DAY 10. Town 13: After 10 days on the road I’ve started heading back south towards home. However, home is still some 2,300 KM away so it will take a while.
Today I left a wet Cairns in the north east of Queensland for Proserpine, just over 600 KM away. It was appropriate being in Queensland as today the state celebrated its 150th birthday – 150 years since Queen Victoria decided Queensland could be a separate state from New South Wales.
There is a a stark contrast in travelling along the eastern seaboard compared to my earlier outback adventure. Firstly everything is so green. The regular rainfall certainly works its miracle on the crops of bananas and sugar cain which are everywhere. The other main difference is the amount of road traffic. Instead of seeing 5 other cars as you travel 400 KM, I see 400 cars as I travel 5 KM. I prefer outback motoring.
I take breakfast in Cardwell alongside the pier before continuing onwards with the occasional break before finishing up and checking in my Proserpine Motel at around 4.30pm.
Cardwell
Proserpine is a nice enough place but is perhaps best thought of as a gateway to elsewhere. It’s the gateway to Airlie Beach which in turn is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. Proserpine is inland so not the holiday destination it could be compared to some of its neighbours. It has a useful shopping district where essentials can soon be found (biscuits), a few motels, garages and residential housing.
Worthy of note is Proserpine is also near to the Big Mango at Bowen. Mangos can be bought for just $0.50 each – bargain!
The Big Mango at Bowen