the only day it runs. Yes I am sad!

Next up was a trip to the seaside! Firstly to Yeppoon for yummy fish and chips then along the coast to Emu Park for the Festival of the Wind. A family day on the beach with many kites. First though we stopped to view the plot where Janet's folks are building their new house. The views are amazing!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=laHiGH-ujKw

The Festival of the Wind was a treat with lots of niknak stalls and a little funfair along with kites being flown on the beach.

We escaped the crowds by heading up the coast slightly for a dip in the sea 

For our last evening in Rockhampton, Andrew cooked up a steak BBQ, a fitting end for now in the beef capital of Australia.

Janet and John Do Rockhampton Day 3

We had another action packed day in and around Rockhampton.

I started off going solo whilst Janet and her Mum went shopping. I went for a slow stroll around the main high street in Rocky as well as exploring the riverfront with the oldest buildings in town.

Rockhamptons riverfront is a great insight into early Queensland colonial development, it feels almost unchanged in 150 years, well bar the pleasant boardwalk added along the river.

I managed to squeeze in a cheeky scooner (okay pint...) before heading off to lunch with Janet's dad's brother, sister and other family.

In the afternoon we scaled Mount Archer just outside Rocky (in a car unfortunately, I'd have loved to walk up) for some amazing views.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bPNrRK28BVg

We then headed back to Janet's folks for a lovely walk in the Botanical Gardens to see the sunset over the lagoons. I have to say Australia certainly knows how to do sunsets!

Janet and John Do Rockhampton Day 2

I've mentioned a few early starts not his trip so far but nothing will top the 3.30am start I had today to attend the ANZAC day dawn service with Janet's dad and uncle. The 4.30am service was incredibly moving and I was astounded that it was attended by over 2000 people. The service itself was similar in many respects to a Remembrance Sunday service back home but was a little less formal and certainly better attended. A truly incredible way to experience the pride Autralians have in their country.

Today was an exploration of Rockhamptons local history and we started off with a visit to Janet's Great Great Grandfathers grave. He was an early Rockhampton businessman and it's first mayor.

This was followed by an trip to Mount Morgan, the disused goldmine that was key to Rockhampton wealth. Mount Morgan was a great example of the impact on world history that a small place like Rockhampton has had. One of the first shareholders in Mount Morgan was a young Rockhampton lawyer William Knox D'Arcy, who returned to England once he had made his fortune from gold to invest in early oil exploration in Persia. This expedition was successful and the resulting company became BP, the energy giant we know today!

Mount Morgan the town sadly has more in common with many North East English towns with a feeling of decline that comes when the only employer disappears.

As if that wasn't enough to make anyone sad...

It had been a long day but we still found time that evening to head out for a few beers with some of Janet's old friends.

Janet and John rock the Hampton's (Rockhampton Day 1)

With a very early start, JT and I boarded the Virgin Airline flight to Rockhampton, where more warm weather awaited us. Mum picked us up from the airport and gave us a quick drive around town so JT could get his bearings...

Mum took us back to. Their new house where a familiar face appeared. Celedon the cat came to greet us. 

JT and I spent the afternoon driving around, and I did showed him our old family house, my old place and other key sights of the Beef Capital.

When Dad finished work, we had a feast of oysters, bug and raw mushroom salad and ice cream... Not all together of course!

And that was our first day in Rocky!

Janet and John do Brisbane Day 2

Hi guys! I have hijacked the blog to tell you about what we did on our second day in what the locals call Brisvegas! I think from JT's last post, you could tell that Brissy was pulling out gorgeous weather for us. 

The little one's were recovering from a bout of illness, so we had the delightful Amanda as our host for the morning. We started our chauffeured tour of Brisbane at a well knowned boutique bakery called Brumbies where we stocked up on coffee and Lamingtons. Our first point of call was driving into the city and across the bridge to see Kangaroo Point and views of the city coming over the Story Bridge in the Valley. We travelled through to New Farm park and had a little picnic after exploring the Brisbane Powerhouse, which as the name suggests is an old powerhouse converted into various theatre, performance, bar and restaurant spaces. It's raw finish is delightful. Then it was on to St Lucia where we visited the University of Queensland campus and the colleges that surround it. Amanda toured us through a few of the houses where John, Amanda, Alister, Margot and I rented.

We had a yummy lunch (A burger with beetroot! Yum!) and a walk in the afternoon. In the evening we went to the Regatta and caught up with my old friend Sarah Landis and her boyfriend John. It was great to catch up!

It was a great night but an early one as we had to get up to head to Rockhampton! 

Stay turned for our road trip portion of the holiday! 

Janet and John do Brisbane Day 1

So onto steamy Brisbane. Again we seem to have brought the weather with us it has been steamy hot!

 

Janet's sister Amanda and brother in law John have kindly put us up for our time in Brisbane and I got to meet Janets nephew and nieces, Monty, Peggy and Sabinewho have kept us entertained. Or us them!

We started the day with a trip to the Brisbane Gallery of Modern Art. GOMA which had so fantastic interactive kid areas

Here is the disc that Monty and I made...

And here is Janet's effort....

After we explore the GOMA, Janet and I had an explore of Central Brisbane, keeping out of the sun... We strolled along the south bank, wandered in the City Botanical Gardens and visited the Commissariat Store. Which is a convict built reminent of the original Moreton Bay Penal Collony that predates Brisbane. 

That evening whilst Janet's was on babysitting duties I found the time to go for a bit of an evening walk  down Mt Coot-tha

Here is the amazing view from the lookout point.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8su-dW62RTQ

The walk down to Slaughter Falls (which was more a Slaughter dribble) was a lovely way to spend an evening. It included an aboriginal art walk which was worth a look.

After that we still had time for a lovely night out with Amanda including some fantastic food and a few drinkies!