Kate and Mum posing in the sunshine at Rockhampton Botanical Gardens

That evening we stayed at the Coffee House Motel which was lovely. It was pouring with rain and so our walk into the centre of Rockhampton was quick. We weren’t too impressed with the central area, not a great deal to do. Mum, Kate and I then drove out to the Botanical Gardens, which I had heard were impressive. The rain was insistent and when we got there we found out that the gates shut in half an hour, so we raced around as much as possible, slipping around in our flip-flops in the rain! It was a beautiful place, the gardens were immaculate and there were lots of themed areas, and also a small zoo. I will go back there one day when I have more time and the weather is nicer, but we enjoyed our short visit!
The evening was a bit of disaster, I had done my research on nice restaurants, and without driving, the best one seemed to be an Italian about a twenty minute walk away. We all trooped there to find it is closed on a Monday (like lots of things in Queensland, grr!). This was disappointing, so we all trekked to find another restaurant that was half decent but not too expensive. After moodiness and tiredness set in and we had walked for about an hour doing a full circle of Rockhampton, we ended up eating at our motel! The food was ok, but not remarkable and we all retired to bed soon after to dream about crocodiles, ready for our penultimate day of the trip.