19TH JULY 2013 – CAPRICORN COAST, QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA

This morning en route we arrive in the small town of Serina - a really 'sweet' town being the centre of the sugar industry in this area.  Stu had felt he would like to acquaint himself a bit more with the nitty gritty so left me to my own devices for an hour while he attended a tour at the aptly named 'Sugar Shed'.  This took place in a miniature refining factory with authentic working machinery also in miniature.  Australia is the third largest exporter of raw sugar after Brazil & Thailand.  5 million tons of raw sugar are exported of which 70% is grown in Queensland.  At the end of the tour there was a tasting session of molasses, golden syrup & best of all,  a variety of liqueurs.  He turned them all down - couldn't face all that sweetness! 

 

Old sugar cane harvester.
(Looks like an out of space thing!)

 

Our destination today is Cape Palmerston on the coast a little south. It is a lovely new caravan park (2 years old), & first impressions are of a large paddock full of caravans. However we soon discover it has the most luxurious ablution block we have ever come across & is only $29 per night. The other surprise is that within a short stroll down an archway of trees is a huge beach. It is very tidal & the tide is out making it look even larger. Thankfully it’s a lovely afternoon which we spent exploring both ends of the beach, a really good long walk. It had 100’s of small blue soldier crabs ‘marching’ across the sands & whilst rock hopping we sadly found a large dead turtle which had obviously been there a while. Late in the afternoon a session of ‘bush poetry’, jokes & yarns was held in the central gazebo back at the camp which I thoroughly enjoyed. We were only booked in here for one night to catch up with laundry & refill with water but it was a really nice little sojourn.

Soldier Crab Cape Palmerston Beach

Cape Palmerston Beach

 

Next morning we made our way further south to the tiny town of St Lawrence, another freebie we visited at this time 2 years ago. It is a very large area & is actually their showgrounds & would easily hold about 200 vans. With an ablution block & $1 in the slot showers it is really good. On our arrival it is fairly empty but by evening it probably has about 100 vans. It reminds me of the tide - each morning it empties out a bit & every afternoon fills up again. This little community must be in shock at present as it has also been ‘invaded’ by the army who have taken over their recreation grounds as a base while carrying out exercises with the US. There have been dozens of ‘camo’ vehicles of all shapes & sizes carrying equipment out every morning & afternoon . Very noisy entourage! We heard on the news that the US dropped 3 bombs on the Great Barrier Reef which horrified all of Australia. Apparently something went wrong & they had to jettison them straight away no matter where they were??? Another surprise for us – we discovered 4 lots of Kiwis in camp! Two couples were travelling in convoy, plus two other couples plus us. Needless to say we had a ‘kiwi night’ with lots of chatting & comparing notes of our travels. We are the only ones who have done the whole of Oz, the others all come to Queensland for 3-6 months each winter to escape the cold & as some of them come from the Sth Island that’s not surprising. Would you believe one couple who live in Te Aroha, have been doing it since 1999. They were born & bred in Dargaville & come through Paparoa a lot to visit their rellies. They have promised to call in next time. It’s a small world! It was really nice to have some conversations & laughs together so our stay extended to 3 nights instead of one. Heavy rain fell late in the afternoon & during the 2nd night, but it was mostly quite nice & we managed a good cycle ride one day & a walk the next. Stuart purchased himself a VERY large jigsaw & was head down for about 3 days completing it. Magically it just fitted our outdoor table with fold up legs, so it was moved around at whim. He has also read about 12 books now so I think he’s finally been ‘converted’- Halleluya! We are certainly finding it convenient to go into the computer & borrow books from the library & certainly a lot cheaper too. So much easier than carrying books around with us though I have still read a few ‘real’ ones which have been passed onto me.

23rd – Rain overnight again & 17deg as we set off towards Rockhampton. Lovely country on this strip with lots of straw coloured paddocks of cattle, backed by blue mountains & lots of golden wattle blooming now. Some areas are completely covered by them like a sea of yellow. Drizzle followed us but thankfully by the time we reached ‘Rockie’ the sun was out so we were able to refuel the car, restock our larder & continued on for another hour to Yepoon on the coast en route to Byfield National Park. We only stopped long enough to visit the Info centre to find out about walking & cycling tracks in that area then on again. On arrival there our initial reaction was one of disappointment as it was very shady & the sites were anything but level. After trying several we just settled for one & made the best of it & hoped the sun would be more forthcoming for the next couple of days. We were delighted to wake next morning to much improved weather, lovely blue sky & sunshine. Needless to say we were out first thing that morning soaking it up & as the site next to us became vacant we decided to move to their site which was the only level one in the place.

Stoney Creek



Bush Turkey

Janice crossing Stoney Creek

 Then it was bikes out & off for a good bike ride heading to a cafe about 6kms away. The road was sealed & not a lot of traffic though the few trucks who passed us certainly didn’t slow down as they passed - thankfully they are not road trains way out here. It proved to be a fairly challenging ride as it was ups & downs all the way so we had to work the bike gears all the way. The cafe was a typical country Queensland establishment, in a tropical setting & nothing flash about it, so we opted to have lunch which was surprisingly good & cheap. Setting off again we too a turnoff to another campsite area to check it out. It was actually better sites but even shadier than where we were. However we did discover a walk which we thought we could do next day. Finally we had to head back over all the hills again & I was really glad to get back to camp after about 21kms – quite enough for me! Lots more campers in that night, most with their little campfires going as it was quite a cold evening. We don’t bother as it’s necessary to bring your own firewood & we can’t carry that around with us. We were blessed to have another fine, sunny morning & headed off in the car to find a walking trail about 20kms away. It took us down the most awful logging road with huge pot holes & trenches – thank goodness for the 4WD, – but at the end of it was the most delightful picnic area by fording a creek. The water was a most unusual milky blue/green & were it summer would have been enticing. That is, until you read the warning notices about the spine fish in the creek. It’s necessary to wear footwear & not put your feet on the bottom but ‘just swim’ as the sign stated. Just another little nasty critter they have over here. Anyway we set off on the track which took us along the creek through a mixture of pines & native trees until were had to do a bit of rock hopping to ford the creek. Then it ended up on another rough forestry road & we were not sure whether we were in the correct place or not. Stu usually has his little GPS with him but unfortunately left it in the car so we walked on & eventually came out not far from the picnic area again. We find so often that there is a lack of signs on these tracks which is quite annoying. Had a lovely picnic lunch & then headed off to another shorter trail back nearer camp which was more like a rainforest with vines & ferns etc & known for having colourful native pigeons resident. Although we heard one it was too far away to catch a glimpse. The day ended with heavy rain after dinner but we were well tucked up inside our little ‘home’. Tomorrow we move on again to a new destination.

 

11TH JULY 2013 - EAST COAST QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Heading south down the coast towards McKay today through cane country. The crops are looking lovely & healthy with their bright green foliage & flower heads, & in different stages of production. They look quite similar to our toi toi. On the bare paddocks which have already been harvested there are 100’s of back & white ibises gorging themselves on whatever has been left behind. Because it is meant to be the dry season there are numerous road works & contruction in progress. Between Townsville & Ayr, new bridges & highways in order to raise the height above flood waters next wet season is a priority & it is seriously huge money being spent. And what they do, they do well. Our destination today is Home Hill, a small town south of Ayr. It is extremely RV friendly & we have been told it has good overnight parking. On arrival we are surprised to find that the parking is actually in a road between the railway line & the back of the town centre shops & even though it is early in the day is already almost full. It’s lunchtime anyway so we decide to stop for that & check the situation out. There is a beautiful new ablution block in a vacant section with showers & toilets & even a covered kitchen area with stainless steel sinks & benches & lovely S/S barbeques. Backpackers in their ‘wicked’ vans would love it! So even though the parking is not ideal, the facilities are great & obviously designed to keep nomads in town for a day or two to spend some money. The meals in the local pubs were a good price from what we saw on their advertising boards though we didn’t indulge. It was interesting to just wander the street but it was obviously another struggling little town with empty shops & businesses.

Wharf at Bowen used for the movie "Australia"

12th – Very cloudy day & slow progress on the highway due to lots of slow caravan drivers & a convoy of army vehicles & their machinery. At Bowen by morning tea time on the waterfront, where we discovered that it was here that the movie ‘Australia’ was made. Although portrayed as Darwin, the whole set was constructed here in a large open area between the town & the jetty. It would have been so interesting to have watched it all happen with cattle yards, the hotel (the original one still standing), & even the bombing of it all when the Japanese invaded. Of course it was all high security with walls around it, but when the filming was finally completed the locals were allowed in to look & speak to Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman & the darling little aboriginal boy, to me the real star of the movie. I questioned why it wasn’t left as a tourist attraction, but of course on this coast they are hit by cyclones & none of the set met those standards so down it all came. Such a shame as Bowen doesn’t have a lot to attract people to it & is known not to be RV friendly. Continuing alone the highway we bypass Proserpine which is the turnoff to the Whitsunday Islands where we had a 10 day sailing holiday with two friends about 5 years ago. Again this is all cane fields. Our destination is Seaforth, a small seaside village we have visited before just south of McKay. It has a council caravan park with ablutions & water but no power & we intend to stay for a week as it is very cheap & right on the beach. Also we can get a bit of exercise walking or cycling a bit. Unfortunately on arrival it is quite windy, drizzly & cool (13deg), & remains that way for the whole time we are here. Thankfully most of the rain doesn’t last for long but hangs over the close by hills of the Hillsborough National Park. One day we drove into McKay & fossicked round the city which is pleasant & has a lovely waterfront bounded by a large river. The rest of the time was spent reading & playing games, & cleaning the vehicles ready for sale. We have had several enquiries due to Stu’s signs on the van which is quite encouraging. He has also now advertised online so hopefully something will come of that in the next few weeks. By the time our week here is up we will be glad to hit the road again as we are tired of the dreariness & cooler weather, are bored & have itchy feet.  The other thing is the noisiest birds I have ever heard.  They are large birds called Bush Stone Curlews which we have experienced before, but there are so many here & they come out to perform at night.  Delightful I don't think.  Must say they are quite funny as they' freeze' when they are approached & think they can 't be seen.  We  are running out of places to go before we return to Landsborough & my so so must get the books out again & find a new destination.

 

 

Rainbow Lorikeet

 

 

Red Tailed Black Cockatoo

 

Our final couple of days were spent getting more exercise with a 14km bike ride one day, & a 10km walk the next.  The latter was along the beach to a natural causeway to two islands, covered in rather volcanic rocks.  The smaller of the two we managed to climb as we had been told it had once been the site of a WWII gun emplacement or such like.  It was a     nice view of the surrounding coastline & lagoons near the shore with the sea a delightful mix of blues from the reflection of the sky & sunshine.  We had taken a picnic lunch & felt like we were on a desert island with not another soul to share it with.   It was quite a long walk back with the wind against us but a really enjoyable day.                                                      

 

 

Deseet Island at Seaforth

 

 

 

 

 

 

5TH JULY 2013 -  FLINDERS HIGHWAY,  QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA

 Sorry to leave Julia Creek as I found it relaxing in the sun, but hit the road we must – still places to visit on our way back down to the Sunshine Coast. We are taking it day by day on where to go & what to see trying to avoid going over the same routes as previously. Today we are heading down part of the ‘Dinosaur Trail’ – yes I did say Dinosaur. There is a lot of evidence in this area of Australia of those ancient creatures having lived here. Unfortunately the road surface is poor today with lots of humps & bumps – most unusual. Richmond is the first town on the trail with a big tourist attraction called Krontasaurus Corner with a giant statue to greet visitors as they arrive in the town. The dinosaurs in this area were all marine creatures, though in other areas they were land species. There is evidence at Winton of a stampede with very visible footprints on the rocks there, probably when the meteor hit the earth & killed all the living creatures of that time. Unfortunately I don’t think we’ll manage to get there as I have been told it is amazing.

Dinasaur at Hughenden

 

Onto Hughenden with another beautiful big dinosaur statue. Here we stayed in another council provided RV base. There is a funny story attached to this one. It is necessary to have a permit from the Info centre which we duly did. Paid our $6 for one night & were told to go to the local showgrounds (shown the exact spot on the map provided), where we would see several other vans which had arrived that morning. On arrival there we couldn’t see any vans so continued around behind some buildings & there they were. We noticed they were all hooked up to power & water & thought ‘Wow, this is a good deal’, so of course set ourselves up likewise. Within about 1/2 an hour up comes a council man asking who gave us permission to camp there at which we produced our permit. ‘Oh no’ says he – ‘you can’t camp here. You’re supposed to be back in the carpark outside the showgrounds’. After explaining that we had been specifically told to come into the showgrounds, he & we decided they needed better signage & the information staff needed to be a bit more specific. He was very nice about it & didn’t blame any of us so it all ended up as quite a joke & all 4 vans had to pack up & move. As it was we managed to get near the only tree for shade which was on the boundary fence. Again we had a really nice ride round their local bike trails & I even managed a haircut my first for a long time. Feel human again now. Left after our one night to head to Porcupine Gorge about 70kms away which had to be booked at Info Centre again. Duly arrived to find someone on our site & no one in the van. Waited for about an hour & had a cuppa, still no one, so we parked in another site & went off to do the gorge walk before it got too hot. A big steep walk down to the bottom of the gorge with amazing white sandstone rocks which looked like waves. We wonder if they were once under the sea? It was quite an intrepid little journey exploring down there, with lovely pools of water here & there, some quite busy with fish about 6 inches long. The main feature is a very large red cliff face which looks like a pyramid, with a very nice clear but cold pool at it’s base. After our long walk in the heat we were glad to have a dip in it’s refreshing water, having had the foresight to wear our swimmers although we had the pool to ourselves. Then relaxed & ate our picnic lunch sitting on some fairly warm rocks to dry out before attempting the steep climb back to camp. Back at camp there was now someone parked behind us in the site we had stolen temporarily & still the squatters in our site, though this time they were in residence & Stu sorted it all out at last. So finally set up & relaxed in the shade & dinner over we have just had a wild animal making a lot of noise outside the van & though I shone the torch & saw eyes, couldn’t make out what it was. Disappointing.

Pyramid at Porcupine Gorge

 

7th – Overcast morning & slightly humid leaving Porcupine Gorge, temp 21deg at 7.30am. Lots of Brahmen cattle on the road including quite a few cute little calves which were a first. Again we are not entirely sure of our destination – footloose & fancy free! We may end up in a caravan park, the first in 10 days, so time to catch up with laundry etc. It has cost us $16 for those ten nights as we paid a small amount for the National Park & $6 for the RV park at Hughenden. It’s the longest stretch we have had all trip. The wedgies & cleanup crew are having a change of diet today as we saw a wild pig on the road, also saw a feral cat at roadkill, about the 4th in recent weeks. Have also seen roos, emus, horses, camels, eagles & crows, all within 1/2 an hour. By mid morning the clouds have lifted to the usual clear blue sky as we pass through several cute little ‘towns’ with barely more than a pub, but all tidy & with lots of character. Several still had the hitching rails for the horses outside & lots of saddles & memorabilia displayed.

Prairie Pub

 We ended the day at our 11th freebie in as many days where a pleasant warm evening was spent. We were invited to watch TV at a ‘neighbours’ who had satellite, specifically to watch auto racing for the afternoon but declined, not being a fan of that sport. He had it all set up under his awning & a few others joined them for the evening watching one of the Aussie ‘soaps’.  Woken by a few trains during the night as we were adjacent to the railway line.

 

Wed 8th – Another glorious morning after a warm night. Lovely countryside heading to Charters Towers with 100’s of QLD wattles roadside, glistening in the morning sun with little roadside grasses with seedheads tinged pink. The trees are lush and green & distant ranges are blue. We actually had to stop at a railway crossing for another of those long trains, hauling sulphuric acid to the mines I suspect. What it’s use would be I cannot say. We soon reach Charter’s Towers, a large historic town with beautiful buildings which have been well maintained or restored. Met up with a solo lady traveller from our nights freebie & had a coffee & a long chat with her. She comes from Newcastle NSW & travels every winter to QLD for the winter in her very nice large campervan. By noon the temp is 27deg as we head from Charters Towers towards Townsville, still undecided as to our destination. We came across a very large freebie which was not in our book which was some distance from the road, so decided to investigate. A big mistake as Stu took the wrong dirt track & ended up by the river with not much room to turn the van. By then two more vehicles had followed us down which made it worse. With lots of backing etc we once again got out of a tight spot, took the right turn & found a very large, barren & windy area with toilets only. Lots of vans who looked as if they had been there some time. It didn’t appeal at all to us but hunger beckoned so we lunched & set off again. About an hour later we investigated a little camping ground south of Townsville – looked rather run down but on investigation the ablution block was reasonably new & clean & it bordered a National Park & was cheap ($25) so decided to give it a go. It was owned & run by an 87 year old ex German man called Fred, very fit & looked more like 67. He had bought the land 20+ years ago with a dream of turning it into a resort. It has it’s own wetland plus another small lake he developed himself along with the many trees he planted. For some reason his dream didn’t eventuate & with age both he & the park have declined. Personally we think he started it too late in life with not enough capital. He informed us the 170 acres of land was worth over a million dollars but of course no-one is going to pay that, & as he said, what would he do with all that money now anyway. So he will probably continue on as he has done & make what he can. It was fairly quiet while we were there but we enjoyed it because of that & the park was alive with gorgeous little wallabies, plus the walk through the National Park which we took the next day. We could see the huge potential of it all & felt quite sad for the poor old guy who really was quite a sweetie.

The slide

Bottom of the Slide

 

Wallaby at Mountain View Lake Caravan Park

9th – Fairly windy this morning but lovely & warm, & a good morning to tackle the walk through the National Park. We were not impressed with the start of the track which took us through a weedy, grassy wilderness. We would not have contemplated walking through without the tractor width track that dear old Fred mows through it as the initial stages are on his land. Naturally we are conscious of snakes & make noise as we go along & it is not long before Stu spots one in sun at the side of the track. It moved of very quickly into the long grass & being behind Stu I did not see it, but apparently it was about a metre long. Within 5 minutes we had seen another 3, two very small babies & a medium sized one. Fairly unsettled by now we very bravely continued on as the long grass discontinued and it became more woodland. It took about an hour to reach the place we were seeking, about 5kms from the camp. A wonderful series of cascades & and rock pools & a gigantic ‘slide’ of wet rocks which ended in a large, clear pool at the bottom. Apparently many people do use it as a slide but it looked a bit dangerous to us. We were more enthralled by the oasis of native palms & other trees & the warmth, tranquillity & privacy – the perfect place for a ‘skinny dip’. The water was cool & refreshing & the rocks warm enough to dry out on while we had a snack & drink before setting off on the return journey. I found myself a long forked stick & dragged it along as we went, creating as much noise as possible, & luckily we didn’t spot any more local reptiles. On giving Fred a description of the large one he informed us it was an Eastern Brown snake, very venomous!!! I keep reminding myself that they are as worried about us as we are about them but hope I never have to test the theory. Adventure over, we headed into Townsville in the afternoon & wandered along the lovely long esplanade almost getting blown away. Stuart then took me out for dinner at a nice restaurant across from the water & we headed home in the dark, probably the first time we have done so in a long time. We headed off next morning for a new destination & had to say goodbye to all our little wallaby friends & all their little joeys with heads poking out of their pouches.



Waiting for the train

 

2ND JULY 2013 – OVERLANDERS WAY, NTH WEST QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA.

Waking to a 5deg morning is a bit of a shock but the Billabong at Camooweel is glassy with lovely reflections before we left. On a morning like this it’s a joy to be on the road with lots of wedge tailed eagles cleaning up the overnight roadkill. We nearly got a couple through our windscreen as they were loath to leave their breakfast as we fast approached. Would have been a great photo shot with their wings spread wide, but murphy’s law – didn’t have the camera on my knee as I usually do. There seem to be a number of big rigs & 5th wheelers on the road today, luckily not going our way to hold up the traffic. We did have a huge bus at camp last night with two slideouts, & a car on trailer behind as well, & was just one rather elderly man & his faithful german shepherd dog. Has been on the road for 8 years.

We finally leave the very flat land behind & experience trees & hills as we near Mt Isa which is a big mining centre. Again our second time here so we just stop for morning tea & continue on though taking a different route from last visit. The mornings seem to go quite quickly we find, but by two in the afternoon it is a drag & we are glad to stop for the day by three. We are now on the ‘Overlanders Way’ which stretches from Tennant Creek in NT to Townsville in QLD, taking in little outback towns as we go. On arrival at our overnight stop we discover a gravel road which goes to an old township, so decided to take the bikes for a spin & get some much needed exercise. It wasn’t the easiest track with quite a few sandy patches, a few we had to walk through, some we persisted through doing little skids & almost getting stuck. Have to admit on the way back I even managed to fall off but luckily it was sand so didn’t have any injuries at all & we both thought it quite a joke. Two old fogies out on their mountain bikes looking for adventure. As for the old town, there was not a single sign of it left. If we had taken the 4WD we could have gone a lot further & found the old railway tunnel & a waterfall (probably dry like the rest of the landscape). Anyway it was a good 11km ride after sitting so long in the car each day. The camp was absolutely crammed that night so good that we got there early.

 

Wed 3rd, got a late start due to being jammed in by other vans & when we did finally get free, two very inconsiderate road trains had blocked the exit so we had to wait again. Temperature this morning was 2deg at 7.30am so we have had to put another cover on the bed. Lovely sunny, calm morning though so we didn’t mind that & as soon as we head off in the car we soon warm up. The landscape is still quite hilly with rocky escarpments as we head towards Cloncurry which is the home of the Flying Doctor Service which started in 1928, & also a copper mining town these days though formerly mined uranium. Most of the towns on this route were also the main stock route for this area & have a great Droving history (thus the name Overlanders Way). Rodeos are an annual event in the area but unfortunately they are mostly held around April/May so no riding the bulls for me??? By now the temperature has risen to 22 so not a bad day at all.

Thurs 4th. We have now reached another little droving town called Julia Creek which is a beef, wool & mining district of McKinlay Shire. There are four little towns which make up the the shire with a population of 1000 between them over a land area of 40,728 square kilometres. It’s a tidy little place with all services although like most of these little country places they are unplanned & a bit jumbly with industrial businesses often between houses. They all have wonderful huge wide roads which are a pleasure to drive or ride on. Their main streets often have covered parking situated in the middle of the road to keep the cars cool in the heat of summer. Its main claim to fame is firstly their award winning Visitors Centre, secondly their reputation as an RV friendly town, thirdly a rare little animal. The Visitors Centre cost $2.3 million, $1 million of which was donated by the nearby mining company (I think BHP). It is not large & modern, in fact it is partly made from little recycled ‘Fettlers’ cottages & is quite different & suits the area well. The landscaping is superb, as it seems to be everywhere we go. Guess with the raw materials they have on hand in this country it’s not too hard but we do give them credit for the job they do. The other claim to fame is a very small rare animal called the Julia Creek Dunnart. This tiny bright eyed creature is an insect eating marsupial only found in the Mitchell grass downs of Nth West QLD. It is very like a mouse but is a separate species & is endangered. One only live one is on display in the Visitors Centre. , Another thing of interest here is ‘The Walkabout Hotel’ of Crocodile Dundee fame, formerly called the Federal Hotel & built in 1900. It & several other buildings in the town featured in the film. By co-incidence we saw Paul Hogan himself on TV here a couple of nights ago & it was interesting on being questioned about how hard it was for him to have instant fame & perform the part. He said it was no problem at all as he was just being himself & I hadn’t realised that he actually produced, directed & acted the whole thing. He is looking quite old but is just the same & is here in Oz doing a one man comedy show. I really liked him as he appeared honest & fun. Anyway, getting back to Julia Creek, it provides a brilliant free RV park beside a creek just out of town & it would take enough vans for a rally. All users are meant to be totally self contained as there are no toilets etc provided & although there are taps, it is not allowed to fill up caravan tanks with it. Lots of camper trailer tried to get away with it but there is a check done several times a day.. The council run it & have just put in a brand new road from the township to the park. It’s downside is that it is quite near the main highway (roadtrains), & the railway line which carries ore etc to Townsville day & night & the trains are up to 2km long!!! It’s not so bad when they are full, but when they return in the middle of the night empty they really clang along the lines & of course they have an engine at front, middle & rear. Amazing! Luckily we again got a good spot so not too close to the noise. We really enjoyed our two nights there – handy to use our bikes to go up town several times & the locals were friendly & helpful. And to top it up we had phone signal & internet – great.

Julia Creek Campground

Julia Creek Visitor Centre



 

 

28TH JUNE 2013 - TOP END NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA

28TH JUNE 2013 – TOP END NORTHERN TERRITORY, AUSTRALIA

With Katherine behind us we spend a hot & noisy night at King River, the noise due to all the road trains journeying through during the night. Some of them obviously think it is a great joke to toot long & loud in the middle of the night as they pass. The Stuart Highway goes from Darwin to Adelaide so is an extremely busy highway for road trains & nomads. So a bit bleary eyed we set off at 8am, – we are almost robotic when packing up each morning after doing it for several months. Temperature is 20deg, & our intention is to have a stopover at Bitter Springs for a nice hot dip in their gorgeous crystal clear waters.

Third time at Bitter Springs

 

 

Bitter Springs

   This is another revisit but this time we take our snorkels & follow the spring downstream a little way – although no fish or anything alive that we can see, it is non the less a little green wonderland of mosses etc & being still quite early there are very few others sharing the pleasure. Would have liked to linger longer (sounds like pidgin english), but time to hit the road & get to our next stopover by 2pm in case it is busy, & it does prove to be the case. We manage to get an OK site without a problem & have time to relax, Stu manages to print off some ‘For Sale’ signs for the van – it is surprising how quickly people notice them but alas, no bites yet. Speaking of bites, there are so many varieties of ants here, tiny ones, huge ones & in between, green ones, orange, black, brown etc. Some bite if one is not careful, most just a nuisance though they haven’t come into the van much & usually only tiny ones. Stu is still struggling with his bites from Darwin though I think he has a few fresh ones as well.

Next little town we pass through is Elliot, another small place mostly aboriginal, with historic statues of an old pioneer family in their nice park. It seems to have improved since our last visit. We have to refuel again – ($1.90) as we are turning onto the Barkley Highway towards QLD & there are few fuel stops to come for some time. Unfortunately from that point we head directly into the wind & you can almost watch the needle on the fuel gauge going down! The traffic is mostly going the opposite direction towards Darwin & is like a constant stream of nomadic white ants. So begins the peak season plus school holidays – so glad we won’t be caught up in that!. For us it is seems like the slowest, most boring drive we have done being such a slow crawl & the landscape is totally flat & lifeless - far worse than the Nularbor. After another fuel stop & then finally our next overnighter at which we had the choice of sitting in the sun with little flies to annoy us, or in the very blustery wind which they didn’t like – neither did I! Retreated into the van. The carpark nowhere near full & the wind rocked us to sleep – not quite like a lullaby. Another nice sunrise but the temperature down to 13 –brrr. So it’s another day, & probably another 400 kms on this boring, boring highway.

Boring Barkley Highway

  No towns, one roadhouse to pass. We are definitely ‘bucking the trend’ now & we can just hear the nomads going north to Darwin saying ‘silly people, they are going the wrong way’. We would happily have stayed longer in Darwin in the warmth but we need to allow time to sell the van & car before returning home, so the obvious place to do so is from my son’s place back in Sunshine Coast.  Not much warmth there either  at present & still some rain. 

Hurrah, along the way we see some flowering gums covered in buds, ready to bloom in their colours of red, yellow or white. Back in WA a lot of the wildflowers will be preparing to burst forth sometime this month through to September. Also sight several eagles cleaning up the roadside carnage. Would have been great photos. We are so, so glad to reach our destination today at Camooweel Billabong.

Brolgas at Billabong

Our guide at Drovers Camp

 We had a night or two here 2 years ago & loved it. It is a huge area & could easily take a couple of hundred vans, but it is not nearly so nice this time with a lot less water & of course the dratted wind. And certainly nowhere near as busy as then either, we could have taken our pick of sites. Although there are less birds in number I still managed to sight or photograph brolgas, cormarants, pelicans, egrets, ducks, all of whom I felt quite sorry for, huddled together in the windy conditions. As we decided to stay two nights & hope the wind eased by then, we spent a pleasurable & interesting morning at the local ‘Drovers’ Museum’. We woke to a temperature of 9deg so it was good to have something to do, myself wrapped up like it was Siberia. It was sunny enough but the wind just cut through like a knife. Anyway we spent 3 hours of listening & looking, learning a great deal about the old droving days. They also had an art gallery there with some very talented artists’ work to peruse, mostly to do with the drovers lives & times. And incredibly it was all free manned by volunteers. We did think about doing a couple of days work for them in return for free parking but the wind has put us off doing so.