May 21, 2009

Well we caught up with our customer in Rockhampton then checked out the Botanical Gardens and headed for Emerald where we have a bed at a workers motel type inn. Fine weather until Duaringa for lunch with black black skies ahead. Started to rain heavily before we headed off and waited till the worst passed. Intermittent heavy rain and hail with drifts of hail beside the road 5km from Duaringa like snow! Gradually mostly fined up by Blackwater. Awesome sights of rugged ranges and ever changing skies including jet black in the rear view mirror complete with a spectacular rainbow arch.



Huge ore trains (awesome that we cart near enough to all the conveyor belts they use). Counted 1train 2 locos in front then 44 carriages and another 2 locos in the middle and another 42 carriages.A real buzz to see massive trains heading to the ports and knowing we had provided the conveyor belting to the mines to make it possible!


I remember why we found this area so spectacular on our working holiday in 1971. Off to dinner now then another 11 hours sleep which seems to be our routine.



A tropical view in the Rockhampton Botanical Gardens



A southerner taking a break at the gardens



A giant fig tree which spreads over a huge
area dropping tendrils which become supports and continue the spread



The war memorial, beautifully done

A real buzz to see massive coal trains carryinge coal to the ports and knowing we had provided the conveyor belting to the mines to make it possible!