day 67 Aug 30 Tues Rockhampton

We have modified our van so that the top "Penthouse" where the girls sleep has become a swimming pool. 60mm of rain has fallen over night, most of it it seems in the girls top pod. We literally bail out cup loads of water and on removing the foam matress wring water out of it. Everything is soaked, all the bedding and the towels stored up here and the rain is still threatening to fall. Our new friends have suffered a similar fate over night and we decide to head to Rockhampton to find high ground and a laundry where we can atleast get our bedding dried.

Rockhampton sits on the Tropic of Capricorn so we stop off here for the obligatory photo session adding this to our list of locations visited. It is also the beef capital of Australia and giant bulls are everywhere  in the town. It is decided that David will be on dryer duty and Nicole will take the girls to Rockhampton Botanic Gardens where there is a playground and a free small zoo. What an amazing find! It is and always has been a free attraction provided by the Rockhampton Municipal Council and is currently undergoing a 5 year renovation project. Not a glamorous location (especially not in the drizzle which has now restarted) but  it is free and  there are koalas, kangaroos and emus within touching distance, as well as dingoes and a large lake with hundreds of aquatic birds. The koalas are due to be fed at 3.30 with the promise of a cuddle with one so we head to the enclosure at the bottom of the hill. At 3.29 there is an enormous thunder clap and a torrential rain shower -like drowned rats we run back up the hill to the shelter of the park information centre and wait for David to return. The nice man in the office tells us it is now too wet for koalas and that they wont come out now for the rest of the day. Rowan is devestated and completely falls apart at the sight of David. The rain has now stopped and on the off chance so that she can "show Daddy where we walked to" we drive down the hill. Amazingly the keeper is just heading into the koala pen with a huge armful of gum branches and invites us in for a mini talk and a stroke.

  

Something we could never have planned and a silver lining to an otherwise soggy and depressing day!

     

It is decided that, given the continued rain, we should have a night under a roof and we end up at Southern Cross backpackers in the town of Agnes Water.  Our new friends have also come to this conclusion and following our tip off also head here. It is dark when we arrive but we are heave a sigh of relief not to have to contend with another wet night and the relative comfort of a dorm bed and proper kitchen.