August 7: Yippee at Yeppoon

With the sun on my back, a gentle breeze, and temperatures in the mid-seventies, my ride south from Airlie Beach to Yeppoon couldn’t have been more pleasant. My time exploring the Great Barrier Reef is ending for now, but I am looking forward to following the coastline to Melbourne to complete my lap of this glorious continent.

Traveling south along the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, I admired all the sugar cane plants in the fields along the way, their light green stems and leaves topped by fluffy white panicles swaying back and forth in the wind. Tractors harvested the crops and sugar cane trains hauled the cane pieces off for processing.

Horses, sheep, and cows gazed contentedly in the warm afternoon sun in lush green meadows, with verdant rolling hills rising behind them. Traffic was light and towns were spread far apart, giving me lots of time to relax on the bike, sing my favorite songs, pray for loved ones, and think thoughts of gratitude.

Turning off the A-1 after Glenlee, I headed northeast on Yeppoon Road all the way to the coast. Arriving at the charming seaside town, I spent some time walking on the esplanade along the beach, a delightful flat wide path with amazing views of the bay and Coral Sea. Street art, a kid’s water park, and carefully manicured lawns with palm trees for shade beckoned visitors to rest, relax, and play. At the marina, students rigged up their boats for sailing under the sunny blue skies.

Later at night after a delicious dinner of glazed rack of lamb followed by homemade panna cotta with raspberry sauce, I returned to the walkway along the beach, watching the frothy white tipped waves shimmer in the moonlight and listening to the rhythmic rushing sound as they broke on the shoreline. Finding a slatted wooden reclining beach chair facing the ocean, I stopped to rest and reflected on all I have to be grateful for. What a wonderful day on the road!