Rockhampton Zoo, Scenic Drive and Gladstone

On the morning of 15.11. we headed to Rockhampton. The city itself is not really spectacular, but you can see a few things. First, there are some reasonably well-known caves north of the city, which we didn't visit because the price was too expensive and we had already seen the Cutta Cutta Caves. On the other hand, there is a botanical garden with a free zoo. We didn't want to miss out on that.

After arriving in the city, we paid a short visit to the Visitor Centre and then drove to the botanical garden. There we strolled around and found a nice shady spot for lunch. During the meal, a Rainbow Lorikeet (small parrot species) came to our table and obviously wanted some of our wraps. We then put a little piece of salad for him, but he didn't want that. The tropical birds probably prefer seeds and fruits. He stayed for a while, walked back and forth on the table, occasionally came very close (which we pushed him back), and eventually flew away. It was really cool to see such a bird up close. You don't see that every day.

After lunch, we went to the zoo. There were a few feedings in the afternoon that we wanted to see. First up were the otters, but unfortunately you couldn't see much because of the reflective glass. But the playful otters were still cute. Then we quickly looked at the dingos (which were just lying around) before moving on to the next feeding: the birds in the birdhouse. It wasn't really spectacular because the woman just threw down some things. Some interested people asked her a few questions and we moved on to the next feeding, the chimpanzees. That was really great because the keeper introduced the apes and explained many things about their natural habitat, eating behavior, and intelligence. That was very interesting. It was also cool to see how he interacted with the animals and how they picked out the frozen oat flakes from the tubes that the keeper gave them for feeding.

After the chimpanzees, we walked around the small zoo and looked at the remaining animals. These included a saltwater and a freshwater crocodile, a few kangaroos, an emu, a koala, and two wombats. The koala had just been fed 10 minutes ago, so he sat on his branch and chewed on some eucalyptus leaves. It looked really cute. Overall, it's pretty cool to have a free zoo. I've never seen that anywhere before!

After seeing the animals, we continued by car. We wanted to drive the Scenic Tourist Drive, which is a circular route of about 95km from Rockhampton to the coast, along the coast for a while, and then back again. At the coast, we wanted to stay in a caravan park. So we drove there right away because it was already quite late and there was nothing to see on the way to the coast. Unfortunately, the caravan park was a flop and the worst one we've been to in Australia. For 30.50$ per night (expensive for the area), there was a small camp kitchen with only one table and a fridge that didn't work properly, which felt like a 1km walk to get to, a tiny pool, and a million insects in the bathrooms. For the price and the remote location, it was a joke. But well, we could spend the night there fine and thanks to the meat tenderizer in one of the kitchen drawers and a YouTube video, Andi managed to open the coconut. I expected the coconut to taste more intense. It was mainly hard, watery meat with a little bit of flavor. A bit disappointing. But at least we tried a coconut and Andi liked it better than me anyway.

The next day, after breakfast and a shower, we continued on the Scenic Drive. The next interesting point was a lookout where we had a nice view of the coast. But I've seen nicer viewpoints before. Then we went to a second lookout near the marina, and that was much nicer. We had to walk a few hundred meters through the forest, but then we discovered two viewpoints. The first one had a great view over the sea and some small islands, as well as a large rock wall that had a very unusual look due to its volcanic origins. It looked like a stone quill to me. At the second lookout, you could look out over the marina and the northern coast. It was also great.

After this short walk, which was a bit exhausting for Andi due to his health condition, we continued driving and wanted to go to a third lookout. But we didn't find it, although we drove up and down the road twice. We only saw a small, steep dirt road turnoff, which we just drove up with our car for fun. It had been a long time since we could show off our 4WD capabilities, so it was something different.

The next stop was at a lake connected to the sea by an inlet. There is a bridge over this inlet, and because it was low tide, we could see the water flowing from the lake towards the sea under the bridge. There were a few fishermen on the bridge trying to take advantage of the current which brought the fish to them. Towards the sea, the inlet opened wide, and you could see mangrove forests, sandy islands, and shallow water. It was a very beautiful sight.

After this lake, the Scenic Drive was basically over, and we drove the last few kilometers back to Rockhampton. We expected a bit more from a "Scenic" Drive, but it was okay that we drove it. However, I don't think I would recommend it.

From Rockhampton, we drove directly to Gladstone, which is about 105km south of Rockhampton. After all, it was only noon and there was nothing more to see in Rockhampton. We didn't read much about Gladstone in all the tourist brochures, and when we were near the city, we knew why: from a distance, you could already see huge black piles and even bigger machines. Gladstone has a coal terminal where coal from various mines arrives by train and is then loaded onto ships for export. Probably half of the city's residents work at the terminal, and there are no beautiful nature or beaches around the city. Anyway, we were more in the mood for something quiet, so we decided to go to the cinema. Andi wanted to see a few movies and invited me along. So we drove to the shopping center where the cinema is located, bought our tickets for "Dr. Strange," and then had 1.5 hours until the movie started. Right next door, there was a Domino's Pizza, and Andi had found an offer online where we could save 40% on online orders. So we ordered pizzas and each paid only 6.37$, so less than 5€, for a pizza. You can't make them yourself that cheap! Especially because Andi had lamb with tzatziki and I had chicken and camembert on mine. It was really good. While eating and even before in the shopping center, we saw many men in dirty, neon-colored clothes, which further solidified the theory that most people in the city work at the coal terminal. It was similar in Bowen, where every other person in the Woolworths supermarket was running around in fruit-picking clothes in the evening :D

Our movie started at 6:35 p.m., and we were the only ones in the cinema. At first, we thought someone else would come, but we actually got a private screening. Pretty cool :D The movie was also pretty good, with impressive visuals, brilliant actors, and an exciting story. Despite the English language, we understood everything pretty well.

After the cinema, we drove in the dark to a free rest area where we wanted to spend the night. It was only 19km away from the city center, and there was still a lot of traffic on the roads, but we managed to drive in the dark quite well. When we arrived, we just had to set up the bed and could get in right away.

The next day, we continued driving along the east coast. The next stop was supposed to be the small towns of Agnes Water and 1770, where we wanted to try surfing. What we experienced there will be in the next entry :)