Syrup, hot damper and sapotes: Limping South

We thought the motorhome fixed, so headed south in the rain hunting elusive cassowary at Etty Bay, a peaceful tiny beach paradise just a breath away from being discovered and exploited. We were happy to enjoy it before that happened.

We explored the Ingham wetlands, which we had missed previously, and discovered further on a wonderful free Council stopover site at Home Hill which put many caravan sites to shame: modern, clean, immaculate. It was a pleasure to stay there.

Our next port of call was St Lawrence, where my grandmother, Rose, grew up and went to school, though the very school she attended and where she received many school prizes, has now burned to the ground destroying records and much history.

The old picture theatre cum town hall cum Fossey's General store survives still, a marvellous piece of history, standing proud in its rust tinged corrugated iron shield as it attempts to brave more years.

We chatted with some old timers at the pub who told us where my grandmother lived with her dad, step-mum and their family. We tracked down the spot, tucked away in a clearing in a patch of tall trees in the back of town. They must have been happy here, they were frequently involved in many of the early community activities in town.

My Danish great grandfather, Niels Pedersen and his second wife, Elizabeth, were buried in the St Lawrence cemetery. Their graves are still well marked there today.

From St Lawrence we had to coax our motorhome to Rockhampton where our trip came to a stubborn end, when the motorhome's cylinder head finally spewed its last gush of steam, refusing to go a kilometre further.

Thanks to RACQ we were able to slot it into a garage with a Mercedes repair team, stay a few nights in a motel to ensure a successful outcome, then hire a sedan to get ourselves back to Brisbane, finishing our jaunt in unexpected ways.

There we waited and waited for the mechanical issue to be finally repaired and resolved, as local parts had to be ordered in from abroad. And that took many months. So, as it evolved we had a quick finale to our short northern adventure.