The road from Rockhampton to the city of Mackay is straight and endless, with very few ‘watering holes’ on the way. We’re exhausted from this road trip, but as Michael keeps reminding me, we have to drive Rockhampton to Townsville to increase our knowledge of the area. My turn to drive. Forced smile on the dial.
When we reach Mackay and check in to our hotel apartment, the receptionist provides us with a map of the city but is unable to say where on the map the hotel is actually located! Although fairly newish, the fixtures and fittings in this establishment are already falling apart. Once again a hotel built to budget specs with thin walls, noisy plumbing and sliding doors that are already coming of their tracks. The doors are not spring-loaded and close with an earth-shattering slam? The only robust part of this hotel is it’s tariff and internet charges.
On the plus side, MacKay is a lovely tropical city with a beautiful wide river and a promenade full of polite cyclists and friendly Aussies. Love those Aussies!
We’re so exhausted and sleep comes fast. This is the first time I can recall Michael snoozing off in mid-sentence. I quickly join him on the nod train.
Day 4:
Today, it’s a different story. We’re up at 6.00am eager to resume our journey. We leave our rabbit warren and find ourselves on a beautiful scenic drive towards Townsville.
As we cross the Tropic of Capricorn, the bush becomes green and lush and reminds me of West Coast forest back in New Zealand. We make a deter to Airlie Beach and find a very touristy destination with lots of backpackers.
This is a base where visitors can visit The Whitsundays, an island group located in the southern part of the Great Barrier Reef.
Water sports and aquatic adventures reign supreme. The sea and marina views at Airlie beach are lovely. Even in the off-season it’s busy, but it’s an enjoyable place to be, with predominantly resort-like accommodation.
We leave Airlie Beach and just 9kms out of Townsville we drive into a traveller’s nightmare of traffic jams. No one has advised our GPS of all the road-works taking place. Many detours later we arrive at the newly built Quest Hotel. Our apartment is tastefully decorated. The furniture is stylish and solid and in the spirit of generosity, there’s unlimited Wi-Fi and a chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio. The bed looks inviting.
Tomorrow our 14-day stay in Port Douglas begins and is the reason I can face one more day on the road!
Happy travelling.
