Day 55: Rockhampton to Yaamba

April 10, 2021

Start: 7:45am
Distance: 48kms
Ride time: 3:21hrs
Average: 14km/hr
Max: 51km/hr
Finish: 3:50pm

Crossing the Fitzroy River on the other side of the bridge.

I saw an EH Holden. This one had been modified yet it still looks nice.

I had breaky at the Riverston Tea Rooms.

It was a vegetarian big breakfast. It's good to get in some vegetables at the beginning of the day.

Customs House was in the same street. 1901.

Then it was time to hit the highway again. It was already pretty hot and I soon felt fatigued.

Luckily I didn't have far to ride. At about the 30km mark, I turned off the highway to see the Capricorn Caves.

I had a small lunch while I waited for my tour to begin.

This is meant to look like an ice cream cone.

I'm sorry, my phone doesn't take good photos in low light conditions.

These are fig tree roots growing down through the cave.

The Cathedral section was set up for small weddings. We sat down on the pews and the guide turned off all the lights so we could experience the complete darkness.

The Cathedral has great acoustics. The guide played the song Hellalujah, written by Leonard Cohen.

The version she played was performed by the Pentatonix.

It sounded awesome although I prefer Jeff Buckley's version.

Upon arrival to the caves, I contemplated staying at the campground there as I was so tired.

After being off the bike for a long time and in the cool temperature underground, I felt better.

There are no campgrounds until Marlborough which is 85kms away. That's too far for me to ride this afternoon.

I filled up all my water bottles and 1 water bladder and continued riding. I knew there was a rest stop about 15kms down the road.

After leaving the Capricorn Caves, at the intersection with the highway there is a small town called The Caves with a shop and a pub.

As I pulled into the shop, I saw 8 loaded touring bikes and their riders enjoying some shade.

I was so excited!

Some bikes. The front one is a 2014 Koga belt drive.

Some people. All hot and sweaty, and all smiles.

They were from Brisbane and had flown into Rockhampton today to begin their 18 day ride back to Brisbane.

They were staying at the caves tonight.

They were part of the Brisbane Bicycle Touring Association.

They were all a few years my senior. They were feeling the heat today just like me.

I find it motivating when I see older people touring. I think 'if they can do it, so can I.' I hope I can still do it when I'm 70.

We spoke briefly and then they had to depart.

The highway in the afternoon was a lot quieter. I hope it's quiet tonight.

Crossing this nice river I thought about a swim, but the name Alligator River made me see sense.

There can be crocodiles north from Rockhampton. So no more river swims for me for a long time.

I can't swim in the ocean from now on either as there are Irukandji jellyfish that can kill you too.

Snorkelling on The Great Barrier Reef should be okay as these critters rarely go out there.

Anyway, I arrived at the rest stop without any trouble. There is a rain water tank here so I carried all that extra water for nothing. Better too much than not enough.

There are toilets here, picnic tables and a bbq. This is better than some caravan parks I've stayed in.

There is one van already set up for the night. I'm about 150m from the road so I might have to use ear plugs tonight.

This big piggy was next to the rest stop. I gave him two apple cores. He went: "grunt munch grunt munch."

I feel good for not having bacon for breakfast this morning.

Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 2,623 km (1,629 miles)

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