After picking up what would turn out to be a trusty steed at Europcar, I started my venture west from Rockhampton. I hoped to find a grocery store on my way out of town but I didn't see one, I was eager to get on with my trip so I pressed on. I thought about stopping at the Blackdown Tableland National Park but with out groceries I pressed on along the A4.
At the town of Blackwater I found a grocery store and bought enough food to last several days, rather than double back toward the park I chose to head south hoping to reach Carnavon National Park with enough time to set up camp for the evening.
As I traveled south of Blackwater the road turned to dirt, and civilization became less and less evident. On this drive I got my first taste of Australian wildlife, a wedge tailed eagle. These eagles can grow to have over an eight foot wingspan, I would wager that this fellow was close to that.
As I drove down the red dirt road depicted in the opening photo for my Australia trip I noticed a large critter in a puddle in the middle of the road about a quarter of a mile away. I approached slowly and as I got closer I thought I was coming up on a mammal due to the sheer size of it, but when I got within a few hundred feet he relocated to a nearby tree showing off his massive wingspan. I wish the weather had provided a more dramatic back drop
but shots like these is why I purchased my Nikor 70-300mm VR lens, explicitly for this trip. With the kit lens I never would have gotten this level of detail.
I continued down this dirt road as the first rains of my trip set in, once I passed 70 miles I started to get concerned, the rains were growing heavier and I still hadn't reached a paved road. This experience and the fact that my rental was not covered for any damages that occurred on unpaved roads kind of dampened my trip. Next time I go to Australia I will budget for a four wheel drive, and hopefully drag someone along to split the costs. Most of the secondary roads in Australia are unimproved, a rented Hyundai is a sure fire way to prove that you are the ugly (and stupid) American tourist.
So I didn't want to test the limits of the Accent, I tried to stick to paved roads, or at least short (less than 100 miles) dirt roads. That changed my plan as the rains did not let up and I searched for a place to camp. Judging by the map Carnavon National Park did not have any paved roads and the radio kept talking about a couple that was missing in the park, I was alone. I decided to camp for the night near Lake Maraboon just south of the town of Emerald.
After a long rainy night, I had to go check out the lake. Unfortunately the weather, and late autumn season combined for a rather bleak and muddy view of what I am sure is a beautiful place to camp and fish in season.
After what was a semi disappointing first day in the Outback I set out to make the best of things. I figured I would make the most of the tourist traps until the weather broke. So as I approached Emerald I saw signs saying I could go fossicking or prospecting in Sapphire. My mom had asked me to try to locate some boulder opals for her, and my girlfriend likes shiny things so I figured this was a place as any.
Turns out it was too wet for fossicking too. I did manage to find a small local gem shop where I found some boulder opals for mom and a pair of local sapphire earrings for Kelsey. I got a few post cards too, after filling out the postcards I got on the road again.
Most of my time on the road was spent listening to local music and learning about local politics. In between though I got the prognosis of rain, lots of it, with no end in sight. Not wanting to end up Kola food in a high centered Hyundai I made my way to the beach.
