Nele & Andrew Around Oz: Pioneer Valley Showgrounds, Finch Hatton, QLD

Day 243 – 17th October 2011

Pioneer Valley Showgrounds, Finch Hatton, QLD

This morning we got up early and drove out to Conway NP where we walked up to Mt Roofer with views across the Whitsunday Passage and Islands (4.8km return - 1h15). Next we walked the Coral Beach track and up to Beak Lookout, again with views across the Whitsunday Passage (3.4km return – 1h). We had a look at Shute Harbour, the new marina precinct, and returned to Airlie beach to enjoy a swim in the man made lagoon and a chai latte and cake on the foreshore. We left Airlie beach and continued on to Proserpine with a quick look at the town and sugar cane mill, along with a stop out at Proserpine Airport for a sneak peak as Andrew was involved in the concept design for the upgrade which is almost complete (Andrew’s firm lost the detailed design phase so he was keen to see how it ended up). From here we headed out to Finch Hatton via the back roads, a very pretty drive through sugarcane fields and farmland reminding us of the Atherton Tablelands a little. It rained all afternoon and evening so Andrew decided to make the most of it and washed the van in the campgrounds. We are hoping the rain and clouds disappear as we have decided to head up into the hills to have a look through Eungella NP. It’s one of the few days we have been interrupted by rain, we could count on one hand the rainy days we have had on our entire trip so we’ve been lucky – it’s definitely worth timing your trip when travelling this country, it makes all the difference. Our challenge now is moving south quickly enough to avoid the beginnings of Queensland’s wet season.