Rockhampton: Day 1

Us having fillets and snags on the barbie

Today, we woke up in a rest stop where we slept for the night, had a quick breakfast, and got driving again.  We arrived in Rockhampton around noon, and our first stop was Emu Beach.  When we asked which beach to visit, Emu Beach was recommended with the warning that the water might be a bit chilly now, in the fall, but to us, the water was warmer than most pools in New England (Rockhampton is on the Tropic of Capricorn, so technically, this was a tropical ocean).  This was the first time that we had swam in the Coral Sea, but we will soon be swimming in an even warmer part of the sea when we are in Cairns (pronounced: cans).  After the beach, we drove to the Rockhampton Grammar School where we will be spending the night, and my dad will be doing staff training in the morning.  We had a fabulous, traditional barbecue dinner with lamb sausages and steak (Rockhampton is the steak capital of Australia), as well as grilled vegetables.  However, in Australian English, we had fillets and snags on the barbie.

Tomorrow, we will wake up, have breakfast, and while my dad is doing a workshop, my mom, brother, and I will explore the city.  After my dad is done, we will hit the road again and drive halfway to Cairns.  We have to get there in two days for another workshop that my dad is doing, but then we will drive to a suburb called Palm Springs, where we will be snorkeling around the Great Barrier Reef!