Brisbane to Rockhampton

Left Brisbane about 7am, heading for Rockhampton on the first day of our road trip. Not a lot to see on this route except Aussie bush. Quite a way between towns. Major towns are Gympie, an old Gold Rush town which now is quite flourishing, then Maryborough, a port. Maryborough is quite beautiful. It is set on the Mary River and once was a major ship-building port. There are some lovely old (by Aussie standards) heritage buildings in the main street, painted in lovely colours and in good shape. Well worth a look. The major road bypasses Bundaberg, the sugar town, but you get to see lots of sugar cane fields as you buzz by. Gladstone is next. A major port for mining. Bypass it. Rockhampton, where you cross the Tropic of Capricorn is our stop for the night. It is the Beef Capital of Australia and has a huge Beef Festival every four years. Goes without saying that it gets hotter the further north you go. Was good to pull into our Rocky place for the night at about 5pm.