We decided to book into Gracemere Caravan Park on the South West side of Rockhampton. The plan was for a quick stop before heading further North along the coast. The caravan park was on the outskirts of Gracemere near the old Capricorn Highway. Lovely green park with shaded sites and a beautiful rural outlook. The cows came by the fence we were facing each night to bed down under a tree. Amenity blocks were aged but nice and clean (4 Stars). We got settled in before a quick shop at the Woolworths up the road. Sandra got some cleaning done while I caught up on some computer work. We did a couple of short walks near the caravan park in the afternoon.
Saturday morning we took a drive into Rockhampton and out to Mount Archer National Park. We found Rockhampton quite easy to get around in with lots of green park space. Our trip up to Mount Archer was fairly steep and winding but you certainly did get a good view of the surrounding area. We did a quick lookout walk when we arrived before enjoying our picnic lunch. The park was good but needed some upkeep. We found much of Rockhampton was still recovering from Cyclone Marcia which occurred a few years back. After lunch we did a bit of a longer walk on the other side of the park. Quite steep with very uneven ground/rocks to negotiate. Got a few more good lookout opportunities and enjoyed the millions of Cycads and Grass trees. We made our way back to the car before returning to the caravan park. We decided that we wanted to extend our stay for a few more days so stopped at reception on the way back.
Sunday we enjoyed a day at the caravan doing some laundry and clean-up. Did a few walks near the caravan park.
Monday we took another drive into Rockhampton with the Zoo and Botanical Gardens our first stop. Both of these are free to visit which is a nice way to welcome visitors. Sandra and gone to them on our previous trip with the Ransleys but I had skipped that excursion. The Zoo was nice but Sandra commented that it wasn't as impressive as the last visit. Lots of cyclone damage with several enclosures under construction. We did get to enjoy the bird enclosure which is quite unique. We also saw Cassowary, Wombats, Goannas, and Koala as per the attached photos. There was also a good size monkey display but they were primarily sleeping during our visit.
We had a morning snack at the Botanic gardens before a quick walk around the grounds. Again there was quite a bit of damage and main buildings were not open. The signage was poor for what was/wasn't open. A bit of a shame as could have been much better. Luckily, it didn't cost us anything at least.
From here we did a bit of shopping at Dan Murphy, Coles, and Artisan Gluten Free Bakery. Managed to get Sandra a lovely gluten free meat pie and vanilla slice. A bit of an experience getting to the bakery because of all the construction down along the river but we got there in the end. I grabbed a don air and we headed off to the Kershaw Gardens for our lunch. Another beautiful park area that unfortunately needed some work after the cyclone. We did enjoy our lunch just before the rain clouds opened up. We headed back to the caravan park where we again stopped at the office to extend our stay for another 3 days. The lady was nice enough to give us the weekly rate which gave us a free night. Very friendly staff and great customer service. We took a walk into Gracemere in the afternoon and explored the shopping district.
Tuesday May 23rd we got an early start as we headed out to Capricorn Caves. Our neighbours at our caravan site had recommended the tour. We arrived in time for the 10am tour which we shared with another 8-10 people. Very interested caves with many different caves and entrances. They offer a variety of tours as well which include some tight caves with a bit of adventure climbing.
Highlights of our tour were the Cathedral cave where they host weddings and opera, as well as the zig zag exit which was a bit snug. A suspension bridge at the end to return to the cave entry was also interesting. The guide was very informative and we enjoyed our tour. We spent the afternoon relaxing and enjoying some short walks.
After lunch we did a couple of short walks around the Marina and Keppel Bay. We walked down onto Pebble Beach before climbing to a couple of lookouts. From here we got good views of the marina, Great Keppel Island, and Kinka Beach. The rock formations were very interesting as well.
Once we had worked off our lunch a bit we jumped back in the car and headed further along the coast to Emu Park. The highlight of Emu Park was definitely the Memorial display overlooking the water. Lovely and very touching! A real credit to the community!
We completed the coastal loop back to Rockhampton and returned to the caravan park for a relaxing evening.
Thursday was spent cleaning, shopping, and preparing for a spell of bush camping. Got a bit more computer work caught up as well as phone calls with our girls and other family. We have really enjoyed our week in Rockhampton and look forward to returning some day. The weather was lovely and the Gracemere Caravan park was a lovely, quiet relaxing environment with each access to everything.
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