Hi from Rockhampton,

I got away from Townsville at 7 this morning, and had an excellent run south down the Bruce Highway for a couple of hours, until just before Bowen, where I encountered batches of caravans, doing 80km, sometimes less. Overtaking lanes are few and far between, and although there are often long stretches of straight road with good visibility, the oncoming traffic is sufficiently heavy that one seldom gets a chance to overtake. The caravan situation improved after Bowen, but the scene repeated itself frequently for most of the journey. Why can’t the old bastards manage to achieve the speed limit on flat, mostly straight, roads!?

I filled the tank in Proserpine, and got lunch from Sarina. I was in my motel room by 3:45pm.

The most direct route (the Bruce Highway) to my next destination, Maryborough, is only 390km. I’m going to take a more circuitous route, further inland, in order to fill in the day, and hopefully avoid those friggin’ caravans.

Cheers,
Julian