Metro Motor Inn Mackay

... kiosk that served up a good cup of coffee for the return trip back to Mackay.<br><br>On our last day here, we went back to the water park to soak up some more of the sun&#8217;s rays and to wear out the two terrors. Our last evening was spent having a few quiet beers and a few chocolate rum liqueurs with the family from Darwin.<br><br>Not much else to report on as we only want to laze on the beautiful beaches for the remainder of the trip.<br><br>Next stop Yeppoon.<br><br>Bye for now.

... fishing and finally enjoyed dinner at our caravan later that evening. Birthdays on the road have become huge full days of activities!<br><br>Next day we planned to visit Eungella (pronounced young-galah) National Park about 84km inland from Mackay in the hope we might see a platypus in the river. We packed up the van to make it look like we were just parked for the day again before heading off at 8am.<br><br>On the way we found passionfruit at Gargett, a bag for $1 ...

... no airport signs there to help us. Finally felt we were close, made a quick decision to go down a road that was looking hopeful to find we drove under the road that we wanted. Then took a wrong turn and had to back track again to go the way we wanted to...and we found our first airport sign. Much happiness and patting of backs ...

... one didn't), before heading off to Eungella National Park, which LP assured me was a fabulous way to spend a day. As usual, LP know their ****, because the drive up there through Pioneer Valley, overlooking acres of rainforest, was breathtaking. The only problem is that a lot of the walks are one way tracks, rather than circuits, and they suggest you get dropped off the various starting points and then picked up in the car park at Broken River, where ...

... that (after 240 consecutive days with our kids) we're in need of a romantic evening together?" And then there was the Holiday Park owner who laughed at us when we inquired about a Great Barrier Reef trip, "I don't imagine the boats will be running the next few days, mate. But come see me later and I'll give you some ideas for rainy day fun"...did I just get propositioned?!? Eventually we clued in that Cyclone Hamish was bearing down on north-eastern ...

... was some sort of flea market going on and there was some strange guy sat in the middle of the roundabout with loudspeakers, playing a guitar and singing merrily along! A slightly freaky town we thought. We decided it best not to look any of the locals in the eye (and yes, some of them only had one eye!), in case we became one of them! (one of the locals that is, not one of their eyes!). We decided to go back to ...

... we had a few hours to kill , so we had a walk around the town, it was almost uniquelt dull and dreary, we had been promised a lift to the airport, 3 hours before our flight was due to leave but we took it. When we arrived at Mackay's airport, we saw that our flight was leaving 1 and a half hours early than we though. So we made it with time to spare but would have missed it if we had gone to the airport later. Thank god we did as I would not want to be stuck in Mackay for another day.

... dinner, going to bed. Repeat. It gets a bit stale, but I won't be doing it for too long, and it's kind of nice to have some routine and purpose. About Mackaÿ: Mackay is on the eastern coast of Australia and is the southern boundary of the Great Barrier Reef. It's just a small country town, where everything closes at 5pm and the entire town shuts down on Sunday (even the grocery store). Mackay has recently attracted a large number of workers due ...

... and by now (9am) emergency troops is called from as far as Brisbane to help flood victims in Mackay. School were cancelled and nobody is going to work today. You can't even step outside as you get completely soaked and with the thunder and lighting, it's just not worth it. I'd be lying if I said I'm not scared. Honestly, I'm petrified of a flash flood, which is apparently very common in this weather. All our belongings is put on shelves above the floor and in case of ...

... stage of being weighed at the mill until it reaches the storage bins as raw sugar. We then drove into town and picked up the "Michelle's Sac", a bit from the camper that was broken, went to a waeco outlet as we are still have problems, bought new shoes; sandals and thongs for boys and runners for Stephen, picked up some bargins at Target as they were clearing out kids clothes and did some food shopping at Bi ...