6 August 2012

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A trip to the shopping centre started our day followed by a peaceful breakfast at a local lagoon in Bowen.<span><span>We then decided to take a small detour and visit Airle Beach.

The landscape changed yet again on the drive in and the lush wet tropics greeted us as we arrived.<span> On first glance Airle appeared to be a scaled down version of Port Douglas but its charm is its relaxed vibe and slow pace.<span> A beautiful spot with mountains to one side and a glistening bay to the other.<span> It had a ripper book store on the main drag and also excellent facilities including free showers for those taking a dip in a man made gem of a pool right on the beach.

Back on the main road heading south we drove into Mackay around lunchtime.<span> Places like these on the far north coast have always been in my mind as small dots on the way to Brisbane but on the contrary this spot in particular was hustle and bustle; however, there was a great picnic area by one of the city’s main shopping centres where we stopped for a breather.

We found ourselves a free camp to head to along the way and pushed hard to reach St Lawrence by sunset.<span> You could have shot a cannonball down the main street of this small town and not hit a soul but just around the corner were scores of caravans at the fantastic free camp set on a recreation reserve that felt more like a rodeo ground but that added to the fun.<span> With hot showers on offer for a gold coin you couldn’t be happier with a spot to lay your head for the night.

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