Airlie Beach to Kroombit

Southbound
For the correct pick up time and place see the relevant Timetable.

Airlie Beach to Kroombit -

ACTIVITY INCLUSION: Barefoot Bowling, Mechanical Bull
HIGHLIGHTS: Your guides music collection for the drive (let’s hope he/she’s not a country and western fan!)
OPTIONAL HOP OFFS: Rockhampton

Today is the longest day on the road, but don’t worry your guide will be sure to keep you entertained!

We get on the bus where we head through Mackay, the sugar capital of Australia. The sight of the cane fields burning at dusk is an attraction during the crushing season from June to December. Mackay has the largest bulk sugar-loading terminal in the world. It became a major port in 1939 when some smart dude built an ingenious breakwater that made Mackay one of the biggest ports in Australia. Just as well, because not too far away is heaps of coal which, when mined, finds its way via coal railways to Mackay. It is shipped off to other parts of Australia but mainly finds a home in the furnaces of our foreign neighbours. Besides sugar and coal there is an abundance of fruit, which spells jobs for travellers who don’t mind fruit picking.

ACTIVITY INCLUSION: Barefoot Lawn Bowls Throw off your shoes, call your Grand-dad for some tips and get ready for a strange sense of joy at a Lawn Bowls Club. It’s no wonder that grey-heads are always playing bowls, it gets you as excited as a kid yet you can also just sit around, chat and drink. There’s genuine 1972 prices for the beer!

Rockhampton Next up is Rockhampton for a brief stop. It is the beef capital of Australia and there are over 3 million cattle in the region. Beyond cattle dating, ‘Rockie’ as it is known up here can offer you the quintessential cowboy experience. Yes, those boys with big hats, big belts and bandy legs can be seen any day of the week in this town. Even the pub, the Great Western Hotel, right in the centre of town has a real live rodeo ring where the beer garden should be! You can practice your bull riding every Wednesday and the rodeo happens every second Friday. If you want even more bull, on weekdays you can experience the quaint, unique Cattle Auctions at the Gracemere Sale yards and witness the yakka of the auctioneers and get to know our unique cattle breeds. Rockhampton is located smack-bang on the Tropic of Capricorn. It is the access point for Yeppoon, the gateway to Great Keppel and other islands. Great Keppel Island is one of the cheapest and easiest Queensland islands to reach and offers you a large range of activities to choose from, both in and out of the water. From Rocky visit the rugged Berserker Range where you’ll see spectacular limestone caves, or visit the open-cut gold and copper mine at Mt Morgan.

Kroombit
Our final stop for the day is Kroombit, a working cattle station in outback Capricorn Country. Immerse yourself in country Australia, where men are men and cattle is beef. We’ll then light up a fire and you can feast yourself on a two course bush meal which is not just eating while being in the bush, its fair dinkum tucker the same as what the drovers used to eat. Kroombit is renowned for its Camp oven-style meals cooked on the open fire over-looking the unique outdoor dining area where the table & stools have been made from the trunk of the blue gum tree.
A $40 local payment will cover your 1 night dorm accommodation and, camp oven dinner and breakfast. This is paid direct to Kroombit upon arrival.
After dinner test your rodeo potential by jumping on the mechanical bull. Don’t worry it won’t trample you, but if you’ve had some beers first it does enjoy bucking you off further! There’s never a shortage of starters to stay on the longest. If that’s not your thing there’s also whip cracking lessons (always a good skill to have up your sleeve). After a busy day unwind in the atmosphere of the Wagon Bar!

Last but not least there’s the Mechanical Bull.
Don’t worry it won’t trample you, but if you’ve had some beers first it does enjoy bucking you off further! There’s never a shortage of starters to stay on the longest.
After you've had your bush dinner, there's no tv to watch or PS2 to turn on out in the Aussie bush. We have to amuse ourselves and you one way or another so instead of rushing in to ride a Real Bull we've set up a Mechanical Bull. The guys and gals from the Cattle Station will show you how it's done first of all (it really is all about technique, you don't have to be strong just keen to have a go) and then everyone will have a turn. Hopefully you'll stay on for the famed 8 seconds and maybe you'll find your new career on the night. If you fall off there's inflated padding to cushion your fall and everyone wears a helmet as well. It's a real hoot and if you get cocky we can really crank the bull up to top speed - just watch the locals at full speed and you'll be in awe.