Chapter 13 - NSW and Home

Day 93 – Thursday 22 August – Bourke (Continued)   Previous Chapter

Thanks to Shirley’s keen eyesight we were able to get a photo of a group of emu – a rarity on this trip.

 

We set up camp at “Kidman’s Camp” just north of Bourke.
 

We found a welder to fix our table leg (our resident welder is going to Hong Kong), and ventured in to Bourke to browse, stock up on diesel and a couple of minor commodities. You may think we buy diesel a lot when you consider that we have a 180 litre tank. However we have a house rule about not leaving it too late.

Dinner was stir fry chicken.

Day 94 – Friday 23 August – Bourke to Hillston

We had a slow start so that we could pick up our mended table foot at the welders shop at 8:30.

That done, we headed south and experienced the best driving conditions and best road for nearly the whole trip. To add to the experience the sights were constantly varying and interesting.

We stopped for coffee along the road then cruised in to Cobar and bought a sausage roll each at one of our favourite outback bakeries.

Soon after Shirley took her first photo with my new camera - me in front of a "wild dog" fence. Many hundreds of km of this type of fence have been erected recently in Queensland, NSW and South Australia. They have netting for the bottom two thirds then 2, 3 or 4 strands of barb wire on top. It is to contain wild dogs, but presumable contains all sorts of other animals.

Chris with hand on top (barb) wire of the "wild dog" fence

 Onward we trekked with more scenic country.

We crossed from the Outback region to the Riverina. Crops like canola and grain started to appear. Almond trees were also in abundance and full of blossom. Cotton is also grown in this region.

We checked in to the Hillston Caravan Park and went for a walk and were amazed to see a crocodile on the bank on the Lachlan river.



Lachlan River Crocodile

Day 95 – Saturday 24 August – Hillston to Tocumwal

The harsh reality of driving 1250 due south in three days hit us this morning as we woke to a 2 degree frost. The last white ground surface we saw was a magnificent beach.

We drove through the Riverina and admired the rich growth that was on view. Km after km of almonds, canola, grain crops, grape vines and citrus trees.

Mature Almond Trees in Blossom

Juvenile Almond Trees

Mandarin Tress full of Fruit

Canola

Our Road Through the Riverina

We stopped at Griffith and walked in to the middle of their Italian festival. The place was really buzzing. I would have liked to see the salami juggling contest or try the salami tasting exercise.  But no, we headed south, through more Riverina food bowls scenes.

We have seen many goats in the last few days so I took a photo of these two. 

Jerilderie was our stop for lunch, so I took a photo of the Post Office that Ned Kelly and his gang robbed on 10th February 1879.

Former Jerilderie Post Office

Tocumwal was our stop for the day, noted (among other things) as a training base for B-24 Liberator Bombers in 1948. That is symbolised by the mural on the back of the IGA store.

B-24 Liberator Bomber

We went for a walk and I took a photo of the Murray River.

Murray River at Tocumwal

The front of the IGA had additional historical murals.

Day 96 – Sunday 25 August – Home

We crossed in to Victoria and were surprised how lush the countryside looked after 16,000 km of drought stricken country.

I took a photo of a view not seen by us for a long time.



North central Victoria

As we reach home we have:

-    Been away for 96 days
-          Driven around 16243 km, at 170 km per day.
-    That figure drops to around 130 km per day if you remove both the busy first and last week.
-          Stayed at 52 different places at an average of $32.25 per night.
-          Purchased 2940 litres of diesel at an average of $1.59 per litre.
-          Cooked 8 batches of damper and 9 batches of scones.
-          Had 13 campfires, nearly all for cooking purposes.
-          Taken over 3000 photos.
-          Written 12 chapters of the blog.
-          Edited three Probus newsletters.
-          Listened to some great Aussie poetry from Darryl.
-          Saw many different bird species and many great beaches.
-          Had many “trials and tribulations” that did not define the holiday.
-    Did not discard the shorts until four hours after getting home.
-          Had a hell of a lot of fun, while seeing some of the great parts of our great country.

Our Approximate Route

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This travel blog is complete. I hope you enjoyed the journey. Please remember that many Australians on the land are doing it tough. You can help by trying to buy Australian as often as possible - even if it costs a little more.

This post was last updated around 8:20 am Monday 26th August 2019

Chapter 12 - Queensland

Day 86 – Thursday 15 August – Mt Isa                     Previous Chapter

A number of birds woke me up. The two below were the main culprits.

Magpie Lark (I think)

Western Corella (I think). Note the sunrise reflecting on the wing feathers.

I turned around and took a photo of the sunrise.

We left Camooweal around 8:45 and headed east. It was an excellent road. After a coffee break and 188 km we arrived at Mt Isa - but not before we drove through some scenic rolling hills.

Road on the Western Side of Mt Isa

The main activity of the day was the washing of rear caravan curtains and bed sheets - courtesy of a window slightly open as we traversed 20 km of dusty road works yesterday.

The latter part of the afternoon was rest. We cooked port chops and vegies for dinner.

Day 87 – Friday 16 August – Mt Isa

It was our slowest start for the trip, despite the many neighbours who made lots of noise with their departure. We showered and had a cooked breakfast outside.

After morning coffee I went shopping while Shirley washed caravan curtains. I bought a mobile phone, diesel, gas, pies for lunch and a tattslotto ticket.

After lunch we went for a 19 km drive to Lake Moondarra - the local water supply and water leisure spot.

We spotted a few Indian Peafowls, commonly known as Peacocks



Indian Peafowls, or Peacocks

We also spotted a couple of Brolga, who took to the air when I approached.

Blurry Image of Brolga in Flight

We had potatoes that needed to be cooked so I made Shepherds Pie for dinner. It was balmy enough to eat outdoors.
 Day 88 – Saturday 16 August – Julia Creek

Julia Creek seems to be the place to visit, so that was our destination for the day. We departed Mt Isa around 8:30 and around 118 km later were in Cloncurry.

The road had been picturesque and an enjoyable drive.

Mt Isa to Cloncurry Rd

We purchased tickets to two museums, Cloncurry Unearthed  and the John Flynn Place Museum. Cloncurry Unearthed was all about local history. It had an amazing collection of rocks and a stack of memorabilia. I was taken by a couple of items that were in the local paper many years ago.

The local building had been either well kept or restored.

Cloncurry Shire Memorial Hall

We found a bakery, had a coffee, then visited the John Flynn Place Museum. It was all about the Royal Flying Doctor Service with a big emphasis on how it was established.

I was fascinated to realise that one of the first serious donations to help begin the service came from H V McKay, who made his money designing, manufacturing and selling farm equipment such as ploughs and harvesters. This is significant to me as H V McKay tested some of his ploughs on Kelly land in the Wimmera - land owned by my Grandfather and his two brothers.

Needless to say the museum had plenty of early electronic equipment that provided communication.



Replica of Flynn's 1924 Dodge

We left Cloncurry and 90 minutes later were in Julia Creek. The landscape we saw this morning had changed to open and flat plains.

It was Saturday, and most things were closed. However we went for a drive and took a few photos.

Two Superb Sculptures Outside the RSL 

Local Mural

We mucked around for a couple of hours then headed to a camp Happy Hour at 5pm. The park manager gave a small speech on their appreciation of the funds grey nomads inject into the local economy. He also talked about the recent floods (February 2019) where 300,000 head of cattle drowned in the local region. Eco systems were hugely disrupted as all forms of life were destroyed - bugs, small mammals, snakes, roos, emus, etc etc.

We joined Kay and Darryl for dinner under the stars.

Day 89 – Sunday 17 August – Julia Creek to Winton

It was a slow start to the day (again) as we had a 1250 metre drive to the Visitors where the main attraction was the Dunnart feeding. This little guy is the size of a mouse, is not a rodent, and is related to the Tasmanian Tiger.

They are endangered, but the population is growing, thanks to a huge effort. They can travel 10 km in one day and live for around five years.

Dunnart Having Worms for Breakfast

We headed south and encountered more flat and boring terrain. We saw mainly young cattle, presumably to replace the cattle lost in the flood.

We had lunch outside the Kynuna (Blue Heeler) pub, quite famous in the local area.

As we got nearer to Winton the landscape started to change and we saw a few hills appearing.

We made camp in a billabong around 4 km south of Winton. Kay and Darryl soon joined us.

It was a pretty spot.

We lit a fire for dinner and waited for any birds to give us a performance. An Eastern Great Egret did just that.

Eastern Great Egret Taking to the Air

 Sunset gave us something else to look at.

By now the stew, savoury damper (for the stew), and plain damper (for dessert) were ready. So we used a bottle of 2011 Shiraz to complement the meal. It was pretty good.

Stew. Fire. Savoury damper. Plain damper.

 

Day 90 – Monday 19 August – Winton to Lara Wetlands

Our sole aim for being in Winton was the to see the Waltzing Matilda Centre. It is a celebration of “the” famous song and the local history of Winton and district.

It is a very impressive centre and well worth a visit, but allow two hours.

Waltzing Matilda means "Carrying a Swag"

We departed Winton around 11:30 and headed south east in to our strongest headwind yet. The road was boring as we found for the last two days. However, this was our fourth time on this road so we are getting used to it – bit not the wind.

Lunch occurred at a roadside rest stop and on we went. More wind. More grass. Few trees. Diesel was the reason for a short stop in Longreach. WE have been here multiple times so on we went, passed the Qantas Museum and the Stockmans Hall of Fame. Both are well worth visiting.

We slowed down in Ilfracombe to take a photo of the famous Wellshot hotel – documented in two of my earlier travel blogs.

Wellshot Hotel

We slowed down in Barcaldine as we had to turn right. This is the town where the Australian Labour Party was formed.

Next stop was Lara Wetlands, 45 km south of Barcaldine. This was our camp for the night – beside Kay and Darryl. It was 4:15 – a late stop for us.  The lake was maybe 25 metres from the caravans.

A fire was lit. Pork, potatoes and pumpkin were placed in it. I opened my mouth too wide and peach sponge soon was added to the fire – in a small camp oven.

Happy hour came and went.

Happy Hour in the Approaching Sunset

Dinner came and went and was superb.

Pulled Pork & Vegies

The sunset came and went, and was also superb.

Sunset at Lara Wetlands

It got cool at 9 pm so we headed in doors.

Day 91 – Tuesday 20 August –Lara Wetlands

It was a windy and chilly night – good for sleeping. It seemed strange to not have any road trains or railway trains going passed. We were so sparsely placed that neighbour noise did not affect our slumber.

However other causes of nature did force us to emerge eventually and try to get a couple of bird photos.

Black Winged Stilt

Cockatiel

It was 9 am before we had breakfast – very late for me. After mid-morning coffee we went for the 2 km walk around the lake and took a couple of photos, of our campsite and a magnificent parrot.

Our camp site from across the lake

Australian Ringneck

After lunch we headed to the 36 degree artesian pool. That was very enjoyable, but cool in the wind when we got out.
 

Pool of Artesian Water

We then lit the fire and I cooked a lamb chop stew while Darryl cooked a beef stew. Spuds and pumpkin were wrapped in foil and cooked near the coals.

Yet Another Campfire Dinner

Darryl produced a superb bottle of cab sauv and we dined like Kings (and Queens). It was only 7:45 when the cool evening forced us in-doors – despite the excellent fire.

Day 92 – Wednesday 21 August – Charleville

So we departed Lara Wetlands at 7:45 and headed south. I took a photo of the interesting shed before we left.

Tank Shed

This was a bit sad as we sad goodbye to our travelling companions for nearly 90 days – Kay and Darryl. We soon arrived at Blackall where there is a memorial statue to Jackie Howe – the famous shearer. Blackall also had an artesian pool in the public swimming pool area.

However, we pressed on to Tambo where we had a coffee and had a look at the world-famous Tambo Teddies shop. We have one at home and so do all our grand-children (from previous trips). There is a photo of Prince Harry with wife, baby and teddy.

I took a photo of a wool-truck sculpture that is a reminder of the value of the wool industry to the history of this area.

Our next stop was Augathella, where we had lunch and took a photo of their “Meat Ant” – which is also the name of the local football.

Meat Ant

Onward we pressed to Charleville. After a walk around town and a diesel purchase we decided to check out the bush camp 7 km south of town. Before we left I took four photos (from different angles) of the mural on the water tower. It was very impressive.

Around 180 degrees of the water tower mural

The camp site was excellent with maybe the best amenities we have had this trip. We cooked sausages and six vegies for dinner.



Day 93 – Thursday 22 August – Bourke

The rising sun shining above our caravan

We said goodbye to another great campsite and headed south. We soon stopped to take photos of the 2014 Angellala bridge disaster, where 50 tonnes of explosives on a truck exploded and took out both a road and rail bridge.  Somehow no-one died. It has been classed as the largest transport explosion on Australia’s history.

The wrecked rail bridge looking left, then right

Although the wind returned after a while the constant change in scenery and colours was an attractive feature.

Cunnamulla was our morning tea stop and the date loaf was excellent, as were the coffees. The local art contribution was another water tower mural.

Cunnamulla Water Tower

The road started to get barren and boring, as we crossed in to New South Wales (NSW).

We interrupted some crows and kites having an early lunch.

Exit  Stage Right

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This post now complete.
This post was last updated around 7:20 pm Thursday 22nd August 2019