Day 76

Yeppoon - Rockhampton - Gladstone - Agnes Water - 1770

"Down by the sea
I found your hidden treasure
Just you and me,
We overdosed on pleasure

Yonnies in the wind,
We're ruggin' up for winter
Putting out the bins
In cold and windy weather......."

There were lots of animals at the Zoo in Rockhampton today - but we were the only monkeys!

Gee it poured with rain last night! I had hoped that it would rain itself out but no luck there. We awoke to grey and it rained on and off all day.
We drove into Rockhampton early to get to the Botanical Garden and the Zoo. Of course it's in the same street as a school - that was fun getting the van up the street at the same time as school drop off!
It poured with rain at the Zoo - it really wasn't a Zoo as it only had a few animals. The highlight was when one of the chimpanzees decided that he'd run full on against the glass window we were standing behind - lots of noise and a loud bang as he hit the glass in front of Cobey. She of course jumped back and up the nearest tree in the same motion! Maybe he was stir crazy with the rain too!
We left soggy Rocky and drove onto Gladstone. The town of Gladstone is a mighty industrial centre - everything from coal fuelled power stations to alumina smelters and export ports. It's huge! So huge that we pretty well did a drive by of as much as we could only. They do offer free tours of each of the industries to entice you to stay in the town, but we were stretched for time unfortunately. We drove on....
We'd been told by fellow travelers that we simply had to stay and checkout Agnes Water and 1770 and so being right on the coast it was an easy decision to make to go there.
We arrived in Agnes Water for lunch and unhooked the van ready to explore the area. The rain ramped up of course as we headed off but we could tell that this is a pretty part of the world. We are staying right at the beach too.
We drove 6 k's up the road to the town of 1770 where Cook made his second landing in Australia and his first in Qld. This was the jewel of the place - lots of money spent on boardwalks and picnic areas right by the water. We'll stay here next time were up this way. Lots of beautiful homes here as well - some in exclusive gated off areas with their own private beachfront!
We shopped at the local boutiques to get out of the rain and then headed back to the van.
The rain held off just enough for us to have a nice long walk on the beach as the dark set in.
Tomorrow were off to Bundaberg and onto Hervey Bay.