Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

THE CAPRICORN COAST & THE SOUTHERN REEF ISLANDS 323
ROCKHAMPTON: THE BEEF CAPITAL
1,055km (633 miles) S of Cairns; 638km (383 miles) N of Brisbane
You may hear Queenslanders talk dryly about “Rockvegas.” Don’t be fooled.
“Rocky” is the unofficial capital of the sprawling beef-cattle country inland, and
the gateway to Great Keppel Island, which boasts some of the few inexpensive
island retreats in Queensland, but bears no resemblance to Las Vegas. Heritage
buildings line the Fitzroy River, where barramundi await keen fishermen. Every
Friday night at the Great Western Hotel, bullriding cowboys take to the rodeo
ring to test their skills against local Brahman bulls.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE By Car Rockhampton is on the Bruce Highway, a 3 1 ⁄2-
hour drive south of Mackay, and almost 2 hours north of Gladstone.
By Plane Qantas (& 13 13 13 in Australia; www.qantas.com.au) has flights
from Brisbane, Mackay, Bundaberg, and Gladstone. Virgin Blue (& 13 67 89
in Australia) flies direct from Brisbane.
By Train Queensland Rail (& 13 22 32 in Queensland, or 07/3235 1122)
trains call into Rockhampton daily. The trip from Brisbane takes just 7 hours on
the high-speed Tilt Train; the fare is A$94 (US$61) economy class.
By Bus McCafferty’s (& 13 14 99 in Australia) and Greyhound-Pioneer
(& 13 20 30 in Australia) call at Rockhampton on their many daily coach services
between Brisbane and Cairns. The fare is A$83 (US$54) from Brisbane (trip
time: just over 11 hr.) and A$128 (US$83) from Cairns (trip time: about 17 hr.).
VISITOR INFORMATION Drop by the Capricorn Tourism Bureau, whose
information center is at the city’s southern entrance on Gladstone Road (at the
Capricorn Spire; & 07/4927 2055). It’s open daily 9am to 5pm.
GETTING AROUND Avis (& 07/4927 3344), Budget (& 07/4926 4888),
Hertz (& 07/4922 2721), and Thrifty (& 07/4927 8755) have offices in Rockhampton.
The local bus is Sunbus (& 07/4936 2133).
EXPLORING THE AREA: CAVERNS, ABORIGINAL
CULTURE & MORE
The Capricorn Caves Kids (& 07/4934 2883), 23km (14 miles) north of
Rockhampton at Olsen’s Caves Road, off the Bruce Highway, have been a popular
attraction in this part of the world ever since Norwegian pioneer John Olsen
stumbled upon them in 1882. The limestone caves have origins in 380-millionyear-old
coral reef and today are a maze of small tunnels and larger chambers.
The 1-hour tour, which winds through large caverns with stalactite and stalagmite
formations before entering the 20m (66-ft.) high Cathedral Cave, is A$15
(US$9.75) for adults and A$7.50 (US$4.90) for children ages 5 to 15. It departs
daily (except Christmas) on the hour from 9am to 4pm (closing time is 5pm).
Spelunkers (over 16 years old) can squeeze through tunnels and chimneys and
rock-climb on a 3-hour adventure tour that costs A$55 (US$36); book 24 hours
ahead for this. From December 1 to January 10, you can catch the Summer Solstice
light cave on a tour departing every morning at 11am. On the longest day
of the year the sun moves slowly over the Tropic of Capricorn and a ray of pure
light pours through a hole in the limestone caves. It’s known as the Summer Solstice
phenomenon and is the only time of year when the sun is directly over the
Tropic of Capricorn. The caves are also home to thousands of small insectivorous
bats, which leave the cave at sunset to feed. Plan enough time here to walk