Outback Wanderers: Day 38: Queensland Wet

December 22, 2010

It had to happen at least once – packing up in the rain. It’ll probably happen again given the seven-day forecast, which doesn’t show a dry day in it. Welcome to summer in Queensland.

We pore over the internet websites we’ve bookmarked: Bureau of Meteorology for the weather report; RACQ for road conditions. If we continue north it’s doubtful we’ll see a dry day; Townsville and Cairns both have 90% chance of rain through Christmas. If we head west, we may find the edge of the front in a day or two. At least the chance of rain diminishes in the towns in central and western Queensland. Alice Springs is a sunny 36˚ -- and holding. We decide to turn west.

We throw a plastic tarp over the bed and hope for the best when we fold the soggy tent over on to it. The rain is relentless and runs down my arms inside my raincoat as I busy myself with packing the trailer. I took a shower when I first got up this morning, but I needn’t have bothered; I’m drenched again. I peel off my coat, ring it out and place it in a bucket in the backseat. The rest of me is wet too but I get in the front seat and hope I'll dry out while we drive. At least it’s a balmy 20˚ at 9am.

We drive and drive and it rains and rains. We head west out the Capricorn Highway – named for its close proximity to the Tropic of Capricorn. It’s mining country west of Rockhampton and billboards advertise massive trucks for hire and earthmoving services. Bright blue and red Holden V8s colour the otherwise dreary landscape. Long trains snake along beside us carrying neatly compacted carriages of coal.

If we’re game, the local tourist attractions offer refuge from the rain in the form of

Australia

’s largest coal-mining museum, gem fossicking (sapphires, zircons, amethysts) and historic buildings from the gold-mining era. But we’re goal-oriented now, wanting only to get far enough inland to clear the rain and have a dry camping night.

We look for lunch possibilities out of the rain but the greasy take-aways don’t appeal. We opt for a covered picnic table at a park in Gracemere. The lush lawn could use a mow and my feet get soaked sloshing back and forth to the car with lunch paraphernalia. The covered gas barbecue works and I make us grilled cheese and turkey sandwiches.

We pass up Blackwater as a stopover option. It’s only 4pm and perhaps we can get another 100 k’s down the road. Emerald sounds a nice town to stay the night.

But Emerald at 5pm is full of congestion, cars and people going home from work or out for last minute shopping as Christmas week veers towards its close. And it’s still raining. We check out a number of motels but the nice ones are too expensive and the affordable ones too grungy. It’s hard to pay $140 for a bed when we’ve camped free most of the way. And I’m not use to paying full price for accommodation, so – back to wotif.com!

We find two $125/night options: one a motel on the edge of town, the other a Discovery Holiday Park on Lake Marabeon 16kms south of town. The “Deluxe Villa” on the lake sounds appealing, plus we can cook our own meals, so we book and pay on-line. It’s now just past 6pm.

The dam is gushing over with a slick rush of pale brown water as we drive over it. The 50km long lake is beautiful and in the advancing dusk it’s hard to tell the division between the lake and the drizzly grey clouds above it. The Reception office is dark as we drive through the entrance into the park. A big ‘Closed’ sign advertises office hours in small print: 8am to 6pm. It’s now 6.40pm. How can a business selling overnight accommodation close so early?

We find the manager’s residence and rustle him out of the shower and back into the office to procure our booking. His thin veil of friendliness only just masks his irritation – didn’t we read the fine print on the on-line booking form? No bookings accepted after 6pm. Sorry, we didn’t.

The villa is clean, colourful and smells of coconut. Johan opens wide the windows to let in the fresh moist air and flips on the news while I set about making dinner. The Queensland ABC has several reports on the rain and the damage caused by flooding throughout the state. A weather expert forecasts continued rain for the next three months. Wet weary Queenslanders aren't out of it yet.

The balmy evening lets in a chorus of cricket and frog chirps, plus the gentle lapping of waves from the lakeside just below our cottage. It’s a lovely place and it’s only three days to Christmas. Should we wait out the rain, enjoy a comfortable holiday and stay another couple of nights?