Drive to Rockhampton: Sarina Sugar Shed and Supermoon

After getting up so early on Monday, we were able to start our journey south relatively early. About 20km south of Mackay is the small town of Sarina, where we made our next stop. At the Visitor Centre, we learned that there is the Sugar Shed, where the production of sugar from sugarcane is explained and you can also try some things. The Mackay region accounts for 1/3 of Australia's sugar production and is also called the sugar capital. Since we are not familiar with sugar cane at all, we were quite interested in the production process and were willing to pay $22 per person for the tour at the Sugar Shed. When we arrived there, it was shortly after 11 and the woman at the Information Centre told us that a tour had started at 11 and the next one would not be until 12:30. The museum next to the Sugar Shed was also closed that day, so it looked like we wouldn't see anything at all.

So we just walked over to the Sugar Shed to have a look at it, and the woman at the ticket office said that we could still join the tour that had just started, because at the beginning they only show a video anyway. So we did that. Since we had missed part of it, the woman even gave us the discounted senior price when we asked, so we only paid $19 per person. Pretty good negotiation. After paying, we quickly slipped into the video room and caught the last 3 minutes of the film. Then we went outside and a woman showed us some old machines that were used to harvest sugar cane in the past. She also explained how the techniques have evolved and how it is done today. It was really interesting. Then we went into the Miniature Shed, where all the departments of a large factory were replicated in small scale. This allowed visitors to see how things are done. Our guide went through all the processing steps with us and we were able to try various things. At the beginning, there was freshly pressed sugar cane juice and a small stick from the inside of one of the crushed sugar canes to chew on. The stick tasted really sweet and the juice was very fruity with a touch of "green". At the next steps, we were able to try various molasses products, from which more and more sugar had been extracted, so that the last one tasted really disgusting like licorice. Then there was also the smell of alcohol, which is also derived from sugar cane.

All the machines in the Miniature Shed are actually used and the Shed produces its own products. These products were then available to try in the next step. Our group went back to the video room, where there was also a bar, and there we could try various sauces, chutneys, and alcoholic beverages. We also each got an apple-flavored cotton candy. Among the liqueurs were some exotic flavors like mango, coconut, and lime. And there were also classics like Scotch and vodka. Some tasted really good, others crazy, and a few things even tasted disgusting. But it was definitely pretty cool to try something like that! Fortunately, the tasting sips were only small enough that we could still drive afterwards without any problems :D

After the really interesting and worthwhile detour to Sarina, we continued. But before that, we took a coconut from the Sugar Shed Information Centre. They were giving them away there and we took the opportunity to have our Tropical Fruit Tasting for the second round. I didn't actually want to take one because I couldn't imagine how to open it (after all, the coconut looked like it fell from the tree), but Andi insisted. He said he would take care of it.

After Sarina, our next stop was a beach where we had lunch and then lay down in the shade for a nap. We were both pretty tired and it wouldn't have made sense to continue driving. There wasn't a soul on the beach and we could rest well. After the alarm clock woke us up again, it was low tide and a great wetland spread out in front of us. I went for a walk there. Unfortunately, Andi couldn't join me because of the cut on his foot. And then we continued in the car.

As our overnight spot, we chose a rest area just before Rockhampton. The next day, we wanted to drive into the city. In the evening, we witnessed a unique spectacle: the Supermoon. The evening before, our nice camping neighbors had told us that there is currently the largest moon in 70 years and it will not be this big again for another 70 years. We had already noticed that it was shining very brightly, and on the evening of the 14th of November, the moon was supposed to be the biggest and brightest. And I have never seen such a big moon before. It just looked amazing as it rose in the east while the setting sun colored all the clouds orange and then pink in the west. The whole sky was a riot of colors and the moon hung clearly and distinctly on the horizon. It was really beautiful and I'm glad that the sky wasn't cloudy and we could see the moon. When the last light of the sun disappeared, the moon was still so bright that you could easily sit outside without light and still recognize every detail of your surroundings. Pretty cool.

After the evening natural spectacle, we had a cozy dinner and then went to bed. The next day, we went into the city, but I'll tell you about that in the next entry :)