Onto Mackay

The final leg of my driving trip was the last little bit from Rockhampton to Mackay. After a terrible night of sleep, sharing a room with a snoring mother and then dealing with a rumbly tummy (I suspect there was corn in something I ate unwittingly at Sizzler the night before), we packed up our PJs and got in the car. It was quite a brisk morning, but we quickly hopped over to filling up with petrol and breakfast at the local Coffee Club. And then it was back on the road.

It's quite a journey, wobbling through road works and getting stuck behind military convoys travelling at 80k in the 110k zone *groan*. But we arrived in Bucasia at 12 to stay with my Uncle and Pop. It's been nine years since I was last in Mackay (for my Pop's 80th Birthday) and things have certainly changed.

It's very bizarre to see the changes. I was born in Mackay and came up every just about every year to visit family after we moved away in 1992 until around 2002 when I finished school and travel was not so easy. I had come to know the area a bit but had never actually driven in Mackay, so it was quite the change. It was lovely to see through, as you come into the area the flowering sugar cane, blowing purple silver in the breeze.

Tripping to North Queensland

Starting University this year has really put a crimp on a lot of my travel plans. I did make it down to Sydney again for Supanova this year but because of one of my final exams, I missed out on doing an extra tripping around the area. It was a pure convention attendance trip.

However, I have spent the last couple of days driving from Brisbane to Mackay where I will be spending the week with family. My Mum and I were up early on Saturday morning and on the road by 7.30am. We had a pretty straight shot with a 1.5 hour trip up to Gympie where we stopped for late breakfast. I lived in Gympie for 10 years of schooling, so it was interesting to see the changes as we made our way though along the highway.

Our next stop was just a quick one at "The Peanut Van" at Childers. I pulled over so mum could get out and pick up some specialty peanuts. The van itself, is quite obvious, just keep an eye out as you hit the town at the top of the range in Childers. It's on a small side no-through-road just off the main highway. An easy stop and a thankfully quick detour on our trip.

We then started heading towards Bundaberg. It's around here that it really becomes apparent that you have started to hit Sugar Cane country.

 We hit quite a bit of road works along the way, this one in particular was for burning off. In Australia, during the colder months presents the perfect opportunity to prepare for summer when the danger of bush fire it too high for back burning. The idea is to burn out the underbrush so that it is more difficult for a bush fire to gain power.

 It wasn't until around 11.20am that we arrived in Bundaberg and made our way to the Bundaberg Rum Distillery. The plan was to take the tour. If you have never heard of Bundaberg Rum, it stands to good reason that you are not Australian. About 96% of Bundaberg Rum is sold within Australia, so it isn't well known overseas. That being said, we were informed on our tour that specialty blends have been made and presented at spirit competitions. Only last year, they won two gold awards.

Photos aren't allowed within the distillery itself as the air is quite combustable - so no batteries allowed. But I have to admit it is all very interesting to go on the tour and I do recommend it. Though, I wouldn't recommend the molasses taste test - the stuff is horrible. 

I had to laugh though, they carded me as we entered and booked our tickets. I'm ten years past needing to worry about that, so I couldn't help but be flattered. I did take a few photos throughout the museum though, where they had lots of information showcasing both the history and the evolution of Bundaberg Rum (which has been around since 1888). 

Afterwards, we picked up some lunch (if you can really call McDonalds "Lunch") before getting underway on our last leg towards Rockhampton. It was just on 2pm as we left Bundaberg. I must admit it is quite a stint of driving towards Rocky, as we didn't arrive until 5.45pm.

We found a hotel for the night and ducked out for some dinner before curling up in bed for the night. I was ready for a good night's sleep before we needed to get back onto the road for the rest of our trip to Mackay, but more on that in the next post...