Emu Park to Bundaberg

April 22nd
Emu Park (Rockhmapton) to Bundaberg.
The Emu Park backpackers was great $27 for a shared room, but the place was brand new, swimming pool, community room and a bar! at last, a beer :) I also tried the Bundaberg rum which I have to say was very nice with a drop of Coke, so I had two! A good chat around the bar with various people on their travels ranging from an American, Swede and German, all very nice people eager to share their stories and experiences.

So I headed off towards Bundaberg, though not really bent on getting there today, but I had to go and get the sprocket fitted. First was back through Rockhampton to get some jungle juice, then onto the Bruce again, a quick look at the map showed that there was, again an alternative route, and a good one too. A couple of K's outside the city was a turning on the right that would take me over the mount Morgan range into the township itself. A great road as was recommended by the Aussie Motorcyle atlas, although I think maybe a few too many trucks had been up there since it was written, it was very corrugated in places and even the KLR shifted around, so I can only imagine what it would be like aboard a stiffer rice rocket!

I stopped halfway up to look at the view and for a pic or two, then on up the hill as it reached the town of Mount Morgan. An old goldmining town and by the looks of things its all been mined and gold fever was long gone, the lucky few have headed off to greener pastures, only a handful of older houses now stand, but a very pleasant place.

On back down the hill and onto the flat I stopped at a roadhouse/Hotel to grab a cup off coffee and a ciggie break, by now the temperature was really getting up there again. Through the town of Bileola and then down to Monto.Thirty seven kms out of Monto, again consulting the map, there was a road that would take me across east back to Bundaberg, I was having such a good days riding that I decided to keep going. Turning left onto a minor road that was a mix of tar seal and gravel, my first taste of non tar on this trip so far. Some of you reading this will know that I'm less than useless on anything other than good old sticky hard tarmac, so it was with some anticipation that I took this route, but I'm glad I did, about the first 20k's was gravel and pretty easy to manage at around 70kph, the KLR gave me some confidence, which I needed!

Turning back to tar seal I went through the village of Mount Perry, where I filled up, not that it was empty by any means, but I didn't know when the next available fuel would be, so better safe...The road met the main highway at Gin Gin, then another minor road for about 50k's into Bundaberg, by now the light was fading, so I looked for a stop, I stopped at a campsite, but they did not accept tents? oh well, onto the next.

Just inside the city on the north side was a caravan park, with tent pitches,so $19 got me sorted, they even lent me a thin mattress to lie on as I didn't fancy that torture of the back again, so that was a relief.
Up in the morning and get the sprocket fitted.