Campervan Diaries Day 2 – Bowen to Rockhampton (526km)

We woke at the break of dawn in the layby outside Bowen. The only way I would have had a worse night’s sleep was if I had been assaulted during the night. The heat was unbearable, and on top of that there was the intense humidity; it was as if we were being slow roasted in an oven. The early dawn light shone through the windows and curtains of our camper, waking us up at around 05:00. As we stepped out of the campervan we were greeted with a lovely view of the sea, one which we did not realise we would have last night as we arrived in pitch black and did not realise we were next to the sea. There was also a giant mango statue across the road from us; I thought that was worth mentioning.

Nicola set off driving, as she thought the concentration would help wake her up. We set off at around 06:30 and I was on kangaroo watch as dawn and dusk is supposedly the best time to see them. I spotted a kangaroo sleeping at the side of the road, well I think it was sleeping. It didn’t look run over, and it looked like it was in a sleeping position as opposed to a death roll. That was about as positive as it got for the kangaroo spotting, as after that point we passed dozens of dead kangaroos either lying by the roadside or squashed into the road.

We had come across a place on the internet called Eungella National Park, about 60km West off the Bruce highway from Mackay, where there was supposedly a beautiful gorge, called Finch Hatton Gorge. We aimed to make that our stop for the day as after Mackay, there was nothing of note until Rockhampton, some 500km away.

After over two hours of driving we came to a cross roads, we were starting to doubt whether we should go to Eungella because it was 60km to the West and we would have to drive 60km back again to get onto the Bruce Highway to continue our trip. We decided to chance it and drive to Eungella and we were rewarded because the turn off for Finch Hatton Gorge as around 35km from the Bruce Highway as opposed to the 60km we thought. We drove through small town Australia (pretty much most of Queensland) and were tempted to stay a night at a place called Prospect because they had a “Rock and Roll Dance” the following night. Alas, we drove through and didn’t stay for the dance, but we did arrive at Finch Hatton Gorge after bouncing along some back roads and heading off road across a few makeshift bridges.

We parked up and walked towards the footpath that would take us to the gorge itself, and after a 15 minute walk through a humid forest path we came upon the Cascades part of the gorge – the bit we had come to see. There was another path that led towards The Wheel of Fire but we didn’t want to stray there, lest we come across a human bonfire or something else otherworldly/satanic. The Cascades were lovely, we walked down a flight of steps that took us onto huge rocks that sat at the bottom of a large pool of water. There was a small waterfall that fed the pool and the large rocks acted as a kind of dam, letting only trickles of water through, only enough to feed the small stream running between the rocks. We saw plenty of river life in the stream, spotting a few little fish and a crawfish or two. It really was picturesque.

      

The tree with a headpiece...

After a lovely hour or so wandering around Finch Hatton Gorge we got back in our campervan and started the long drive to Rockhampton. We drove across land that was scarred black by bush fires, and dead brown grass covered the remaining landscape looking like kindling waiting to catch light. The earth was red, and barren. Now and again we came across the sea, which was a lovely change because it breathed life and green into those areas. The majority of the land we drove through was cattle stations and farmland, although I could not tell what was being grown on such land. Aside from acres and acres and acres and acres of red earth, there was nothing of note to say about the rest of the drive. The land was flat, the heat was intense and our air con was refreshingly cool. We did see two tanks and a nipple mountain, which were the highlights (well, my highlights). We arrived in Rockhampton at around 17:30 and opted to stay at a powered site at a camp site (as opposed to a layby). For $30 a night we had the convenience of electricity, hot water and a worry free sleep. Also, on a personal note, being back on a camp site made me feel warm and nostalgic, awakening memories from my childhood, where I used to spend every bank holiday with my family in our caravan in Pembrey, or Penmaen and other camp areas around Wales. The friendly atmosphere and the routine of connecting the electricity etc. upon arrival brought back fond memories.

Is it Christmas when its sunny?