Tropic of Capricorn (Day 12, 899 km)

Greetings from Rockhampton - actually around 650km north of Brisbane, but I have been taking scenic detours, etc. Yes, the juggling act has begun - how long to spend in any given area? Do I want to see everything and never get there, or treat the trip itself as the challenge to be overcome, and never veer off the highway (and end up wondering why I bothered)? Of course, it must remain an awkward compromise between the two (remembering that Australia is close, and Asia is not).

After loading up my bike on Thursday, I headed off at 5ish towards the Bruce Highway in a very roundabout fashion - the first signs were showing that having a GPS doesn't help one take the most direct route through outlying suburbs unless the roads are signposted, or one has a more detailed map than the 1:4000000 one I've got, which just has a big blob called "Brisbane". I aimed for Bribie Island, where I arrived around nightfall, and, after unsuccessfully trying to find the National Park type bush camps, settled down on the beach under the full moon. Well that lasted all of about 2 hours, as a concerned couple woke me up saying there was an unsavoury character who'd been loitering around there for the past couple of days (the lady has a son about my age who's just gotten a bike, so I guess it's a maternal thing?). In any case, Joe and Kerry took me back to their unit to sleep on their fold-out couch, which was a rather unexpected bonus, and a first sign of (at least some of) the locals here being rather more welcoming than back at home.

Friday morning, (happy birthday mum!) after being given toast for breakfast, I headed north, and soon detoured back off the Bruce Highway to the Glass House Mountains Scenic drive and another one that lead onto that, coming out eventually at what they claim is the largest ginger processing factory in the world (Buderim Ginger). So (thinking of you, Susanna!) I went through the tour, and watched vats of ginger soaking up their syrup solution, a 12-day process. All of the ginger is grown within 50km, a case of an ideal climate for such things. After picking up a kilo of ginger seconds, I pressed onwards.

At a rest area I talked with a random couple who offered me some of their homebake Anzac bikkies, and later a can of Coke - this is great!

Of course, as I've been heading north, the temperature has been slowly cranking up, however, as long as I'm moving, things are still bearable inside my leathers (front unzipped for ventilation). However, with the birds and sun getting up around 5:40, I've been tending that way too, and, possibly as a result of time zone variance, haven't found it to be a problem. Before 10 is definitely a far preferable time to travel with my limited air conditioning, so I intend to make a habit of early starts.

As the climate changes, so has the dominant industry - I slept in Bundaberg last night - home, of course, to Bundaberg Rum and Bundaberg Gingerbeer - I decided to skip these factories, as the cost would mount, and I've seen many similar factories by now. Also a case of still having a desire to put some k's behind me...

This morning, flanked by sugar cane, and later banana plantations, I pressed on, and soon spotted my first kangaroo in the wild, bouncing across the road. Later the vegetation changed to more of a savanna, with thousands of eucalyptus trees, and a temperature to match. At another rest area I had my first touring bike meeting. Although I have seen a number of bikes on the road, not many have been carrying much luggage - this couple had a trailer behind them! I have still to meet a foreign motorcyclist; these two were heading down from Cairns to Canberra. Still, a pleasant meeting, and I made a nice pot of instant noodles on my cooker - so good being self-sufficient.

This afternoon, my bike ticked over the 40000km mark (although I've realised the speedo is about 10% out, so I am quoting GPS distances from here on), and I have now reached a place with a menagerie lion running through it - Rockhampton. I intend to stay here tomorrow, and have a day off, hopefully get to a church somewhere, and possibly visit the Capricorn Caverns, but I'm not sure if they're all they're cracked up to be. I am glad that all the motor camps seem to have pools, though!

I don't know when I'm going to be able to upload photos, as most Internet cafe's don't have floppy drives, and they are getting progressively more expensive, although there is still much variation ($2/hour up to $8/hr). [Photos uploaded 1 March 2005]

Until next time...