Clermont to Rockhampton, Qld

We left our overnight stop in the Clermont Caravan Park and headed off on the Great Inland Way passing through Capella and then Emerald.  We stopped at a roadside fruit stall and bought a lovely fresh pineapple, strawberries and apples.  I am looking forward to the pineapple as it smells delicious.

Arriving in Emerald

Fruit stall in Emerald

Emerald is in the coal mining area of Queensland and we passed coal trains along the way as well as signs advertising the coal industry and recruitment.

A mining recruitment Advertisement

Coal trains with around 80 carriages

Wagyu Beef property near Blackwater

After leaving Emerald we stopped at Blackwater, known as the Coal capital of Queensland. 

 Blackwater is 822 km north-west from Brisbane and 203 km west from Rockhampton on the Capricorn Highway.

Loading the coal

We continued on and stopped at Duaringa rest area which was spacious with some grass and was next to the Information Centre. Duaringa is the oldest settlement in the area and was originally a settlement for railway workers.

Next morning we set off for Rockhampton, about 112 km away and arrived there around 10 am where we had booked into the caravan park that our friends were staying in. .


  After setting up in the park we headed out to Yeppoon to meet up with our friends.  Yeppoon is a lovely seaside holiday town, about 40 km from Rockhampton.  It is the gateway to the Southern Barrier Reef and Great Keppel Island.  

The next day we drove back to Yeppoon and around the coast stopping at a few beaches and then onto Emu Park.

Yeppoon

Yeppoon

Emu Park

Emu Park is a small coastal village about 20km south from Yeppoon.









The area was discovered by Captain  James Cook in 1770 and overlooks Great Keppel Island.  The Singing Ship Monument.   It is  40ft high and is at the beginning of a boardwalk that leads to an amazing Anzac memorial.

 The structure represents Captain Cook's ship, The Endeavour, and was created in 1970 to mark the bicentenary of Captain Cook's discovery of the bay in 1770.

Singing Ship Monument

The Boardwalk