Christmas in Rockhampton
After a couple of great days in Longreach it was time to head east for a couple nights on the coast at
We set out before daylight as it is about 750 Kms and 8 hours
driving to from Longreach to Yeppoon, our first stop was a the bakery in Barcaldine for a toasted Cheese and tomato Sandwich for breakfast. Our next planned stop was in emerald for lunch. The country was certainly greener as we headed eastwards and evidence of decent storms was everywhere. All though we kept moving we enjoyed seeing the countryside and the little places dotted along the way, Alice , Jericho, Alpha and Willows looked like great little QLD communities.
On arrival in Emerald we found a great little hamburger place for a quick lunch and a bit of a break before hitting the road again for the last leg to Yeppoon.
Before we hit the road again we stopped by the world”s biggest Van Gogh sunflower painting is situated in Morton Park, Emerald. The superstructure is 25 metres high with approximately 13.6 tonnes of steel involved in its construction. It is part of a concept by Cameron Cross to erect seven Sunflower sculptures in seven different countries, reproducing Van Gogh”s seven different Sunflower paintings. Emerald”s Sunflower Painting was finished on 8 November 1999.
The painting celebrates the Central Highland”s reputation as a major sunflower producer.
The rest of the trip was uneventful and were skirted around the outskirts of Rocky and headed up to Yeppoon. Aahh the coast again, love inland but love the coast more I think.
We booked accommodation based on good reviews on trip advisor and can I say the Surfside Motel could be one of the best little motels we have ever stayed in.
Fantastic beachfront location just a short stroll from shops, restaurants, clubs and all services Yeppoon has to offer. All rooms are air conditioned and have cooking facilities, Foxtel TV and wireless internet access. There is a great pool area if you don’t want to walk across the road to the beach and laundry facilities are onsite.
We had two very relaxing days just wandering around and generally resting up, this was very welcome after what has been a very busy year work, travel and family wise. Again the pictures will tell the story or our stay.
On Christmas eve we reluctantly checked out and headed to the fish co-op to purchase our Christmas lunch feast of seafood. Our expectation was that this would take a long time with crowds doing the same thing, the co-op was so well set up for dealing with the volume of people we were in and out in under half an hour. So there was nothing left to do but head south to our next stop Rockhampton.
In no time at all we had driven the 80kms back to Rockhampton and had booked in to the very beautiful Edge Apartments right on the Fitzroy river, we couldn’t believe our luck another perfect place to stay for our Christmas day.
We decided to have our Christmas eve dinner in the Edge restaurant onsite but before heading down to dinner we sat on the balcony and watched the shadows coming across the river. Located on footsteps of Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River, The Edge Restaurant and Bar is Rockhampton’s newest most exciting venue. Offering modern Australian cuisine, friendly professional staff and an atmosphere that is both casual and chic! The staff were friendly and attentive and certainly go out of their way to make sure your experience is a memorable one.
We had one of the most enjoyable Christmases ever, over indulged in our seafood spread (I had a huge mud crab in honour of my dad who always talked about the muddy he used to catch when growing up in Rocky) and a couple very nice bottles of wine. If you can’t be surrounded all the family then this was the next best thing to a perfect Christmas day for us.
On boxing day we checked out and headed further south, planned on overnighting at Hervey Bay before heading on to Sunshine coast for a few days with our friends ‘The Cooks’
One quick stop off in Bundaberg, to visit the factory and store of Bundaberg Rum. While there we picked up some rather nice glasses for ourselves and a set for number one son Mark who is a lover of the product.
After a few days lazing around the Sunshine Coast with the cooks with lots of food, drink and merriment we started the last leg home from our quick summer road trip with a slight detour to meet our newest niece Ember and have lunch with our Beaudesert family.
After another great seafood lunch (purchased at the Mooloolaba fish market) and good catch up with Matt Tish Eli and Ember we hit the road at 2pm and drove through the night arriving home at 2am. A short dinner stop in Coffs Harbour at a very good Chinese just off the highway
All in all we had a great trip and managed to see a lot of the country that we have always wanted to to see as well as the bonus of catching up with friends and family
Check out YouTube video for all photos for this trip
Our Adventures - Near and Far 
