Brisbane to Cape Hillsborough

Life is complicated.
And I am easily overwhelmed by how many things call for my attention during just a normal day at home. I think that’s one of the greatest gifts traveling by motorbike provides.
The chance to have a singular focus between me and Kristen. I love knowing that there are a certain number of miles between us and our destination, I love the ceremony associated with packing and unpacking the bike every day and I love putting our heads down and completing a goal. Life is simple on the bike and we like it that way.
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After a few days off the bike, it felt good to get back into the routine. We headed out from Brisbane and into several rainy days of riding as we made our way up the coast.

Our gear quickly began to seep, but Kristen didn’t seem to mind.
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The tunnels out of Brisbane were a welcome reprieve from the downpour.

Thankfully, we were given a few hours of sunshine before we rolled into the hometown of P.L. Travers, author of Mary Poppins.

I like that I am still learning things about Kristen. Who knew that she loves Mary Poppins enough to make a detour to Maryborough?

After a quick cup of coffee and a pastry, we made our way to Hervey Bay.

Hervey Bay is a perfect example of why traveling on a schedule is so difficult. Allegedly, the bay serves as a stopping point for the whales that travel along the Australian coast every year. Our repair had put us several days behind schedule and we had miles to make up, so after spending the night in a haunted apartment (the lights kept turning off and on) we opted to move on. Plus, Tonga has ruined all future whale related activities.

The day started out deceivingly lovely. After about 45 minutes of riding we entered a downpour that refused to stop all the way to our destination of Seventeen Seventy.

The rain was unrelenting and made what would have been a beautiful ride a bit of a blur. When we arrived in Seventeen Seventy, the sidecar had several inches of water in it. Every bit of our riding gear was completely water-logged. We need to re-treat our rain gear so badly!

As per usual with these types of trips, if you can battle through some of the tough spots, the good days will seem even better. The weather and riding from Seventeen Seventy up to Mackay was beautiful. Flat but beautiful.

We spent some time on the highway and some time carving through smaller roads that wound up along the ocean.

Kris danced a bit.

My killer boots even got a glamour shot.

We skirted a few storms.

And found a few treasures along the way.

We eventually made our way to the industrial town of Mackay that surprisingly grew on us because of three factors:
1. We stayed at a super friendly motel at the edge of town.
2. Free bicycle rides by the beach are a win.
3. Maria’s Donkey.

Cape Hillsborough is a short jaunt from Mackay and it is one of the few places on our entire trip to Australia that we will both truly regret not spending more time.

A young kangaroo greeted us on our way in.

The beach at Cape Hillsborough is known for the kangaroos that frequently enjoy themselves on the sand. What captured our attention was the wild nature of the entire area. It would have been a fantastic spot to spend a few days camping.