like a Rollingstone, Day 72 – Zippy little wheels

Day 72 Wednesday, 20/7/2016, Yeppoon, mild 24

A sunny morning with a light breeze and perfect for a cuppa outside and a chat with our neighbours from Chelsea, Vic.

We catch the local bus out front and tour the suburbs of Yeppoon and all the way to Rocky airport where the hire car is waiting. Woody is right, it is an interesting way to travel and the driver is teaching another driver the intricacies of this route. We now know when to apply the brakes for each bus stop. I’ll bet that will come in handy, perhaps not.

The two ladies at the Thrifty Rentals counter could not be more different. We are an hour early and through clenched teeth the older woman says “Make ’em wait!” Woody explains that we had no choice but to catch the bus (like hello, that’s why we’re hiring a car). She storms out leaving the younger woman to bend almost backwards in her efforts to help us. I do feel sorry for her having to work with such a miserable woman.

The little Hyundai i30 makes life easier and we can now explore the area at our leisure. Rochhampton’s Main Street is lovely and busy and great for a late lunch. Unlike so many country cities there are plenty of retail outlets still trading. A lot of cities have moved all of their retail to the modern shopping complexes away from the CBD. Rocky seems to have a good mix of shops both in the CBD and out at Stocklands shopping centre. This is an impressive city and the Fitzroy River is so wide.

We return via Emu Park, a pretty beachside town, and chat to a woman who is exercising her horse on the beach. She reckons he loves the water so much that he’d swim to Great Keppel island if she let him have his way. That’d give the fishermen a surprise.

Woody repairs the caravan door.