Saturday, 04 August 2012

Day 7 riding

We both got up early and planned to be on the road early.  It didn’t quite work out that way though.  I went to the common area kitchen to see what was for breakfast.  Harry, a Sunset Safaris guide, was still wearing the pink, spikey-haired wig and visor he had on yesterday.  His group was just finishing and he offered me a platter of pineapple, honeydew and grapes.  He also gave a jar of Vegemite.

 Harry told us the story of how as an 11-year old German immigrant, someone offered to make him a Vegemite sandwich.  It looked like Nutella to him, so he eagerly said yes! And slathered it on.  Then he took a bite.  Yuck – it’s nothing like Nutella.  I was glad for the warning and took a very small bite from the corner of toast Ian had thinly spread with the brown goo for me.  Harry was right; it’s not Nutella.  But, unless you’re expecting chocolate-y, hazelnut-y sweetness, it is pretty good.  Kind of salty, kind of tangy.  I wouldn’t eat it every day but I wouldn’t mind having it again.

It was getting late and we needed to get on the road.  As we checked out, we chatted a bit with the receptionist.  She was also German, although I couldn’t tell from her accent.  She told me where I could see live kangaroos (since I hadn’t seen one yet).  She also gave a recommendation for a nice hostel in Emu Park and even called to make sure there was room for us tonight (since we might be competing with the car rally participants again).  There was room for us (whew) so we said our good-byes again and headed north toward Gladstone and Rockhampton.

Ian is a good travel companion and sets a comfortable riding pace.  (He leads, I follow.)  But there were a lot of construction delays which made for slow progress.  And I was coming down with a cold, too.  Ugh.  Makes for less than enjoyable riding.

When we arrived at the Emu Park hostel, the soft-spoken German (why are they all German?) receptionist said they were having a 30^th birthday party that night and it might be noisy until around midnight or so.  I figured I’d be asleep long before that with the help of a Tylenol PM tablet.  As it was, I was weary and rested for about an hour before dinner.

They served a nice barbeque with fish, steak, sausage, pasta and a fresh crisp salad.  And loads (or should I say loaves) of white bread.  I’ve seen this just about everywhere and don’t understand it.  What’s up with Australians and soft white bread (like Wonder bread)?  I forgot to take photos.  Must be the cold taking a toll.