Back at home after 17,000 kilometres and 20 weeks, having had a wonderful trip where we saw splendid scenery and learned to appreciate the different types of landscape and flora and fauna.
We've seen crocodiles big and small, freshwater and salties, seen thousands of birds including at least a hundred species we hadn't previously seen (we wish we'd started recording them at the beginning, but we didn't- we had no idea we would see so many new ones). We've seen endangered species like bilbies and cassowary, we've seen many feral animals- cats, pigs, goats, foxes, cane toads, brumbies- the only camels we saw were tame but there are millions of feral camels too. Noxious weeds that people have introduced as pot plants or to solve one problem thereby creating another.
It's amazing to think that only yesterday we were in Queensland, in Cunnamulla to be exact. We'd planned to stay in Bourke but we arrived there at morning tea time, so decided to continue down the road, and reached a freebie near Warren in the afternoon. Just before dark we discovered the caravan battery was flat, so no lights, no water (pump doesn't work without power), no gas )piezzo lighter ditto)- so we went into Warren and stayed at a caravan park. This morning we checked the battery, it had charged with the power connected, but the frig drawing on it while we drove was dragging it down again. It's supposed to be charged through the car as we drive but for some reason that wasn't working, and the frig draws a lot of power- even though we have a solar panel, it's not enough power to run the frig all day and still have power left over. So we decided to just come home where these things are not a problem.
Then when I arrived home, I found my car battery also dead flat. Oh well, NRMA will come tomorrow and fix that. It's good to be home. As soon as we reached the Hunter Valley we started thinking how lovely everything looked, wattle in bloom, pastures green after rain- it's always good to be home again. Over and out.
Thursday, 23 August 2012
Monday, 20 August 2012
EMUS AND ROOS
Now at Cunnamulla, and enough said on that subject. It's not a very interesting town.
We've travelled 200 kms today and seen many emus, but only 2 live roos (many dead ones). The roadkill count's been amazing for the last week or so- it must have been a good season for the animals or there'd be none left at all. We saw a few feral cats today (in different places)- we've probably sighted about a dozen of them all told. they're a terrible danger to small native animals, unfortunately.
The first 50 kms from Charleville was fairly boring, with mulga growing thickly both sides of the road, and in this flat land there was nothing at all to see. The mulga itself is fairly ordinary, bushy rather than trees, and so thick you can see only a few metres into the scrub.
It was a relief to get to a place where the mulga had been cleared so you could actually see 100 metres or so. A little later, there were huge paddocks with sheep or cattle- that's where we saw the emus.
Halfway to Cunnamulla, there's a little town named Wyandra. It boasts a hotel which sells fuel (last fuel for 100 kms) and a post office which doubles as caravan park and grocery store. One of the houses has a fence made up of hubcaps, which is reasonably common out here, but the next door neighbour's decoration is dozens of bras strung up along the fence. Big ones, small ones, polka dotted ones- they ask for a donation to breast cancer research if you take a photo. Different.
Cunnamulla has some sand dunes which they seem to find quite interesting. For people who live in such a flat land, I suppose they are. They're not much compared to the dunes at Williamtown, though.
Tomorrow, Bourke. I'm also going to put up some photos, having finally gotten around to downloading them from the cameras.
We've travelled 200 kms today and seen many emus, but only 2 live roos (many dead ones). The roadkill count's been amazing for the last week or so- it must have been a good season for the animals or there'd be none left at all. We saw a few feral cats today (in different places)- we've probably sighted about a dozen of them all told. they're a terrible danger to small native animals, unfortunately.
The first 50 kms from Charleville was fairly boring, with mulga growing thickly both sides of the road, and in this flat land there was nothing at all to see. The mulga itself is fairly ordinary, bushy rather than trees, and so thick you can see only a few metres into the scrub.
It was a relief to get to a place where the mulga had been cleared so you could actually see 100 metres or so. A little later, there were huge paddocks with sheep or cattle- that's where we saw the emus.
Halfway to Cunnamulla, there's a little town named Wyandra. It boasts a hotel which sells fuel (last fuel for 100 kms) and a post office which doubles as caravan park and grocery store. One of the houses has a fence made up of hubcaps, which is reasonably common out here, but the next door neighbour's decoration is dozens of bras strung up along the fence. Big ones, small ones, polka dotted ones- they ask for a donation to breast cancer research if you take a photo. Different.
Cunnamulla has some sand dunes which they seem to find quite interesting. For people who live in such a flat land, I suppose they are. They're not much compared to the dunes at Williamtown, though.
Tomorrow, Bourke. I'm also going to put up some photos, having finally gotten around to downloading them from the cameras.
Sunday, 19 August 2012
BULLS AND BILBIES
We walked a couple of kilometres to the Blackall Showground, very well rugged up (even gloves for me) because it gets quite cold once the sun sets out here. We found seats in the grandstand and waited. And waited. And waited. Half an hour after the stated starting time, the announcer came on and announced that they were about to start. He thanked all the sponsors at great length and said they were about to start. He thanked the sponsors again and introduced all the riders, who were in 3 divisions, junior, novice and open. He thanked all the sponsors several times before the first gate (chute) opened and let out a little boy on a big bull- for a few seconds, anyway. He didn't make the five and a half seconds minimum. Neither did the next one, or the next, or the next. Each time we waited ten minutes or more in between rides, with the announcer thanking the sponsors. The boys were probably teenagers, hard to tell as they didn't stay visible for long, they surely ran fast to climb the fence once they fell off the bulls. One of the bulls refused to leave the ring, and it took some time and some antics by the clowns to get him through the exit gate. Probably the most amusing and interesting part of the night.
So the novice comp started. Same story. None of the riders stayed on long enough, most of them falling as soon as they came through the gate.
Finally the open comp began, and somebody actually stayed aboard for the grown-up requisite 8 seconds. Most of them fell off but then another one lasted the distance. They stopped for a break (as far as we could see, they'd been having breaks all night). We left at this stage, after two hours sitting in the freezing cold, feeling sorry for the poor bulls who were so scared. Most of this time we were waiting for something to happen, as the long breaks in between riders continued. Oh, I forgot to mention that all the riders had fancy clothes, with spangles and shiny bits- hardly mattered, with the little time you see of them. Are they supposed to make them rider better?
They're very brave (and stupid) but I kept thinking, "Would I let my son do this? No way!"
Blackall to Charleville was a long leg, just under 300 km. We stopped in the pleasant little town of Tambo for morning tea and Augathella for lunch, meeting up with the same two vans in each place and chatting to the people, who were from Adelaide. They were heading for Roma, we were turning to Charleville. The country changed quite a bit. Blackall was at 900+ metres above sea level but we kept rising so Charleville is higher. It's the biggest town since Mt Isa, which surprised us.
Last night we rugged up again and went to see some bilbies. First we listened to a delightful young man, Lawson, a volunteer, who also volunteers for Red Cross, is doing Year 12 at present and will join the Air Force at the end of the year. We watched a video on the Save the Bilbies appeal before going to meet some of the little critters in the noctarium. No flash allowed so no photos but they are awfully cute with their big ears and their black and white tail which looks like it's been stuck on the wrong animal. They are highly endangered so a big fence has been erected at a national park west of here, the area cleared of foxes and cats, and a colony left to breed there.
Today we've done the washing and will take it easy before heading for Cunnamulla tomorrow. Only about another hundred k's after that, we'll be back in NSW. The weather's getting cooler all the time as we go south- 25 predicted today, but down to about 6 overnight. Lovely during the day, of course.
We've driven in excess of 14,000 kms so far and we still have a long way to go. We expect to be home by the end of the month, which will be 5 months away.
So the novice comp started. Same story. None of the riders stayed on long enough, most of them falling as soon as they came through the gate.
Finally the open comp began, and somebody actually stayed aboard for the grown-up requisite 8 seconds. Most of them fell off but then another one lasted the distance. They stopped for a break (as far as we could see, they'd been having breaks all night). We left at this stage, after two hours sitting in the freezing cold, feeling sorry for the poor bulls who were so scared. Most of this time we were waiting for something to happen, as the long breaks in between riders continued. Oh, I forgot to mention that all the riders had fancy clothes, with spangles and shiny bits- hardly mattered, with the little time you see of them. Are they supposed to make them rider better?
They're very brave (and stupid) but I kept thinking, "Would I let my son do this? No way!"
Blackall to Charleville was a long leg, just under 300 km. We stopped in the pleasant little town of Tambo for morning tea and Augathella for lunch, meeting up with the same two vans in each place and chatting to the people, who were from Adelaide. They were heading for Roma, we were turning to Charleville. The country changed quite a bit. Blackall was at 900+ metres above sea level but we kept rising so Charleville is higher. It's the biggest town since Mt Isa, which surprised us.
Last night we rugged up again and went to see some bilbies. First we listened to a delightful young man, Lawson, a volunteer, who also volunteers for Red Cross, is doing Year 12 at present and will join the Air Force at the end of the year. We watched a video on the Save the Bilbies appeal before going to meet some of the little critters in the noctarium. No flash allowed so no photos but they are awfully cute with their big ears and their black and white tail which looks like it's been stuck on the wrong animal. They are highly endangered so a big fence has been erected at a national park west of here, the area cleared of foxes and cats, and a colony left to breed there.
Today we've done the washing and will take it easy before heading for Cunnamulla tomorrow. Only about another hundred k's after that, we'll be back in NSW. The weather's getting cooler all the time as we go south- 25 predicted today, but down to about 6 overnight. Lovely during the day, of course.
We've driven in excess of 14,000 kms so far and we still have a long way to go. We expect to be home by the end of the month, which will be 5 months away.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
LONGREACH TO BLACKALL
More on Longreach: it's situated on the Thomson River which is one of the tributaries of Cooper Creek and eventually flows into Lake Eyre- seems odd to be in the Lake Eyre catchment when we were so far, I suppose well over a thousand kilometres, from Lake Eyre.
We had a great time at the Qantas museum, spending about 6 hours there. We did a tour of a 747 and of a 707, behind the scenes as it were- we got to go upstairs in the Jumbo and to sit in business class seats. If I do any more air travel, that's how I want to fly! The seats are like my recliner chair, and this is a 20 year old plane. The 707 was the first one delivered to Qantas but was later fitted out for an Arab sheikh and has ensuite bathrooms with gold taps and a queen sized bed- now THAT's the way to travel.
The museum has lots of little films you can watch as well as many full sized replicas of planes, and a new exhibit which Chris had a go at, the flight simulator. I think he would have been happy with a Tiger Moth simulator but he got the latest (not yet in service) jet fighter and he had a bit of trouble with the very sensitive controls and crashed a few times. He became quite good at taking off! Apparently kids, who are all used to electronic games, find it easy but even people with pilots licences find it hard, Anyway, he enjoyed the experience, I think. I'm just glad I didn't try to fly it, I felt a bit sick just watching when he did loops and spins.
Today we've continued down the highway through Barcaldine (pron Bark- awl- din) which is a pretty town, the birthplace of the Labor Party. Nice parks, lots of trees and all the streets are named after trees. (In Longreach they're all named after birds).
We're now in Blackall which is a smaller but pleasant town and we're about to set off to see the bull-riding. We''ve managed to avoid rodeos in about 6 towns so far, but we've decided tonight's the night and we're rugging up before leaving the van. Weather continues to be wonderful but the temperatures have dropped a bit since we've started heading south. Still mid twenties in the daytime but low temps overnight and it will be chilly outside.
Tomorrow, Charleville, 300 kms so a longer run than usual for us.
We had a great time at the Qantas museum, spending about 6 hours there. We did a tour of a 747 and of a 707, behind the scenes as it were- we got to go upstairs in the Jumbo and to sit in business class seats. If I do any more air travel, that's how I want to fly! The seats are like my recliner chair, and this is a 20 year old plane. The 707 was the first one delivered to Qantas but was later fitted out for an Arab sheikh and has ensuite bathrooms with gold taps and a queen sized bed- now THAT's the way to travel.
The museum has lots of little films you can watch as well as many full sized replicas of planes, and a new exhibit which Chris had a go at, the flight simulator. I think he would have been happy with a Tiger Moth simulator but he got the latest (not yet in service) jet fighter and he had a bit of trouble with the very sensitive controls and crashed a few times. He became quite good at taking off! Apparently kids, who are all used to electronic games, find it easy but even people with pilots licences find it hard, Anyway, he enjoyed the experience, I think. I'm just glad I didn't try to fly it, I felt a bit sick just watching when he did loops and spins.
Today we've continued down the highway through Barcaldine (pron Bark- awl- din) which is a pretty town, the birthplace of the Labor Party. Nice parks, lots of trees and all the streets are named after trees. (In Longreach they're all named after birds).
We're now in Blackall which is a smaller but pleasant town and we're about to set off to see the bull-riding. We''ve managed to avoid rodeos in about 6 towns so far, but we've decided tonight's the night and we're rugging up before leaving the van. Weather continues to be wonderful but the temperatures have dropped a bit since we've started heading south. Still mid twenties in the daytime but low temps overnight and it will be chilly outside.
Tomorrow, Charleville, 300 kms so a longer run than usual for us.
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
LONGREACH AT LONG LAST
We first started thinking of visiting Longreach some years ago. At the time the idea was to catch the train from Brisbane, visit the Qantas museum and the Stockman's Hall of Fame, and return to Brisbane by train. This proved to be impractical so the idea was shelved.
This morning Chris took the car to be serviced and we rode our bikes the kilometre or so to the Longreach School of Distance Education, formerly School of the Air. What an interesting place it turned out to be! We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and recommend it to anyone, doesn't cost much and you'll be surprised what you see. We tuned into a Preppy class (Kindergarten)- five children scattered over the countryside, talking to their teacher via computer. They were so funny with their spontaneity, as they tried to play a mix and match word game, under the teacher's control ("take your feet off the desk, Nathan"). Priceless.
The school is set up beautifully, the kids do actually get to meet their teacher at least once a year. They are brought in for short periods to stay in the dorms (with several mothers coming too) and iinteracting with each other. They are currently teaching 171 kids from 150 families, in an area bigger than Victoria. Most of the children go to boarding school after finishing Primary, in any event the school teaches only to Grade 10.
On the way back to the caravan park, we visited the Hall of Fame, and we enjoyed that so much we plan to return as soon as Chris comes back with the car. Our entry fee gave us free entry all day, and if we wish we can get a pass-out to return tomorrow as well. We paid $10 extra for the live show- worried it might be a Smokey Dawson sort of thing, but no, it's Luke the all-rounder who has horses, dogs, camels and bullocks well under his control while he tells jokes and recites a few bush poems. Very funny.
The museum's not just about cows, but covers pioneer history with really interesting exhibits. We've only "done" half of it so far and really enjoyed the experience.
Our neighbours, the Brolgas.
This morning Chris took the car to be serviced and we rode our bikes the kilometre or so to the Longreach School of Distance Education, formerly School of the Air. What an interesting place it turned out to be! We thoroughly enjoyed the tour and recommend it to anyone, doesn't cost much and you'll be surprised what you see. We tuned into a Preppy class (Kindergarten)- five children scattered over the countryside, talking to their teacher via computer. They were so funny with their spontaneity, as they tried to play a mix and match word game, under the teacher's control ("take your feet off the desk, Nathan"). Priceless.
The school is set up beautifully, the kids do actually get to meet their teacher at least once a year. They are brought in for short periods to stay in the dorms (with several mothers coming too) and iinteracting with each other. They are currently teaching 171 kids from 150 families, in an area bigger than Victoria. Most of the children go to boarding school after finishing Primary, in any event the school teaches only to Grade 10.
On the way back to the caravan park, we visited the Hall of Fame, and we enjoyed that so much we plan to return as soon as Chris comes back with the car. Our entry fee gave us free entry all day, and if we wish we can get a pass-out to return tomorrow as well. We paid $10 extra for the live show- worried it might be a Smokey Dawson sort of thing, but no, it's Luke the all-rounder who has horses, dogs, camels and bullocks well under his control while he tells jokes and recites a few bush poems. Very funny.
The museum's not just about cows, but covers pioneer history with really interesting exhibits. We've only "done" half of it so far and really enjoyed the experience.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
MEET THE NEIGHBOURS
Today we've travelled to Longreach, a town of 3,500 which boasts the Qantas museum, The Stockman's Hall of Fame, and School of the Air, all of which we plan to visit. There are a few other museums as well, but we probably won't bother with them.
The car's booked in for a service tomorrow and we'll ride our bikes up the road a bit to see School of the Air, which should be interesting. If we have time we'll drop in at Stockman's Hall of Fame on the way back. Qantas museum's across the road but we're booked in for Friday morning to tour a 747 and a 707, hopefully getting to see the cockpits of each.
This is a very big caravan park- our site number is 254. It's spread out over a large area on the outskirts of town, and has amenities which are palatial compared with those of Winton, and the water doesn't smell of rotten eggs either.
As we drove in, Chris pointed out a statue of a brolga. It took a few moments to realise it wasn't a statue. We actually had to wait for one to get out of the road so we wouldn't run over it. A pair of them are stationed at the back of our caravan, and every now and then the male starts a chortling sound. With a bit of luck we may even see them dance!
I've been trying to upload a photo of the brolgas, but Google who host this site must be having problems. I'll try again later.
The car's booked in for a service tomorrow and we'll ride our bikes up the road a bit to see School of the Air, which should be interesting. If we have time we'll drop in at Stockman's Hall of Fame on the way back. Qantas museum's across the road but we're booked in for Friday morning to tour a 747 and a 707, hopefully getting to see the cockpits of each.
This is a very big caravan park- our site number is 254. It's spread out over a large area on the outskirts of town, and has amenities which are palatial compared with those of Winton, and the water doesn't smell of rotten eggs either.
As we drove in, Chris pointed out a statue of a brolga. It took a few moments to realise it wasn't a statue. We actually had to wait for one to get out of the road so we wouldn't run over it. A pair of them are stationed at the back of our caravan, and every now and then the male starts a chortling sound. With a bit of luck we may even see them dance!
I've been trying to upload a photo of the brolgas, but Google who host this site must be having problems. I'll try again later.
Monday, 13 August 2012
DINOSAUR TRAIL
We know so much about dinosaurs now, having met several different species up close (but not quite personal). At Richmond we met replicas of Kronosaurus and Minmi (I forget what type he was); in Hughenden it was Muttabutasaurus, and here in Winton there are three at the Age of Dinosaurs, Banjo, Matilda and Wade. 110 kms south of Winton, the Lark Quarry stampede involved yet three more species, these not positively identified yet. We were told as children there were no dinosaurs in Australia, but this is proving increasingly incorrect. Winton's three have all been found in the last 12 years and they are still finding more every day. (If you're up this way you might find one for yourself).
The Age of Dinosaurs is an excellent exhibit, which starts with a presentation of the three dinosaurs. Banjo is a carnivore, Matilda was much bigger, as you can see by Chris standing near her front leg, which is estimated to be only one third of her height.
Chris beside Matilda's front leg
Her femur was contrasted with that of a two tonne bull, making the bull's bone look tiny in comparison. Wade is a different type of beast, but they're still working on categorising his bones- he won't be "released" to science for a few years yet.
Note: although none of the brochures mention this fact, the Age of Dinosaurs is not actually in Winton, but 24 kms away- 13 towards Longreach then 11 kms in. OK as long as you know about it, timing is everything for hourly tours.
Lark Quarry's also a bit out of town- 110 kms on a road that's about halfway tarred. It's up on a mesa (locally known as a jumpup) and through some incredibly barren land which still had sheep grazing, though goodness knows what they were eating. 1 beast to the acre, I would think, they were very sparsely scattered.
Jumpup behind Lark Quarry
At Lark Quarry itself, the countryside was quite lovely, the red jumpups contrasting with the spinifex grass. Again it's a guided tour at fixed times, so you need to plan ahead, particularly in terms of food and water as there is no kiosk. (There are toilets). The dinosaur stampede, preserved forever in the rock, is now contained in a huge shed so it's out of the sun.
We've also visited the Waltzing Matilda centre- I should mention that Banjo Patterson wrote the song here, hence the names of the dinosaurs. This is a pretty good museum but I'll be happy if I don't hear that song again for a hundred years. Did you know Winston Churchill sang it to Bob Menzies once? Do you care?
There are other exhibits at the centre including some to do with Qantas, which is the destination of the first Qantas flight, after the first Qantas board meeting was held here.
Winton's a very dry place where tap water gives off a rotten egg gas smell. If you've never smelt rotten eggs, remember how perms used to stink? It's artesian water, which is pumped up at 80 degrees and cooled before being circulated. They say it's fine to drink, and the smell does dissipate once you've had the water on for a minute, but still!
Tomorrow, on to Longreach for a few days.
The Age of Dinosaurs is an excellent exhibit, which starts with a presentation of the three dinosaurs. Banjo is a carnivore, Matilda was much bigger, as you can see by Chris standing near her front leg, which is estimated to be only one third of her height.
Her femur was contrasted with that of a two tonne bull, making the bull's bone look tiny in comparison. Wade is a different type of beast, but they're still working on categorising his bones- he won't be "released" to science for a few years yet.
Banjo gives Chris a welcome hug. Look at those talons!
A pleasant walk across the cliffs (or you can drive the distance) brings you to the lab, where a hyper young man named George sounded as if he was auditioning for the Wiggles, as he postured and yelled his spiel at us- interesting if he'd just been himself. I found myself switching off, bored with his antics. It was interesting to see how the bones are processed, using equipment very like that which dentists use- they are looking for volunteers, if anyone's interested.Note: although none of the brochures mention this fact, the Age of Dinosaurs is not actually in Winton, but 24 kms away- 13 towards Longreach then 11 kms in. OK as long as you know about it, timing is everything for hourly tours.
Lark Quarry's also a bit out of town- 110 kms on a road that's about halfway tarred. It's up on a mesa (locally known as a jumpup) and through some incredibly barren land which still had sheep grazing, though goodness knows what they were eating. 1 beast to the acre, I would think, they were very sparsely scattered.
At Lark Quarry itself, the countryside was quite lovely, the red jumpups contrasting with the spinifex grass. Again it's a guided tour at fixed times, so you need to plan ahead, particularly in terms of food and water as there is no kiosk. (There are toilets). The dinosaur stampede, preserved forever in the rock, is now contained in a huge shed so it's out of the sun.
We've also visited the Waltzing Matilda centre- I should mention that Banjo Patterson wrote the song here, hence the names of the dinosaurs. This is a pretty good museum but I'll be happy if I don't hear that song again for a hundred years. Did you know Winston Churchill sang it to Bob Menzies once? Do you care?
There are other exhibits at the centre including some to do with Qantas, which is the destination of the first Qantas flight, after the first Qantas board meeting was held here.
Winton's a very dry place where tap water gives off a rotten egg gas smell. If you've never smelt rotten eggs, remember how perms used to stink? It's artesian water, which is pumped up at 80 degrees and cooled before being circulated. They say it's fine to drink, and the smell does dissipate once you've had the water on for a minute, but still!
Tomorrow, on to Longreach for a few days.
Saturday, 11 August 2012
Winter in Winton
Brr it was cold when we woke up in Hughenden this morning, 8 degrees inside the caravan and a bitterly cold wind blowing outside. Up till the last few days we've had to remind ourselves this is winter, with temps up to 30 degrees. Today it warmed up, but when we stopped at Corfield for morning tea the wind was still cold and I kept my jumper on. Arrived in Winton at lunchtime, and it's now warm enough to take it off, just.
The road here was straight and constantly rising at a very gradual incline. Women would be well advised to wear a very firm bra because the road, although tarred all the way, at times has become corrugated through the black soil shrinking. You get jiggled about a lot. The strong winds make driving with the caravan harder, too.
Winton's not a bad town, a mixture of old and newer houses though nothing brand new apart from a really good covered skate park for kids. For the oldies there are bowls and golf clubs, three independent supermarkerts,wide streets with odd names like Manifold St, Sesibania St, Vindex St- some of them have trees in the middle, as does the main street with flowering plants and most of the businesses we need like hardware, bakery, hairdresser etc. Oh, and a cafe. No McDonald's, we haven't seen one of those since Mt Isa, and not for weeks prior to that, probably Cairns. Not that we miss them, of course.
The road here was straight and constantly rising at a very gradual incline. Women would be well advised to wear a very firm bra because the road, although tarred all the way, at times has become corrugated through the black soil shrinking. You get jiggled about a lot. The strong winds make driving with the caravan harder, too.
Winton's not a bad town, a mixture of old and newer houses though nothing brand new apart from a really good covered skate park for kids. For the oldies there are bowls and golf clubs, three independent supermarkerts,wide streets with odd names like Manifold St, Sesibania St, Vindex St- some of them have trees in the middle, as does the main street with flowering plants and most of the businesses we need like hardware, bakery, hairdresser etc. Oh, and a cafe. No McDonald's, we haven't seen one of those since Mt Isa, and not for weeks prior to that, probably Cairns. Not that we miss them, of course.
Friday, 10 August 2012
FOSSILS AND DINOSAURS
Yes, we are two old fossils, but that's not what I'm talking about. We left Julia Creek yesterday (pop 500, pop of the whole shire 1,000) and headed over tarred but bumpy roads to Richmond and Hughenden. We're back in black soil country, which cracks badly in the dry season and the road moves with the drying soil, forming small hills and valleys even though the actual terrain's quite flat. Very noticeable when towing the caravan.
Julia Creek actually has a native animal which lives in the cracks. It's a tiny marsupial called a Julia Creek dunnart. We saw a couple of stuffed ones at the very good info centre, they will have live ones for viewing when the new centre's finished next month. They are nocturnal so I guess they're building a noctarium. Cute little guys, the size of a mouse, they can carry up to 8 little babies in their pouch. They live on insects and caterpillars so the farmers like them. Found only within 100 kms radius of Julia Creek.
At Richmond we stopped at the excellent fossil museum called Kronosaurus Korner, which also has a nice cafe which doesn't charge the earth. The fossils are awesome, all found in the area, and including a replica of the Kronosaurus skeleton fossil found near here, as well as Minmi, a much smaller fellow also found in the area. You can look for fossils yourself, 16kms from town- really good fossils are still being found, some by tourists. An English couple found something just last year which excited the scientists.
Fossilised skeleton of a plesiosaur, the first complete one ever found in Australia.The finder was so pleased he opened the excellent museum at Richmond, which has many other fossil remains.
At Hughenden, they have a replica of the huge dinosaur known as Muttaburrasaurus (found at Muttaburra) as well as dinosaur eggs and many, many others. A great area for anyone interested in these things. Another unique feature is the Flinders poppy, named after the local river, which although being the longest river in Queensland, is currently dry, as it is every winter.
Today we visited Porcupine Gorge, some 60kms from Hughenden, and did a walk down the steep sides of the gorge to the creek at the bottom. The gorge is 27 km long and quite deep, very impressive.
Porcupine Gorge from the lookout
One of the rockpools at the bottom of the gorge
On the rocks below we found a dessicated cane toad, which looks as if it died laughing.
Tomorrow we're off to Winton, for more of the Dinosaur Trail- this is where you can see the rocky remains of a dinosaur stampede from millions of years ago. Three days there, then Longreach- Chris has the car booked in for a service and we want to see the Stockmen's Hall of Fame and the Qantas museum.
Julia Creek actually has a native animal which lives in the cracks. It's a tiny marsupial called a Julia Creek dunnart. We saw a couple of stuffed ones at the very good info centre, they will have live ones for viewing when the new centre's finished next month. They are nocturnal so I guess they're building a noctarium. Cute little guys, the size of a mouse, they can carry up to 8 little babies in their pouch. They live on insects and caterpillars so the farmers like them. Found only within 100 kms radius of Julia Creek.
At Richmond we stopped at the excellent fossil museum called Kronosaurus Korner, which also has a nice cafe which doesn't charge the earth. The fossils are awesome, all found in the area, and including a replica of the Kronosaurus skeleton fossil found near here, as well as Minmi, a much smaller fellow also found in the area. You can look for fossils yourself, 16kms from town- really good fossils are still being found, some by tourists. An English couple found something just last year which excited the scientists.
At Hughenden, they have a replica of the huge dinosaur known as Muttaburrasaurus (found at Muttaburra) as well as dinosaur eggs and many, many others. A great area for anyone interested in these things. Another unique feature is the Flinders poppy, named after the local river, which although being the longest river in Queensland, is currently dry, as it is every winter.
Today we visited Porcupine Gorge, some 60kms from Hughenden, and did a walk down the steep sides of the gorge to the creek at the bottom. The gorge is 27 km long and quite deep, very impressive.
On the rocks below we found a dessicated cane toad, which looks as if it died laughing.
Tomorrow we're off to Winton, for more of the Dinosaur Trail- this is where you can see the rocky remains of a dinosaur stampede from millions of years ago. Three days there, then Longreach- Chris has the car booked in for a service and we want to see the Stockmen's Hall of Fame and the Qantas museum.
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
MT ISA TO JULIA CREEK
Mt Isa exists only because of the mines, the reason for the town's beginnings in 1923 and remaining the dominant feature of the landscape. They employ 7,000 of the 23,000 population so it has a big economic impact as well. We did a surface tour of the mines and smelter (without getting out of the bus)- it was much more interesting than I expected. They mine copper underground currently, but within a few years all the existing infrastructure will disappear, being taken apart for scrap, and they will commence digging a great big super-pit, an open cut mine that extends for five kilometres to a depth of 800 metres.
250 tonne trucks all driven by women.
There is already an open-cut mining lead, zinc and silver, which will continue operating. Apparently the prevailing wind blows away from the town, so no lead is blown onto the town. Wonder why they have TV ads reminding mums to wash kiddie's hands frequently and to wet wipe floors and benches often- put out by the Lead Alliance. We found the air rather polluted although not as badly as you'd think.
There's a good shopping centre and a lovely lake which forms the local water supply.
Lake Moondarra, near Mt Isa
We also toured the Underground Hospital, a WWII relic- after the bombing of Darwin, the locals thought Mt Isa would be the next target (mines producing metal for ammo) and if the hospital was hit, what would they do? So they went underground- digging equipment provided by the mines, but voluntary labour did the work. Thankfully never needed.
Underground hospital, Mt Isa.
This morning we've moved on to Julia Creek, where we are staying in a lovely freebie near the waterholes which in the wet season are the creek. We're about to ride our bikes into the attractive little town, about a kilometre away. Tomorrow we'll go to Richmond, then Hughenden, before turning south to Winton and Longreach, where Chris has organised to have the car serviced. We'll be at Longreach until Sunday week at least. From now on we should be in biggish towns, hence mobile coverage most of the time.
There is already an open-cut mining lead, zinc and silver, which will continue operating. Apparently the prevailing wind blows away from the town, so no lead is blown onto the town. Wonder why they have TV ads reminding mums to wash kiddie's hands frequently and to wet wipe floors and benches often- put out by the Lead Alliance. We found the air rather polluted although not as badly as you'd think.
There's a good shopping centre and a lovely lake which forms the local water supply.
We also toured the Underground Hospital, a WWII relic- after the bombing of Darwin, the locals thought Mt Isa would be the next target (mines producing metal for ammo) and if the hospital was hit, what would they do? So they went underground- digging equipment provided by the mines, but voluntary labour did the work. Thankfully never needed.
This morning we've moved on to Julia Creek, where we are staying in a lovely freebie near the waterholes which in the wet season are the creek. We're about to ride our bikes into the attractive little town, about a kilometre away. Tomorrow we'll go to Richmond, then Hughenden, before turning south to Winton and Longreach, where Chris has organised to have the car serviced. We'll be at Longreach until Sunday week at least. From now on we should be in biggish towns, hence mobile coverage most of the time.
Monday, 6 August 2012
FROM THE CURRY TO THE ISA
We left Cloncurry this morning, without regret- we weren't terribly impressed by the town. Heading west towards Mt Isa, we were amazed by the changing landscape. Where yesterday we were passing through fairly flat though elevated land, with occasional higher spots, and a great deal of vegetation, with shrubs coming into flower and an abundance of different trees giving differing shades of green, from silvery grey to dark green, today we were suddenly climbing hills and more hills, with Namatjira landscapes of red cliffs or red hills barely covered with grey/brown grass and spotted with small trees. It may not sound great but it's actually quite beautiful.
The Isa, as the locals call it, is a biggish town dominated by the three tall chimneys of the mine. The town's grown up round the mine, and is surprisingly close to it. It's located in the valley formed by several large hills, and we were pleased to find Coles and Kmart and even better, hairdressers! We've both had our hair cut and are feeling much better for it. We've done the washing (it dried within an hour) and a big grocery shop - we don't expect to see another decent supermarket for a while so we've stocked up. Now we can concentrate on sight-seeing. Chris has just suggested going to the local look-out at sunset, which sounds like an excellent idea. It's right here in town, so should have a good view of the place.
The local rodeo's on this weekend; and rodeos are big in the outback, we've already been close to three others. But we couldn't stay even if we wanted to, because the caravan park's booked out.
The Isa, as the locals call it, is a biggish town dominated by the three tall chimneys of the mine. The town's grown up round the mine, and is surprisingly close to it. It's located in the valley formed by several large hills, and we were pleased to find Coles and Kmart and even better, hairdressers! We've both had our hair cut and are feeling much better for it. We've done the washing (it dried within an hour) and a big grocery shop - we don't expect to see another decent supermarket for a while so we've stocked up. Now we can concentrate on sight-seeing. Chris has just suggested going to the local look-out at sunset, which sounds like an excellent idea. It's right here in town, so should have a good view of the place.
The local rodeo's on this weekend; and rodeos are big in the outback, we've already been close to three others. But we couldn't stay even if we wanted to, because the caravan park's booked out.
KARUMBA PHOTOS
For some reason I'm unable to reopen any of my posts to add photos so I'll get around it this way:
BIRD ATTACKS AND PARADISE
We're in Cloncurry today, having started on the way south and heading home, though we won't reach it for several weeks yet, still lots to see.
In the past few days we've been almost to the Northern Territory border, visiting Adel's Grove and Lawn Hill National Park, just about due north of Camooweal. Lawn Hill is a little bit of paradise, with a deep gorge, deep river, and wonderful colours. We canoed up to a little waterfall, through sheer red cliffs on emerald green water, with lush riverside growth including tall palm trees and many other trees, lots of birdlife and freshwater crocodiles- we saw one of them sunbaking by the side of the stream. they say you can swim there, but we didn't!
On the way to Adel's Grove, which is 10 kms north of the national park, on the same creek, we were besieged by birds of all types.First a peaceful dove stood on the road in between the wheels, refusing to fly away with its friends. If it stayed still while the car and the caravan passed over it, it was fine, but we couldn't tell if it did stay still.
Some miles further on we found ourselves racing an emu, who wanted to cross immediately in front. At the very last second he did an about turn, actually falling over from his sudden movement, and the car and caravan passed him safely. He probably had sore knees as a result. We've never seen one at such close quarters before, just inches away!
Next it was a big kite. A number of birds were gathered round some roadkill, as they do out here. The bigger birds are always the last to fly away (wedge-tailed eagles are the worst, they leave it till the last second). This one took off to the left but in trying to gain height he turned back in front of the car and we thought the windscreen would hit him. At the last moment he cleared the top of the car, but the caravan's quite a bit higher so there was still some concern, but apparently he made it.
Last close call (on a 75 kilometre stretch of road) was a flock of budgerigars, one of whom misjudged the timing and was almost hit. Luckily on the second half of our trip the birds were behaving themselves and we had no more near things.
The birdlife at Adel's Grove is amazing, there are birds there we'd never seen before. In the last few weeks we've added about a hundred new birds to our mental list of birds sighted.
Prior to this, we've been staying at Leichardt Lagoon, 25kms east of Normanton. This is a beautiful spot with wonderful sunsets and dozens of different birds including brolgas. On the way to Karumba for the day, we saw about 50 brolgas in a field, and hundreds of little wallabies. We did a sunset croc-spotting cruise, spying some 7 or 8 of the big salties, our first in the wild. (We've seen a number of freshies, but they're supposed to be harmless and though it's impressive to see them, it's not the same as seeing salties.)
We spent a night camping at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse, which is located at the intersection of the Burke development road and the Wills development road. About halfway between Normanton and Cloncurry, it's the turnoff for Gregory Downs and Adel's Grove. It has surprisingly good amenities and as the only place on the road is very busy. We bought a meal which turned out to be huge, and watched the "locals" come in for a drink - young people, male and female, from the properties around. They all wear big Akubras which they forget to remove, even while sitting at the bar. Reminded me of McLeod's daughters.
All the staff in these outback places are foreign, mainly backpackers, many of them English or Irish but also many from European countries. The outback businesses could not get on without them, it appears.
Tomorrow we're off to Mt Isa for a few days. We both need a haircut and haven't been able to find anyone to do it. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be successful, and we won't look like shaggy dogs anymore.
In the past few days we've been almost to the Northern Territory border, visiting Adel's Grove and Lawn Hill National Park, just about due north of Camooweal. Lawn Hill is a little bit of paradise, with a deep gorge, deep river, and wonderful colours. We canoed up to a little waterfall, through sheer red cliffs on emerald green water, with lush riverside growth including tall palm trees and many other trees, lots of birdlife and freshwater crocodiles- we saw one of them sunbaking by the side of the stream. they say you can swim there, but we didn't!
On the way to Adel's Grove, which is 10 kms north of the national park, on the same creek, we were besieged by birds of all types.First a peaceful dove stood on the road in between the wheels, refusing to fly away with its friends. If it stayed still while the car and the caravan passed over it, it was fine, but we couldn't tell if it did stay still.
Some miles further on we found ourselves racing an emu, who wanted to cross immediately in front. At the very last second he did an about turn, actually falling over from his sudden movement, and the car and caravan passed him safely. He probably had sore knees as a result. We've never seen one at such close quarters before, just inches away!
Next it was a big kite. A number of birds were gathered round some roadkill, as they do out here. The bigger birds are always the last to fly away (wedge-tailed eagles are the worst, they leave it till the last second). This one took off to the left but in trying to gain height he turned back in front of the car and we thought the windscreen would hit him. At the last moment he cleared the top of the car, but the caravan's quite a bit higher so there was still some concern, but apparently he made it.
Last close call (on a 75 kilometre stretch of road) was a flock of budgerigars, one of whom misjudged the timing and was almost hit. Luckily on the second half of our trip the birds were behaving themselves and we had no more near things.
The birdlife at Adel's Grove is amazing, there are birds there we'd never seen before. In the last few weeks we've added about a hundred new birds to our mental list of birds sighted.
Prior to this, we've been staying at Leichardt Lagoon, 25kms east of Normanton. This is a beautiful spot with wonderful sunsets and dozens of different birds including brolgas. On the way to Karumba for the day, we saw about 50 brolgas in a field, and hundreds of little wallabies. We did a sunset croc-spotting cruise, spying some 7 or 8 of the big salties, our first in the wild. (We've seen a number of freshies, but they're supposed to be harmless and though it's impressive to see them, it's not the same as seeing salties.)
We spent a night camping at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse, which is located at the intersection of the Burke development road and the Wills development road. About halfway between Normanton and Cloncurry, it's the turnoff for Gregory Downs and Adel's Grove. It has surprisingly good amenities and as the only place on the road is very busy. We bought a meal which turned out to be huge, and watched the "locals" come in for a drink - young people, male and female, from the properties around. They all wear big Akubras which they forget to remove, even while sitting at the bar. Reminded me of McLeod's daughters.
All the staff in these outback places are foreign, mainly backpackers, many of them English or Irish but also many from European countries. The outback businesses could not get on without them, it appears.
Tomorrow we're off to Mt Isa for a few days. We both need a haircut and haven't been able to find anyone to do it. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be successful, and we won't look like shaggy dogs anymore.
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Where the devil are we?
We're at Adel's Grove in Lawn Hill NP, the furthest west we'll be going this trip, and almost to the NT border.
Short entry as I'm standing at the back of the car, the only place we can get access. Two nights here, then to Cloncurry, hopefully will get access there to tell you about all the things we've seen.
Short entry as I'm standing at the back of the car, the only place we can get access. Two nights here, then to Cloncurry, hopefully will get access there to tell you about all the things we've seen.
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