Tropic of Capricorn!

Hi again... havent had net access for past few days so this is a quick update...

I left Rainbow Beach the day after the great dive and headed north... along the way I came across a town with the most unusual name of "Town of 1770" (yep thats the town name!) and was so intrugued I turned off my original route and headed to the shore-town. Apparently this is the first settlement that James Cook made in Queensland when he stopped to make repairs to his ship. Its a tiny place and I found a nice caravan park to park in (for free again!), plus its a good place to visit the southern-most sections of the Great Barrier Reef so I might go back there after I finish my fossicking expedition inland.

That night, I met up with two French guys, Philipe et Patrice, and they regailed stories of their travels around western oz and the north (they are doing the trip in the clockwise direction, whereas I am anti-clockwise) plus we had a visit from a VERY TAME mongoose! Got some good pics of us feeding her too... with her claws wrapped around my fingers as she reaches out! Awwww....

Last night I stopped off at Mt Morgan just west of Rockhampton and ever so closer to passing the Tropic of Capricorn and camped beside the river there (free of course... Ive learned from Patrice and Phillipe that its possible to park around oz for free ALWAYS... doh!). Its a gold-mining town with unique place names like "Struck Oil".

Today Im heading inland about 300 km (the furhest inland Ill have ever been in Oz) so I expect to see some different types of locals here and this region is called "The Gemfields" on account of the sapphires, rubies and gold to be found if you fossick along the river. I want to try my hand at this fossicking malarky and Ill pass through Emerald on my way to Sapphire (those are town names!)... I doubt theres any net access there so Ill update ye when I get back in a few days!!

Fingers crossed I find something!