I am travelling through the sugar cane country near Mackay Queensland. The General Gordon Hotel where I’ve camped for the last two nights was surrounded by cane fields and as I left there I pulled over to watch a harvester at work.

There was low cloud over the hills and the threat of rain but it held off until I was set up at my next camp at Kuttabul.

I love travelling the back roads and had no good reason to go into the city of Mackay so I moseyed along through tiny villages and avoided the hurly burly of the highway. After all, I’m not in a hurry so I don’t need to rush to my next destination at 100kms an hour. I can take my time and enjoy the sights along the way.

When I finally got back to the highway I missed the turn into our next camp at the Kuttabul Hotel so I travelled on for a few kilometres until I found a cafe. And what a great find it was!

A totally unexpected retro cafe at a non-descript roadside stop at Mt Ossa. The bonus was the good coffee they served – and a delicious apple turnover.

I then retraced my steps to the Kuttabul Hotel, that offers camping out the back in the hope the campers will support the pub by buying a meal and a drink.

We hadn’t been set up very long when the heavens opened! That sent us all back to our vans until it eased off enough to wander to the pub for a drink and dinner. Good food, good company and friendly locals all contributed to a most enjoyable evening.