August 1st ..DAY 46

Late yesterday afternoon we saw a raptor hovering over the waters of the Mackenzie River. On two occasions we saw him dive and make a catch..a tiny morsel for afternoon tea. I think it was an Australian Kestrel. Today we saw another raptor hovering over the sea. He dived and caught a small fish for afternoon tea as well. This time it was a Sea Eagle. It is great to watch the creatures of nature as they survive.

After a rather 'undecided' morning we headed back to Duaringa on the Capricorn Highway. Margaret may remember when we visited Duaringa in 1990! It really has not changed much.
The drive east to Rockhampton was busy with traffic and we saw several long coal trains travelling inland with empty wagons, returning to the mines out west to be refilled with a load of coal.

Red Grevillea

The beach at Yeppoon is long and clean and covered in tiny shells. There was a guy on the beach testing his beach  glider. It flew really well and was in the air for at least 15 minutes.

Tonight we are camped in the Byfield State Park amongst the pine trees and near a small creek. It is hilly country but not very steep. This makes the park very accessible. Near our rig, by the creek, I found lovely red grevilleas and  red callistamens. The flowers are all distinctive, fresh and attractive.
Sadly, I am unable to identify the specific variety.

Red Callistemon

Beach Glider in the air