After a long week on the USS Essex I flew to Rockhampton, or "Rocky" as the locals refer to it. The only reason the week was long was because I never got to the USS Juneau which was the ship I flew halfway around the world to ride for the week. I did what I could aboard the big deck but I found myself in a "too many chiefs not enough indians" scenario. It is unfortunate that I was unable to do what I was flown out there to do, but I was able to contribute.
Once ashore in Rocky I had to make myself useful for a few more days before I could start my vacation, one way I did that was scouting out restaurants and pubs. As much as it pains me to say this I am not a huge fan of Aussie cuisine my co-workers and I joked that the Aussies are afraid of flavor. I did however have a few decent rib-eyes in Rockhampton, which far surpassed the "bugs" which were actually more like crawfish that I had in Townsville.
I spent my last day of "work" planning out the vacation portion of my trip, I purchased an atlas and a Lonely Planet guide book and plotted out my route. My plan was to pick up my rental car early in the morning and spend the next several nights in the Outback.