Cairns Day 6

Left Townsville after having some breakfast at Subway (finally a familiar taste!). Totally geared up for my 390km drive to Mackay.

Our motel, The Summit

Leaving Townsville

Ahh, a beautiful day for our drive

It is commendable that the Aussies have this 'Driver Reviver' initiative - small simple facilities along their highways meant as a pit stop where weary drivers can get out of the car, rest, have some drinks and biscuits, and go for a toilet break. Very beneficial. We stopped at this one, stretched our legs and had some coffee (it was free, but we gave a little tip anyway).

Driver Reviver stop

After the brief break, we continued down the highway. Resisted the urge to stray off our main route and explore beautiful attractions (the white sandy beaches at Whitsunday) and hidden treasures (maybe crocodile-infested creeks). 390km seemed such a daunting distance to me.

Nevertheless, it was a sunny yet cooling afternoon and I was enjoying the drive and the sights that rolled by (definitely not the squashed roadkill).

Dry grassy plains

Cattle grazing leisurely

Soon after we reached Mackay, some racist prick in the car in front of us pointed the middle finger at us at a traffic junction. That got us really indignant. As we drove further on, I felt a little lost and I pulled up at the side of the street and studied the map. At the corner of my eye, I saw a man from the opposite side of the street running across as soon as I stopped. Unexpectedly, he came to our car and tapped on the window. I was taken aback and instinctively placed my fingers on the door lock switch, but stupid Slug actually wound down the window! The man asked us if we needed help and asked where we wanted to go to. I just mumbled a motel name and he started to ramble on a confusing string of directions. We listened half-heartedly and as soon as he was finished, we thanked him and quickly sped off. For a moment, I thought he was going to shoot us.

We did not follow his directions (god knows where it was going to lead us to), and a while later, we decided to seek accommodation at this Miners Lodge Motor Inn. We had a ground-floor unit which had a secure under-cover parking lot right at our doorstep. Plonking onto the bed brought me tremendous relief after such a long day's drive.

Comfortable bed but gawdy quilt cover

Would be leaving for Brisbane the next day.