Sunday 13^th October - Mackay

God help me, Fo has discovered K-Mart. It sells just about everything and usually very cheaply, which for Australia is rare. She finally tracked down another pair of shorts so can stop wearing the same pair continuously . Yes, the lady who hates inflicting her knees on the general public is now living in shorts. I'll post a picture if I can prise the camera out of her hand.

As you can probably tell by the dearth of travelogue, we have done very little in Mackay. Even if we’d been inclined to do touristy things we wouldn’t have been able. The town grew as a service centre for the mining industry and its commercial bias continues today. In truth it was only selected as a stopover because it was a 7 hour Greyhound trip from Townsville, about as much travel time as our aging bottoms can tolerate. As it turned out this particular bus had a local radio station piped throughout so, in addition to being uncomfortable, we also soon lost the will to live. Thankfully our driver, the ever-cheerful Terry, in view of our generally good behaviour and time served, let us move forward to some front seats. Mercifully the speakers here were broken, sabotaged by an earlier traveller probably, or Terry himself. We still have 2 more Greyhound legs to complete before we reach Hervey Bay (where we pause for a week or more) and these are longer still, and across consecutive days. Yuk. So a few days spent off the roads, living in the burbs in Mackay, was no bad thing.

 

The lack of news also gives me an opportunity to re-visit the crocs at Hartleys and post some of the video content that I was unable to upload before. The sound quality isn't great but you can still get a feel for the place and the recklessness of the keepers, particularly Duncan, who I am sure will one day make a fine breakfast for a lucky croc.

On another positive note we have met Federico and Yamilla, a lovely couple from Argentina who are trying to settle in Oz. We made supper for them last night (bbq barramundi & prawns with a salad followed by a chocolate dessert) and they reciprocated with an Argentinian meatloaf and a rich, chocolate pudding made with dulce de leche; Fo's toes curled.

 

They have been staying at the B&B while they job hunt. Yamilla, an architect, has just found a position with a company in Mackay. Federico, a structural engineer, has found it very difficult to find work, surprisingly given his training. It seems that the decline in Australia's mining boom is much deeper than is perhaps perceived elsewhere. He is putting a brave face on it but it is clear that it is getting him down. It's a timely revelation to me because Fo and I have been encouraging our grown up rug rats to come here and work. I still think it's a great place to do so, but now I will suggest that they look at what skill sets are in demand before committing; assuming they ever show the slightest interest in the idea. Anyway, if anyone knows of someone looking for a structural engineer in Queensland, let me know; the guy deserves a chance.

Mackay's parting gift was a raft (not sure that's the correct collective) of painful midge bites for Fo. I think it happened during a walk in the park at dusk. I had badgered her into going so am not flavour of the month at present, especially as we have another 8 hour bus journey tomorrow. What's doubly unfair, and mystifying, is that I escaped without a single bite.