2013 Trip Blog,
April
Monday 1st April, Coonabarrabran, NSW
A pleasant drive this morning out through the Hunter Valley and North up the New England Highway through Branxton, Singleton, Muswellbrook, Scone and Murrurundi. The open cut coal mines were a stark contrast to the vine laden hillsides of the Hunter Valley Region. The huge cooling towers of the Bayswater and Liddell Power Stations stood out starkly on the skyline and the air was heavy with dust from the mining activity.We stopped for lunch in Scone at one of the many pubs and enjoyed a really good steak sandwich then continued on to Gunnadah where we stopped for coffee before turning West onto the Oxley Highway, crossing into Central NSW about 50k East of Coonabarrabran.
We weren't sure of what to expect in Coonabarrabran but were quite excited to reach there and have a look around at the
Observatory, perhaps catching a night show and also the Large Gem Store also situated in the town. We arrived around
1650 and had no trouble locating the Park which was situated just as you entered the township. We were pleasantly surprised
at the spaciousness of the Park, with large grassy areas and large spreading trees. There were plenty of empty places to choose
from and we were really happy with the spot we decided on between two large spreading trees which gave good shade and a nice
aspect. There were numerous birds chirping and flying about which created an extremely peaceful atmosphere.
Too late to explore tonight but we are looking forward to heading off in the morning to the Gem Store and also locating the Observatory and checking out the night shows. We have booked in to stay here two nights at this stage but will assess this tomorrow when we've had a good look around. So far we are really happy that we chose this location to put up camp.
Tuesday 2nd April, Coonabarrabran, NSW
I hate starting the blog off like this but I may as well get it out of the way……we spent a couple of hours this morning at the Coonabarrabran Hospital after I tripped on some uneven concrete and sprained my ankle, unfortunately I am back on crutches again, same foot as the last injury that I am only just recovering from. No need to dwell on this, just mentioning it as we will be here for about a week whilst I get treatment…….enough said on that.Anyway, what a nice place to be holed up in. The town is small, the people are friendly and there are a couple of nice cafes in the main street. The Chemist was well stocked with a variety of items and the shoe shop actually had the 'crocs' I wanted. The Supermarket wasn't anything to write home about but had all the necessary essentials.
After doing a bit of shopping and having lunch we went to 'The Crystal Kingdom' which was situated right opposite the Park we are staying at. This turned out to be a real eye-opener. We were anxious to come here because of the Observatory but had no knowledge of the interesting prehistoric history of this area which underwent enormous volcanic activity creating the many crystal formations found around the area and left many fossils embedded in the soft sandstone. One of these, Diprotodon often mistaken as a dinosaur is displayed in the Visitor Information Centre. Some of the best, rarest and most colourful zeolite crystals in the world have been found in the extinct volcanic ranges. Near perfect fossils of fish and leaves have also been unearthed in these ranges.
There are two extinct volcanoes in the Region, the Garrawilla Volcano to the east of Coonabarrabran which ceased about 45 million years ago and the Warrumbungle eruptions occurred between 17 and 14 million years ago. It was the surges of volcanic magma thrust through the sandstone landscape that formed the amazing network of peaks and spires that eroded over many years to create the range as it is today.
Unfortunately, the Warrumbungle National Park suffered severe loss of vegetation and wildlife in a large bushfire in January of this year and is still closed due to the danger of falling trees and dead wildlife still to be removed. The Visitor's Centre was also almost destroyed and will need to undergo rebuilding before reopening. There are many top class walking trails that cater for wheelchairs as well as tougher climbs, so these will be sadly missed until the Park is up and running again.
There is far more to see here in Coonabarrabran and the surrounding districts than what we had anticipated so we are quite pleased to be spending more time in this area to become acquainted with the history of the region.
Wednesday 3rd April, Coonabarrabran, NSW
We took the opportunity to do our washing this morning as we were the only people left in the Park so no problem getting to a washing machine, then headed into town for a walk (hobble) around town before having lunch at the same cafe we went to yesterday, they make great steak sandwiches and have really great tasting coffee.After lunch we took a drive out to the Warrumbungle National Park to check out the Sidings Springs Observatory. Unfortunately this was closed also due to the recent bush fires along with the National Park but the drive out was still interesting and provided a good opportunity for photos although the light was too poor for any amazing shots.
The geology of this region is really interesting with the high spires and domes from the volcanic activity making quite
a spectacular impact on the landscape. Although the bush fire blazed quite a path through this area, lush green
regrowth is already springing forth from the blackened trunks breathing life back into the charred hillsides. The loss
of the 4/5ths of the Park is devastating to the Region. Many of the walking trails will no longer be passable with bridges
down and maintenance of the paths at a standstill.
Even in the starkness of the charred, scorched hillsides beauty still abounded with the beautiful cream coloured trunks of the Bloodwood Gums standing out against the blackened trunks that surrounded them. But in the stillness, without the rustling of the trees and the chirping of the many birds that abound in this area came the sad reminder that this was once home to a large koala population that has probably been wiped out along with many other of the wildlife families that called this beautiful Park their home.
Thursday 4th April, Coonabarrabran, NSW
What a beautiful morning to wake up to. The sunlight was dancing on the leaves and the birds were chirping. It was so quiet and peaceful. We are making the most of it as we're sure with school holidays on there will be a lot more noise once families start arriving. It's nice to see the Mum's and Dad's taking their children on a caravan holiday but some parents are better than others at looking after them and keeping them occupied.Mobility is still a bit limited but I'm down to one crutch now so hopefully it won't be long before i can toss that one away as well. We amused ourselves for a few hours this morning then headed into town for lunch. We were going to try a different cafe yesterday but it didn't look all that appealing so we had lunch at our usual one, which has great coffee and a really good steak sandwich but today we thought we would try somewhere else for a change. We noticed the corner pub has a steak sandwich on special so decided to try there……..big mistake. Whilst waiting for the sandwiches Don ordered a beer. This is not a usual occurrence for us at lunch-time but as they didn't serve coffee we thought it would go down well.
Don bought two different types 'on tap' and we tried them both…….yuk! Not sure what was in their pipes
but the beers were 'off'. I've never tasted 'off' beer before, very weird. They were so awful tasting that we
had to leave them. Then the 'steak sandwiches' arrived…..this was a very thinly veiled description for what
turned out to be an extremely thin strip of leather between two hardly toasted pieces of white bread, plonked on a
butter plate…….totally undigestible. We took one look and left, leaving all on the table. No good complaining, as
anyone who could happily serve up that crap would never get the message.
We headed for our usual lunch spot,
which certainly deserves a name, Cafe Baronia in the main street and enjoyed a very nice lunch as usual.
After a quick look around the shops for a few things we needed we headed out to the Pilliga Nature Reserve for a drive and spotted our first emus for the trip. It was a nice drive out and back and a beautiful day to be doing it.
Friday 5th April, Coonabarrabran, NSW
Decided to toss away the crutch and just go with the bandage today, it worked out fine. Sore but manageable.We left our van behind and headed to Binnaway, a small town about half an hour South of Coonabarrabran. We took a few photos along the way of an old over-grown railway line and an interesting disused railway bridge. We had expectations that this would be a quite an interesting drive after reading various things about this route in the tourist brochures but were disappointed to find the little towns along the way were very sad and run-down and certainly not geared up for tourists.
Most of the large old country pubs have closed or just been taken over by new management which indicates a struggle to survive in these small out-of-the-way country towns that are off the main tourist routes or have no local attractions to sustain them. We passed through Binnaway first, a nice tidy town with an interesting grain collection and storage facility but this was the most interesting town along the entire route. The landscape was scrubby, which didn't add any incentive to detour around this way.
About 10km North of Coolah was a replica of the famous 'Black Stump', said by the locals to be the origin of the real 'Black Stump'
depicted in Australian folklore. 'The other side of the Black Stump' meaning past the edge of civilisation. This unfortunately, was
the only place of real interest we found to stop at. The best photo opportunity came when we had to stop for a couple of drovers
moving a large herd of cattle from one paddock to another.
Next town was Coolah a small town but larger than Binnaway, then Leadville, Craboon and Dunedoo before we turned North again through Mendooran then back up to Coonabarrabran.
Saturday 6th April, Coonabarrabran, NSW
A lazy day today. We tidied up a few things, did the washing then went for lunch. After lunch we went for
a drive around town, through the residential streets then out past the Golf Course. Not wanting to turn back
just yet we followed a dirt road out past some homesteads and found it was much more interesting than
yesterday's drive. Being a dirt road and with not as much traffic there was a many more birds and wildlife to be seen. Beautiful coloured parrots, a few kangaroos but unfortunately, no lizards. There were large herds of cattle grazing in the paddocks of mixed varieties. One of these herds were grazing right by the roadside so we stopped for a while and took a couple of photos and just enjoyed the serenity.
Back into town for Lunch and another look around then back to the Park.
Sunday 7th April, Coonabarrabran, NSW
We love Sundays……eggs on toast for breakfast. Don does the breakfast on Sundays and always manages to cook the humble 'egg on toast' to perfection. Yummy, such a treat.We decided to have a day 'home' today just relaxing. Other than the odd distraction throwing crumbs to the birds we spent most of the day just reading and doing a few odd jobs that needed doing like cleaning, rearranging a few cupboards or just poking about for no reason at all.
Don gave me a very 'not so subtle' hint and placed the Cobb Cooker right outside the door to the
van and the pie dish on the sink. I got the message and whipped up his favourite bread and butter
pudding. We hadn't tried out the cooker for anything like this before so he had his fingers crossed
that it would turn out. Much to Don's delight it did but I'm not sure how, as every few minutes he would
lift the lid to check if it was cooked or not.
A nice baked bean and cheese jaffle for lunch……
A few problems trying to upgrade the Nanocom firmware, one of the very few things that just wont happen on a Mac.
Monday 8th April, Coonabarrabran, NSW
With all the local sights and the nearby towns having been checked out we found ourselves at a bit of a loose end today with not much to do but relax.We lunched once again at the Cafe Baronia in the main street, which boasts the 'best coffee in Coonabarrabran'. We tend to not only agree with this but it's also the best coffee we have tasted in a long while. Great service and really nice people. Next to the Supermarket to stock up on a few things, then back to the Park, put the shopping away and then back to reading.
What a busy day we had today………………..it's amazing how when you have all the time in the world to do something, it takes you all the time in the world to do it.
Oh, we did cook a really nice tea though, that took quite a bit of time.
…….edit
oops how could I forget,
Visited Denis ( a fellow ex-Telstra Tech) at Coonabarrabran Computers who was most helpful by letting me run a Kernel udater programe for my Nanocom on his Windows 8 machine, then talk turned to LandRovers and I checked out his old Classic Range Rover of course !!
Tuesday 9th April, Coomnabarrabran, NSW
Last day camping here in Coonbarrabran, it has been quite an enjoyable stay here and the weather has been great but it's time to move on. We are both getting itchy feet to get moving again.Tidied up camp this morning, did the washing and other necessary chores then packed everything away that we could in preparation for an early start tomorrow. Went for lunch again at Cafe Baronia then another look through the Gem & Crystal Museum before heading off for my ankle appointment. What a bummer…it's still giving me trouble but hopefully the results will tell me it's all in my mind.
By the time we returned mid afternoon the Park was already starting to fill up with vans, campers, trucks, trailers, buses and a couple of 5th Wheelers. Its definitely time to move on and find a nice quiet tree along a river bank. We have been spoilt this last week though as the Park has been very quiet and it's been really pleasant staying here.
(speedo 176003 klm)
Wednesday 10th April, Bush Camp, NSW … 40k South Goondiwindi, QLD
Said Goodbye to Coonabarrabran about 0830 and headed North on the Newell Highway. About 40km North of
Coonabarrabran we turned West onto Borambitty Road, a dirt road that led into the Pilliga Forest region, a vast
area that encompasses, State Forests, National Parks and State Conservation Areas. 10kms in we arrived at
Pilliga Pottery an amazing place tucked away amongst the trees and home to the most beautiful pottery, very
different and original. They are currently looking for an artist and after viewing my painting website said they
would love to have me draw for them if I wanted to try out. What an honour, their pottery is so beautiful it would
be a dream to be part of it but as we have only just 'got on the road' it just isn't the right time. Thank you to those
lovely people, if only they knew how much I would have loved to take up the offer.
We back-tracked to the Newell Highway and headed North again with much of the next couple of hours spent
with me struggling with the disappointment of such a wonderful opportunity that just wasn't to be. The artist within
was struggling with the traveler without. Oh well, another decision made in the cross-roads of life.
About half an hour from Narrabri we turned onto a dirt road to Yarrie Lake then swung North to locate the Australian Telescope Compact Array, about midway between Wee Waa and Narrabri. This Array is one of the most advanced Radio Telescopes in the world; a set of six 22m diameter parabolic dishes used for radio astronomy. Five of these dishes sit on a 3km stretch of rail track . The track allows the dishes to be moved into different configurations with different distances between them. This enables better radio pictures.
Next we headed West into Wee Waa just for a look, then East along the Kamilaroi Highway to Narrabri, stopping at a roadside gravesite, complete with shelter over it, along the way. This was the gravesite of George Maddis, 35yo Carrier from Narrabri who was killed in 1882 when a wagon wheel ran over him. Whether he amounted to very much in life is now forgotten but he will always be remembered as long as his gravesite exists. His death was witnessed by two local Constables whose names appear on his epitaph along with the Under-takers name.
Another interesting aspect of this Region is the amount of cotton fields from South of Narrabri through to Moree, hundreds
of acres of cotton fields. Some cotton bushes were in bloom others had been lopped to their stalks. It was extremely
interesting to see how the cotton grows. Small wads of cotton lay dotted along the roadside for miles in this region, as it
flies off the bales during cartage. It look and feels just like wool or more to the point…cotton wool.
We arrived in Narrabri and had lunch then kept on North to Moree, quite a large town and quite spread out. We had intended
to stay here for a look around but it was all a bit busy so we continued North on the Newell Highway to find a camp for the night.
Enroute we were happy to spot six emus and a few tumbleweed, definitely a sign that we are at last 'out the gate, on the road and
on our way'.
Found a good camping spot South of Boggabilla, no river but some nice gums to camp under.
Thursday 11th April, St George, QLD
Didn't hurry to get on the road this morning. Headed North to Boggabilla where we refuelled then kept on to Goondawindi just over the Qld border. A really nice, clean town. We stayed here for about 2 hrs having a look through the shops and then coffee at the local Bakery before taking the road to Mungindi, about 150kms SW and back into NSW. Mungindi is situated on both sides of the border between NSW and QLD, separated by the Barwon River. It is the only town in the Southern Hemisphere with the same town of the same name in two States. It has a NSW Post Code.
The road to Mungindi was sealed to Boomi but was very narrow and was traversed constantly by large road trains
carting harvested cotton. The cotton is transported in huge rolls of plastic, open at each end which are carried atop
open road trucks. As the trucks whiz by the cotton fibres shred off the bales and line the roadsides. We were astounded
at the vast amount of cotton fields; previously I said there were hundreds of acres, this must be amended to thousand upon
thousands of acres.
We also spotted quite a few sheep farms with a large mob being herded by motorbike along the roadside. The road trains that passed us were mainly carrying cotton or livestock. Beware if you expect to get your share of the roadway when meeting an oncoming road train, no matter how narrow the road is, finding the grass is a lot better than finding a broken windscreen or worse. Once we hit the dirt though, the road actually improved, it was wider and not too corrugated. There had been quite a bit of flood damage throughout the roads in this area, so the graded dirt roads faired much better than the narrow sealed roads with jagged broken edges and large pot holes.
Once we reached Mungindi, we found a nice spot down by the river and had lunch before setting North again into QLD. There
were quite a few road-works along the way, probably because of recent flood damage but these were an interesting diversion
rather than a hindrance. We reached Thallon where large permanent grain storage facilities dominate the small town then
continued North to Nindigully, home to the historic Nindigully Pub situated beside the Moonie River about 45km South of St George.
Established in 1864, the hotel was a Cobb & Co changeover station from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. It is said to hold one
of the longest continual licences in Queensland. We were almost tempted to stay camped here on the riverbank, along with the 30
or more other caravans doing exactly that, but decided to continue on to St George.
We reached St George to find a really nice town. We are looking forward to having a good look around tomorrow.
Friday 12th April, St George, QLD
Spent the day looking around the St George area then had lunch in the town. Not much variety in the town but a really nice place. The people are extremely friendly and the town itself has a nice atmosphere. There was a Hairdressing Salon right near the Cafe where we had lunch, so I took the opportunity to have my hair trimmed. The ladies will understand that choosing the right Hairdresser is a big deal for a woman so anywhere new is a bit of a gamble. Well ladies, I'm happy to report that the Hairdresser in the Main Street of St George is excellent and well worth a visit. Friendly, happy and efficient.I had made a hair appointment prior to lunch and when we were having lunch I noticed the girl from the Hairdressers come in and out of the Cafe. Later when I was having my hair done she said to me, "What did you think of your lunch?". I answered with honesty and said we had enjoyed it very much, both the food and the coffee were excellent." 'That's good" she said, "my Mum and Dad own the Cafe and my sister makes the coffee. Whewwww!!!! That could have been embarrassing.
As I waited for my hair cut a foreign gentleman came into the Salon and requested a hair cut. After this was completed, to his directions, he asked for his side burns to be trimmed, once again to his specific directions. This completed he then requested that she shave his long facial growth and his moustache along with his eyebrows. The eyebrows needed very specific instructions and a close inspection in the mirror before, during and after completion. Next, he wanted his eyebrows waxed. When all this was done he was disappointed there was no masseuse nor manicurist on the premises and requested a loan of a pair of mail cutters. With cutters in hand, he carefully trimmed his fingernails then sat down on the floor and proceeded to cut his extremely dirty toe nails. The girl was horrified and after he left she announced that the water was already on the boil to sterilise them. A far more interesting visit to the Hairdresser's than I usually have.
After leaving the Salon we headed out to Beardmore Dam about 20 mins NW of the town. The drive was good and although the Dam was surrounded
by really nice grounds and parkland there was no access to view the Dam itself, only the spillway. We didn't spend long here and headed back to
town, stopping on the way to check out a camping spot right on the river. It was quite nice but we decided we would head off tomorrow and continue
North.
Unfortunately I have had to resort to one crutch again as my ankle is quite painful so a lot of walking is out of the question at the moment. I think I was a bit too eager to get going. I suppose 'rest' meant a bit more than a day and a half. Patience is a virtue not learned quickly.
Saturday 13th April, Charleville, QLD
We took another look around St George then crossed over the Ballone River that runs through the town and headed NW up the Mitchell-St George Road enroute to Mitchell.
We always opt for the minor roads or dirt roads where we can rather than the highways, they are far more interesting
and usually have a lot more wildlife on them. The biggest bonus of the minor or dirt roads is not being pushed along
at 100kph; if there is something interesting to see it is no trouble to just pull over or do a 'U Turn'.
The Prickly Pear plants are quite numerous in Northern NSW and coming into QLD. We were surprised to see they
actually grow into quite large shrubs up to about 5 m.
We were quite excited when we sighted our first flock of emus, then another, then another, then another. They seem to
be less skittish than the emus in other places. They are quite happy to graze by the road or in the open and hardly raise
a feather as you drive by, but if you slow down they run for a short distance then amble on again. It's quite amazing how
well they blend in with the landscape; nature's amazing design at work. But what really got us excited was sighting our
first Lizard. We don't feel we are actually 'away' until we get up close to one of these beautiful creatures. The 'Stumpy
Tails' have so much character. They mate for life, so it's very sad when you see one squashed on the road, knowing its
mate is left somewhere behind. 
Talking about wildlife being squashed on the road……………..the poor kangaroos don't
stand much chance up here, there were at least 2 or 3 laying dead on the road about every km; from freshly killed to old
carcasses. Windows down and vents open didn't help the stench from the rotting carcasses staying with us almost the
entire trip today. Apart from that, the road had a lot of highlights. The Farmers are very inventive with their letter-boxes
up here and go to a great deal of trouble to project some interesting shapes made out of just about anything.
We arrived in Mitchell around 1300 and stopped in at the Hotel Richards in the centre of town for lunch. There were two very attractive Swedish girls serving behind the bar, currently in Oz on work visas. They certainly added a bit of glamour to Mitchell. After lunch we continued West on the Warrego Highway to Morven, then on to Charleville. We were both quite tired this afternoon when we arrived but we are looking forward to having a look around over the next few days as Charleville seems to be an extremely interesting place.
Sunday 14th April, Charleville, QLD
A beautiful morning to wake up to and being Sunday……..mmmmmm…..…Don's eggs on toast…Yummy!!
Sitting outside under the awning with a cool breeze wafting through eating a yummy breakfast was just SO good.
It was very hard to rouse ourselves to do the few minor chores that needed to be done but we finally got ourselves
moving, tidied up, did the washing then headed out of town for a bit of a drive around the area then back into town
to check out the Cosmos Centre.
What a great place; friendly staff, heaps of brochures for all over Queensland and lots of helpful information as to the interesting places to visit and when. We decided to have lunch there before scouring through the enormous amount of info that was on hand. The choice for lunch was extensive……Ham, Cheese & Tomato Toasted Sandwich in any combination you desired. Of course we opted for the Cheese, Ham & Tomato just for something a bit different. Good choice, it was the best Toasted Sandwich we've had for awhile and the coffee was excellent.
The Cosmos Centre offers some great star gazing sessions both to understand the night sky and also a special telescope
fitted with a strong sun filter that enables you to view the sun safely. There are very informative information sessions with
extremely pleasant guides to assist. A great place to take children if they are interested in the solar system. The Cosmos
Centre is situated within the Airport Complex which is only a minute from the Main Street.
We arrived back this afternoon and very quickly got back into 'relax' mode, not hard to do here. It is a nice Park and a really interesting town, we are looking forward to exploring further in the next couple of days. This morning we had no idea how long we would stay or where we were headed but after browsing through the brochures and taking in the information we were given we've decided to stay in Queensland for a couple of months before heading South again. This is the best time of year to explore Queensland so we may as well take advantage of this and do just that.
Monday 15th April, Charleville, QLD
Into Charleville for lunch then a really good wander around the shops. Country shops are so much more interesting with a lot of variety in each store., i.e., dildos and sex toys in the Fishing and Tackle Shop. Plus you have the added bonus of having a yarn with the locals who know all the good spots to eat and fish….. Yes…..don't fall off your chairs….FISH!! Don has decided he would like to try his hand at fishing and renew a childhood endeavour that never actually amounted to catching anything.'Rude Jude' as she is affectionately known, runs the Fishing and Tackle Shop; a shop of many and varied items you may need if camping alone in the bush. She is indeed a character and supplied us with not only a rod and reel but a lot of good conversation as well as a good fishing spot used by the locals. We also had a chat to the guy who originally came from Charleville but now owns the Post Office in Town 1770 on the Nth Qld Coast. We will definitely catch up with him again if we get over that way.
After looking around the shops and with mud map in hand, drawn by Rude Jude, we headed out to the local fishing
spot which was 17km away so Don could have a 'practice' without making a complete goose of himself. Jude's map
was spot on and after turning off the main road and traversing through a couple of rough paddocks we arrived at the
river, she was right, it was indeed a really beautiful, peaceful place.
With Don eager to give his new found enthusiasm for fishing a go, he pulled up right by the water, leapt out and
unpacked his rod, sinkers, floats and wiggly things. I watched in awe as he manipulated the line through the rod with
great ease then began to wind the reel to take up the slack………mmmmmmm……….nothing happened. After a couple
more attempts he looked at me sheepishly and said, "I forgot to put it through here". Where 'here' was I've no idea, but
the "one man, one thought, one job' immediately flashed through my mind and I thought it better not to ask as he pulled
out the line and began rethreading. I must admit that 'patience' that I've been trying to find, definitely seemed to have
settled on Don as he carefully and steadily got the rod together with hook, line, sinker, float and wiggly thing. Then with
a huge smile on his face and a confident stride he headed to the waters edge and with a deft flick of the wrist the line
went zinging across to the centre of the river…"well done Don, beautiful cast" but a few minutes later his confidence began
to wane as his rod stretched taut on a snag.
"This is it" I thought, 'the rod is going to end up in the river" but much to my surprise he carefully jiggled and tugged at the
line with great patience until it finally ran out and he heaved it in, snapping the line. "Is that it?" I enquired carefully. "Na, too
many snags here, I'll try up river a bit". With that he patiently went through the whole procedure again and strode off up the
river, rod in hand. I would love to say this 'fish story' had a magical ending but I'm afraid it didn't. After losing two more of
'everything' he baited up again and spent another 10 minutes or so..'fishing' but gave up in frustration as he watched the fish
leaping out of the water all around his line. We packed up and headed back to Charleville stopping at the Supermarket on
the way home. Don came out all smiles…….."it was the wrong bait!!" he announced triumphantly. "the guy said I was using
the wrong bait".
Oh well, I can see another fishing trip is on the agenda. He promised Rude Jude he would send her a photo of his first fish. (Hope she can live that long).
Tuesday 16th April, Charleville, QLD
Spent the morning doing a few chores, catching up on the blog and sorting through some photos then went into Charleville for lunch. After lunch I was about to hop into the Landy when I noticed Don head back towards the shops and disappear into the Fishing & Tackle Shop. I followed and entered the shop to hear him asking for some 'yabbie bait'. Rude Jude was delighted to see him back and anxious to hear how his first fishing adventure went. After having a laugh at yesterday's attempt she was delighted that it hadn't deterred him. So armed with his bait and a few more essentials to replenish his diminishing tackle box items, I guessed where we would be spending the afternoon.
17km later and back through the paddocks we arrived at the river bank. With great enthusiasm, Don grabbed
the red bucket and placed it down in front of the Landy, "this will be handy for the catch" he said quite confidently.
Well the red bucket was quite handy……..it was a great foot stool to rest my ankle. Undeterred by yesterday's
failure he headed off upstream and cast his line. The fish were jumping quite frequently and now he had the
right bait it would only be a matter of time before he landed his first big catch.
I sat back in the chair, closed my eyes and absolutely enjoyed the peacefulness of my surroundings. It was
amazing how many different birds were in the area, I listened to all the different chirps and calls and watched
them flying to and fro. There was a cool gentle breeze blowing just strongly enough to rustle the leaves and
every now and again you would hear a splash as the fish jumped out of the water after the insects. There were
numerous dragonflies and other insects flying and darting about the water's edge. It was impossible not to feel
totally relaxed. My reverie was broken as Don came back with rod held high…."did you catch one?" I asked
hopefully, "Na…but they ate my bait". I tried very hard not to laugh, especially when he returned only about 10 mins
later with the same story. "Maybe you're putting them on the hook the wrong way", I ventured daringly. Silence….I
turned to see Don busily hooking another shrimp thing onto the end of the hook. Finished, he waved it in front of my
face triumphantly…."they won't get it this time" he said. It looked rather well hooked to me.
Off he went again to the water's edge and back I went to my state of relaxation, now and again snapping a few photos.
The light on the water was ever changing, the reflections dancing in the sunlight. After a time, a 4wd made its way
along the dirt track from further down the river and stopped to have a yarn with Don, who was sitting on a branch at
the water's edge, looking every bit a seasoned fisherman. 
I caught a word here and there and had to smile as they
yakked away about the joys of fishing……Darling Don, doesn't take him long to pick up a new skill. Don headed over
to me after they drove off and said, "I think I'll call it a day, the river's got a bit muddy so the fish aren't biting like they
were two days ago". Ohhhh, OK, that sounds goooood.
Before he reeled in his line though, I found myself standing on the edge of the bank being given a lesson on how to cast, by my now well seasoned fisherman husband. I couldn't believe I was actually doing this and enjoying it. Maybe I better keep my sarcasm to myself or I might easily be a ready target for it in the future. We headed on back to Charleville having both enjoyed the afternoon very much. We will leave here tomorrow, not sure which direction yet, we will decide that tonight.
Wednesday 17th April, Cunnamulla, QLD
Said Goodbye to Charleville early and headed for Cunnamulla about 200kms South on the Mitchell Highway. Other than quite a few emus along the route there was not too much else that grabbed our attention. The emus graze in the paddocks almost like cows up this way, quite close to properties and roadways and seemed unfazed by the passing traffic. Not so fortunate the poor kangaroo. We've seen a myriad of live emus and two dead on the road……we've seen two live kangaroos and a myriad of dead on the road.
We saw our first unlucky wild pig today…..also now a statistic. The crows up this way are the biggest, fattest crows
we have ever seen. They virtually have a constant fresh meat supply and hardly bother to hop out of the way as you
pass, pecking and tugging at the fresh flesh of the road kill.
We stopped at Wyandra, which is situated about half way to Cunnamulla. There was a Post Office cum Caravan Park cum General Store cum Novelty Shop cum Cafe cum Residence and there was a Pub, that was vitually a house with a bar set up in the front room. The novelty of this little town was the hundreds of bras that hung from the fences and along anywhere else you could hang one. These were originally put there for a good cause to raise awareness of Breast Cancer and the novelty grew and they are continually added to.
We arrived in Cunnamulla and found a great camp spot near the Warrego River then headed back into town for lunch and
to check out the Artesian Time Tunnel. This is located in the Visitor's Centre and not to be missed if you are touring up this
way. Not only amazing displays but excellent and informative film to get you started on your discovery of the interesting
history of this area and the importance of the Artesian Basin to Australia. Another look around the town and then back to the
river.
Don's great enthusiasm for fishing at the moment ended in disappointment when he trotted down to the river to see where he might throw in a line, only to find a group of people sitting around chatting and drinking. With a quick "Howdy" he headed back to our van and tucked his rod back out of sight. The fish are safe for another day.
We were really glad we decided to head down this way.
Thursday 18th April, Thargomindah, QLD
Great day today. Left Cunnamulla early after refuelling and headed West on the Bulloo Development Road.
We liked our camp spot last night but are anxious to get out a bit and camp in the bush where we can see
nothing but the horizon. Not knowing Queensland very well, we are not too sure of the good camp sites.
The road-kill hasn't diminished, with more variety today…….the usual poor kangaroos as well as a couple of
joeys, a few emus, two pigs, a cow and a wild goat. Nothing lingers longer in your nostrils than the smell of a
dead carcass. We still marvel at the incredible nonchalance of the emus as they graze by the side of the road
and barely give you a glance as you drive by. We pulled up right next to three, I could have almost reached out
my hand and touched one, they just glanced up, slowly turned, walked back a few paces and began grazing again.
We finally saw three beautiful large red kangaroos…alive!! They looked fat and well nourished so let's hope they
stay that way and keep off roads.
We turned North for Yowah, a small opal mining community about an hour or so on. This is the home of the Yowah
Nut, a small palm sized rock that when cracked open can contain the most beautiful coloured opal inside. Don't be
in a hurry though, as you may sit there cracking open a hundred before you come across one with opal inside. The
Yowah Opals are world renowned for their beautiful colours and magnificent patterns. Opals are formed from silica
and water and the beautiful colours are projected by the light refracting through the small crystals of silica. It takes
5 million years to produce an opal 1 centimetre thick…….nature is really amazing.
Not long before we reached Yowah we came across our second lizard, a bearded dragon, sunning itself in the
middle of the road. Unfortunately this little lizard did not look well and he appeared to be blind in one eye. We left
him to soak up the sun in peace.
We reached Yowah and found it a rather unappealing place. As much as we love rocks and minerals we had no desire
to fossick around or venture into the 'huts' offering opals for sale. We have been to opal fields before and being lucky
enough to possess one of the famous Yowah Nuts we decided a quick look around was enough and pushed on. I'm
sure there are a lot of people that would find Yowah extremely interesting. Whilst in Cunnamulla we heard a tape from
the original inhabitant of Yowah who stayed in this area for many years alone, long before there was any sort of town here.
He was describing his finds after having used the pick and shovel, today we sighted large excavators. I wonder if the modern
miner gets as much joy out of his find as that old original miner did?
We left Yowah and opted to take a 4wd only route back South to the Bulloo Development Road. This proved to be a great
decision. Back on the dirt and with nothing pushing us along, we ambled along the dirt track with plenty of time to take in all
that was around us……that is a whole lot of nothing but small shrubs, spinifex and gibber stones. The odd tree here and there
made a nice contrast to the red earth and cast its welcome shadow across the dry ground where wild goats and kangaroos
huddled to take in the shade.
We were really happy on this track; we are not very good tourists or sightseers, we just love being
out on these tracks where you can really sense the land and appreciate it and the wildlife that inhabits it. It is a harsh land, hot and unforgiving but it really puts your own life in perspective and brings balance to your soul. Lunch was the best yet; Don made
a small fire out of dry spinifex and boiled the billy. The hot baked bean and cheese jaffles he made were as good as you would
get anywhere.
I have to be truthful, all is not bliss in paradise……the flies are quite relentless this year and you would be very
game indeed to say more than a few words at a time, otherwise you are likely to swallow at least 2 or 3 flies before you get the
next word out…..but……so what! It is so worth it to feel this good about the world.
We reluctantly packed up, headed on South to Bulloo Road then West to Thargomindah. Not a bad little place, except if you were
hanging out for a nice coffee or a healthy sandwich. We grabbed a few groceries in the Foodstore then headed back to camp to
cook up a nice stew in the Cobb Cooker. Yummy. A bit of meat, plenty of veggies, nice freshly picked herbs and a dash of wine.
Still not quite decided which direction to head next but we will decide tonight then change our minds tomorrow.
Friday 19th April, Thargomindah, QLD
A relaxing day today, catching up on a few chores and taking things easy before heading down to the Main Street to try our luck at the Pub for lunch. We usually like to put a bit back into each town we stop at, but not today. After waiting at the Bar for about 10 mins, a woman finally came out to serve us. "Any chance we could grab a couple of steak sandwiches?" Don asked politely. The woman looked almost on the edge of panic and said, "Are you with that big group out there?". "No" answered Don. "Well, You will probably have to wait quite a while as I have thirteen to serve" she replied. She looked quite frazzled so Don thanked her anyway and said not to worry about it. She looked relieved and we made our exit.I decided to make Don the best Steak Sandwich we've had on the trip to date, so we headed off to Foodworks to get the ingredients. We almost had to buy half a buffalo to get the steaks but with the meat tucked under our arm and one very limp lettuce we headed back to camp. And yes, it was the best Steak Sandwich we've had to date. We would much prefer to make our own but having lunch in the town is a good way to meet a couple of the locals and get a bit of a feel for the town.
With our chores completed and our bellies full, we headed to the edge of town to the Hydro Power Plant. Sounds quite
grand when you write it but it is only a small tin shed, a replica of the original shed which houses a working Pelton Wheel
and a display of old equipment which was originally used by the early pioneers of the region to create energy. Although
this shed is small and unassuming, the equipment it housed and the role this equipment played in the building of the town
was anything but meagre. Space does not permit the full interesting story of Thargomindah and its quest to supply the
town with power and water but the old system continued until 1951 when the townspeople put in an application to request
continuous power (up to this time, homes and streets were only provided with lighting from 5.30pm to 11.30pm daily).
Diesel generators were installed in 1988 and ran for 37 years without a breakdown. 
The only time there was any type of
failure was when the local operator would get drunk on Saturdays and failed to turn on the generators. Suffice to say, in
1988 $2 million worth of infrastructure, which connected Thargomindah to the National Grid through Cunnamulla was
installed and ever since, the town has experienced regular power surges and outages. The old method of power generation
was reasonably efficient, environmentally friendly, very low in maintenance, had minimal moving parts and ran quietly.
Progress had arrived to Thargomindah.
London, Paris and then Thargomindah were the first in the world to run a town on Hydro Electric Power; London has its 'Eye', Paris has it's 'Tower' and Thargomindah has its 'Tin Shed'. The character of the town is still very much alive and well.
The water that is pumped up from the bore has an average of 82 degrees C and is cooled in holding tanks before being
pumped to the households. When showering in this region, only the cold tap is turned on, if anything you need a 'cold' tap
and a 'colder' tap to regulate the temperature.
Post Script: What a wonderful journey down memory lane…….we spotted this Dodge Fargo in a paddock near the Hydro Plant and it could almost be the exact one my Poppa had owned, perhaps a bit worse for wear. I grew up riding around in the back of the old Fargo and from the age of 14yo would drive it into Dandenong or Melbourne to pick up mechanical parts for Dad. Labour was costly and I was handy…..there was no free ride in our household.
Saturday 20th April, Bush Camp, approx 4km NW of Eromanga, QLD
Got away early again this morning and stopped off at the small grocery store in Thargomindah for a few stores before heading North on a 4wd track to Toompine. We enjoyed our stay in Thargomindah but I really won't miss the constant smell of sulphur, a by-product of the bore water. I could tolerate it most times but cleaning my teeth almost made me gag using this water. This sounds awful, but that's what it was, awful. I could taste that smell for at least 4 hrs after we left there. It just hangs in the air and is very unpleasant. It seems almost unbelievable that the locals don't seem to notice it. I guess you can get used to anything if you are exposed to it long enough.
The track was much more interesting than the direct route and we stopped quite a few times to look at this and that
along the way. We crossed a couple of rivers, only one with water across the road and that was only about a foot
deep. There were plenty of emus along the way but still no sign of kangaroos hopping about in the bush, although
they must be plentiful judging by the amount of dead ones on the road. Today was once again a day of 'dodge the
dead carcass'. 
The only positive to seeing these dead animals is the array of bird life that gather to pick their bones.
We were lucky enough to see three very large Wedge Tail Eagles; one of which didn't take flight until we were almost
upon him, so we were able to get a good look at him take off. He spread his enormous wings and flapped almost in
slow motion as he took off then gathered speed very quickly and made quite a bit of distance in a very short time.
You know if it is an eagle pecking at the carcass as there usually will only be the one or two of them. With the other birds,
there may be a couple of different species all having a go.
We arrived at the Toompine Pub, the 'Pub without a Town' and found the Quilpie Quick Shears Competition was being
held there today. There were about 20 campers all around the Pub with Caravans, Tents and Vehicles parked anywhere
they could find a space. As it was almost noon we checked our luck for a steak sandwich, our timing was right as we were
about 30 mins ahead of the main cookout, so they cooked a couple for us especially. Now if ever you crave a steak sandwich
then we can recommend Toompine Pub, I have to admit it definitely rivalled mine. The Sandwich almost filled the plate and
all the ingredients inside were fresh and juicy. Just as we were finishing lunch a cattle truck arrived and off-loaded a mob of
sheep. We decided not to stick around for the events as we were yet to determine a camping spot for tonight and weren't sure
how far we would have to travel to find one.
We continued North to Quilpie and discovering the campsite near the river was not all that appealing we decided to continue on West to Eromunga. We had a quick look around Quilpie, world renowned for its beautiful boulder opals then stopped in at the Airport to check out the Amy Johnson display; a tribute to her when she touched down there briefly in 1930 thinking it was Charleville. She took off when she realised her mistake and continued on to Charleville.
We were tempted to try our hand at a bit of fossicking but after Don checked out the site we realised my ankle would not hold up to the terrain to reach there so we continued on West to Eromunga. Enroute we saw an enormous wild pig amongst the many roadkills and although we had seen a couple before, this one was right in the middle of the road and was huge, flat out on his back with his legs in the air. I feel bad for mentioning all these dead animals but it is as it is up here.
We were almost to Eromunga when we sighted a large 'bobbing duck' right on the side of the road, bobbing up and down, pumping
away. This one being part of the Kenmore Oil Fields, I believe they have about 144 of them in this area. There is also the Black Stump Oil Field a little further on. A couple of the oil workers pulled over and had a yarn to us which was quite interesting. We continued on to
Eromunga, only a short distance on and checked out the local 'Caravan Park'; a small yard behind the local Cafe, which was closed 
We drove around the back but found it wasn't for us so headed North up a 4wd track and found a really nice camp spot by the river. It was
so good to just set up and chill out after a long day's drive. It wasn't so much the distance but the glare of the road which was tiring.
Eromunga has the distinction of being the furthest town from the ocean in Australia.
note night camp photo at left, 2 x meteors can be seen in the 4 sec exposure (Olympus OMD E-M5, f3.5 12mm iso8000) shown highlighted here
Sunday 21st April, Bush Camp, Cooper's Creek, QLD
What a great way to wake up, no sound except the numerous birds chirping away happily and the morning sun
slowly rising to warm the day. There was not an easy access
down to the river's edge so we decided to pack up
and hopefully find another nice camp spot similar to this one where the river was a bit more accessible. It was
such a nice quiet spot though that we dawdled with breakfast and took a few photos before packing up and
continuing on North. We were quite excited a short time later to see a very healthy family of kangaroos grazing
contentedly in the nearby scrub and were also lucky to again spot a couple of beautiful wedgetailed eagles.
This was turning out to be a super, super day and just got better as we went along. 
The wildlife was quite abundant
along this track; along with the small flocks of emus we came across a huge flock numbering around at least 100. The
dams provided a great opportunity to see a large variety of bird life and we finally started to see quite a few mobs of live
kangaroos. I will not mention the roadkill any more as I think I have painted this picture well enough but in saying that, I
must mention an unusual sight we came across. With Don devoting his attention to the road I am the designated 'lookout'
for the various things of interest, as we neared an unusual shape on the road I hesitated in my 'call'. I strained my eyes to
try to make out if it was a lizard, a piece of roadkill or a lump of cow poo but couldn't decide. It was about a foot and was
moving but there was something quite off about it. Maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me and I was just imagining it
moving; I strained again to make out what it was. I still hadn't come to any conclusion when we drew close and Don veered
slightly to miss it. "Was that a lizard?" he asked. "I don't think so" I said "but it looked like it was moving" I replied puzzled.
With that Don did a 'U' Turn and we drove slowly back to the 'thing'. Yes, it was moving but No, it wasn't a lizard, it was a
foot long piece of roadkill that was being carried off the road by about a million ants…….yehhhhhhhh!!! I definitely could have
done with not looking at that!! It was one of those sights that is so gross, yet so interesting, you find yourself transfixed on it.
Moving on from that, we soon came across some large red sand dunes, so we veered off-road and went to check them out. I
got half-way up but unfortunately the terrain was quite sandy and slippery so erred on the side of caution and let Don do the
looking for me with his camera. I can't wait for this ankle to get stronger, although I'm sure I had enough flies on me that they
could have carried me to the top of the dunes. It's when they get into your ears and up your nose that is the most gross. Gosh,
we must really love it out here….flies? What flies?
Just a short mention here of the amazing 'bug zapper' that Don purchased from ebay for about $8 before we left home. Shaped like a squash racquet and about the same size, it is a cheap looking novelty item that when coming into contact with a bug, it 'zaps' them with about 20,000v. The inside of the racquet has a mesh of wires housed inside a nylon grid. This silly little novelty item has been one of the most useful things we have brought with us.
Nearing lunch time we found the most amazing little camp spot right on the river with big river red gums on the shoreline. Much
to our surprise the river was quite wide, probably about the same as the Murray. It was open and spacious with plenty of place
to camp. We set up camp, but not fully, deciding to make a decision after lunch whether to stay or move on as we hadn't made
much distance since this morning. Don made a campfire and we boiled the billy and cooked up some lunch. What a magic
place it was here. We had not long finished our lunch when on the small tributary only about 20 metres away, we spotted a
pelican swimming close to the edge. As we watched, he swam slowly for a short distance then got out of the water and walked
along the shoreline to where the tributary met the river then once again entered the water and began swimming slowly along the
shoreline, now and again, ducking his head under the water to feed. It was great luck to see this. As much as we loved it here,
we thought it better to continue on, so packed up and headed North again. We have definitely marked this spot on our map.
Around 1430 we hit the Developmental Road from Quilpie to Windorah and turned NW. The road is one track most of the way,
with short bursts where it has been widened where the road is subject to flooding. It is sealed all the way and will make an
amazing difference to anyone travelling this route now this road is being upgraded. We reached the 'Channel Country', so named
because of the intricate network of braided channels and waterholes that spread up to 80km across the landscape during flooding.
producing what is said to be the best cattle fattening pasture in the world. We can believe this, as the cattle we passed not he side
of the road were among the healthiest we have come across, fat and fatter. About 10km East of Windorah we came across the
Cooper's Creek Bridge where there are some great camping spots, so with little hesitation we drove down along the creek bank
and set up camp in a really nice spot right on the river.
Throughout the entire day, since we left this morning, we did not sight one other vehicle. What a super, super day.
(EDIT… Found big cat remains at lunchtime, check the teeth !!! )
Monday 22nd April, Longreach, QLD
Another beautiful morning waking up to all the bush noises. It's aways hard to pack up when you are in such a nice place. The flies make it almost impossible to enjoy sitting on the river bank, they are ferocious but Don was fearless as he headed down to the river, rod in hand. "I'm just going down to lose some hooks" he called out. Poor Don, reality is setting in that it takes more than a rod and a hook and a little wiggly thing to make a fisherman but I have to admire his determination. About half an hour later he came back with his hooks intact, but that was all he came back with. "There's no fish in that bloody river anyway" he said as he packed his rod away. I spend my time trying to figure out how I can put a darn fish on the end of his line and give it a tug. It would be sheer joy to watch the look of achievement on his face. Oh Well, I'll keep working on the problem.
We packed up camp, headed over the Cooper's Bridge then took the 12km Nature Drive into Windorah. It was
a dirt track winding through the scrubland with sign posts identifying all the native trees and it was really interesting.
We were finally able to identify the 'Coolibah' tree. This was in fact the original old main road to Windorah pre 1952.
It was interesting to see the Gidgee Ttree as I used to wood turn with this wood. A heavy wood with a beautiful rich
brown along with golden brown inside.
From the look of the tree you wouldn't realise it would turn so beautifully.
We arrived in Windorah with Don deciding he would like to check out the local tip first. Doesn't everyone? Well, that
excursion proved quite uneventful. No old cars at all, just a lot of birds, rubbish and a strong odour that managed to
stay with us for the next half hour. No more local tips for me Donald. We next checked out the Solar Farm on the edge
of town. This consists of five sun mirrored dishes 13.7m across which provided daytime electricity to the town, a first
for Queensland.
We left Windorah and turned NW, once again onto the Develpmental Road and headed for Jundah. We didn't stay long
in Jundah but continued on where we stopped 32km North where a Native Well is located, once a valuable source of water
for the indigenous people. It was quite a good spot, away from the road so we decided to have lunch there. It wasn't long
before Don got a small fire ready and boiled the billy. I think it could have almost boiled itself without the fire as it was 53o
on the ground, 40° in the van and 42° in the car. It was really hot. We went for a scout around and could find no other living
thing other than ants and of course the never ending hoard of flies. Needing a toilet break I headed for some bushes, when I
came back Don showed me the snake tracks near the van. "Why didn't you tell me about that before I headed for the bushes?"
I asked incredulously. "I didn't want to scare you" was his reply. I'm still trying to work that one out.
We continued North, stopping about half way between Jundah and Stonehenge to the 'jump up', a rest area that overlooks
the plains below. It was quite remarkable, giving a great view of the diversity of the landscape we were traveling through.
We continued on, chased off by the flies, deviating off the main road to pass through Stonehenge but it looked so run-down
and it was so hot outside that we decided to keep going. I was a bit annoyed at missing a pic of the sign which read……
'Overtaking Opportunity 20km'. As stated previously, the Developmental Road is mostly a one track road, making it necessary
to get off the road onto the grass when passing another car, over-taking is impossible. 
The road some-times has raised jagged
edges and you are never sure of what is lying beneath the dry tussocks on the roadside. The amusing thing was that after
traveling the 20km, there was another sign that read 'Overtaking Opportunity 300m' but as soon as you reached it there were
road-works for about 1km then the road narrowed again. Would have been frustrating if someone had been behind, hanging
out to pass. We only met a few road trains on this route but when they are headed in your direction there is no hesitation, you
get as far onto the grass as you can, ditches or no ditches. These huge trucks cannot manoeuvre off the roads like a vehicle
can.
The landscape was quite varied enroute to Longreach; one minute you were traveling through vegetation on both sides, then it opened right up and there was nothing but flat grassy plains and the horizon. About 8km from Longreach we came into more scrubby land and as I scanned the horizon I spotted the red tail of a Qantas Jet protruding above the tree line in the far distance. I grabbed my camera and snapped off a pic. It seemed so out of place after traveling for hours without sighting another vehicle, then a large Qantas Jet looms on the horizon. We arrived in Longreach and were totally taken aback by its size. After all the small towns we had been through in the last couple of days that consisted of only a couple of houses and an Outback Pub, we were not expecting to see a town of this size. We located the Caravan Park and found it was an ideal place to rest up for a few days or weeks or however long we decide to stay here. We will take the opportunity to stock up, do some repairs and a few innovative changes we thought of that will improve the van. We looked at each other when we pulled up in the campsite and said together, "I think we need a shower". No matter how well you strip and wash, nothing beats a nice hot shower.
Tuesday 23rd April, Longreach, QLD
Wow! First impressions did not disappoint. There is nothing we don't like about Longreach; the townspeople are warm and friendly, the pace is slow and leisurely, there is a large variety of shops with everything you would need and the Park we are staying in is spacious with excellent amenities, restaurant, swimming pool and small shop.We did the washing and hung it out before heading down to the main street to look around. I am very happy that my ankle is showing good signs of improvement so I am able to walk a bit further without the crutch. I am normally a fast walker but no chance to get up any speed with Don around. I know he just wants to make sure that I don't start doing too much activity too soon, like last time, but he's very strict.
The shops were really good and the staff very pleasant; a must to go into is Kinnon & Co., not just a store but a bit of a museum as well as some good tucker in the paved area out the back. We didn't discover this until after we had had lunch so we will have to check this out during the week. We spent a couple of hours just wandering about the shops and found everything we needed. Don even got some used Real Estate Boards from the local Real Estate Agent to put on the back window of the Landy to stop stone damage. The guy was really helpful so he deserves a plug if anyone is thinking of purchasing a home in Longreach…..Howard Raven, LJ Hooker R/E. We were quite amused at a comment made by the guy in the Camping Shop when we enquired about the weather, he said, "Things might slow down a bit as they reckon there may be a bit of rain and it will probably get colder". "Oh, how cold?" we replied. "It will proabaly go down to about 20 degrees" he said. mmmmmmm…….I think we can handle that.
We came back from the street, brought in our washing then pottered about for an hour or so, happy that we had got everything we had on our list. It was a really beautiful day and the night was just the same. We wandered down to the Restaurant within the Park complex and found it was just to our liking. A big old barn type arrangement with plenty of space. Don ordered Lamb Shanks, one of his favourites and nearly fell off the chair when they arrived, there were two big shanks on the plate along with a generous serve of veggies but the shanks looked like they had come from a buffalo they were so big. Not being much of a country music fan, I saw his eyes roll a bit when a fellow took to the small stage and got out his guitar; but to my surprise he fully enjoyed it. The food was great and it just added to the flavour of the whole atmosphere. We were totally relaxed as we strolled back through the Park to our van, stopping to look up at the night sky which, even though the moon was bright, was filled with stars. It was very romantic actually and with the airport directly behind the Park the sight of the prop planes taking off low overhead with their coloured lights and soft purr just added to the feeling of being taken back in time. What a lovely day; we are looking forward to staying here for a bit and getting to know Longreach a lot better.
Wednesday 24th April, Longreach, QLD
Another beautiful day in Longreach. We have been pleasantly surprised that the flies seem to have stayed back down the track and we've hardly been aware of them here. With a few things to post and a couple of items still to get at the shops we headed down town.
We decided to have lunch at the Eagles Nest Cafe, a nice atmosphere and good service even though the
food was a bit pricey but then again, it was good food. The front of the Bar/Cafe is totally open to the street
with a few tables on the sidewalk as well. We were seated just inside next to the open door and had almost
finished eating when a strange sight caught our eye. A huge, and I am not over-estimating, a HUGE bull
came ambling up to the sidewalk ridden by a very gregarious stockman, carrying a large flag and accompanied
by a medium sized dog, also with a rider upon its back. Of course, closer inspection showed the dog's rider to
be a 'stockman' doll complete with hat and seated on a saddle upon the dog's back. A most unusual sight, which
of course gained a lot of attention.
We were caught without our camera but Don managed to get a few shots from his mobile phone. Soon he moved
off with the little dog trotting by his side. We finished lunch and were discussing our disappointment at not having
our cameras with us, when we spotted the stockman ambling up the other side of the street, stopping right by us.
We needed no prompting and I quickly grabbed my camera from the Landy and began clicking away. The little dog
was really friendly and trotted among the people lapping up the attention he received, from Don included. 
It was quite
a special sight. The stockman had a great character and the bull he was riding was HUGE!! I know I mentioned that
already but standing alongside this massive animal gave you a full appreciation of his size. Not just in height but in
girth.
We ambled about the shops a bit longer then headed back to camp. It was extremely hot again today and we didn't have the inclination to do anything requiring too much exertion, so contented ourselves doing the few odd jobs we had to do around camp; sitting back in the chair reading, in the shade, being one of them.
Thursday 25th, April, Longreach, QLD
42 degrees today but the heat is far more bearable than closer to the coast as the heat is dryer, far less humidity.It's amazing how convinced you are that you are relaxed until you find that deeper sense of relaxation and peace and realise just how much stress we hold onto in our lives. I was staggered when starting today's blog to realise we have only been here since late Monday afternoon…4 nights!! Having been 'stationary' for this time with not even the navigation to think about, it seems like we have been here for at least 2 weeks. It would be impossible for me to try to explain the overall changes we both feel, not just a holiday 'mode', it's deeper than that, it's more a 'letting go' of all that you felt was significant and realigning, not your 'thinking' but your 'knowing'. Well, enough philosophy for today.
We drove out the Western end of Longreach then headed North on the Muttaburra road, turning off onto a dirt track
to the Thomson River. There are quite a few camping spots along the river bank, very close to the water. We drove
along the river bank and located the Lily Lagoon, a temporary waterhole fed by the Thomson System usually after
good floods. The lilies found here are from the Hymphea genus of waterlily and are found only around Longreach.
This lagoon is an important refuge and habitat for the birds and wildlife in the area. 
We were lucky to be here at this
time; the waterlilies were abundant, the water still and crystal clear, producing almost flawless reflections in the water.
A myriad of bird life flitted and darted about and a large white egret sat perched on a dead tree trunk lying in the water,
his head kinked, his watchful gaze on the water, waiting for the opportunity to feed. It was hard to drag ourselves away
from this peaceful place but access to the bank was a trek through long grass and with the water and large shrubs
coming right up to the bank it made it difficult to find a good spot to sit. (I must admit the snake book I had read the day
previously might have had something to do with me not wanting to sit down in the dry grass).
We headed back into Longreach and stopped off at the Railway Station. A favourite place for me and Don. The station
was unmanned and there was a very long cattle freight train stationery on the track. We were able to get down on the
track and see the engine up close. We are unsure of how they off-load the cattle but the aroma told us it hadn't been too
long ago. 
We had passed the large cattle yards when we drove out to the Lagoon. We stopped and took a few photos of
the yards and two large road trains that each had three cattle trailers attached. We had seen a couple of these in Longreach
parked with cattle on board earlier today. All I could think of when we passed these cattle was the 42 degree heat that they
were experiencing. We don't know anything about the freight of cattle, this is just an observation not a critique.
Back to our camp to sit on the cool side of the van where we could enjoy the cool breeze that gave pleasurable relief from the heat of the day. As I sat there thinking about what we might have for tea, I glanced down idly at my legs that (don't laugh) Don had shaved for me the day before. I usually cut myself in about a dozen places when I do it so Don grabbed the razor and told me he would do it for me. I smiled as I remembered how quickly and effortlessly he had got through this laborious task. I rubbed my hand down the front of my leg, it felt nice and smooth………..then. shock! horror! My eyes wandered to the side and the back of my leg where the previous unsightly growth stood out starkly in the sunlight. "What's that?" I exclaimed horrified to Don. He peered closely at my legs. "Oh, I didn't know that hair grew right around" he exclaimed. Duhhhh!!!! I had happily trotted around all day today totally unaware I was wearing half 'mohair stockings'. I reminded myself again that nothing ever comes easy. "At least you haven't got any cuts on your legs" Don said lamely. True, and they did look really good at the front.
Friday 26th April, Longreach, QLD
Hot again today, 38 degrees but find a shady tree and the relief is instant especially if there is a cool breeze. So much different to the heat down South where the heat saps the energy right out of you and leaves you sweaty and uncomfortable.
Another wander around the Hardware & Camping Stores looking for a few bits and pieces for our never-ending stream of
ideas, then a take-away wrap and coffee eaten in the car as we watched the traffic and the people passing by. You could
tell the locals as they stopped to chat with each other or gave a smile and a wave as they drove past. Longreach appears
to be a very happy, friendly place. The farmers / cattlemen pull up in their utes, jump out and almost at a run, dash into a
store and out again but never fail to smile and wave to a person or two before they jump in their ute and drive off. The sales
staff are chatty and friendly and the over-all hum of the town is extremely pleasant.
Having eaten our lunch we headed off on one of our own unguided tours around the residential streets and dirt lanes of the town.
All the houses were neat and tidy and those with old wrecks and a bit of junk about (and there were a few) were still neat and tidy.
It's a thriving little town with plenty of local activity and quite a few busy, old fashioned workshops. The little dirt lanes were full of
interesting old vehicles tucked neatly beside fences or in backyards either on blocks, resting on their axles or just collapsing on the
ground. Coming down one lane we came across the fuselages of two Beechcraft Barons behind a garage. One of these had a USA
registration, the history of which crashed in Alaska. That's a long way from Longreach so not sure how it came to be here.
lots of hidden treasures in these outback towns
Back to camp to wash the windows on the camper……a really heavy workload today.
Saturday 27th April, Longreach, QLD
I think it would be easier if I mentioned when it wasn't a beautiful day in Longreach. The weather is great, there are very few flies, we have only seen two mosquitoes and the ants have so far kept to themselves. No wonder the people of Longreach all go around happy and smiling, they have nothing to complain about.
We attended to the usual chores this morning, then went down the street for awhile before taking another
drive around to check out the location of a few things that we want to see in the coming weeks. Everything
is so neat and clean. We had heard that the races were on today, not sure how often this occurs but we
thought we would check it out. We located the race track which wasn't very far away, in fact nothing is very
far away. We stayed at the track for about a half hour but could only see one race listed with five horses
running. This race was still about an hour away so we decided to check out a few other places as we weren't
really interested in placing bets on races being run elsewhere.
We drove into the Airport, also just located across from where we are staying and drove around past the Qantas aeroplanes displayed. A 707 and a 747-200 as well as a PBY5 Catalina. Tours of the Qantas Museum include a walk through these aeroplanes. We didn't get out of the Landy as we are hoping Rob, Kirk and Sophie will join us to towards the end of May to go through the Museum together. Next we checked out the Stockman's Hall of Fame from the outside only, as we are saving this tour to do with Rob, Kirk & Soph also. Both these places look well worth the visit so can't wait do see them.
After relaxing back at camp for the rest of the afternoon we decided to go to dinner again at the Restaurant within the Park area. We really like it here, no fuss and a lot of fun. As we walked home we were once again awestruck by the size and colour of the moon. It was bright orange and not far above the horizon and was the biggest moon I have ever seen. If the Landy was parked in front of us sideways and we were looking at the moon over it, it would easily be the width of the Landy. Don included a photo of last night's moon on yesterday's blog but there is no point of reference so it's hard to gauge the size of it. Anyway, it was amazing.
Sunday 28th April, Longreach, QLD
A day of rest today so not much to write that would interest anyone. Don did find the energy though to make up a loaf of damper. He wrapped it up and left it in the back of the Landy to prove before baking it in the Cobb Cooker. After his 'hard work' he sat down in the van to have a cup of coffee and happened to glance out the door as he was taking a sip.
Next minute he
spluttered coffee everywhere as he jumped up and dashed out to the Cooker. "What's up?" I
called. "It's hard to explain" he replied. I looked out of the van to see Don trying to lift the top
off the Cooker which had six bulbous lumps of damper protruding from the holes in the top. "I think I might have added a bit too much yeast" he said as he tried to
squash the damper back through the holes. It was rather a funny sight, unfortunately we were
both so engrossed in rescuing the damper that we didn't think to take a photo. But….all's well that ends well. The damper was very tasty, especially the nice crusty top. Back to the drawing board though for a less 'inflatable' dough.
Monday 29th April, Longreach, QLD
Up early today, with two loads of washing washed, hung on the line, dried, brought in and folded all before 0930. The first wash was sheets and pillow cases. With a large wash you could almost begin pegging it up and by the time you had finished you could work your way around again and begin to take off the dry ones. It's not quite that good but almost.
We left camp and fuelled up in Longreach before heading for Muttaburra about 116km North. Other
than a few k's of sealed road just out of Longreach it is dirt all the way. It just seemed like we were
driving through somebody's paddock, which was great for the amount of wildlife and the not so wildlife
that we encountered along the way. The beef cattle were fat and healthy looking. They always seem
curious as they amble off the road then stand and gaze at you as you drive by. The huge bulls never
get off the road until you are almost upon them, they stare right at you then toss their heads in the air
before giving a little buck with their hind legs, run back a few paces then stand their ground once more,
still tossing their heads.
We passed a small dam with a solitary black swan right in the middle. This wasn't far out of Longreach
just before the road divided. We took the right fork up to Muttaburra and came back on the left fork, a much
rougher track and 4wd only. When we passed here on the way back the swan was still on the dam.
Further along the track we spotted some wild camels. They looked fat and healthy too, not like the ones we saw
on the Nullabor. I was very happy with my long distance shot but no, once again, Crocodile Dondee decided he
could get a better photo about 200m trek through the long grass. I once again reminded him to watch out for
snakes, his reply? "I've got boots on!". I looked at his boots and then at his very bare legs sticking out of his shorts.
I saved any comment…..there were too many I could think of.
We reached Muttaburra around lunchtime. Population 200, but with only a few houses there it was hard to imagine
where they all were. We tried the little Pub first but the girl said she was there by herself and couldn't really serve
lunch today so we went to the cafe/servo/grocery store next door. We ordered a bacon/egg sandwich and a coffee
and sat outside at the side of the store to wait.
It turned out to be excellent, the coffee as well. 
We were surprised
that there hasn't been many flies at all in either Longreach or here, despite the amount of cow poo ect. that abounds.
We were surprised to learn that Muttaburra is actually the place where a local farmer dug up the most complete
dinosaur skeleton in the world only a few k's from the town, down along the river. It is stored in Brisbane as it is very
fragile but the town hopes to get a Museum going when they raise the money to highlight the find. The farmer still lives
in the area. Whilst we were having lunch, Don picked up the local paper..the Longreach Leader. We couldn't believe it,
there on the front page was a photo of the guy on the bull and the little dog…….and there in the background taking a photo
of the guy on the bull and the little dog was……….Don.
We headed back South to Longreach, taking a quick detour to check out the Thomson River. Don was in his element.
Without the van on the back he was able to do a bit of 'real' 4wd and he made the most of it. The track was very eroded
and muddy and in other places, deep wet and dry sand made crossing the channels a challenge. This West track was 4wd only
and lived up to its name. Still, it held another treasure for us, as we came upon a pair of Brolgas. We also discovered the
missing kangaroos, they are all up here. Big ones, little ones, red ones, dark grey ones, light grey ones. They were hopping
about everywhere.
We arrived back in Longreach with enough time to get some veggies for tea and some sharper tent pegs. The campground is like concrete here. We've learnt that if you need something to do a job, buy it local. The tent pegs they sell here are like iron stakes, not little piddly ones you get in the usual camping shop.
Tuesday 30th April, Longreach, QLD
A quiet day in camp today other than an hour or two down the street to have lunch and
wander about a few shops. A few more little jobs done that will make our life easier, like
putting a leather ring-pull on the plug for instance. It's a little bit harder to find innovative
jobs to do in a van.Special thoughts to Laurie & Rod. You are always in our thoughts but special love today. We are thinking of you.
condolences to Aunty Kay and family
In memory of Uncle Bill (Ken) Sendy.