[Fig tree in Airlie Beach]

[Palm cutters]

We've had a refreshing 11-hour sleep when I wake up at 7.30am. Whilst Iain dozes, I pack, hoping to leave early. True to form, however, by the time we've bought breakfast from a bakers, and wandered down to the beach to eat it, it's 9.30. There's a cool breeze off the bay, and it's a beautiful and peaceful view, with boats bobbing and the water glimmering in the sun. As we walk back to the car, we see two men up coconut palm trees, cutting them down over the road. Enormous palms and fruit fall pounding onto the road - a new sight for us.

I've got a very sore throat today. It started a couple of days ago and has got steadily worse; looks like it might be tonsillitis. I'll get some medication if it deteriorates. Driving with air conditioning on makes me cough extensively. I buy a few packets of cough sweets to see if it will go away magically.

[The harbour]

We leave at 10am. We ultimately want to get to Brisbane, but it's over 1500km, so we need somewhere to stay midway. Unfortunately there's nowhere particularly scenic, so we opt for the nearest large town to when we feel like stopping.

The road winds through more sugar cane, more tractor-towns, and occassional farms. We see a sign saying "don't let us become a ghost town: ban banana imports". This is a highly agricultural area, growing various tropical fruits; we often see handmade signs pointing towards small stalls selling fresh pawpaws, avocados or mangoes.

Road signs are becoming a point of interest to me; there seem to be signs for everything (Audible Central Line, which we always feel obliged to test). There are even speed camera warnings in the Outback, where there isn't going to be anywhere to put one unless you strap it to the back of a kangaroo. One thing I forgot to mention previously are the signs on the Mereenie Loop Road, in the Red Centre, miles from anywhere. There was a sign warning to reduce speed, and someone had placed an empty oil drum near it and scrawled "Lift um feet up". After the bend we had slowed for, another drum read "Put um back down". We were delighted to see this, as a website diary we'd read when planning the trip was by a biker who'd take a photo of his bike next to this sign. Everything here has to have a name, even a dry creek. We've seen seven "Six Mile Creek"s since Cairns.

[...increasingly desolate]

The scenery is starting to look increasingly desolate, with fewer towns, trees and becoming sandier. We drive for long stretches without seeing any civilisation. I'm getting better at overtaking; something I usually hate doing on a single carriageway road. The limit is 100kmph, and anything averaging less than 120kmph is fair game. This includes a few (2 trailer) road trains, but mostly utes and caravans. We've a long way to go, so we stop and swap drivers occasionally, but without resting.

[Nice clouds, though]

I spot a kangaroo siting on a rock near the road - the first live one I've seen for a couple of weeks. We also cross the Tropic of Capricorn, which Iain has to explain to me (don't ask, I've already forgotten).

Around 5pm we get to Gladstone, a heavy-industrial town and port on the coast. The Rough Guide says it isn't worth stopping at, but there's another 150km before the next big town, and most other places won't have accommodation, much less on spec. Gladstone tries to market itself to tourists, since it's on the tourist route, but its main attractions consisit of the world's largest alumina smelter, and a huge power station. There are half a dozen tours of major industrial plants available, if you like that sort of thing.

We head for a hostel described in our guide book as "basic" (it's not a YHA one). Dingy would be a better term. Not somewhere I'd stay more than one night, but by the time we've got there we're too fed up of driving to search for an alternative. We have dinner at the world's most bland Mexican restaurant (potentially a major tourist attraction?), then go back to the room. There's not much to do except read, but our eyes are jaded after the drive. We phone John Shaw, Iain's father's cousin, with whom we're staying in Brisbane, to plan our tour to Moreton Island later in the week. We're aiming to be in Brisbane Thursday night.