The word for this leg is “roadworks”.

I have never seen so much roadworks … just as you get back up to highway speeds you hit the next lot of roadworks. 100 – 80 – 60 – 40 – 60 – 80 – 100 – 80 – 60 – 40 – stop – go – … You just don’t get a chance to get in a rhythm.

While on the topic of roads. I remember a trial some time ago on the Newell Highway in NSW of wider centre line marking from 24cm wide to 1.2m wide which pushes oncoming traffic significantly further apart. Since then I have noticed these centre markings creeping onto more major highways and a lot of the Bruce Highway now has them and they are a huge improvement.

While a full divided highway network would be great, that clearly wouldn’t be practical/affordable in a country the size/population of Australia. But this is a great compromise.!

And in the Bruce Highway with the amount of traffic it carries it was very noticeable of just how much better these wider lines are.

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After another night of rain it was good to find blue sky when we got up … and I’d rather that than having to drop camp while it’s raining. And rain up here comes across fast so the first thing we did was drop camp while the skys were in our favour.

Leaving Airlie Beach we have a few big days in front of us, 540km to get to Yeppoon and over 600km to drop in on my parents on the Sunshine Coast. It is now starting to feel like the final push to get home.

While I’m used to doing big miles, this is different. Two up with a trailer is certainly more taxing. And this is meant to be a holiday.

Today our first target is Mackay where we have arranged to have lunch with our son-in-law’s parents. It was nice to sit and chat for a couple of hours before hitting the road again.

Mackay has a painted water tower at Slade Point so we made a short detour to grab a photo.

Pulling into a little servo for a short break out of rocky we got into a conversation about which ice coffee to buy. “The peanut butter ice coffee sounds like it tastes like shit” the assistance chimes in … I wish she’d just say what she really thinks. But I tend to agree.

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As a kid I grew up on a family farm with my dad’s siblings and their families each with houses dotted around the property. So we grew up together with had many shared experiences as we worked and played together, and often got into trouble together as well.

Since leaving school and moving on with our lives we have scattered far and wide, and have unfortunately largely lost touch over the years. So when I get a chance I like to try and catch up.

While we were in Airlie Beach we caught up with Craig and some of his family then Gary came across to Yeppoon and hung out with us for the night. It’s always great to catch up.

Today’s Distance: 540km

Total Distance: 4,915km

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Yeppoon was our destination for a couple of reasons, one was to catch up with Gary and Lee but the other was that we honeymooned here exactly 34 years ago this last week.

We spent a little bit of time riding around Yeppoon trying to remember our time here … but nothing was coming back. Clearly we were here as we have the photos to prove it.

From Yeppoon the ride was a bit of a slog with the constant road works. Just after dark we finally rolled into my parents place on the Sunshine Coast. It will be nice to be off the bike for the next day and spent some time hanging out with them.

Today’s Distance: 620km

Total Distance: 5,545km

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Hanging out on the Sunshine Coast for the day.

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Next – Time to Turn Back?