Blogs from Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 3

Hi! Two days have now passed on this three day trip and it has been so beautiful and incredible every time we jump down into the water. It is hard to believe there is so much life and color in the water. It is so amazing to swim and breathe in the water, you feel so alive but also so small, we all are happy that we decide to visit this island on our journey. // Miranda... read more

We travelled north on a day with relatively strong winds. Driving was hard work. Our stone guard decided to play up again. The gaffa tape patching gave way under the strong wind conditions and buffeting from road trains so another patch up was necessary. Unfortunately this only lasted a very short distance so another operation was performed. Greg is hoping to do a more serious fix while we stay a few days with Marian. We have maintained the over-taking average we set on our WA trip last year; one manoeuvre approximately every 3,000 km. Right on target we came upon one of those slow back-packer vans chugging along at 70 km/hour. We might be slower than the average vehicle but we are definitely not that slow. Joan was so busy taking a photo of the slogans ... read more

Well we are still in Mackay waiting for parts for the toilet. When I finished the story on the last entry we had just got to Middle Percy Island and hoping our dingy would magically materialise. It was a lovely sunny day but the boat people were not happy. Uncomfortably rocking in anchorage I struggled to pull out the spare dingy (the one that Naomi said was a waste of space carrying) and set it up on deck, only to find I had lost the foot-pump for it. So had another frustrating half an hour hunting for the parts for that to fit, whilst I got thrown around, almost bailing and heading to a calmer anchorage on the north-east island. Eventually I had it together. Its a lot lighter than we are used to and was ... read more

Hi all! So, today was the longest ride (distance-wise, but not time-wise) that I've done so far. The trip was 732 km, or 455 miles, and it took about 8 hours and 45 minutes. It would have been faster, but there was a lot (A LOT!!!!) of road work on the highway from Hervey Bay to Rockhampton. It seemed like every 10-20 km a lane was closed so they were only letting one way go at a time. Not much sucks worse than just sitting on the bike in the sun when it's hot and humid! Well, I guess a lot sucks worse, actually. :) It was a pretty nice day, actually. Partly cloudy, probably low 80s, humid. But it felt good going down the road. Once I got past Rockhampton, the road and scenery was ... read more

22nd October 2012, Woke up at Camilla Beach and went for a morning walk along the beach. Decided to leave early and headed towards Mackay. Spent a refreshing afternoon at the Blue Water Lagoon in Mackay. After lunch we headed off to Airlie Beach where Daniel and I spent part of our Honeymoon here. It is just as amazing as it was then, maybe a little more crowded now. The area seems to be very popular with backpakers. We had a beautiful Thai dinner with a view of the sunset by the bay. The girls had Cold Rock ice cream for dessert and then we headed off to our next campsite, Alligator Creek. Of course, there had to be drama before we got there. Daniel stopped for a coffee and heard Taylor hissing. He discovered one ... read more