Central West Qld

From Jericho, we wandered on to Barcaldine (Lloyd Jones Weir). The long spell of no rain has been very telling, with lots of dust, lots of road kill (poor animals chasing the little semi-green grass beside the roads). We got to the weir and there was very little water however a campground full of characters. Several had been there for 3 months and one couple 4 months. Lots of time and no funds means staying put where it costs almost nothing and there are a lot of others willing to stop and have a laugh with you. This campsite looks a bit packed but we had heaps of room. We also keep getting advice ..... in the most part good and occasionally excellent. The couple in the van closest in this picture put us on to a brilliant campsite at Longreach. 


We also loved the sense of humour - no dunny paper is a nuisance which someone obviously took offence to at a whole new level. If you can't read the sign, it says "here lies the last person caught stealing toilet paper. RIP"

We ran into a fairly special couple, he with half a face full of tatts and around 15 piercings. Got them at the right time of day, enough grog to be mellow before the arguments started. Turns out it was the couple from Surat who ran the old clunker generator all day and most of the night. Oh well, we found them to be easy going when we met them. No photos, he said he didn't like the last one taken (freebie taken at  Long Bay)



On the road again and seriously having to dodge the ex-kangaroos, wallabies, emus, pigs feral cats and even eagles, we arrived in Longreach. Nice place, lots to see and do, so we stayed a few days, taking in a number of highlights and particularly the Stockman Hall of Fame (brilliant) and Qantas museum (also surprising excellent).






At our camp at Ginn Creek, we once again tried our hand at catching red claw. Plenty of evidence some huge ones had been pulled out earlier by others, however none were silly enough to get into our trap. 

We've been warned about the black soil that turns to mud given a drop of rain ..... it really does. We had a very light shower and this muck stuck like $#!* to a blanket. Some heavy flows would go down this river at times too.






The trees obviously have to hang on for dear life.










Seems Ginn Creek really was a special campsite, probably a “locals only gem”. When we went to the Tourist Info Centre and the Officer asked where we were staying, she was mightily unimpressed to hear we were there.

After 3 nights at Ginn Creek camp, we headed off for Winton whilst the couple we'd been travelling with off and on for a couple of weeks (Rob & Di) headed back south on their way back to Melbourne for family commitments in a couple weeks.

 

Winton is the place that takes pride that it has “never changed”. It’s fairly small, pretty friendly and all in all was worth a couple of days. We set up camp at Long Waterhole which is ~3km out of town.

It compared extremely favourably with the free camp behind the Gregory Hotel which was like a car yard (no, we didn't squeeze in here).












The Long Water Hole camp  had water, but not much. The whole region is suffering from lack of rain. We were again in the black soil “dust” backing on to the water hole. Nice neighbours, including one couple from Swan Hill (3^rd camp in a row we’ve met folks from Swan Hill). Over two nights, we captured a few magical sunsets, the two here being so different (two different nights)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed into town for the arvo to do the touristy things, in particular the (Waltzing) Matilda Centre. Jane became mates with the famous swaggie, he didn’t seem to mind a pretty girl getting close.

There was an art display and one photo represents what John needs to do this holiday.

 

 

And a bloke with way too much time to spare - Arno built this wall around his property made up if everything he could find to recycle from the tip ... oops, waste management facility ... Arno took the concept of recycling very seriously indeed!

Next  morning was spent at the Australian Age of the Dinosaur centre where you can do a tour of the bone storage and preparation area and in fact can participate in cleaning the rock etc off to reveal bones. Seems there was no shortage of people happy to spend a day on the end of a jackhammer smaller than a dentists tool buzzing away to reveal more parts of Wade (the dinosaur skeleton currently the centre of attention). The other half of the tour is a presentation room which “brings the bones to life” through animation.

Their resident dinosaur (Banjo) took a real liking to Jane and treated John with the contempt he deserves.
 

 

After a ferocious fight, he escaped (John, not Banjo, Banjo just stood his ground). Then it was off to a rare “lunch out” at the Tatts Hotel in Winton for one of the best pub lunches we’ve had. We finished by doing another couple of tourist things that were part of the Matilda Centre entry ticket, both pretty lame. Although one had a recreation of the Dinosaur Stampede (Lark Quarry) so we got to see something akin to the real thing whilst avoiding a 220km journey.
After two nights in Winton, we made our way through to Hughenden on the Kennedy Development Road. The development roads are two lanes but the tar is only one lane wide. They were built predominantly for the transport industry and cars/vans etc are well advised to stop when a road train comes along. However this particular supposedly “scary” road is now almost all dual lane tar, is in great condition and there was not a single road train. We even got to overtake two vehicles ..... codgers just topping 65km/hr even though they were an hour from anywhere on perfect roads that were straight as an arrow and flat as a pancake. Obviously time on their side (we met them days later at a roadside stop and they mentioned they had nowhere to be in a hurry).

A stop at Hughenden Tourist Info Centre had us all stocked up with knowledge and accommodation for the next couple of nights. The lass was one of those really knowledgeable and happily enthusiastic folks and she was great, both in terms of info and as an ambassador for her region. We went from there to refill our little pantry of supplies before heading off to Porcupine Gorge National Park campground for the two nights. Whilst this region also badly needs rain, the campsite was nowhere near as baron as other locations.  The real surprise is driving along knowing you are within throwing distance of a gorge but not realising it’s there hidden in amongst the flat landscape of the general area until you are right upon it.

More great neighbours, this time no one from Swan Hill but one couple had recently travelled The Murray including Swan Hill. We’ve gone from camping next to people living in Charmhaven and Lake Haven to someone at each camp having a connection with Swan Hill.

 

We walked down to the gorge and absolutely loved it. The water was flowing gently and so we were able to walk over rocks usually covered in water.

 

 

Great to see the interesting way water & time had eroded soft rock away to reveal funny and interesting things. Jane made a discovery of a giant monkey foot for example and there was the skull of a massive ancient bird (ok ok, it was a rock that looked like one). We’d love to see the gorge with more water for the contrast it would bring. We spent 3 hours there, heading back up the steep 1.1km track in time for a late lunch and afternoon chores.   

 

 

 

 

A night watching State of Origin in the bush with others including the odd couple (mates Garry & Jim). Garry is travelling with 40L of home made rum and home made coke. We had a couple of glasses and decided on the quiet that whilst Bundy and coke both have nothing to worry about, there was no Bundy within 100km so this was alright stuff. Garry had forgotten to add the gas to the soda stream Coke so it was a bit special too.

As the only Blues supporters, both at the game and in camp, we both had to sulk off the bed and packed up and left early the next morning in shame. 

After another easy and uneventful drive, we arrived in Charters Towers to the sight of green grass and soon afterwards, a river with FLOWING water. Funny how excited we got.

So that officially marked the end of the “Central West” leg of our trip. So worth it!    

Lesson of the week

 

don't come back as a kangaroo (or wallaby, pig, feral cat, eagle or, of late, even a fully grown cow) beside a major highway and try playing chicken with the road trains .... they don't play fair!

Start of Cane Toad Country

With the result of State of Origin a safe time behind us, we ventured into Qld. First stop was Surat beside the river. Another really nice spot, although really packed in. We scored one of the only spacious areas and settled in to the roar of generators for the first time.

Funny how the simple things in life can bring such pleasure - a steaming hot shower at the Council buildings, simple food and pretty well nothing to do but prepare for happy hour. Big happy hour (10 couples), only interrupted by the important things in life (most wives heading into a palace on wheels ... 9 tonne rig & 5th wheeler) to cheer for their favourite contestant on "The Voice". Three of the couples are permanently on the road, so big rigs like this one are still small compared to what they were used to.

Given the numerous generators most of the day and well into the night, we decided to move on and made our way to Carnarvon Gorge (Takarakka Bush Resort), arriving just before dark. Takarakka is only 4km from the Visitor Info Centre (start of the Gorge walks) and is a very peaceful and relaxed place to stay. We attended the info session held by a Ranger (Simon Ling - extremely knowledgeable).

Next morning, we drove up to the Visitor Info Centre and did the 7km round trip walk to the Moss Garden. The walk through the gorge used to go along the creek however it was regularly washed away with floods. Serious volumes of water gush down these waterways at times. So the walk now goes through the bush and crosses the river every now and again.













The Moss Garden consists of a creek to a small waterfall and pond. The rocks forming the "amphitheatre" are covered in moss and constantly dripping water, so it would be a cool oasis in the heat of summer. We spent over an hour there and also stopped lots along the way to take in the bush and river.


Wish we could have done the more distant ones however 7km was as far as John figured he could limp along. So we headed back to camp and took a gentle stroll to the lookout above camp.

Day 2 and we did one of the walks between the camp and Visitor Centre (Mickey's Creek Gorge to Warrumbah Bluff). The Bluff was not signposted at the start of the walk but was the highlight. It started as rainforest and then became the narrow gorge, in parts so narrow that you can touch both sides at the one time. After such a hard adventure climbing over rocks and balancing on branches, we treated ourselves to coffee/ice cream at the up market lodge nearby before heading back for a hard afternoon's relaxing at Takarakka.

Day 3 and guess what, yes another (short) walk to The Rockpool and also to Buloon Cave. Then back to camp to have lunch, pack up and move along.

 

If you aim to get to one place inland other than Alice Springs/Kings Canyon/Uluru etc, Carnarvon Gorge should be high on the priority list.

 

We drove on to near Emerald to a campsite we'd seen in the Camps book which people we camped next to at Surat had also mentioned. It is a private property owned by a slightly eccentric and totally amazing lady (Cathie). At $6 per night for the campsite, we decided another couple of nights of peace and quite was on the menu. We set up camp and then realised the people from Surat (Rob & Di) were set up ~50m away although they were away from camp. They introduced us to red claw netting and we sat around the fire each night. After the first night/morning. we decided Cathie deserved a bonus for opening up her property to campers, so we paid her another $7 per night (ok, ok, it was so we could hook into power to have a heater without generator noise ... it was damned cold). Last night, we were treated to Red Claw for dinner by Rob and Di and we put on desert (Magnum ice creams).

After 3 days exploring the area (gem fields, Maraboon Dam, Emerald itself), we packed up and again hit the road. We're meeting Rob & Di and friends of theirs at Barcaldine on Wednesday and so decided to pull up stumps at Jerrico beside the river for one night. We went into town and sat in the pub for an hour with the owners and the one other patron. Not a busy gig for the owners it seems. Then it was back to "work" sitting around camp and reading before John put on a camp site display at the outdoor cold cold cold water shower .

Although a lot of campers (27 rigs) stayed overnight, the campsite was super quiet and the most amazing sunset (as usual, the camera doesn't do justice to what we saw), going from pink to blood red. We made an executive decision to laze around here for another day/night. One of the nice things is to have the choice to do whatever we wish. Everything done to extreme would become routine however for this break from our real lives, this is a fun way to live.

Lesson for the week:-

many of the best spots are off the beaten track

WE’RE OFF .... in a great way!!

 

After a year of dreaming, we were finally on our way. As you can see, Rob and his mates were devastated that we were leaving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Got all of the 3 month’s rain in the first day, which started just as we headed out our front gate.
 

We drove through to Bretti Reserve beyond Gloucester – What a magic spot!  Got to really enjoy the extra doona with a sub zero evening but then woke to a lovely morning. No time to stop, we had places to be .....but only 5km later, a truckie decided the “descend in first gear sign” didn’t apply to him, the result being 20 tonne of lime and a truck & dog (trailer, not puppy dog) spread all over the road.  We were turned back, so our second day of travelling was only 30 minutes in total. We settled back in to life at Bretti for another night and thoroughly enjoyed slowing right down. 

Another night snuggled into bed early, followed by a successful journey through to Bingara. We had been so looking forward to our time camped by the Gwydir River and it was even better than we had anticipated. One reason was an inspirational tourist info booklet on Bingara so we were thrilled when we got to meet one of the authors (Jenny) in Bingara.

 After 3 brilliant nights, we figured if we stayed longer, we wouldn’t ever leave. So we headed off via Narrabri (stopping at The Glacial Area and Sawn Rocks). The boulders Jane is standing beside fell from the cliff face (not recently!).

We met up at the Burren Junction artesian baths and free camp with new friends made in Bingara . For a camp area that was all red sand, it was another ripper place to spend some time. We both had the longest “bath” of our life, coming out a Lobster Red color. After such an invigorating bath, we raged until 8.45pm (we were the last to put “lights out” and discovered we were also the early risers at 7am. This camping gig is obviously hard work for those who have been on the road for a while.






Next stop – Lighting Ridge. We pulled up at the rest stop on the highway and stayed 2 nights. As with all the other camps, there were several wonderful “old codgers” set up. As well as providing entertainment, they looked after our van when we headed off to explore Lighting Ridge.

Of all the places on earth, Lighting Ridge is special. Probably 90% of the population would never be seen, as they live like hermits and spend their days digging for the treasure which they are sure they are right about to find. Of the tourist type things we saw, Amigos Castle which was pretty special and the Chamber of the Black Hand was an absolute must see. The owner of the mine has completed numerous rock carvings in the walls.

  

The house in the photo is also pretty special, an example of ingenuity and resourcefulness with limited materials.







Regretfully we moved on, spending one night on the Balonne River at Surat. Most expensive camp site so far - $2 donation ($2 more than we’d spent in total so far). Biggest happy hour gathering though, which went from around 4.30pm until late. We wobbled off mid way through as no food and a few grogs wasn’t going to work out so well. After a decent feed, we were refreshed and headed back for Round 2. Would have stayed longer as it was a lovely spot, however the constant symphony of generators and the bored dog (all night) meant we wanted to search for somewhere quieter.

Lesson for the week

- so much to see, not enough time - but must write the blog a bit more regularly!!!!