Stranded in Paradise

The mechanic was shut over the weekend, so we knew the van would not even be looked at until Monday. But we had planned to stay here over the weekend anyway, so we got on with exploring and enjoying ourselves. If you have to be stranded somewhere, this is a great place to be. Faye and John travelled with us, as our van has two extra seat belts on the two seats at the back.

Together we explored all the little towns down the Capricorn Coast, including the Causeway Lake, the Rosebay Marina, down to Emu Park. At one point there was a building shaped like a giant whale, which had at some time housed a shop of some sort, but had been long abandoned. Another 'Big' thing to add to our collection.

We had markets on both Saturday and Sunday, so stocked up on much local produce as well as lots of home made jams. On Monday morning, we decided to have a "jam session" for breakfast, trying out the various types. We had rosella jam (a Queensland specialty), fig jam, pineapple jam, ginger jam, and whisky marmalade, just to name a few. George was a bit worried about the rosella jam, thinking it may contain bits of bird, but was greatly relieved to find out there is a fruit called rosella.

At the Emu Park market on Sunday, George and I took a ride on a three wheeler Harley Davidson trike. The driver was actually the local primary school teacher, having some fun on the weekends. After some chatting we found out he was originally from Melbourne (as were many people we met over the weeks.) We also told him we were in a motorhome, and that our friends' van broke down on the Friday. He had seen us in the parking, and noticed the bike on the back of our van. We think we will probably feature in next week's local paper - the biggest news in town.

After the market we headed off to the nearby crocodile farm. We thought we were still too far south for crocs, but had seen a few warning signs that crocs may come at Boyne River, and at the marina a croc had actually been sighted the day before (Friday the 13th.) Apparently we are right in the middle of croc country, and we got up close and personal with them at the croc farm, even getting to hold a baby one. There were thousands of crocs there, and it was disconcerting to watch our guide actually get in the enclosure with one.

After the croc farm we headed back into Emu Park, just in time to catch the last hour of the country music concert on that afternoon. Although the average age of both performers and audience was about 75, they were up and dancing, spinning around, waving arms in the air - generally having a great time. And of course Faye got right in the thick of it, kicking up her heels with the best of them.

It wasn't until Monday that the mechanic actually started to look at the van, and the waiting game started. First he thought it was one thing, and needed a part to be sent from Rockhampton. That took a few hours, but when it finally got there, it didn't fix it. Then he thought it was something else, and needed another part - this time from Melbourne. This wouldn't arrive until the next day. We spent Monday wondering around town and relaxing, but by Tuesday we were starting to get itchy feet.

So by lunchtime, when we found the part would no get there until at least tomorrow, George and I decided to push on, and catch up with John and Faye down the track a bit.


GeorgeY's bit

Yeppoon is the pick of the pack in this area, much nicer than Emu Park and the Causeway and the other bit in between. It has many coffee places all serving good coffee, and shops are open before 7am when I am out. All up I was happy to be stranded there and wouldn't mind staying longer.

The crocodile farm serves croc meat as kebabs and burgers …etc. I had had crocodile before, but this was the toughest ever. Their crocodile must have been training for the Olympics.

John's Sprinter van was getting air in the diesel line, causing the pump to starve, similar to a gas lock in petrol engines. The mechanic could start it easily when primed, but as soon as it sat and rested, air gets in again and loses prime. Simple problem, plus many lines, equals no idea.

The other complication was parts ordered from Melbourne missing the Rockhampton courier, then found that it is because they missed the plane, and later discovered that they are not the ones needed to fix the Sprinter, so the cycle starts again. Later John and Faye became famous as the homeless couple. Shop keepers would ask if it was fixed yet, and I think the local newspaper headline this week will be something like, "Our mechanic gets to work on a Mercedes".