Emu Park

Emu Park could be considered as another unconventional decision to make to explore the country but as with Rocky where we had a great time, Emu Park proved to be just as good. The signs were good. Emu Park is a new addition to the Greyhound route, so new in fact that when we started booking what we wanted to do, the tour operator didn't have it on their list.

What was even better, that due to the location of the YHA hostel that we stayed in at Rocky, the Emu Park hostel being only 30mins away decided they'd be okay to come and pick us up for free. What a bargain...

A brand new minibus came specifically to pick us up driven by Pam, one of their workers who was a happy bunny all the way home to Emu Park chatting about films, photography, our trip, the weather etc. Instantly we were at ease.



The hostel was more than a hostel. It was a hotel along similar lines to Spanish apartments. A sparkly blue pool was the focus for the place with apartments either side looking down with a large kitchen/veranda/TV room at the top. Due to the winter months we had a 4 berth room with en suite all to ourselves so managed to charge everything in one go..more on this in a future post...

Our reasoning behind coming here was twofold; peace and quiet and the close proximity to the Capricorn Caves and the Dreamtime Cultural Centre, the largest in Australia.



The Dreamtime Centre was brilliant and the best taste of Aboriginal culture that we'd come across. A purpose built exhibition in an old hangar set in grounds with native trees and wildlife, set the scene and explained the Aboriginal culture including the importance of their stories, history and relationship with the country. It gave interesting insights into how Aboriginal life is fitting in to the modern day Australian thinking of conservation and ecology as well as how the two histories are being viewed as one in modern society.



One highlight was listening to our guide play the didgeridoo and explaining how circular breathing was the secret and how the shape and size of the instrument can create the various deep tones. It was set in an artificial cave that provided excellent acoustics.

The second highlight was learning to throw boomerangs. Both of us had a go but by the funniest example was Amber..Sit comfortably for this...





The afternoon was spent visiting the Capricorn Caves.



These spectacular caves located north of Rockhampton are a unique system of above-ground caves in a limestone ridge that give opportunity for group tours.



It was stunning with many 'rooms' appropriately lit showing different shapes inside the cave system. Each school trip finds new and exciting shapes in the rocks.





The darkness inside these caves once the lights were off was incredible. We had a group of lads with us on holiday who were a bit cheeky so can only imagine what they were getting up to!! The guide had a job with them!!!!



One of the photos not uploaded is of the largest 'cathedral' cave where weddings, concerts and other private events can take place. The acoustics naturally found in this cave are almost perfect and only a couple of points away from absolute perfect.



One of the days spent here was a write-off with persistant rain and cold winds so managed to catch up on reading with another day bright and sunny that allowed us to see the "Singing Sail", a modern piece of art high on the hill and walk along the secluded beach. Again, photo not uploaded but will try and sort :)