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BOURKE
to NORMANTON
1.5.10
We left our campsite at 8.am and arrived in Bourke before 9 am,
goingstraight to the Information Centre which is housed in the
old railway station. Seems most of the railways have disappeared
and goods are transported by trucks. Booked into the Mitchell
Tourist Park for a couple of nights and went down to the historic
wharf on the Darling River which is an exact replica of the original
one built in 1898. Quite impressive. There is also a fully restored
1923 Crossley Twin Cylinder Engine there. The guy at the info
said they would start it up at noon so we stood around waiting
with other people for this to happen, but nobody turned up to
kick the engine over. Then somebody told us that this only happens
Monday to Friday and we and everyone else was given the wrong
information. Oh well on to the Back O'Bourke Exhibition Centre,
paid our money and got herded into a small room, everything went
dark and we waited and waited and waited for something to happen
- supposed to be a exciting laser introductory to the history
of Bourke but it had broken down and they tried to fix it but
alas unsuccessful. We went out the door into the bright sunlight
and next display was something about the astromony I think, nothing
to tell us what it was, maybe the explanation was given in the
previous introduction that we missed. Next we were herded into
another display room which was very good but lots and lots of
reading about history. Would take you all day to read everything.
Then went to the next room - more intensive reading, but way too
much stuff and we gave up because we had booked a trip on the
PV Jandra paddle boat and didn't want to miss that. Found we couldn't
get out of the place without walking through their coffee shop,
things like this annoy me! Found our way out to the Paddle Boat,
only had to ask for directions once, even though we had a map.
We were told the boat leaves at 2.30pm and then found it was 3.00pm,
we could have stayed a little longer at the Exhibition Centre
if we'd been given the right mail. There was still hard smelly
mud caked onto the picnic tables and seats beside the Darling
River, the evidence of floods was everywhere. The ride down the
river was absolutely great, very informative and interesting commentary.
Lots of huge Coolibah and Red River Gums. We travelled down and
under the Historic Old Bridge which used to open up to let the
large boats up the river. Was sorry to see the end of the trip
and on the way back to town stopped at the Back O'Bourke Hotel
and chatted to the locals who were very accommodating. They told
us about the Memorabilia Room out the side of the hotel which
was great, and we would never have seen it unless they directed
2.5.10
Drove out to the Weir on the Darling River. When we left we decided
to investigate the other view of the weir where there were lots
of Coolamon and Canoe trees. The official printed "mud map"
directions given to us by the guy at the Info Centre told us to
turn off the road at the canoe tree. I have no idea what a Canoe
Tree is, and by now, we were already getting our backs up about
the lack of signage. Decided on taking another mud map tour out
of town to Fort Bourke Stockade. Another guessing game as to whether
we were on the right track and eventually we did find it, beside
a very, very pretty place called Eight Mile Lagoon, we only know
that cause the GPS told us, no signs, nothing on Bourke maps.
In 1835, Sir Thomas Mitchell constructed this fort, he had bad
relations with the local Aborigines and he felt a fort was suitable
protection against their attacks. The current fort is a replica
of the original. We had passed another sidetrack to a designated
picnic spot beside the lagoon, another very pretty spot. Grabbed
the cameras, I even brought the tripod down through the saplings
to the lagoon edge, whilst Lesley was looking for snakes the whole
time.
(Lesley's description of events) Laurie set the gear
up and started taping, next thing I hear an almighty yell, many
expletives, and Lauries dancing around swearing in the middle
of the bush. I thought for sure a snake had latched on to him.
Made mental note in future to take first aid kit from the van
and into car. Found Laurie running, hopping towards the car with
his gear. He had set up his gear on an ants nest, they were the
hugest ants I have ever seen in my entire life, wasn't even game
to photograph them cause they were literally everywhere and very
angry and had bitten Laurie through his socks.
I was watching the viewfinder, and suddenly felt what seemed to
be about 5-6 red hot needles being stuck into my feet. I have
to say I wasn't impressed. A look at the video which I hadn't
turned off had us in stitches later. (The Ant Ordeal Video)
Next we visited the cemetery to see Fred Hollows grave and while
there noticed a galah come down onto the ground wildly flapping
its wings. Watched it for a minute before realising something
was not quite right with it. Went over and picked it up and I
remembered that I had seen a vet somewhere so we wrapped it in
my jumper and Lesley nursed the poor thing back to town. By that
time it had absolutely stopped moving and no vet could help it
so we took it back out of town and left it in the bush. After
lunch we decided to walk onto the old historic bridge at North
Bourke, and wait for the paddleboat 'Jandra' to come down the
river so we could get some overhead photos of it. As we walked
out onto the bridge, we heard the boat whistle and waited and
waited and waited and realised we had missed the boat. Apparently
it leaves half an hour earlier on Sundays.
(Lesley's
Turn) We tried to follow the mud map out to Maritime Park,
it was so ambiguous that I was getting testy by this time. Lucky
Mr Cool could find it and we found a nice little track by the
river which had signs pointing out historic spots. Lots of noisy
cockatoos. Found the relics of the old paddleboat steamer PS Wave
which was just a bit of scrap metal. Felt a bit let down so we
decided to follow the map to May's bend where Robbery Under Arms
was filmed with Peter Finch. Stupid mud maps and no signs and
we were confused at whether we had found the turn off or not,
by this time I was absolutely over the lack of signage and exact
directions. Two caravans parked up the road and a lady walked
back to us asking if this was the turnoff, so we weren't the only
ones complexed. Laurie noticed a man with an old Panther Motor
bike and a side car in the shape of a silver bullet with his young
son sitting in it looked a bit stranded. He spoke to them and
the man thought his motor had seized. Turns out they were in some
sort of 8 day bike rally from Sydney to Perth to raise money for
prostrate cancer. It is Sunday and this is Bourke, so the NRMA
was uncontactable. Only thing left to do was tow them back to
town. and this is Bourke, so the NRMA was uncontactable. Only
thing left to do was tow them back to town. Young Tobias came
in the car with us and they hooked the bike up to the back of
the car. Laurie towed him as slowly as he could but the guy started
freaking out that he was going too fast. Ended up dropping them
at the Back O'Bourke Hotel on the north side of town. Tried to
find the hotel where Henry Lawson drank but was so pissed off
by lack of signage and directions by this time we decided to go
back to van and have a drink.
Bourke
Photos
3.5.10
(Lesley's Diary) Left Mitchell Caravan Park at Bourke, at
8.50am and found the fuel depot that the man at the Information
Centre told us about. Laurie chatted to a young bloke at the bowsers
and found out that you can't get up to Thargominda through Hungerford
because of flooding. Went back to the Old Bridge behind the Back
O'Bourke Hotel and this time were able to photograph the 'Jandra'
coming down the Darling River. Happy that we finally got that
footage, we left town and made our way to Enngonia where we sat
outside the Oasis Hotel until it opened. We ate a pie and chatted
to the owners who told us a little about the town. The wife had
worked with the aborigines previously and he had been a roustabout.
Anyway they were quite interesting and told us two of the pubs
in Charleville (one was the Charleville Hotel) had only just reopened
after the floods. After leaving there we drove through Barringun,
didn't stop and on to Cunnamulla. Lovely long yellow grass along
the way, it was really beautiful. Cunnamulla has changed since
I was last there, they have a very nice statue of the Cunnamulla
Fella in town. Topped up with diesel again, and drove to Paddabilla
Bore just outside Eulo where we camped for the night. Supposed
to be able to see certain birds here but all we saw were squarky
galahs.
4.5.10 (Lesley's Diary) Left Paddabilla bore at 8.30am
- was a great place to camp and arrived in Eulo at 8.45am. Eulo
has a General Store which has absolutely, I mean absolutely everything
in it. Things happen slowly and in their own, the proprietor asked
me if I was okay and I told him I wanted milk and a few things
and then I had to wait about half an hour for him to come in and
serve me. Then the policeman's wife came over from across the
road and served me. Got milk, a packet of green tea and a small
bunch of grapes, nearly $20 geez !! A lady across the road told
us that the approaches of a bridge at Thargominda had washed away
and there was a very long detour, and also about a lagoon just
out of town so we went out and found that. Turns out there is
a dirt road to access the place with a lot of bull dust. We had
dust flying everywhere, just about choking on the stuff. (LK -
Amazed that this dust could form so quickly after being under
water for weeks) We got in there and took some photos of birds
that were on the far side of the lagoon. The road became a track
on further, before we realised we had to turn the van around and
go back, that was fun. Back to the main road, another dose of
bull dust on the way, we found some Mud Springs which are release
valves for the Artesian Basin. Apparently they make quite a loud
bang that can be heard for kilometres if they burst. Quite interesting
except we didn't photograph the large piles of dirt and after
we left we realised they were the actual valves, we think. We
stopped at Carpet Springs for emus, we have actually seen emus
every day we've been on the road since St George. Also at Carpet
Springs, we photographed a fence which we thought might be the
dingo fence, found out later it is probably not a dingo fence.
Mulga trees have started to appear in their thousands. Found the
Yowie turnoff and had lunch, wondered about the opals and decided
to move on. We have seen enough Opal Mines and soldiered on towards
Toompine and boy was that an experience!! It's a little pub and
not much else, fairly unique inside as most of those outback pubs
are. The young lady who appeared at the bar was a young backpacker
from the Netherlands. We talked to the manager and decided we
did not want to free camp there, although we were told we could
at the hall up the road. Next thing as we were leaving a herd
of goats and a camel wandered up to the pub and surrounded the
caravan and she put them in a paddock out the back. She told us
there were some llamas out in the bush as well, so she starts
yelling dog language at the dog (who was old and a bit deaf) so
he would round the llamas up. Boy did she have a voice on her
!!! It seems the animals wander off each morning to feed, and
come home each night. There was a little pony there too. Left
at 2.30pm and we were about 7ks out of Quilpie when we saw a sign
to Baldy Top Lookout so we turned in there. If we thought we were
in bad bull dust this morning, we were wrong, the bull dust on
this road was ten times worse. Dust everywhere and we made out
way to the Baldy Hill carpar where we stopped, and scrambled up
the loose stones to the top of the hill to took some photos and
video. We could actually see Quilpie from up there, it was a great
view of miles and miles of mulga with a little town settled in
the midst of it. There was a road going on further towards another
hill that we could see so we thought we would investigate that.
The road got very narrow and lots of washouts, in the end we thought
we had taken on more than we could handle, as we were towing a
30ft van. So again for the second time that day, Laurie hands
me the two way and I have to get out and direct him back and forwards
on a skinny track in the bush without hitting any trees. We managed
it and got out of there and stopped at a rest stop just short
of Quilpie at 4.40pm.
5.5.10 (Lesley's Diary) We spent the morning catching up
with video and photo editing, before finally leaving the rest
spot at 11.30am. Drove into Quilpie and had lunch at the Imperial
Hotel Motel, impressive new building with photos of the equally
impressive original Imperial Hotel on the wall. Apparently it
burned down in the 1990's. Quilpie is a neat little town, very
clean and tidy. The information centre has a museum attached which
is free and I would say it is as good or even better than the
Back O'Bourke Exhibition Centre. Reminds me of the Surat Cobb
& Co Changing Station Museum which was also excellent and
free. There was also an art gallery at the information centre
which is built like an elongated train carriage. Part of the stony
tiles represent the river running through the complex. Laurie
spent time on the computer which had a presentation showing the
history of the town and interviews with locals. Out the side are
murals that depict the history of the town. The friendly lady
at the centre tried to talk us into staying for the races on the
weekend. Boulder Opal is found at Quilpie. Topped up with diesel.
Followed the town map to have a look at the town, and ended up
down the back of the race course which clearly shows as a road
on the map, and is clearly not a road when you get down there.
Anyway dragged the van through a washed out bush track, through
some mud and water and back to civilization. Made our way to Lake
Houdraman which is just outside Quilpie, very nice spot, lots
of campers there, and of course you can see the bird life over
the far side of the lake, though Laurie managed to capture an
hawk swooping for fish in the water. Decided not to stay and made
our way to Cheepie, population of two. Once a Cobb & Co /Change
Station, now nothing there. We walked into the old railway station
to take some pics and I heard something rush past me, also saw
a largish reptile out of the corner of my eye. Finished taking
my photo and turned around, expecting to see it, but it had gone
or was hidden in the long grass. Decided it was feet rushing past
me and not a slithering sound, so must have been a goanna. Made
it back onto the Warrego Highway and ran over a snake on the road.
It was the first of three that we saw, the others being much smaller.
Surprised to see them around as the nights are starting to cool
down. Maybe the floods have flushed them out. Looking for somewhere
to camp and found a big microwave tower on top of a hill, drove
in the track and found stacks of room to camp.
6.5.10 (Lesley's Diary) Moved from our camp at 9.30am and
passed some incredible damage to the railway line. Decided there
was no way this rail could be fixed, it would cost too much. Called
in at The Fox Trap at Cooladdi and spoke to Laurel who came from
Moura originally. She has been at The Trap for three years and
loves it. Laurel told us that the rail would be fixed in four
months in time for the first beef She showed us photos of a smashed
up semi trailer which rolled up the road on Anzac Day and then
photos of the flood which powered through at night time and did
lots of damage. Hence there was no carpet on the floor and all
the memorabilia had been taken down in preparation to paint the
walls. In spite of adversity she still had a huge smile on her
face and ready for a joke with strangers. She also does a mail
run to surrounding areas twice a week. On arrival at Charleville
I saw lots of changes, mainly to the Ward River bridge area, and
the Warrego Bridge area, they have even changed the position of
arrival into town (from the west). (note: Lesley lived in Charleville
for 6 years some 25 years ago) Next major thing I noticed was
a levy bank which I found out later was built after the 1990 floods
and in the 2010 flood actually kept the water in rather than out.
This has something to do with the gully which runs through the
middle of town which filled up and couldn't get out. We pulled
in at the Cobb & Co Caravan Park. This place has the gully
running right through it and suffered in the flood. No insurance
available against flooding in this town. They are still cleaning
up, and it is costing them heaps, $50,000 so far and still counting.
Most of the houses look tidy here. Alady told me that most people
cleaned up their places after the 1990s flood. She also told me
although people have cleaned up after the 2010 flood a lot of
them are still devastated in the interior, waiting for new floorboards,
carpet etc etc. We then went down and looked at the old Corones
Hotel which still looks great with the huge staircase in the dining
area. They have lots of photos on the walls and was very interesting
to look at. The water had been in there up to the mirror above
the fireplace. Wow. Went to grocery store to restock the cupboards.
While in there we heard the news that the Back O'Bourke Hotel
burnt down last night. Gee what a shame, all those photos they
had in the back room gone forever. There are no suspicious circumstances.
Was lovely to have a bore water shower, didn't realise how much
I enjoyed that.
7.5.10
(Lesley's Diary) Had a lazy day, we both felt a little jaded.
Well not really. Laurie hosed and scrubbed the bull dust off the
van and car. I did the laundry. Only other exciting thing to happen
was a huge bus pulled in here towing a huge trailer. Both the
bus and the trailer had six wheels. Trailer carries a little car.
Just one couple live in this huge complex, don't seem to be any
kids running around. Another great shower in the bore water, love
it !
8.5.10
(Lesley's Diary) Today we drove out to the Information centre.
We wanted to take a 96k self drive tour out up the Ward and Warrego
Rivers but the lady told us the roads are closed because of extreme
damage from floods. I remembered about the remnants of a plane
crash I had seen here all those years ago but couldn't remember
where it was except I thought it was near the airport. She directed
us to a spot along the Morven Road, which didn't look familiar
to me at all, and even with a sign pointing in off the road, and
directions to drive in 400 metres and look for an old bath tub
under a tree we still could not find it. Reminds me of Bourke
!! This does not look like the same area where the crash is that
I remember, I wonder if there were two plane crashes. We also
followed a mud map around the tracks at the airport complex which
showed remains of the buildings for the US troops who were here
in their thousands during the second world war. Bloody mud maps
- it was hard to follow and we didn't find everything. Most interesting
of all that was the Norden Bomb Sight Vault which was a top secret
operation. They even cut down trees to create a false runway and
dummy aircraft were placed on the runway. We then took a run out
to the old rock pool which I remembered - it is still as beautiful
today as it was back when.
9.5.10
Today we went back to the information centre to try and find out
where exactly the plane crash was. We even took the photo I had
of the crash with us but sadly nobody could help us. They didn't
even recognise the crash in the photo. They suggested we take
the photo to the Historical House tomorrow and speak to George
Balsilli who was probably the only person who could help us. Can't
believe that they have the Boomerang Crash listed on their list
of things to do and see and nobody can tell us exactly where the
plane is - if it is still there - if it is the same crash as in
my photo. Frustrating! We drove out to the Ward River and checked
that out. Then we had a Bilby Experience which was totally fascinating,
interesting and informative. Was rapt with that.
10.5.10
Didn't do much except to visit Historical House where we spoke
to George Balsillie about the elusive plane crash. He couldn't
help us much but we chatted on and on about plane crashes and
the old days of playing squash at Charleville. Went down to the
Flying Doctor and looked around, left a donation. Laurie had some
signs painted on his car and a sign for his van done by a local
bloke.
11.5.10
(Lesley's Diary) Left Cobb & Co Caravan Park at 10.30am
and suddenly realised we had been in Charleville for about 5 days
and hadn't finished the photographs we wanted to take. We have
been very lazy here really. Laurie went down to top up with fuel,
Took a couple of photos around town and headed towards Morven.
Only about an hour later we pulled over cause we realised it was
lunch time and we hadn't eaten ! Further down we found the Angellala
Rail Bridge which is extremely long and I thought it was supposed
to be the longest railway bridge in Queensland but Google tells
me I am mistaken, and that it is the sixth longest. In stead of
running on a built up bank, the line is elevated for some distance
on wooden pylons. Funny thing happened while we were there, a
vehicle that is used for road and rail crossed over the bridge
while we stood there and tooted at us. Arrived in Morven, lots
of cyclists there doing a fundraising run from Brisbane to Longreach
for the Flying Doctor. Missed the museum it was closed but had
a great chat with the Post Office lady who had come from the Northern
Territory. Then chatted to a CWA lady who had been cooking for
the cyclists, apparently they said it was the best meal they had
had. Moved along from there towards Augathella at 2.05pm, the
grass is long and golden and looks beautiful. We also saw some
beautiful sunrays. We arrived in Augathella where we saw a tree
that the Kenniff bros tied their horses up to when they came to
town. It was close to the pub and would afford a quick getaway.
Those brothers keep cropping up and they were just a pair of crooks.
Drove around Augathella, and moved on to North Augathella, 42ks
away and parked in a rest stop with a few others for the night.
A few noisy minors (birds) there. Wonderful sunset.
Charleville
Photos
12.5.10
(Lesley's Diary) Laurie woke up early and took photos of the
sunrise while I slept on unaware. He got some good photos too.
Left North Augathella at 8.45am and headed towards Longreach.
Wasn't long before we saw a sign informing us we were entering
the Lake Eyre Basin area, Coopers Creek Catchment. Made it to
Tambo, headed to the information centre where we met a German
lady Inge who married a local guy. She was a breath of fresh air.
Tambo is hosting a black & white photograph gallery to open
on Friday, she begged us to stay for it. These country people
all like you to stay in their town !! Anyway Inge has a huge interest
in photography so we swapped lots of information including email
addresses and vowed to keep in touch. She also gave me a CD with
some of her photos of the Tambo area on it, which I will view
as soon as possible. Then went down the road to Fanny Mae's for
chicko roll lunch. Decided to move on and found ourselves at Macfarlane
Downs stretching our legs and just after that we sighted these
beautiful big birds right beside the road. By the time we had
turned the van around and goneback they had started to walk off.
After looking up the bird book we identified them as brolgas rather
than cranes. The cutest thing about it all, was the way the larger
brolgas walked ahead then turned and looked for the smaller one
lagging behind, then waited for it to catch up. I was so excited
after seeing these birds in their natural habitat. Just up the
road from the brolgas I asked at Laurie to stop again, having
spotted six large eagles on the ground -they were huge birds.
We turned around and went back, and of course they all flew away
when we pulled up. They were feeding off something dead in the
paddock. One bird actually flew off with a large piece of meat
in its claws. Laurie managed to get a shot with my camera from
the car. Next we arrived in Blackall, and the town had vastly
improved from my memories of it. We found the black stump and
photographed the rig this side of the black stump and beyond the
black stump. Topped up with fuel, Walked around town, decided
not to stay and to move on to Isisford rather than Barcaldine.
Not far out of town, we found a small incline overlooking the
downs, opposite Malvern Hills Station near Valentine Creek and
thought it would be a great place to camp. Captured a great sunset
from there.
13.5.10
(Lesley's Diary) Today has been a great day, we left our little
pozzie at Malvern Hills at 9.30am. We only just got down the road
when saw some brolgas in the trees. Laurie turned the van around
and we went back, tried to take photos from the road but they
were headed inland but toward a creek we had not long crossed,
which was dry at the crossing but I had noticed water upstream.
We decided the birds were headed for water so we drove back to
the creek, grabbed the tripods and trekked up the dry bed till
we reached the water then onto the bank where we could catch a
glimpse of the birds through the trees over the other side. They
seemed to know we were around and wandered off back onto the plain.
A little further on Laurie spotted some more brolgas or cranes
near a water hole and again we pulled up, this time I walked through
the grass to get a closer look and managed to get a couple of
pics from a distance. There was an emu there too but it took off.
A little further up the road I spotted a head with a beak peeking
up from the grass under a tree, I knew what it was because we
had seen one on the way back from the Carnarvons - a bustard.
Laurie turned the van around on the narrow road and we headed
back but couldn't see it, he thought I had mistaken a stump for
a bird but I was pretty sure of what I had seen. All of a sudden
we spotted this beak looking up out of the grass, and yes there
was a bustard which saw us and stood up and walked off. I got
a close view of it from the road and all of a sudden another one
popped up and they just as quickly flew off, so it was over all
too quickly. I just don't have the equipment to capture birds
from afar and probably not the patience either. Next we saw an
eagle in a tree and got a shot at that from afar. We had only
travelled 14ks and it had taken us over an hour already. Saw some
more emus and kangaroos which we didn't bother about and we arrived
in Isisford for lunch. Very small town which is practically deserted.
Such a pity. The shops are mostly abandoned and empty. A few of
the shops are done up like museums, like the old bakery and you
can walk through and look at the old equipment. Also the old grocery
shop, walking in there is like walking back in time. The main
attraction around town is the crocodile fossils that were discovered
here in the 1990's. They are 98 million years old. They have converted
the old theatre into an exhibition centre to explain about the
importance of this find. The building cost 1.4 million dollars
but they used local architects etc to do it. It was very good.
Then over to the Clancy of the Overflow pub where we chatted to
the bar maid. We discussed whether to check out nearby towns of
Emmet and Yaraka and nearby National Park. In the end we decided
to carry on north towards Ilfracombe. Quite a few kangaroos along
this stretch and an old gruff looking billy goat came up to the
side of the road. Was the most unkempt goat I have ever seen.
We are now camped 48 kms from Ilfracombe.
14.5.10
(Lesley) Left our free camp at 10.40am and found 12 Mile Hotel,
a place that no longer exists. This used to be the rest place
for the Cobb & Co coaches on their trip from Isisford to Ilfracombe.
We did find something very interesting there, the 12 Mile Dam.
This dam was made from pitching stones to stop the flow of water,
some of the workers who accomplished this were Chinese. It was
thought to be built in the 1890's. We then made it to Ilfracombe,
a nice little place. It has this thing called Machinery Mile,
all this old machinery right by the main road. We looked at Romani
Hall, a tribute to Australia's Lighthorsemen. Was a very good
display for a small town. Also looked in a house preserved as
it was in the old days which was one of the best I have seen and
I have seen a few lately. We checked out the Wellshot Hotel which
had a heap of memoribilia, was a great little pub. A white dog
there with a black patch over his eye kept bringing a stick to
throw. Made the big mistake of playing the game a while, Then
the dog then presented a small pebble to throw. All other shops
were closed due to Longreach show. We did photograph a really
old house called Langenbaker House, over 100 years old and looked
it, supposedly one of the first homes in Ilfracombe. Then we found
our way to Hilton's bottle museum what a chermozzle ! Supposed
to be the largest collection of bottles in Australia. He literally
had thousands of bottles in there plus a hub cap collection, a
button collection (14,000 odd), scissors collection and of course
the obligatory avon collection - all covered in an inch of dust.
Looked around town and found the Wayne Taylor Oval and in the
middle are about 20 large birds, all facing the same way - so
weird. Of course when they saw us they flew off, some of them
sitting on the goal cross posts, still facing the same way. They
were hawks. We left town and made it to Discovery Caravan Park
in Longreach. End of Week 5
15.5.10
(Lesley) Laurie went off to see if he could find someone to
service the car, came back to say it is booked in for Monday.
He found some 4wd self drive tours you can take in the surrounding
area of Longreach in a tourist booklet. It referred us to the
map on page 4, but that told us nothing.. So off to the information
centre to find out it was closed. It appears that tourists don't
need it's services after midday on Weekends. So we took ourselves
out of town and found a maze of tracks out by the Thomson River.
Out there we also found a free camping spot that we had heard
about - there were heaps of vehicles out there. We took some photos
around the river, going up this track and down that one. Was fun.
One thing we did find was another weir which was made from pitching
stones similar to the one we saw yesterday. Weird way of building
dams. In fact, the Thomson River would be dry if wasn't for the
fact that it has a weir built at each end of the town. Actually
Longreach is a dust bowl they could really do with some rain.
We went down to the Qantas museum and as it was late we knew we
wouldn't have time to go in there today. Will come back to this.
We took photos of the huge planes from the fence. Then we took
a ride out to the showgrounds, the show has been on for the past
two days, hence everything is closed. Practically deserted, but
the showjumpers still there, so we sat and watched them for a
while.
Charleville
- Longreach Photos
16.5.10
(Lesley) Today was such a fun day. First up we left at 9.30am
and went to the Information Centre to get maps where these 4WD
tracks actually are, and guess what. The lady there didn't know,
she couldn't find the mudmaps. On the bright side she could tell
us where Lily Lagoon was (we couldn't find the sign anywhere so
didn't see it) and Starlights Lookout which we did find. We headed
out the Winton Road to the turnoff to Muttaburra, where we found
a lady on a horse and a guy on a motorbike droving about 200 cattle
alongside the road. Our day was off to good start with more to
follow.
(Laurie) Once we turned off the bitumen, Lesley was excited to
see her first bustards, and then a couple of groups of brolgas,
kangaroos/wallabies and also some emus. She reckoned it was a
photographers paradise. We arrived at Starlights Lookout which
we found is actually called Cassidy's Knob. Apparently this is
where bushranger Starlight kept a lookout and you can see how
and why. The land is flat and you can see for miles and miles
out onto the horizon and here is a small rocky knob, with boulders
on top, quite high, sticking out in the middle of nowhere. We
drove all the way around it, weird trees at the back. and then
decided to climb it, only got half way up before we decided it
was foolish folly. Very steep, lots of loose rocks and stones,
carrying cameras, tripod, spare lens, we could see we were an
accident waiting to happen. Bushranger Starlight was in fact a
guy called Harry Redford, who stole a heap of cattle including
a white bull, and then with a couple of associates droved them
down the Streszlacki Track to Adelaide. I checked out the maps
on the laptop and found that this dusty bush road actually ended
up in Muttaburra, so that is where we headed next. (Lesley) We
spotted a lagoon running parallel to the road so pulled over and
walked in, hoping to find some birdlife. None but what we did
find was swarms of locusts. Lots and lots of spiders in there
with webs strung up between the trees and lots of locusts caught
up in the webs. No wonder the spiders are so big and fat, they
are gourmandising on the locusts. This turned out to be Byrne's
Lagoon. We made it to Muttaburra, a small diminishing town lost
in time. There are signs up and down the streets telling you what
used to be in that spot in days gone by, and it appears it once
was a thriving little spot. Not so these days. We photographed
some very old signs on an equally old shop, and around the corner
we passed a lady caught in a 50's time warp with her hair rolled
up in curlers ! There is a large hospital there which is now a
museum, closed today, our usual luck! Some old machinery right
out the front. We did find a newer small hospital in town. Seems
as everyone in town was at the pub as that was the only place
we saw some life. Found another road back to Longreach, this one
was bitumened for much of the way. Didn't see much except for
a pack of about 50 kangaroos grazing in one spot, and a herd of
wild goats. We passed by a child's grave, an 11 year old girl
who died in the 1880's from burns received at a camp fire. . Looked
at the maps and realised Tropic of Capricorn must be somewhere
around close by, but it appears, typically, that the signage indicating
such was non existent.
17.5.10
(Lesley) Laurie had car serviced this morning. Went to Stockman's
Hall of Fame - we had heard from other travellers that the place
had detiorated and not good. We went anyway and found it to be
excellent, ten times better than the Centre in Bourke. The only
complaint I would have is that some of the exhibits aren't lit
well enough. Went and picked up some groceries to restock pantry
and found the day was almost gone. Lots of Apostle Birds around
the park. Noticed a small globe at the corner of the shire building
which is actually the Tropic of Capricorn - lucky find.
18.5.10
(Laurie) I went to Qantas Founders Museum, taking the tour
that took in the Boeing 747 and 707 planes. The 707 is the very
first 707 purchased by Qantas, and is the plane the Beatles flew
to Australia on, and was used to ferry servicemen to and from
Vietnam during that infamous conflict. It is also identical to
the 707 owned by John Travolta. The plane has had a few owners
since Qantas originally sold it, and thus has asome pretty interesting
stories to tell. We left Qantas at 4.45pm and drove up the highway
to Macsland Rest Stop, found a nice little spot and set up for
the night. There was a Mulga Walk nearby and a sign identifying
all the weeds in the area.
Longreach
Photos
19.5.10
(Lesley) Left our free camp at Macsland at 10.35am and headed
up the Landsborough Highway towards Winton. The drive was uneventful,
plenty of grasslands and a few sheep. We stopped at Crawford Creek
for some lunch, no water in the creek though. Passed a sign telling
us we are entering the Lake Eyre Basin Georgina/Diamentina Catchment.
Lots of army trucks going by. Just south of Winton we saw a sign
for the Australian Age of Dinosaurs so we drove the 10ks down
the dirt road to an area where we had to leave the van before
driving up on to a jump-up which is a local name for a mesa or
plateau. The view from up there was spectacular. It overlooks
a vast flat plain where dinosaurs used to roam. We went for a
walk around the rim of the plateau and saw a goanna sunning himself.
Then we went on the tour which as where they process the fossils
before they are sent to a museum. They are asking for volunteers
to assist them as they have found an abundance of dinosaur bones.
You could watch the people working on the bones. Looks time consuming
to me but they enjoy it and say it is interesting. We found the
whole thing very intriguing and thoroughly enjoyed it. We drove
down the jump-up, picked up the van and camped on the plain below.
The bonus was that we saw the most spectacular sunset we have
seen so far.
20.5.10
(Lesley) Left our little camping spot on the plain under the
jump up at 10.05 and drove into Winton. Walked around town, went
to the info centre, the girl there was totally disinterested in
any of our questions about driving to Bladensburg National Park.
Laurie spent some time looking for a new inverter for the car,
no luck but he did manage to find Graham in the Opal Shop who
could tell him about the road conditions at the NP. Saw a shop
with painted dunny doors, that was good. There is a dunny on the
roof of the opal shop, I think this town could be obsessed with
dunnies. Had lunch in the van in the main street. Lots more to
see in Winton but we will do it when we get back. Left town just
after 3.00pm and headed for the National Park and for a change,
everything was signed and easy to find. Excellent. Checked out
absolutely everything marked on the map. Is a very flat National
Park, a lot of claypans, and I image a lot of water when it rains.
One interesting spot was Skull Hole which is the site of a massacre
of aborigines in retaliation for the murder of a teamster. Lots
of wallabies and kangaroos around. Surprise Creek was dry at the
crossing and all hard rock surface, we managed to get the van
across okay and through the narrow grid immediately afterwards.
We camped on the southern end of Bladensburg NP.
21.5.10
(Lesley) Left our camp spot at Bladensburg NP at 9.00am and
headed south. saw some beautiful country in the morning, lots
of spinifex and kangaroos, really does look like a desert out
here. Laurie is as happy as a pig in mud, loves this sort of bush
track. Before we arrived at Opalton we found this historic site
where there was a bronco branding panel last used 1938 & post
for sliprails gateway. After leaving there we started to see a
few mullock heaps before arriving at the Outpost in Opalton. Laurie
went and chatted to the locals and I looked around for a few photographs
and found some Spinifex Pigeons hopping around the place. They
have very high crests on their heads. They had a public toilet
there out in the open, with hessian arranged around it and a water
tank with a hand basin attached nearby. Was an elaborate affair.
Came across the grave of Roy Pahr who perished near here. Timely
advice written on his plaque was 'always carry water and matches
and don't leave vehicle'. Laurie spotted a Bearded Dragon on the
road. I didn't see it, and when I ran up to it I thought it was
dead. Laurie was positive it had it's head raised when he spotted
it. I threw some pepples on it but it didn't respond, then poked
it with a stick, still no movement. Laurie suggested I flip him
over with the stick but I didn't like to do that so he did and
wow the lizard stood on all fours and frilled his neck right up
and kinda turned his body slightly sideways to make himself look
larger. We thanked him for the photo opportunity and left him
there. Arrived at a gate and immediately on the other side was
a sign to Mayneside which showed as ruins on the map. Didn't know
if we could turn the van around at the end of the track, we chose
to walk down to Mayneside. Found a grave of an 11 year old girl,
and some old posts in the ground and chicken wire from old fences.
There was a lagoon down there which was very pretty, it was marked
on the map as Hyde Park Creek. Got back to the van and wondered
why there was no longer a station there and concluded that flooding
may have had something to do with it - what would we know ??!!'
Off again, the country side changed frequently and we crossed
a lot of dry creeks, some ok and some mighty rough. Lorry spotted
a goanna this time but when I got out of the car it took off very
very fast it was, into the bush. Didn't know they could move so
fast and we both missed photos of it. Finally made it to Lark
Quarry turnoff at 3pm where we set up camp. There is evidence
of a dinosaur stampede here and the next tour is 10.00 am tomorrow.
22.5.10
(Lesley) Left our spot at Lark Quarry turnoff and headed towards
the Conservation Park, and weren't we in for a treat, the jump-ups
were spectacular. The tour started at 10am . The stampede was
very, very interesting and the walk around the hills in the conservation
park was awesome. Really enjoyed it . On the way back we saw a
sign to Nareen Jump-up so drove up the track, came to Nareen station
and all of a sudden found we were on the edge and the road just
slipped down and down and down from then on. We pulled up and
took some photos and turned around and went back to the main road
and next stop was on the Allen Range for some more photos. Back
to Winton where we went to the Matilda Centre which was predominantly
about the Waltzing Matilda song which they claim was written there.
There was also an art gallery, more museum stuff, very interesting.
Went out to Long Water Hole just out side town and camped the
night.
23.5.10
(Lesley) Left Long Water Hole about 10.55 am and headed into
Winton. Laurie filled the van with water and went into the Deck
Chair Open Air Theatre for a look around, which still runs every
Wednesday night as a nostalgia night. It was also used as a skating
rink. We took a few photos around the town which we meant to do
days earlier including some of old holden cars, and then filled
up with fuel Laurie had a quick look through the Truck Museum
and then we checked out the musical fence which was right next
door. Finally left Winton at 2.35pm and not long after found a
sign pointing towards Conn Hole so went down the track to see
what it was about. Passed lots of broglas, three different groups,
Laurie taped them flapping their wings and skipping, or dancing
along. Was great. Made it to the waterhole where there were some
men fishing, it was pretty but teeming with flies. Turned the
van around without landing it in the drink and made our way back.
Must have clipped a tree in there because we found the skylight
over the shower broken. The country is very nice and
Winton
Photos
24.5.10
(Lesley) Left our camp site on the road in front of Mt Booka
Booka at 8.30am and headed across the Diamantina Causeway which
is a lot of river channels. Wasn't long before we saw brolgas
and bustards. The road came to some of the most beautiful scenery
I have ever seen, lots of red stoney mountains cropping up out
of the dead flat plains, was simply beautiful and surreal. We
stopped in front of Woodstock Station, it isn't often you seen
stations so close to the road. Next stop was Middleton at 10.45am,
we parked in front of the Hilton and walked over to the Middleton
Hotel. Besides an old dance hall, that's all there is. At the
pub we enjoyed the hospitality of Lester & Val Cain, who were
true bushies and very very interesting to chat to. Val cooked
us a pie and chips which she smothered in gravy, delicious ! She
told us about a camel ride she did in 2001 and Laurie ended up
buying a book about it along with a bush pub book. Other travellers
dropped in, and it very quickly became a social event. We related
to Lester how we enjoyed the scenery on the trip in and he told
us the best was yet to come. Reluctantly we had to leave, and
when we reached Cawnpore Lookout we found Lester was dead right
about the views. There was a steep track up to the lookout which
we walked up. Moved on and found a place to camp off the road
just 7ks short of Boulia.
25.5.10
(Lesley) Today, at 9.35am we left what Laurie called Black
Hill Camp Site - actually we pulled off the road near a heap of
bitumen. It wasn't as bad as it sounds, we could see forever in
four directions, and had a fantastic light show last night that
went on and on for hours. Must have had a decent storm somewhere
to the south east. Arrived at Boulia about 20mins later and had
a bit of a look around, it didn't take long. Boulia has it's answer
to Blackall's Black Stump, with it's RED STUMP in the main street.
Beyond the Red Stump is the Simpson Desert it tells us. Filled
up with fuel, and found a place to fill up with drinking water.
Talked to the information girl, decided not to see their Min Min
light show or their stone house museum, unfortunately for them
we are museumed out. Went to the supermarket, which is an everything
shop, everyone very friendly and turned north towards Djarra.
The drive to Djarra was a non event, except we stopped for lunch
at Peak Creek Rest Stop where the acacias were in bloom, some
sort of wattle I think, very pretty. Laurie chatted to three blokes
on bikes. The next rest stop was at Sulieman Creek where we decided
to follow the track in and have a look around. To our amazement,
the road went straight down to the original crossing which was
badly broken away in quite a large piece and if you drove down
there in the night you could easily end up in the drink. They
should have a sign up. We decided to take another track leading
up the side of the creek and it was very nice and a good place
to camp. We saw some small size birds there chasing a hawk away,
was very funny. Made it to Djarra, went to the police station
cause we wanted advice about the road from Dajarra to Duchess
to Mt Isa but she wasn't there. Asked at the pub and they said
we should get through, asked at the shop and they said there's
been no rain we should get through. So we headed towards Duchess
along a bumpy partly corrugated gravel road. Very pretty. Obviously
they have had rain, lots of mud, bits of water. Found a place
to camp at Butru at 4.30pm Screw lid worked its way off a bottle
of chutney in the fridge, off course it was on the top shelf,
where else would it be! Spilt down every shelf underneath it.
! Then found screws lying on the caravan floor, traced these to
be the screws holding the fridge in place. Checked and found many
loose fridge screws, we were pretty lucky the fridge didn't come
off its mountings.
26.5.10
(Lesley) Left our comfy spot at Butru at 8.40am - hoping the
road would not be so rough and the temporary fix to the fridge
would hold until Mt Isa. Arrived in Duchess at 9.20am. There is
basically only a pub there and a railway siding. Apparently a
much larger population used to live here, approx 7,000 persons.
The old school is broken and forgotton. The police station was
burned to the ground, the stumps are still there and the watchhouse
still stands behind and a grim reminder. Back down to the Mt Isa
turnoff and was pleased to find the road has been graded. We crossed
Wills Creek (named after Burke & Wills) a couple of times,
and it was dry as a bone. It is very wide in places, and I imagine
lots of water runs through here in wet season. Lots of river gums
standing in the middle of the creek. We stopped and walked down
to the creek but found nothing of interest. Lots of horses and
a donkey at Rifle Creek Station. We lunched in front of The Three
Sisters and then drove into Mt Isa. Walked around town looking
for a 150w Pure Sine Wave inverter, Laurie finally ordered one
which they say will arrive tomorrow, here's hoping! Brought some
groceries. Drove out of town and found a truck stop where we camped
for the night.
Winton
To Boulia Pics
27.5.10
(Lesley) Left our camp spot in the hills about 9.15am and
drove into town. First up the information centre. Then walked
up the hill to the lookout over the town. Quite a view seeing
the mine overlooking the centre of town. We got the Anderson Plug
fixed, at an exhorbitant cost. Picked up the inverter which Laurie
ordered yesterday, received good service there. Filled up with
fuel, refilled the Gas cylinder, and filled up with water at the
Information Centre. Left Mt Isa at 2.55pm and drove though some
magnificient hills/mountains towards Cloncurry. Too bad there
was no spot to pull over and take photos. Arrived at the Corella
Dam gate at 4pm saw the gate was chained and thinking there was
no entry turned the van around and parked for the night. Closer
inspection revealed that you could enter the gate but we were
already settled so did not move again.
Boulia
To Mt isa Pics
28.5.10
(Lesley) Left our spot by the gate at 9.05am, and unchained
the gates and drove in. We had spoken to a few people who were
leaving the dam earlier and was told it was worth the drive in.
Came to a fork in the track and threw a leftie which went over
a couple of rather rugged hills, the track is not well maintained
but looks well used. Arrived at a camping spot, Clem Walton Park,
right by the creek and spoke to a man and woman camped down there.
Asked about the track which continued on further and we were told
it went down to the dam wall and there was plenty of room to turn
a van around down there. So off we went, along a track which was
getting narrower and narrower and arrived at a gate which said
in huge red letters DANGER do not continue any further. Ho hum
there is a small turn around suitable for a car with a rock cutting
on one side and a drop down to the river, the edges of which look
very unstable on the other. With great difficulty Laurie turned
the van around, the car and van were in a jack knife position,
and the wheels of the van were forced around on the one spot.
We went back over the hills to the fork in the track and turned
down to the boat ramp section. Welcome sight down there was a
couple who we had met at the Middleton Hotel east of Boulia. We
had a great time chatting and Len helped Laurie fix a gas leak
problem which we had. They wanted us to stay the night but we
chose to move on to Cloncurry. Ohhh and the Corella Dam was quite
pretty. So we left, stopping by the Burke & Wills Monument
on the Corella River for lunch. Arrived at Cloncurry, and had
the usual walk around. Grabbed a few groceries, filled up with
fuel, purchased more gas, (which was lost due to a leak) and drove
out to the Chinaman Creek Dam which had a lovely small mountain
overlooking it and saw our first beware of crocodiles sign - although
they were freshies. Found a park in a truckstop about 15ks north
of Cloncurry.
Mt
Isa to Cloncurry Pics
29.5.10
(Lesley) Big day today, left our camp at 9.35am and drive
fairly uneventful. Millions of flowering acacias along the way,
these disappeared after we drove though a gap in the hills. Arrived
at Burke and Wills at 11.50am and it was like attending a caravan
convention. After lunch we moved on, the road to Gregory Downs
was very narrow in places, although it was all bitumen. Very muddy
on the verges in a lot of places and we hoped we didn't have to
move off the bitumen for a road train, they don't stop for anyone.
Lot of flat plains covered in Mitchell grass and again an uneventful
drive. Finally arrived at Gregory Downs. Went into the pub where
we were served by an impatient weird lady caught in a 60's time
warp. She has a sign up not to ask for most things because this
is a pub. Funny place ! Met a nice couple who arrived with three
small boys, their vehicle covered in mud, they had taken the short
cut from Karumba and it was so wet and muddy that they thought
seriously about turning around and coming in the long way. We
are camped on side of road just north of Gregory Downs.
30.5.10
Today I do my own dirty work, and write my own thoughts on the
day. We got away from our overnight camp about 8.45am, and hadn't
done more than a few kms before we started finding groups of Brolgas
wandering around near the road. Many stops for photos and video
slowed our progress, but we still managed to reach Burketown by
mid morning. The town is very tidy, and the locals seemed quite
friendly. Frank at the Information Centre was full of knowledge,
and extremely helpful. In return for him being the towns voluntary
Info guru, the council allow him to exercise his love of woodworking
on the premises, some of which is on display and available for
purchase. Frank directed us to a fresh water tap, so that we could
top up our tanks. Having completed that task, we took a run out
to the town jetty, and then to the old boiling plant. These remains
have been there since the late 1800s. This is also the site of
the Landsborough Tree, where supplies were buried for the Burke
& Wills expedition (which never made it). Unfortunately, some
idiot with an axe to grind burned the tree to the ground some
years ago. We left the town after having a quick look at the pub,
and headed towards Normanton. Again, groups of Brolgas hindered
our progress, as did a mob of a few hundred cattle being mustered
within a 100m of the road. We just had to record the occasions.
The Leichhardt Falls were our next stop, before we crossed the
river, continuing our journey towards Normanton. At 4.45pm, we
found a great spot on top of a hill to stop for the night.
31.5.10
I had mixed feelings this morning. I felt we should get to Normanton
to ensure that we got a spot on the Gulflander Train on Wednesday,
but I also thought that I would like to watch the Coca Cola 600
Nascar Race on Foxtel (satellite dishes are great - great TV reception
wherever you are). So we left our campsite after the race (12.30pm),
and had a delightul drive in beautiful weather into Normanton.
We only had about 110kms to do, and so we spent a fair bit of
time taking photos, and a bit of filming before arriving at the
Railway Station about 3pm, and booked on the train. We also arrived
just in time to see the old 1931 train arrive from a short tourist
trip. From here, we had a quick look around town, before taking
a quiet cruise out the Karumba Rd to find a camp spot for the
night. We love it when we can find a camp spot that is in Broadband
range, and yep, tonight, we have range.
Cloncurry
To Normanton Pics
QUEENSLAND
TRIP VIDEOS 2010
Simpson
Desert In Bloom
Posted
17/9/10
Waterfalls
- North Queensland
Old
Telegraph Track - Qld
Gillies
Hwy - Qld
Cattle
Muster Qld
Gulflander - Normanton - Qld
Sheepyard
War Memorial - NSW
Back
O Bourke Hotel - before the fire
The Ant Ordeal - Bourke
Mt
Moffat - Top Shelter Shed - Carnarvon NP
If
you would like to contact me or email
your thoughts or comments, please feel free to do so. I would
love to hear from you
For
more photos, visit Lesley's site. Queensland,
Australia
Lesley
Bray Photography
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