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Date: Mon, June 15 1998 Yes I'm in Proserpine, the heart of the Queensland sugar country -- acres and acres of it; and the mill right in the centre of town is running full bore, as are all of the 4 mills in Central Queensland. The chimneys are all belching forth great volumes of black smoke, and periodically you can hear the sound of something or other in there letting off steam. This is actually the loudest sound in the town, otherwise blissfully tranquil; a refreshing relief after Mackay which was noisy and stressful, almost like being in a big city. I was glad to get away from it. I'm going to create a special abbreviation all of my own: MATLIT -- "More About That Later, If Time. Lots of things, like the stress of being in Macay I'd like to elaborat on, but I want to spend most of the time on that highly eventful journey from Rockhampton to Mackay. What a journey! I just used the "Save Draft" facility for the first time. Very cumbersome (and slow) I've discovered, but very necessary as I found out to my great cost. This is actually the second time I've been to this library. This morning I spent a whole 30 minutes typing a Newsletter and somehow managed to lose the lot. Bum!! No idea how it happened; I think I clicked on the "close" button. Even so, that just shouldn't happen. Couldn't happen with Eudora -- it's just about idiot proof. And needless to say I was in quite an inspired mood, immediately after my "mid morning coffee" -- esspress coffee naturally thanks to the espresso coffee machine I've been carrying with me since Sydney. Wonderful; wouldn't ever be without it -- to hell with the weight. Anyway, it was one of those times when the words flowed freely, partly thanks to caffeine. And I lost the lot!! Ho hum. Oh well, anyone who has ever used a computer will sympathise with me; happens to all of us. Of course, as with everything, you pay a price for this. Each time you save it, you have to retrieve it again, and that means clicking on "Folders", then "Drafts", then the saved message. And with each click a delay of half a mine or so. Hotmail is SO SLOW!!!! But it's still miles ahead of Netscape -- the mail program from hell!!!!! Before anything else, some cheerios:- Skat Cat: Got your latest message in Mackay. Yes I'm glad I spent some of my windfall money on that speedo -- my NEW TOY!!! I really should have given more priority to a new chain -- the old one is very worn; very, very worn! Now it will have to wait until I can afford it cause I'm broke again. Ho hum! The windfall is all gone, and I'm back to living from fortnight to fortnight. It was good while it lasted. No more overnight vans either. A luxury that's normally beyond my income. A propos of my speedo (my wonderful new toy MATLIT!) I've now clocked up 879 km since it was installed. Amazing, but that includes just choofing around in the towns when camped, without the usual load. To continue the cheerios:- Other Cheerios (now no time to elaborate! - running out of time fast) Lots to say to each of you, but just no time. I'll just say that in each case I've absorbed what you told me and will get back to you eventually. Now, with only 5 mins left (crazy!!!!) lets get started on Rockhampton to Mackay. Just saved the draft again, now only 2 mins left. Maybe they'll be nice to me. It's a very nice library by the way, and they are quite happy about making their only computer available to the public, not just members, like that snooty library in Mackay. Well, up to Rockhampton I hadn't had many problems with equipment, other than the tyres as they wore out (in any orderly manner); my pack rack coming unstuck, but successfully held together in with hose clamps (amazing how resourceful one gets in an emergency); my pedals falling to pieces in Hervey Bay, but no great drama -- held them together with tape until Bundaberg, where I replaced them. They were a bit uncomfortable on that 4 day journey, but didn't slow me down much. And then of course there was the tent fly -- that was the most disastrous of the pre-Rockhampton problems. It just started falling apart, tearing at the slightest touch. So there was no alternative to waiting for a replacement to arrive from Melbourne, where I bought the tent. That was in Bundaberg. Luckily, there was hardly anyone else in the camping area at the time, so I was able to sleep in the kitchen each night, til the replacement arrived. Oh yes, reminds me, how I wish I could say more about contrasting caravan parks -- contrasting in so many ways, not only the facilities available (especially cooking and eating facilities -- some have very elaborate camper's kitchens, others no more than a table in the open. And contrasting especially in the attitudes and personalities of the management. Such a relief when they're nice and go out of their way to help me. Some time I'll tell you about a really nasty man (well, unpleasant anyway) who was the Manager of a caravan park in a place called Calen (where, believe it or not, a car hit a bull on Highway One and injured the driver -- I didn't see any bulls when I passed through). Yes, the attitude of staff is really much more important than the facilities, and the cost. But that's for another time. By the way, speaking of nice staff, the very nice staff here in the library, are letting me continue. Supposed to be a max. of 45 minutes, which I've well and truly gone over now, but luckily noone wants to use the library. All the same, I'll have to stop soon anyway cause it's now 3:35 PM (on Tuesday June 16) and I need to go to the bank before it closes at 4pm, and I've got lots to do besides. I'll be departing here tomorrow and heading for Bowen. But then I'll have to camp at one of those Rest Areas (provided by Main Roads Dept) because I'm almost flat broke and payday is not til Monday next. Ho hum. Oh, I nearly forgot: there are two standouts from the trip from Mackay to here (which was blissfully uneventful this time -- no more disasters!) Both seaside places:- Seaforth, just north of Mackay, a really nice seaside resort -- totally uncommercialised, and charming. Best thing about it was that the camping area was RIGHT NEXT TO THE BEACH. First time I've had that since being in Queensland. So I had something to look at while cooking, packing etc. Most of the time, all I ever see when not actually riding is the inside of caravan parks -- and they are not at all scenic, usually. Midge Point:- I'll really have to go now; only 15 mins to the bank close now. Sorry about this; I'll have to continue when I get to Bowen. I still haven't said anything at all about the Rockie-Mackay saga. Oh well, I'll get to it; promise. And by the way, if anything like that had happened right back when I started, when travelling round Tasmania, I think I may well have got cold feet and given up. Well, perhaps not. Now, I'm just DETERMINED to finish what I've started. See you in Bowen. Don. |