Surprisingly the rain had stopped in time for us to pack up this morning yet the mud had now become our nemesis. Slipping around and squelching through the lawn veneer made operations a little tricky but we did manage to meet the 10am STRICT departure time – by 4 minutes.
As we made our way through the Airlie Beach precinct we saw quite a few teenagers also making their escape from this sodden party town. Trolleying suitcases along the paths most were indignant towards the showers that would keep most indoors.
At Cannonvale, a cheaper suburb of the glitzy Whitsundays, we opted to use their vacant mammoth carpark to pull in and stock up on groceries before heading off again. From there we drove to Bowen, famously used for some of the scenes in “Australia”. While here we enjoyed some lunch and then spent an hour or so at the Laundromat catching up on some much needed washing.
We even saw the sun come out for a little while. Deb was the first to spot the shadows being cast on the pavement outside so we all plastered our cheeks against the window trying to gain a glimpse of the very rare, and seemingly almost extinct sunshine.
Yet once we were back in the car the sun was soon replaced by clouds. But it didn’t seem to dampen our spirits as we had finally sensed some hope that maybe north was going to produce more sunshine for us.
Things were already looking up when, by the side of the road in a rest area, we saw two mango trees dripping with ripe fruit. So, I swiftly pulled a U-Turn and returned trying to hold the kids back from leaping out of a moving vehicle. No sooner had we stopped and they were climbing the branches in search of this delicious fruit. For me, I found it was easier picking up the perfectly ripe ones that had dropped to the ground.
With a bucket full, and having given a few to an elderly couple who had pulled in for a rest as well, we were back on the road.
We detoured through Townsville – one city is so much like any other – and kept driving north until we turned off the Bruce Hwy and headed towards the coast. Our rest point for the night was a free camp spot at Saunders Beach, and surprisingly for this time of year, quite a few other tourists had the same idea. Being one of the last rigs in we lined the side of the park and set up for a quiet stopover.
