Gone fishing

Heading north from 1770, we stopped at a little place called Lake Awoonga which is famous for barramundi fishing. This was also on John's "must do" list. However, as we talked to the lady with the bait, the first thing she said was, "Too cold for barramundi now. They're only around in the summer." That put a bit of a dampener on it, but the boys decided to bravely attempt it anyway.

Lake Awoonga was very pretty, and Faye and I enjoyed the scenery and a good chat, as well as a visit from a friendly kookaburra. John and George also had a visit from the kookaburra, when he tried to take off with their bait. Almost had kookaburra for dinner. The boys did catch a catfish though, but John refused to eat it. (Apparently they are not very nice.)

So after a not very productive afternoon, we moved to plan B, and had ham steaks for dinner. On the way home, George managed to tick off one of his 'must do' things - we saw our first cane toad.

The next day we moved on to Tannum Sands and Boyne River, twin towns nearby, just for completion.

Tannum Sands had a lovely beach, and we enjoyed a coffee by the water, then moved on to Boyne River for more fishing (!!) This time they did catch a few fish, but they were all too small and had to be thrown back in. One fish had swallowed the hook well down, and by the time George got the hook out, half his insides came out too. He did throw it back in, but it didn't recover.

The good news is a few minutes later we saw an eagle swoop down and pick it up. Wondering what was going through its mind - "That fish is swimming upside down. Not giving much resistance when I picked him up. Nice and fresh though." At least someone had a nice fish dinner that night.

Next day on to Rockhampton. Rockhampton lies on the Tropic of Capricorn, so we are now officially in the tropics. It is also the beef capital of the Australia, as attested to by the many statues of cows all over town. Also that night the local pub had a special on $5 steaks. Could not miss out on that.

But before that, we had a good look around town. It is an elegant old town with wide streets and many beautiful old buildings. The shops were very chic, but very pricey. Many cafes, almost as good as Melbourne.

When we were in 1770 we met a couple from Rockhampton who were also visiting there. They said to contact them when we got to Rocky, so we did. Had a lovely dinner together enjoying our $5 steaks.

GeorgeY's bit

Fishing at Lake Awoonga, then Boyne River, is satisfying as a lot of action and biting was taking place, but no great catching. So overall our record is still intact.

Rockhampton is a very beautiful and rich city, with wide streets and beautiful buildings. Shops are very elegant, posh and pricey.

Beef industry, as well as mining and power production, are the main income streams. As it is inland, within a 25 km circle there are a few beach towns nearby. But more on this in the next entry.