Monday, 9 May
Day 24: Springfield Lakes > Rockhampton
Given the fact that the first bit of the day’s route would take us through suburban Brisbane there didn’t seem to be much point in busting a boiler to get on the frog and toad around sparrow fart, and there were other factors that kicked in and ensured that it was well after nine-fifteen when we started transferring what we’d moved from car to house on Saturday afternoon back to the vehicle.
That followed a leisurely breakfast, a spot of keeping The Little Tacker occupied while Mum delivered ex-Wo Wo Boy to school and a bit of a chin wag once she was back, but once everything was back in the car, there isn’t really that much else you can do but head off.
Maps wanted to take us on a circuitous route via the motorways, but we’d had a squiz at the alternatives and found a route through the northern suburbs around the back of Hughesy’s childhood stamping grounds that would bring us out on Old Gympie Road around Kedron.
Maps’ preference for the other route meant that I’d been forced to do a two stage bit, first from Springfield Lakes to Stafford Road, and from there to Childers, which was probably a bit too far north, but there you go.
In hindsight, it was just as well I’d mapped that out and had the blue line to follow, since the exit from the motorway onto the ring road wasn’t the most prominent of landmarks and could easily have been missed.
But, fortunately, we didn’t miss it.
While the route snaked up hill and down dale through leafy suburbs the traffic flowed smoothly (if rather slower than you’d have preferred with the number of traffic lights en route) and we found ourselves decanted onto Old Gympie Road without major hassles.
That was just as well, because the weather definitely left something to be desired, with drizzle that intermittently cleared and regularly cut back in as soon as you started thinking it looked pretty clear up ahead.
There was also a lengthy delay on the actual motorway with one northbound lane closed due to an issue with an Army vehicle, but once past that, things ran fairly smoothly traffic wise, even if the weather definitely could have been better.
Eventually, however, we hit blue sky, though we weren’t far out of Childers when that happened. A stop at the bakery in Childers provided a latish lunch, and a refuelling stop in Gin Gin meant that we were into late afternoon when we got to the area where we’d be meeting a bed for the night.
On the way down we’d stopped in Gladstone, which would have got my vote and ensured an excuse for Swain’s Fish & Chips, but a look at what was available by way of Safari on the iPad while in Gin Gin revealed nothing under $200, and Madam was quite adamant that she wasn’t paying that.
Gladstone wasn’t the only option, but having decided we weren’t diverting off the highway Madam wasn’t inclined to look at the options south of Rockhampton too closely since she’d picked a preferred option on the banks of the Fitzroy.
That meant we passed Miriam Vale, Koorawatha, Bororen, Benaraby and Calliope, increasingly looking into the late afternoon sun as we went, and Hughesy would definitely have preferred to have been doing something else.
Matters improved once we hit Mount Larcom, and while the conditions still weren’t ideal, we hit Rockhampton just after six and arrived at Madam’s preferred option to find that, yes, they did have room at the inn.
We were also advised of a number of nearby dining options. The most convenient was the Cambridge Hotel, where we’d have the choice of the Flame Char Grill or The Overflow Bar and Bistro, and if we didn’t favour those, there were further options that wouldn’t involve a compass and a cut lunch.
At Flame Char, when we took a look at the menu the prices looked a bit rich, with not much change out of $30 if you’re looking at a steak, but an all you can eat affair at The Overflow looked much more reasonable, and it was two heavily sated diners who waddled out of the premises an hour or so later.
I’m not suggesting for a moment that what’s on offer there is the greatest thing you’ve ever tasted, but it was tasty, there was plenty of it and, more than likely, no need for breakfast the following morning, where the old Flaggy Rock hot dog some time after eleven looked like the way to go as far as brunch was concerned.
