Uluru 2017 The trip

Our 3 Month trip from home to Southern NSW, South Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and Northern NSW.

Sunday 2^nd July 2017

Left home at 9.15am not an ideal time for a long drive to Narrandera.  We stopped at Derrick Rest Area near Gundagai for morning tea this was a little late but well needed as always when you stop we seem to always start talking to people and this causes our well worked out travel time to go out the door!  This area is good for parking and has toilets.  Parking for cars only and parking for cars with caravans etc.

We had a good run with a steady flow of traffic up to the Canberra turnoff then things were much easier.  Stopped at Bookham for lunch and had homemade pumpkin soup parking is also good here for cars and cars with caravans and also toilets and petrol station.

We arrived at Narrandera at 4.45pm it was a dull day and the light disappeared quickly.  It was a little tricky trying to work out where we could park at the Narrandera Showground and with the lateness in the day we did not choose wisely.  This Showground has a slope and by the time we arrived all the lower areas were taken so we did not observe our site correctly and park across wise on a slope which is not real good.  The level was awful we could not get this right and nearly had a bad situation with our van but we did the best we could and learnt a vital lesson but we will never come back to Narrandera Showground.  Normal price for this Showground $15.00 per night per powered site.

Monday 3^rd July 2017

It was raining quite steady when we woke up so decided to leave ASAP.  The rain slowed down for about ten minutes which gave us enough time to get moving we decided not to have breakfast but stop on the way and have our cereal.  Gil needed fuel so we stopped at a Caltex up the road and of course they sold brekky we were taken in with the smell of bacon that was it for us we had to have egg and bacon sandwich and a cup of coffee, broken our deal for not spending on the second day. We felt much better after eating and headed to our next destination Gol Gol.

 The road was flat, no hills or mountains like the day before, the rain kept up a steady pace and the wind added to another problem.  The wind was pushing the car and the caravan which made heavy going and this used more fuel so we needed to fill up again at Balranald.  Farming along this road is mainly cotton and sheep in enormous size lots, enormous flocks of galahs, parakeets, egrets and pelicans near the huge dams on some properties, hawks keeping their beady eyes open for food which we saw one carrying what looked like a small mouse in his mouth.  One of our best surprises was seeing an emu wandering around in one of the paddocks.

We did not stop for lunch wanting to get to our destination the Riverside Caravan Park at Gol Gol we were not disappointed it is a very nice Top Tourist Park located on the Murray River great amenities and camp kitchen with friendly staff.  We did go out to buy a few groceries cold meat and we decided on a BBQ so bought meat for this which will cover dinner and lunch. Great IGA at Buronga, right near Gol Gol, at the local Shell petrol station. This park has 4 male and 4 female ensuites which was great. The park is on the Murray River and we saw a vessel go past just in time for a photo.

Tuesday 4^th July, 2017

We got away to an early start this morning 8am only having to drive about 300kms to Burra. We left Gol Gol topped up with fuel, we are not letting this go too low as we don’t want to get caught out as some of the places are a long distance apart with not being able to find a petrol station to fill up.  We headed to Mildura where we skirted around the main centre and kept on the highway, this is a very big town.

Sunraysia has a lot of signs up along the way and there are fields and fields of vines which can only be for sultanas, raisins etc there are acres and acres of these vines in many areas as we drove towards the South Australian border.  The change in vegetation and soil is enormous as we drove along, stubby trees and bushes and the land is very flat with red soil, it makes us appreciate where we live.  Aside from the dried fruit industry, there is a lot of sheep in this part of South Australia.

We were stopped at the Quarantine Station at the border to South Australia where the car and the caravan were searched for fruit as we knew this to be the case, we ate the last of our fruit the night before.  It was quite an experience and the ladies did a good job and were very friendly.

We stayed away from the main highway and chose the Goyder Highway B64 to travel to Burra, this was a good road although we struck the wind again today which again knocked our fuel consumption around.  There was next to no traffic on the road going our way with a few trucks and caravans coming toward us allowing us to keep a steady pace along this road.

We intended staying at the Burra Showground where we initially drove into but again this was hilly and could not see a caretaker around to show us where to park our car and van and with the wind howling around we decided to move on.  We rang the Burra Caravan Park and took up accommodation here this park has good amenities, dump point and camp kitchen with 30 powered sites.  This was a good move for us as we found out Burra is an old historic town, a hidden gem, which we did not even know about, so tomorrow we will do some exploring.  The main highway does not go through the town and therefore would be bypassed by so many who did not know, which is sad, it holds so much Australian history.

Wednesday 5^th July, 2017

Another day at Burra today and still raining or should say showery some heavy falls, we made a quick trip to the township of Clare which is one of South Australia’s wine regions situated in the Clare Valley.  Gil broke his hearing aid and with looking up Google we were under the impression we could get this fixed in Clare but this was not to be, the person who does this only visits once a month and we were too early.  We decided while we were here to visit Woolworths to get more milk. GF biscuits etc so not all was lost.

On our return the sun started to poke its head through the clouds so we decided to do some of our much eager look around Burra, the buildings, the mine etc.  This town started in the 1800’s and a lot of the buildings still remain today made from the local stone in the area, a lot of the roofs have been renewed with tin and repair work on some buildings.  The old Railway Station renewed to its old glory.

Hampton Village which is all but decimated with only few walls of buildings standing with imagination you could see what once was.  Then we went to the Court House, Gaol with broken glass embedded on the top of the walls not like today’s razor wire, Police Station and lock up with stables.  Burra was governed by the copper mine where Welsh miners were employed and they lived in houses all connected side by side up a whole street and these were called Rows e.g. Paxton Row and Tivers Row, fascinating to see, you would need to get on with your neighbours.  Two beautiful churches stand tall and perfect in their old stone beginnings this place Burra has a lot of history and even though the mines stopped in the early 1900’s many buildings still remain to tell their story.

Thursday 6^th July, 2017 

Today was a more relaxing day a shorter drive to Quorn for a 2 night stay before moving to Hawker.  Quorn is a quaint little town also quite old on the edge of the Flinders Ranges.  We had a very good drive from Burra to Quorn almost on the road by ourselves.  We drove through Peterborough a largish town with an idea of returning at a later date to explore this area more.It has a number of walking trails and other places to visit.  Morning tea at Wilmington was at a very good park just as we drove into the start of this town.  There were places to park caravans, toilets and tables with seats, the park was well laid out with trees and plants for the area certainly good for a cuppa.  We only had a short drive of 38km to Quorn where we are staying at the Quorn Caravan Park this is small but well laid out park, with the Quorn wattle trees around and beautiful flowering gum trees in which the beautiful ring neck parrots squawk and frolic around, excellent facilities of a camp kitchen, clean amenities and good powered sites.  Cost a little more than we thought $35/night.

Friday 7^th July, 2017

Today we went for a drive to the Dutchman’s Stern and Warrens Gorge where there are walks to each of these places.  The day was cloudy and quite chilly with the wind continuing its cold force of the past few days.  We arrived at the Dutchman’s Stern full of enthusiasm for this walk, it started off not bad on a well used narrow track up hill, around corners and down again after about half an hour we crossed the Heysen Trail where there were two sign posts with not a great deal of information on them for direction.  A decision was made so we went on our merry way noticing the walk was getting steeper and windier, we were starting to find this hard going as according to our little paper map it should have been flatter walking.  Gil was really getting distressed with the steepness so we eventually came across a view of part of the Stern and decided this was enough, took some photos and returned to the car via the Heysen Trail.  This was disappointing, if there was clearer information on the posts it would have been easier.  The Heysen Trail was a lovely walk back as we were lucky to see a mob of kangaroos resting in the grass some took off for their lives away from us, while others stood up or poked their heads up just above the grass with their ears twitching, as if we were of no concern to them.  We never get tired of seeing our native animals.

Our next stop was Warren Gorge where the turn off is well marked this road is through a property where there is three cattle grids to cross over as there are sheep wandering around with no fences.  On the way in at the beginning of the Gorge is a sign where campers and/or day visitors are to pay the National Park fee this is an honesty payment we paid our $5 entry fee as these National Parks rely on the users to keep them in the way we would like.  We drove through the camping grounds which has several trees and large areas for camping, the road in and around this area is not very good, quite rough in places, but there were some campers with their trailers and camper trailers and we even saw a big 4 wheel drive pulling a big caravan into this area.  The only facility in the camp ground are long drop toilets in a few locations so you would need to be able to camp and have all your own gear.  We drove back out to the beginning of the Gorge where there were beautiful rock structures orange/red colour and the beautiful gum trees, old with new shoots, all shapes and sizes surrounded by beautiful grassy areas. We had our lunch in one of these areas which was very enjoyable and peaceful.    This was the time to start another walk it started off OK, the track became quite narrow and uneven in places, again after about 400 meters it was straight up hill we decided not to go on, this was a long walk and we were not up to steepness of the track.  We were not disappointed as we did enjoy our day.  As we drove out along the dirt road we came upon a mob of sheep resting on the road and nearby in the grass, we stopped and they all ran along the road which made our progress even slower this was a real treat listening to them bleating and the ewes chasing up their lambs, so wonderful.  Back to Quorn Caravan Park to pack up for our move to Hawker the next day.

Saturday 8^th July, 2017

We are off to Hawker today near the Flinders Ranges National Park we are excited to be here as we are looking forward to exploring these wonderful ranges and gorges.  The road is good very flat for kilometres with very scrubby vegetation this is suitable for sheep farming and this is about all we see. As we get closer to Hawker the houses and other buildings where farmers or settlements of old have now been abandoned and the ruins are left, if only they could tell the stories of old.  There are so many ruins it is hard to understand what hardships these people went through or how they lived their lives.  Hawker is in a very flat area few streets in a big square, we are staying the Hawker Caravan Park where the amenities are clean and tidy, there is no grass but this is understandable not even the houses have grass in their yards, water is tank or bore water.  As Hawker was not far from Quorn we drove through with only one stop at Wilson to inspect ruins very close to the road, then decided to go to the dump point which is situated at the park close to the main road where also there is general information boards and the Sightseer’s Café where we eventually had an early lunch after parking the van at the caravan park.   A drive to the Mobil Garage come Information Centre where we obtained our pass to be able to drive into the National Park part of The Flinders Rangers.

Sunday 9^th July, 2017

Today we did not do a lot we went to a couple of local lookouts and local ruins. First we visited Jarvis Hill Lookout, this was a short drive from Hawker, 7 kms.  We drove the car about 400metres on the bitumen then turned right onto a dirt road, travelling through farmland (sheep) to our destination.  This road is not suitable for vehicles towing caravans or trailers as there is a very steep climb at the end to the car park.  We took one look at the track and thought this could be harder than we think but we decided to have a go and very happy we did.  We took this slow, there was a little rock climbing but not too bad just taking this easy we made it to the top so excited and what a view, so amazing.  The view to Hawker, the Flinders Ranges and the farmland where we saw a mob of wild goats moving through the trees unfortunately these animals are a pest, the farmers do not like them as they ruin and eat the vegetation for the sheep.  Back to our car and onto our next destination.

We went to see a place called Camels Hump, mentioned on paper but not easy to find, this is one problem we find on our travels, tourist places advertised to visit but no directions on how to get there, so no go with this trip.

The next destination Kanyaka, Death Rock about 26kms from Hawker towards Quorn.  We found the turn off but the track was not very good we eventually found our way to a creek which was very rocky where we needed to park the car and walk 10mins.  This did not enthuse us as there was no distinct way on how to get to Death Rock so we returned to the main road and went back towards Hawker.  We saw the turn off to the Kanyaka Homestead ruins and took the turn off to visit, these ruins are very interesting but also heartbreaking it is amazing how these people lived and coped with the lack of water and drought which eventually sent them from the land, a wonderful site.

Monday 10^th July, 2017

We took our first drive today to part of the Flinders Ranges National Park there are two ways into the National Park and this time we took the Outback Highway as far as Parachilna.

On our way we crossed the Moralana Creek where huge cliffs show the creek banks washed away to leave high cliffs, quite extraordinary.   Further on we pull into the Surveyors Lookout, where the story of a family of three generations of surveyors had worked exploring the Wilpena Pound and other areas. Working on the Overland Telegraph Line although this does not exist today an example of this line is at this site very interesting.

The mountain ranges, as we travelled, were something spectacular off to right of the highway.  We came across a mob of sheep which decided to cross the road right in front of us and more coming fortunately they did not falter and got across very quickly.  The rail line was another feature not far from the road, trains run up and down this line with coal from Parachilna to Port Augusta twice a day.

Had a quick look at Parachilna no shops to speak of but there are clean toilets just near the turn off from the highway.  From here the turn off to the Parachilna Gorge is almost opposite we found this to be a spectacular place, dirt roads as wide as a four lane highway, beautiful ranges and creek crossings where campers and or caravans were set up for free camping.  One of the creek crossings with water had a family of emus so wonderful to see our third look at these wonderful birds in the wild. We stopped near this creek on our return to have morning tea it was beautiful, the emus we had seen earlier decided to cross the road in single file quite amazing. Once we completed our tour of the Parachilna Gorge we retraced our steps back to the Outback Highway as we did not want to drive all the way to Blinman.

Back on the highway we headed back towards the Brachina Gorge road not far from Parachilna.  This again was a great Gorge with high cliffs with beautiful colours.  We went over creek crossings and again saw more emus this eventually came to a lookout where we thought this was the end.  We did have an earlier discussion of turning off to the Bunyeroo Gorge but we were not sure as on reading up on this the road seemed a little rough.  We decided to take a look and if this was true we would turn back, much to our surprise the road was quite good.  It was a little rocky to start but this was not for long then the road was excellent so we were very happy we made the decision continue this was a beautiful drive.  Again the surrounding ranges were beautiful as we wound our way through the Gorge and out the other side.  We had lunch at the Razor Back Lookout the only thing spoiling our lunch were the little black flies they were very persistent.  This road eventually came out onto the Flinders Ranges Way near Wilpena Pound, back onto tarred road.  We had a wonderful day enjoying more of Australia’s awe inspiring gifts.

Tuesday 11^th July, 2017

Today we are back up the Flinders Ranges Way our first visit was The Rawnsley Park Station Caravan Park 2 kilomteres in from the main road, we had heard a lot about this and decided to take a look for ourselves.  There are quite a few caravan sites although the park is slightly hilly the sites were cut into the slope to make a flat level about 50 powered sites, two amenity blocks and a huge camp kitchen, as it was South Australia school holidays there were quite a few families with young children an ideal place for this age group, we were impressed.  There is a restaurant on the way into the grounds and also cabin accommodation away from the caravan park.

Our next stop was Arkaroo Rock walk, we were not sure about this walk as we had read various reports on its easiness and difficulty so we decided to at least have a go.  We were hoping as this seemed an interesting walk with aboriginal paintings at the end.

 It started off well until it became steeper and more rocky, this was an issue for one of us, as having already had a fall a while ago and fractured a leg it was not going to be easy, in the end it was a general consensus to turn around.  This walk needs a fairly good level of fitness with good walking boots.  A little disappointed but also need to take on board capability.

Wilpena Pound this was as far as we were travelling today, the road into the Pound is bitumen and well kept.  The first port of call was the visitor centre where you can get a National Park Pass, book into a caravan site, get maps to go on various walks in the Wilpena Pound, there is also a souvenir shop and small café with outdoor seating. 

We decided we would do the Hills Homestead walk, this was marked as easy and looked good for us.  This walk was 6.6km and would take 2 hours but for us it took longer as were stopping to take photographs, this was a very pretty walk, some of the gum trees were huge as if they had been there since the beginning of time, truly magnificent.  Would recommend this walk for anyone who has a reasonable amount of fitness it is not too hard very little uphill places.  The homestead has been renovated since 1995 but the story behind this is sad.  There is several boards at the site with the story of its beginning to its end of occupancy and the beautiful gum trees which surround this area.

Wednesday 12^th July, 2017

We did not do too much today after been out two days previous a rest was needed and domestic chores a catch up. 

We did go to a lookout close to Hawker Caravan Park, a place we had not visited we kept for a rest day, Castle Rock Lookout.  Viewing this site on several occasions up and down the road to Wilpena Pound it looked a lot closer than we thought.  Only a short drive from the caravan park but about 2km walk to the rocks and return.  It was a narrow dirt track a little rocky, flat no problems at all.  The rock mass was amazing and we were quite surprised by its natural structure well worth a visit.

Thursday 13^th July, 2017

Today was our last trip into the Flinders Ranges and we would go to the furthest point, Blinman.  On the way we called into a couple of lookouts our first was Hucks Lookout very close to the main road, this was a wonderful view towards the ranges.  The road is excellent to Blinman, not much traffic, the local wildlife is the only risk keeping an eye out for the kangaroos jumping out from nowhere.

The next lookout we visited was Stokes Hill Lookout, this would have to be one of the best lookouts in the Flinders Ranges, a complete 360 degree view, magnificent.   The rolling hills, beautiful ranges all colours, shapes big and small, a true gem.   On our way back to the main road we turned left toward a water hole just for a peek and we were very lucky to see a magnificent emu pecking around the bottom of a tree, kangaroos near the water hole and up the hill resting. We stayed where we were for a while watching the emu as he made its way to the waterhole, such a wonderful bird in its natural environment he took his time but eventually came down to the water, watching him drink was wonderful, the kangaroos decided they did not want to hang around and took off up the hill, in full flight the roos look great.

Back on the road we felt very happy watching our native animals in their environment.  We arrived at Blinman which is a very small old town, its early days this town had a Copper Mine, where John Blinman discovered copper in 1859 and by 1862 the mine was working.  Although this mine is now closed the local residents (total 18 and outer station owners) have rejuvenated this mine for tourists to have a tour.  We actually did not know about this until we arrived there so we decided to have morning tea, bought a pastie and a Quandong tart from the local Café and had this in the local park where new seating and tables had been recently erected, very nice. 

After much discussion we decided to go on the mine tour as we had done in other places around Australia in our previous travels.  We had some time to kill, walked around the local buildings took some pics, soon it was time to start our mine tour.  The tour was underground so we were required to wear a helmet as advised by our guide Sheree. 

This was amazing as our tour guide was a wealth of information and we were shown where, how and what they used in their work, these amazing miners worked so hard in the 1800’s, no machinery just by hand and bucket in those days.  We were so glad we stayed to take this tour really worth $20 pensioner and $25 senior fee.

Friday 14^th July, 2017

Today was a rest day, packing the van up to move onto our next place.

Saturday 15^th July, 2017

We drove from Hawker to Pimba Spuds Roadhouse.  This was a new experience for us as we had not had a chance to free camp and use our gear we had put together for this.  We had a good drive from Hawker stopping at Glendambo for fuel and morning tea.  The Stuart Highway is very good with not much traffic mainly caravans, camper trailers and the odd road train.

We arrived at the roadhouse around 1pm which was early but it gave us a chance to set ourselves up in a good spot and set up our solar panels for the first time the sun was blazing down and we were very happy to not have a jacket on for the first time since leaving home.  Spud’s caters for all road traffic just pull park (no charge) there are toilets and the roadhouse offers meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner at reasonable prices, also has a small amount of grocery items, caravan items for breakdowns and drinks.

We walked around a little checking the place out and went behind the buildings and noticed the railway line not too far away, this is a reasonably busy line trains (goods) were coming through during the night.  We also saw three big emus around the back of the building and fortunately they were going the opposite direction.  The sunset was quite magnificent pink and yellow across the sky night is very dark in the outback. 

Sunday 16^th July, 2017

We got away early this morning, filled the car with fuel, wanting to get to Coober Pedy in good time but unfortunately once we got on the road it was not good.  The wind was blowing cross ways and then head on it was pushing the car and the caravan which meant we had to drive a lot slower to conserve some of our fuel, this put about another hour onto our trip.  The landscape is very flat and scrubby not many and sometimes not any tree.  We knew when we were getting close to Coober Pedy the mullock heaps were coming into view and this made us feel happy to see we were getting closer and off this windy highway.  We arrived at the Opal Inn Caravan Park around 1pm, one thing we did not realise this park and all the other caravan parks in Coober Pedy don’t supply water to the caravans luckily our tank was nearly full and this is not a problem for us. 

There is a central point next to The Visitors Centre where the caravan tanks can be filled with water at a charge of $1 for 30 litres and this is metered, it is a good idea to have some knowledge of how much water maybe in the tank of your van as the meter does not stop when your tank is full it just keeps pouring out to the amount of money put into the meter therefore put in less money if your tank is not empty.  There is also a dump point as this same park.

The Opal Inn Caravan Park has a laundry, good showers and toilets this is also very clean.  We are staying for five days but we have noticed a lot of caravans just come in overnight or two nights then move on, the park is always full by the end of the day.

Monday 17^th July, 2017

Today was an exciting day for us as we had booked ourselves to go on the mail run which goes from Coober Pedy to William Creek then Oonadatta and back to Coober Pedy.

We would have to say this would be one of the highlights of our trip to date.  When we were gathering information for Coober Pedy we found this trip on the internet and there was no hesitation in organising and booking this as soon as possible. Very happy we did this as the arrangements on numbers of people per trip have been reduced to four.  Some people would say it is a bit expensive but this is not just a mail run but a brilliant tour.

The mail for the outback stations along the William Creek Road and the Oonadatta Track is collected at the Coober Pedy Post Office by Peter Rowe our driver, tour guide with a brilliant knowledge of these areas.  His four wheel drive motor vehicle boot is full with mail and sometimes he needs a trailer as well to carry the mail.  He picked us up from our caravan park and the other two passengers from their caravan park.  This gentleman straight away gives us the best dialogue of everywhere we went. 

We started on the William Creek Road going towards the Dingo Fence which keeps these animals away from South Australia.  We heard stories about the explorers, the vegetation, the clay pans, the people who run the cattle stations his knowledge is endless.  We went to a lake off the main road Lake Cadibarrawirracanna, the locals call Lake Caddi, the general road user would not know this existed it was beautiful.  There were birds wading in the water skimming their beaks along the bottom gathering the food.  This lake is located in the northeastern portion of the Woomera prohibited area.  We called into Anna Creek Station to deliver their mail which is owned by the Williams family where we could get out and wander around take photos.  Onto William Creek where we were given a tour of the area had lunch in the William Creek Pub and where the first ever solar run public telephone was installed, it was great.

Now onto the Oonadatta Track would have to say this road was not as good as the William Creek Road more traffic cars pulling camper trailers racing along and not been careful about kicking up stones and due to this we were unfortunate to get a flat tyre.  Fortunately Peter’s well equip car is ready for all situations with three spare tyres the changeover was done quickly and we were back on the road very quickly.  We called into Nilpinna Station with a mail drop then back on the Oonadatta Track again where we took another detour to the Algebuckina Bridge and waterhole, this was magnificent, the railway bridge opened in 1892 and this spans the Neales River.  This is now closed and at one stage the government of South Australia wanted to pull this down, the locals got behind the history of this bridge and area and now it has come under the heritage act and will be left where it is.  We eventually arrived at Oonadatta and had our dinner at the Pink Roadhouse and this is all painted pink inside and out even the motor vehicle.

Then we headed for the home stretch for Coober Pedy with one more mail call at the Mount Barry Cattle Station.  This was a most enjoyable day started at 9am finished at 10pm and we would do this all over again.

 Tuesday 18^th July, 2017

Today we wanted to visit the tourist places in Coober Pedy so our first visit was to the Umoona Opal Mine and Museum.  We saw a short movie on the creation of Coober Pedy as a town, the beginning of the mining of opal and the start of the dug outs, this was very informative.  Then we were introduced to the life in a dugout home and then a mine, it does make people who like the outdoors feel a little closed in, even though the temperature and pure air in these places is very good and the need for air conditioning is not needed.

We then visited the Desert Cave this is a hotel, has accommodation, restaurant and coffee shop.  Again this had information on the explorers who came and discovered the Coober Pedy area, the story on the beginnings of the Stuart Highway and how this was planned and made to the top of Australia all this was very interesting.  Part of this building is underground which gives it some interesting aspects.

The Serbian underground church is certainly worth a visit, it is quite spectacular in the way this has been dugout into the hill it sits under, the lighting in the church really shows up the beautiful ceiling which was bored out with the boring machine they use in the mines.

Another lovely place we visited was Faye’s House which is also dug out but this has a wonderful story.  A young girl came to Coober Pedy to work and she stayed and her name was Faye she dug out her hole in the cliffs to build her own house, worked in her own opal mine and learnt to cut and polish her own opals, selling the opals to be build her home.  This house is amazing it has an indoor swimming pool, a bar, beautiful kitchen and two bedrooms still in the era it was completed around the 1960’s. Faye has left this house to be open to the public for everyone to enjoy and imagine how life would be back then.

Wednesday 19^th July, 2017

A visit to Crocodile Harry’s Nest we were not sure what this entailed and it is about 4km out of town among the mullock hills.  It was a dugout and all over the ceilings and the walls is an expose of Harry’s life it was a very simple life basic kitchen, bedroom and bathroom with a tin shower rose with a pull cord to release the water and other cut out passages throughout the dugout.  There are pictures on the walls of Harry and he looks like another “Crocodile Dundee” a long haired, bearded man fighting crocs up north, a real character.  He is no longer on this earth but his place is full of memorabilia.  The garden also something special with a lot of cacti growing out of the bonnets of car wreckage and other metal artefacts, it is so good.

The Breakaways, aboriginal name Kanku 33km north of Coober Pedy.  These are low hills which have broken away from the Stuart Range.  We travelled up the Stuart Highway then turned right travelling about 9.5kms to the first lookout when viewing down gives the impression of remains of an inland sea with colourful hills around it.  We left his area and went down to the moon plain more colourful hills and drove along the road next to the Dog Fence or Dingo Fence to the Oodnadatta Track then back to Coober Pedy.  This spectacular scenery should not be missed on a visit to Coober Pedy.

Thursday 20^th July, 2017

Today was a rest day, shop for groceries and petrol to move on with our trip.  Our next stop is a Roadhouse at Marla in South Australia.

Friday 21^st July, 2017

Marla was not too far about 276kms from Coober Pedy, our ultimate aim is to finally get to Uluru as this is a fair distance we are staying at Marla then Curtain Springs before reaching Uluru.  Both these places have free camps which gives us a chance to use our solar panels for power.  With our caravan tank full of water we set off for Marla, after Spud’s Roadhouse we were expecting something the same but to our surprise this was totally different, it was a beautiful oasis.  We stopped at another roadhouse on the way for Gil to get a snack, Cadney Creek, this was not very good their Telstra eftpos was down could only take cash not good if you needed fuel as Marla was not too far away we thought we might be in trouble, but Marla had everything working and no trouble with Telstra, they were quite professional.  Marla had grass and beautiful gum trees where we could put our chairs and enjoy the afternoon to rest.  They had very clean and big amenities block, showers worked better than at Coober Pedy in the Caravan Park, it had a shop with a decent number of items one would need on the road, a restaurant and a bar and accommodation there were a few powered sites $40 per night if you wanted to pay.  The whole lay out was wonderful would call in here again.  We used our solar panels which worked great plenty of power.  There were five road trains stayed out the front near the roadway overnight.

Saturday 22^nd July, 2017

Today was our trip to Curtain Springs again not sure what to expect as we were free camping again for two nights this place is a working cattle station over one million acres in size. They have accommodation, a restaurant, shop, has tours out to Mount Connor.  There is four powered sites close to the amenities (septic tanks) glad we did not choose this area and free camped, traffic coming and going as well as the odour from the toilets.  We camped out the back under a gum tree had plenty of room bit dusty, no grass here.  On our way in we stopped at Mt Ebenezer for lunch this was a café come store with a lot of local people around the outside and in the store.  We quickly had our lunch and left, on the way we pulled into the lookout to view Mt Connor, Uluru’s cousin, this was spectacular a wonderful shade of purple in the afternoon sun, we arrived at Curtain Springs around 2pm.  Set up our solar panels again and no trouble with power a little dusty here but good no problems.

Sunday 23^rd July, 2017

Today we are still at Curtain Springs decided to take advantage of not doing too much and gave the van a clean, the boot needed sorting, it’s amazing where the dust sneaks in.  We walked around the property and took some photos this is well set up for bus tour accommodation.  Lovely green grass around the homestead.

Monday 24^th July, 2017

Today we were excited as we were moving onto our next caravan park Yulara Campground at Uluru we will be spending five days here walking, site seeing taking photos and just absorbing a beautiful place.

The day did not get off to a good start with a mix up with our booking which was made 9 months in advance to make sure we could get in as this is a very popular place.  There was a double booking by the office, then they wanted to put us near a shed with us to share the water with half the park, so back to the office to get our site sorted as we were not impressed and unfortunately we had heard and read some bad reports on this same thing hence our advance booking, this does not help.  They eventually sorted this out after two hours with lots of apologies,  we were given a caravan site with power and water as we expected and booked in the first place unfortunately this office does not have a good reputation and they need to get something sorted. Now we are here we do intend to enjoy ourselves, our site we are on is very good opposite the amenities which are clean and tidy with 12 showers and toilets.  We managed to get our washing done, take a trip into the shops, have lunch lots of venues for meals, organise our trip to the Fields of Light and see our first good view of Uluru watching it at sunset.  Tomorrow is another day.

Tuesday 25^th July, 2017

A beautiful start to our day with the wonderful sunrise over Ayers Rock.  Although there was a cloud bank this was almost the shape of a spear and very long.

 We were very early and did not quite understand the ruling of getting a pass into the National Park except being told you buy the three day pass at the gate. 

We were up and on our way very early and it was very dark, we arrived at the gate and of course no one was there and the road was open so we went straight through, we found where we needed to park but as it was so dark we could not see anything.  After much discussion and about half an hour later we decided to go back to the park gate and get our 3 day pass for the National Park, by the time we got back there was quite a line up but only in the line of those who already had a pass, the line to buy a pass was a lot shorter we were about five vehicles back so while the gates were down and everyone was waiting for the 6.30am time for them to open, we decided to walk down to the counter and purchase our pass by then the gates opened we just drove through.  The car park at the viewing area had a few cars in already we got an excellent park then walked up to the viewing area which was great, much better than a few years back.  The viewing areas has about 5 wooden platform with a couple of levels looking straight at Ayers Rock and as the sun came up so did the colour in and around the cloud bank then onto the rock, it was worth the wait.

After about 2 hours we returned to the caravan for some breakfast and a little rest then we were off to do some walking. Also today we went to the Olgas, Kata Tjuta National Park to walk to Karu Lookout this is around 3.2km round trip, the walk up was a little steep in parts taking our time was good, the walk goes further to the valley floor and back out again, this was too hard for us but a lot of the younger people were attempting the harder walks.  The view from Karu Lookout was fabulous, the view over “The Valley of the Winds” was wonderful. We rested sitting on a rock with a nice cool breeze blowing up the valley now we know why it’s called valley of The winds.

Back to the car then we drove a little further around to Walpa Gorge this seemed easier than the Valley of The Winds walk but our day had been so long our old bodies were getting a little tired.  We did not want to give up so off we went to the Gorge and very happy we did there is a little ascent at the beginning then down the hill, not very steep, ramps have been put in place in a few areas and this makes easier walking.  The Walpa Gorge is very scenic a beautiful water hole near the end of the Gorge.  Wonderful colours and rock formations just made us gasp at the size of these rock walls.  We returned back to the car and went back to the sunset viewing area of the Olgas.

We found a good spot at the viewing area and decided to have a rest as we had an hour and half to wait for sunset, finishing our lunch and long drink of water as we sat in our chairs to wait, wonderful little wrens flew around in and out of the scrub, brown/tan bodies with a beautiful green/blue iridescent tail.  By 6.00pm the sun started to set and the Olgas did not disappoint with the most beautiful red/orange colour.  It was a very long day but most enjoyable.

Wednesday 26^th July, 2017

Off do to walk around Ayers Rock or so we thought, after our big day yesterday we had to rethink our walk today.   Some parts of the walking track around the rock  are  quite a long way out from the edge so we decided to have another look and make our walk where the track was closer and go into a couple of the beautiful gorges. 

We drove to the Mala walk path and this is the section where either very brave tourists or very stupid tourists decide to climb Ayers Rock we stopped for a while watching these people climb up a very steep side of the rock on their hands and knees hanging on for grim death and returning the same way, why would you do this, but there were some very fit people who made an easy job of it.

On with our walk Ayers Rock up close has so many angles, caves and broken bits of rock it just wonderful. Along the way there was caves the first being a cave for the young boys, the second cave was a big one for the women to cook and teach the young girls the tricks to bush food and how to prepare them. The next was the Man’s cave where the adult men sit around doing men’s business, Gil said this is an early version of the “ Men’s shed ”.We eventually ended at the Kantju Gorge this was a beautiful walk anyone who visits Ayers Rock should do this if nothing else.  We took our time absorbing the atmosphere and the height and waves of the rock walls just magnificent.  Our next walk was to Kuniya Carpark to the Mutitjulu Waterhole and again this was another beautiful spot not to be missed. It is not just the rock formations it is the beautiful grasses, trees and other undergrowth which really makes the picture.  We had a wonderful walk these walks could have been done in an hour with the need to absorb everything we took three and half hours to take it all in.

Our next stop was the Cultural Centre this is a busy tourist stop for all the buses with the tourists learning about the aboriginal culture, we had lunch here then returned back to our caravan.

  Thursday 27^th July, 2017

There are quite a few free activities to do at Yulara every day and also enjoy meals at any of the resorts even though you are not staying in them.  We decided we would make Friday, our last day, for doing the free activities but we also had to pack up the caravan as we were leaving early Saturday morning, so today we decided to do one of the free activities.  This was at the Wintjiri Arts and Museum next door to the Desert Gardens Hotel, this is the story of Uluru how it began, how and when tourism started and history up to modern time, the aboriginal culture, fauna and flora and how everything works together this museum was truly amazing would recommend not to miss this centre. No pictures can be taken in the Museum.

 We are going to see the Field of Light Uluru tonight but first we needed to cook some meals and freeze them for those quick overnight stops, we had eaten all we had made from home before we started this trip.  We went shopping at IGA in the town square, back to the van to cook, this took a bit or organising with only two burners and a small space but once organised it was easy.

The Field of Light show included a bus ride to and from the site which was excellent all we had to do was walk out the front of the caravan park to the bus stop at 7pm and wait for the appropriate bus to pick us and anyone else going to this venue.  AAT Kings buses are the main mode of bus transport at Uluru for tours and we would say they are beautiful to ride in.  The buses call into all the resorts to pick up people attending this venue, drop us off with our guide then go again and come back at certain times to pick us up, the option is yours to leave the Field of Lights when you want up to 10.30pm.

These coloured lights are an amazing spectacle all solar powered with 36 solar panels.  Our guide explained how the field has been laid out and how this worked as it was very dark and we were glad we took a torch with us only to see where we were walking on the relegated tracks.  The beautiful lights changed colour constantly and you could see the fibre optic cables on the ground also changing colour, for us it was well worth the visit.  We took the second bus back the drivers were wonderful, once home we cooked dinner and discussed what we would do on our last day at Uluru.

 Friday 28^th July, 2017

Today free activity day but washing first, up early to get the domestic chores done then into the town centre for the free activities. 

The Desert Hotel first with the guided Garden Walk, we were given a beautiful pocket book and together with this a guide took us around the gardens, which only have the local native plants in them, as well as show us the plants, shrubs and trees and spoke about the food and/or medicinal value of each one, we felt a little inadequate as we had no idea what we could use for our health living right in our backyard, truly enjoyable.

Our next stop Bush Food Experience at the town square lawn area again this was a treat.  A table with native bush foods gathered by the local indigenous people these were handed around for us all to see, feel and smell we were given a detailed explanation on how to cook and/or gather seeds, fruits and spices.  Again this was wonderful and we were also shown how we can incorporate these foods into today’s recipes.

The final stop Bush Yarns listening to the stories on the aboriginal culture and traditions such as man’s weapons used for hunting and women’s tools and techniques for gathering bush tucker.  They had simple lives but they were amazing with their knowledge of the bush.  It was a great day.

Saturday 29^th July, 2017

On the road to Kings Creek Station about 30kms east of Kings Canyon.  We left Yulara around 8.00am, first stop the dump point to empty our cassette as the dump point is off site and then on our way.  Retracing our steps past Curtain Springs to the turn off to Kings Canyon a small stop to change drivers we arrived at Kings Creek Station around 11.15am, there was a head wind we thought we made good time.  This place is quite spread out with amenities dotted throughout the park, it is not so much a working station these days but has taken on tourism there are quite a few caravans and camper trailers dotted around the park.  Obviously like all the areas we have been in water is a precious commodity and sandy red dirt is the floor covering we love these areas they are so beautiful.  We felt we could not do the steep walk up Kings Canyon so today we have organised a short helicopter flight for Monday 31^st July to see the Petermann Pound from above.

Sunday 30^th July, 2017

A walking day today or at least half a day we are off to the The Wararrka National Park where lies The Kings Canyon Resort this is a well laid out place with bitumen roads, fuel and shop, cabins and safari shelters but a little more costly than the Kings Creek Station.

 Our day stated of well, after about 2kms Gil spied a group of camels in the bush not far from the road, so excited our first view of wild camels, after a photo or two we moved on our way to our first walk, Kathleen Springs which was an easy walk.  It is 2.5km return and you can take as long as you want, plenty to read and see.  There are signs with information on the aboriginal culture and the cattle industry from 1960’s.  There are still remains of the cattle stable yards and the water tank and yard. The track is well laid with stunning vegetation along the way, we were very excited to see a Sturt’s Desert Rose out in flower they are very hard to find and the flower does not last longer than 24hours.  At the end is a wonderful spring fed water hole where beautiful tiny finches, green budgies and other delightful tiny birds flit in and out of the bushes and waterhole.  On our return walk we were lucky to see a flock of tiny finches flying in and out of the low bushes.  We stood watching them, just amazing, we thoroughly enjoyed this walk.

Our second walk was Kings Creek Walk which started in the same place as the King Canyon Rim Walk, our walk went around the base of the canyon rather than straight up.   Another beautiful walk 2km return, there is good parking areas for cars and coaches and lots of board information for whatever walk you wish to take.  The Kings Creek Walk has an easy path with information boards along the way indicating vegetation and rock formations along the creek.  We notice a particular plant we had not seen before the Holly Grevillea this was quite unusual in amongst the wild plum and spinifex.  The creek bed is quite wide but it is quite noticeable how the water would flow through this in rainy weather, beautiful gums, with their white trunks, in the middle of the creek bed also show off the beautiful colour scheme of the bush and the red rock of the canyon. The end of the walk is a little shorter these days as in 2016 there was a rock fall which landed on the overhang lookout and this has been quite extensively damaged but we were still able to see the side of the canyon wall from where we stood, back to the car for a coffee, then back to Kings Creek Station where again along the drive back we saw two groups of camels the first ones at Stokes Creek the other group closer to Kings Creek Station, could not believe our luck twice in one day, so exciting.

 Monday 31^st July, 2017

Today is our last day at King Creek Station this has been a beautiful park although no bitumen roads in the park, the usual red dirt, it has been an amazing place to stay, a café where the reputation for camel burgers is well known, amenities are good, no close neighbours as the park has lots of areas and is big enough for everyone to be spread out, we have been able to keep the red dirt out of our van by using our outside mat.  The sunsets and sunrises have been wonderful the days perfect. 

As mentioned earlier we had a helicopter organised for this morning and would have to say this was money well spent. We took the 15mins flight and this took us over the Petermann Pound opposite to the park and up toward Kings Canyon.  The views were absolutely stunning the Pound is unable to be seen from the road, only by helicopter or plane, where we flew 4,000 feet at the highest point which is 2000 feet above ground, the view of the ranges of greys, green, creams and ochres and dry river beds twisted and scarred by the heavy rains in the wet season are like a painting.   The many canyons made by the weather with ochre edges and green tops raised above ground we were told over 400 feet high, from the air they look miniature. 

Our first month is over and would have to say it has been an amazing trip to date, the Australian outback landscape is awesome.  Our next stop is Alice Springs, back to a little more civilisation hope we can cope!!

 Tuesday 1^st August, 2017

A long drive to Alice Springs today doing some back tracking before going forward.  We are leaving Kings Creek Station and now have to retrace our steps along the Luritja Road to the Lasseter Highway then back to the Stuart Highway, this took around 2.5 hours we had the wind behind us along Luritja Road but the head wind on Lasseter Highway was really slowing our time down and this does effect the fuel consumption.  We were lucky to see a couple of dingoes on the road side on this trip one was running along the side of the road this dog looked in reasonable health then about 1km further on we saw the other dingo getting stuck into a road kill off the road.

It was good to get back on to the Stuart Highway and start moving forward we had a break, change of drivers and fuel stop at the Erldundra Roadhouse then continued on our way to Alice Springs.  The scenery to start is not very exciting very flat areas with not much vegetation the road is very straight but good we did see a couple of wedge tail eagles, not fully grown, on the edge of the road eating a road kill we came upon them quickly but decided to keep going hoping we may see some more in our travels.   Once the MacDonnell Ranges started to come into view we knew we not too far from Alice Springs.  After setting up we did some reconnaissance around Alice Springs did a little shopping then back to the caravan to relax.

 Wednesday 2^nd August, 2017

We really needed to do some washing but the problem being we would need to get up at 4am in the morning to get any line space, the caravan park did not allow personal clothes lines so this was difficult.  We decided to go out and visit the Telegraph Station on Herbert Heritage Drive which was a very important part of Australia’s communication history.  This place was amazing, the many buildings have been repaired to their original look.  The Alice Springs Telegraph Station was midway along the Overland Telegraph line from Darwin to Adelaide.  Opened in 1872 this line reduced the isolation of many Australians from the rest of the world.  The Telegraph operator had to receive and repeat confidential messages, by just “reading” the Morse Code with his ears and “speaking” it with his fingers.  We waited for a tour as we felt we would get a greater insight into this wonderful era, the guide described the buildings and the operation of the station between the years of 1895 to 1905 and the lonely lives of the pioneering people of the time.  The Telegraph Station is certainly a wonderful place to visit there is a coffee shop as well as the beautiful grounds and the professional guide who was a wealth of information.

After lunch at the caravan park we went to the School of the Air visitor centre which is another very important issue for the Australian children on remote properties.  This was inspired by Ms Adelaide Miethke to help these children with social contacts and provide a community aspect to educating children in remote areas.  Today with computers bringing everyone closer the largest classroom on the world covers 1,300,000sq km.   Alice Springs School of the air reaches children from Darwin to the closest being 80kms away from the ages of 4.5 years old to 15 years old, kindergarten to year nine.  We were able to see the interaction between teacher and children with up to 3 to 5 children on screen at once from various outback stations and they can see their teacher similarly.  There is up to 2hrs of face to face teaching per day with the various ages and the balance of the work is done at the children’s home by a tutor, their mother or governess the teachers are on call outside their face to face time if needed.  They do all subjects relevant to the child’s age and activities like sport and cooking, with other activities relevant to their properties.  We found this to be inspiring by watching the staff interact with these children and the result is these children’s levels are within the top 10% of the Northern Territory.

 Thursday 3^rd August, 2017

Today went to some of the outer areas of Alice Springs, there are many gorges, springs and ranges around this beautiful area.

Our first visit was to Ellery Creek Big Hole, the road into the creek is dirt but good, camping and caravans permitted, toilets provided, this is a spectacular waterhole in the Ellery Creek which cuts through the Western MacDonnell Ranges which in themselves is also spectacular.  Thousands of years of floods have carved out this beautiful waterhole and the amazing gorge it sits underneath.  This site is about 80kms from Alice Springs via the Larapinta Drive then the Namatajira Drive.

The next place to visit were the Ochre Pits, 111kms from Alice Springs the road in to these pits is sealed road with long drop toilets provided, no camping , these are cliffs of many colours yellow, mauve, white and brown all colours side by side with no definite line when the next colour starts or finishes, very spectacular.  These ochres were used in ceremonies by the aborigines over thousands of years and are still used today by the local Arrarnta peoples.

Ormiston Gorge would be one of most, well known, gorges in the area, the road in is sealed with a good car park, camping and caravans permitted, there is also a coffee/lunch shop.  This time the year (June to October) there is not a lot of water in the Gorge.  There is a beautiful waterhole which is 14feet deep at the southern end. There are walks around the gorge long and short to fulfil everyone’s capabilities and needs.  Wonderful bird life for the big and tiny feathered varieties, beautiful gum trees line the river bank.

There are a couple of rest areas along the Namatajira Drive always worth a visit we went up one of these and there was a satellite dish and this allows the use of a mobile phone as well as the wonderful views looking over the ranges.  We were delighted to have a flock of zebra finches flying close by it is amazing watching these wonderful little birds flit around.

Our lunch stop was the Mount Sonder Lookout to reach this site we crossed the Finke River which had a little water in some of the water holes and dribbling across the road.  We had a great view from the lookout over the Finke River where we could see some caravans in places in the dry river bed, beautiful Mt Sonder and the MacDonnell Ranges.  A group of 12 walkers walking along the bottom of the lookout eventually made their way to the top, they walked 12kms from Ormiston Gorge on the section 10 Larapinta Trail, very happy with themselves, all were well equipped with water, walking sticks etc.

On the way back to the caravan park we stopped at Flynns Grave site a memorial on top of a small hill. The memorial is a large stone ball about 1m in diameter.

Friday 4^th August, 2017

The Desert Park just outside Alice Springs off the Larapinta Drive this looks a little insignificant on the drive in, this is a beautiful park in a natural environment.  There are various entry fees whether families, pensioners, seniors etc, there is also a café to have a coffee and/or lunch.  There are a number of items on around the park and these timetables are given to you when you first walk in so you can be decide where you would like to go and what to see, it is best to start no later than 9.00am with various finish and start times.  There is also a theatre which shows a short 20 min film on how the MacDonnell Ranges were formed and how the water disappeared from this area to form the semi desert it is today, this was very interesting and not to be missed.

The Dingo talk was on first for us it was interesting and we gained some knowledge about these unusual dogs, then next was the free flying birds, we would have to say this should not be missed.  We sat in an open amphitheatre with the ranger out the front explaining each bird that flew in around us, their habits, eating etc from Magpies, Cranes, Owls, Kites, Falcons, this was very informative and truly amazing.  Right through the park in various spots are big avaries with the bird life of the desert where we could enter through two doors and sit on seats and have the birds flit around us and take in all the beautiful sounds and colours. Other areas had bigger birds and animals for example, the Bustard Bird and the Perentie Lizard, by looking through glass screens they could also be observed and we could learn where and how they lived.  There was an area where the desert flowers grew, the colour so beautiful, from here we went for a tour in the nocturnal house where we were shown he various snakes that may cross our path when bush walking, this was an interesting talk and exhibit as there is a difference between venomous and poisonous snakes.  There is also a show on the various Eagles but this was an extra charge, $30 each, on top of the entry fee we did not go to this as we thought the price too much.  This is a wonderful park and should not be missed.

Saturday 5^th August, 2017

Simpsons Gap and Stanley Chasm this is the last of the gorges we need to visit then we have done them all.

Simpson Gap was amazing the short drive in from Larapinta Drive was sealed and parking areas marked.  It was only a short walk to this beautiful gap in the rocks with an equally beautiful water hole underneath.  The Roe River runs along the side of the drive into Simpsons Gap, which like all the rivers around are dry, but very beautiful with the wonderful trees still standing tall and green.  The rocks had fallen down from the cliffs and in these rocks is a small colony of Black Footed Rock Wallabies we were so excited to be able to have a glimpse of these wonderful creatures and they are so shy and small.

Stanley Chasm this we kept to last as it is one of the best known gorges in the area and as we thought would be the best.  The road in was sealed up to the edge of going into a dirt car park.  This would have to be the dirtiest carpark, the most disappointing approach to any of the gorges we have seen, there were caravans trying to park and stay the night, other vehicles trying to park their cars, there was no discipline or no definite areas for anyone to go, so disappointing and then on top of this we were required to pay $10 each for walking to the Stanley Chasm.  There was a café which looked more uninviting than inviting with not much in it we were very disappointed after seeing and been to all the lesser known gorges which had better set ups.

Would have to say the walk to the Chasm was quite easy and of course the end result was beautiful.  We made sure we arrived at the best time of the day for the sun and with this we were not disappointed.

Olive Pink Botanical Gardens.  We visited the gardens this afternoon had a coffee and of course a naughty cake at the wonderful café, we had been pretty good up until now so decided to have a splurge.  The gardens were lovely it is $5 donation for a guide book and would have to say we learnt a lot about the native plants and trees in this area.  There was some new plantings where some of the older trees had been struggling as we were walking around we came upon a grey kangaroo wandering around he did not look too worried by people.  It was good to learn more about the Mallee, Acacias, Gum Trees and other native trees of this area.

Sunday 6^th August, 2017

The Alice Springs Markets were on today in the Todd Mall it was an interesting array of international foods, local indigenous paintings, cakes, pastries and lots of artefacts.  This had a wonderful multicultural feel with musical instruments of various kind being played throughout the Mall, it went from 9am to 1pm.

After the markets we moved to the Old Alice Springs Gaol and The National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame and would have to say both of these have a great history and the struggle to save the old gaol with the history which makes Alice Springs what it is today.

We went through the Gaol first with sections for women, men and aboriginal women and men.  The gaol opened in 1938 and closed in 1996 when a new gaol was built 25km south of Alice Springs, the sad thing was the government wanted to pull down the old gaol for development, the local community fought tooth and nail for this not to happen and won for this to become a heritage site. 

Some buildings did get destroyed others were saved and we are lucky today to have the wonderful buildings to walk through, listen to stories and see how this was for the prisoners of Alice Springs. It appears being in gaol was not a bad thing, when a prisoner’s time was up and they could be released, some of them did something bad so they could return to gaol where they knew they would be fed and kept in better conditions. The relationship between the guards and prisoners was very good as the inmates were encouraged and shown how to turn their life around for the better.

The National Pioneer Women’s Hall of Fame, Alice Springs.   This section is a must for anyone visiting Alice Springs it would have to be the most awe inspiring place to visit, a women’s museum for extraordinary women, from pioneers up to today’s well educated women.  A pioneering woman is any woman who is a pioneer in her chosen field which is anyone who is an innovator or developer of something new.  Our pioneering women did it tough and to read about their travels, setting up homes, bearing children on their own or with very little help, being their husband’s right hand man, cooking, cleaning the list goes on, this was truly amazing.  Without these women we would not be what we are today.  These women lead the way for our women first doctors, lawyers, aviators, senators and prime ministers and more.  Their crafts and ideals have been passed on through the generations in some families these are the greatest of women. 

 Monday 7^th August, 2017

Today was a visit to the East MacDonnell Ranges where there were more gorges to visit.  These ranges are not as spectacular as the west but they still have their charm.  It is an easy drive along the Ross Highway, a short drive off the main road to Emily Gap where the rocks rose on either side of a dry river bed this site was very pretty with the sun trying to come up overhead to shine onto the rocks, the grasses and trees seem to growing without need of water but this seems to lie not far underneath the sand bed.  There was aboriginal artwork on the rocks depicting the caterpillar.

Jessie Gap this is not far from Emily Gap and very similar effect a, dry river bed through the middle of high rock formations again very pretty also worth a stop and walk.

Corroboree Rock Conservation Reserve has a rock formation formed more than 800 million years ago by salt lakes, it is a sacred aboriginal site. This has a marked path around for easy access the unusual shape of the rock make this a great place to visit.

Trephina Gorge has a number of walks around, some are hard and steep and others easy.  A dry river beds runs through the gorge, very sandy, in the middle to one side against the rock wall is a water hole and the noise of the finches coming and going is amazing, these tiny birds fly in a tight flock from tree to tree a wonderful sight.  We decided to do the Trephina Gorge walk this was a 2km round trip walk and found this to be easy, from near the car park we climb up flat rocks to the top of the gorge and the view was magnificent looking over hills and down into the creek bed.  Rock formations of rusty red stacked like large bricks on top of each other, nature gave us a spectacular view, just took our breath away.  We walked over the ridge and down, over a narrow dry creek then up again then finally down into the creek bed it was truly a great walk would recommend not to miss this.

Ross River Resort.  We were not going to visit this today but our time was working out well so decided to have a look and thought we could have our lunch in the grounds.  On the drive to the resort we were lucky enough to come across some brumbies in amongst the trees we knew they could be around as the horse manure along the road was quite significant, very happy to see this.  We arrived at the resort it has quite a lot of accommodation, cabins, ensuite sites and powered sites for caravans.  Our intentions were to have our own lunch here but as we drove in there was a sign “No Picnics” so that was the end of that we drove back out again.

We had lunch back at Corroboree Rock the parks have big wooden table benches where you can sit and have morning tea/or lunch great idea.  After this we headed back to the caravan as we drove closer along near the rail line we noticed the Ghan from Adelaide pulling into Alice Springs it was only around a third past the Larapinta Road traffic lights so we waited in line.  The train was moving very slowly and the traffic lights do not change at all from any direction until the whole train has completely pulled into the station, a whole 32 carriages and engines, a monster.  As soon as the lights changed we went to the station car park, this was fantastic watching all the people depart from the carriages with their tickets around their necks to join buses parked in the coaching area for various tour spots, some of the train travellers were leaving the train at Alice Springs.   Would have to say this was very well organised the tourists are returned later to the train as the train pulls out at 6.15pm to continue the trip to Darwin.  This was magic to see.

Tuesday 8^th August, 2017

We are getting towards the end of our stay at Alice Springs and have covered all the places we wanted to visit here, today was our last location The Araluen Cultural Precinct would have to say we were not too sure what to expect here but we were totally surprised. 

There are several sections to this centre, the Araluen Arts Centre, The Araluen Art Collection, The Museum of Central Australia which incorporates the Strehlow Research Centre, The Central Australian Aviation Museum. Central Craft and Yaye’s Café.  We visited all but one of these areas, we did not do the Aviation Museum, all these were amazing and had wonderful exhibits, Yaye’s coffee shop is worth a cuppa. 

There is a beautiful, quite large, stained glass window in the Main Foyer and is based on a painting called “Arrente Country”, painted in 1987.

We also saw a movie on John Barden a school teacher who went to Alice Springs to teach and he became friends with the Arrente people, he was a painter of landscapes as well, and in his eyes he thought nothing special.  He became involved with Arrente people and encouraged them to paint their stories and so it began, they used anything they could find to paint on and he recognised their ability to paint straight from the mind and it was extraordinary.  Over time they had quite a collection of paintings so he took a few into the town and sold them very quickly, and so it went on, he would collect the money and give this to the aboriginal to supplement their income. 

Unfortunately the white investors and government became greedy and did not want to pay the aboriginals for their work anymore or pay very little, they also said we will pay them when we are ready, well this made it hard for the Arrente people to buy food and other needs, John Barden went to help these people and the investors etc ganged up on John therefore he was caught between a rock and a hard place, he felt responsible for the aboriginal people.  He became quite ill and had to pack up and leave them, he ended up with cancer through the stress and also needed psychiatry help, he passed away in 2003 a broken man, this is such a sad story, by watching the film you can understand some of the bullying the white man did to the aboriginal people and it made us feel sad we belong to a race like this.  These aboriginal people were and still are very clever in how they depict there life on canvas we have learnt to understand some of their culture by seeing this film it was so good.

Wednesday 9^th August, 2017

Today was clean up, pack up, take the car to the carwash which it needed badly to wash out the red dirt and grocery shopping to stock up until we get to Mt Isa as we will be travelling for four days before we stay in one place again.  We have enjoyed our stay in Alice Springs, if and when the opportunity arises we will return again.

Thursday 10^th August, 2017

Our first night stay on our way to Mt Isa is Wauchope we did have other places in mind and on checking with Wiki Camps this seemed the best.  We stopped at a road side monument when we reached the Tropic of Capricorn this is the second time we have crossed this, on a trip through Western Australia in 2006, don’t know why we get excited and there is no visible sign, only a monument to tell us where we are, but it is great all the same.

There are a number of “Wells” in the Northern Territory and one of these is Ryans Well and it is a historic reserve, these wells were surveyed and built from local stone and cemented in a large square about 6 foot high with a winch on the side to lower a bucket for water.  When the overland Telegraph Line was laid these wells were very important for the workers to be able to obtain water to survive.

Airleron Road House was off the Stuart Highway it is famous for the huge metal statues of an aboriginal male holding a spear on the hill above the road house and a female aboriginal and child on the drive out looks very good. The gardens had very beautiful flowers of bouganvillia and look clean and tidy we did not stop as we wanted to keep moving along.

We did stop at Ti Tree Roadhouse, topped up with fuel had a coffee and quick bite to eat.  This is another road house with basic food buy and to takeaway.

We had heard a lot about Barrow Creek which was another small area where the Telegraph Line passed through, some of the old buildings still remain we did not stop and have a look, the outside of the hotel did not appeal to us very much. This is the place where in the 1800’s a lot of aboriginals were massacred.

Wycliffe Wells was a fascinating place this is well known for UFO sightings and landings the buildings have pictures of aliens and UFO’s painted on them this was great, took a few pictures, we topped up with fuel here as the price was cheaper than what we had been getting it in some places on our trip.  We were going to stay here but had read this place was run down, as we were coming in we feel we may have made a mistake it has lovely grassy areas and looked Ok if we come up this way again we will stop here.

Our day ends at Wauchope, this is a motel/hotel and they also have powered and unpowered sites behind the motel, showers, toilets, laundry and Bar B Q area and even a swimming pool.  At the pub, meals can be bought for breakfast, lunch and dinner we decided to buy our dinner, would have to say this was first class as good as any good restaurant in Sydney.  We went unpowered here and parked under a shady tree $10 per night.

Friday 11^th August, 2017

Our stop for the end of this day is Barkly Homestead, our first stop about 7km from Wauchope is Devils Marbles these are fascinating rock formations on top of each other, some are perfectly round and just balancing on another rock like a ball, others stacked on each other this covers quite a lot of ground and with the morning sun on these the colours are beautiful, should no pass this spot.  There is a campground for all campers including caravans out the back of this area a road runs along the side of main part of the rock formations to the park.

The next place we were to pass through would be Tennant Creek we had heard this was not a good place to stop at as the locals can get a bit out of hand so we drove straight through to the Three Ways Roadhouse which is just after the turn off to go onto the Barkly Highway.  We only wanted to get some fuel and a coffee before continuing on, there was great confusion at the petrol bowsers we had to take in a drivers licence to give to the cashier, come out and fill up the car with fuel, go back in get back your licence, then pay, that was another debacle the card machine was not working properly and kept failing on transactions this took about three goes for each person paying, which meant a long queue at the bowser it was very disorganised.  We finally got out of the Three Ways and on our way.  The reason for the owner taking the licences before he allowed anyone to put fuel in their car was there were people filling up with fuel and doing the runner, not paying.

Finally on the road to the Barkly Homestead we decided to go unpowered and use our solar panels $24 per night, we had a good spot with plenty of room but unfortunately the weather became very hot and we did not realise the power had gone off the freezer in the car so some of our food defrosted but was still cold, we were lucky.  The powered sites looked pretty well squashed in so we were happy where we were, the amenities were not close but this did not bother us they were good.  The Barkley Homestead has Happy Hour and a restaurant and bar.

Saturday 12^th August, 2017

Camooweal we were going to free camp at the billabong but got cold feet and made our way to the caravan park behind the pub this turned out to be a good decision.  We passed lots of open space with not much vegetation and would have to say these were big cattle stations it was quite boring and monotonous the road straight and no scenery this is when you need your favourite CD’s.  We arrived around 12.30pm and there were only two vans already parked, we could choose our spot then go and pay at the pub.  We set up very quickly had some lunch then went for a walk around the main street this is not a very big place.  We went back to the pub for a lemon squash made some enquiries about the Camooweal Caves checked in the wifi for our phones then back to the van for a rest.  This is a very nice caravan park we are on gravel which is great as we are a little over the red dirt. There is a pool and was well used as the temperature was about 32 degrees. Here for two days then onto Mt Isa another new adventure.

Sunday 13^th August, 2017

We went for a drive to the Camooweal Caves we knew it was all dirt road and read where some parts were corrugated.  The first 7kms were not too bad along a graded dirt road and very wide, which made it easy to move away from passing cars coming along a bit faster than they should in the opposite direction, the road crossed the Nowranie Creek which was on private property with cattle. 

There was a left hand turn off to the Camooweal Caves which belongs to the National Park and this is where the road deteriorates.  The road has small stones but the corrugations are terrible and good grade would soon level this out a bit, we had to take the last 7kms a T intersection left turn to the Nowranie Waterhole and right to the caves, as we did not know about the waterhole we went there first and what a surprise.  This was obviously part of the Nowranie Creek and this end of the creek had water in it and some wonderful birds, we saw one of the biggest pelicans we had ever seen very busy scooping whatever he could find in the creek he barely stopped moving, there were cranes, finches, the ever noisy corellas screeching and competing for the same branch, ducks and the swooping whistling kites so beautiful.  We took photos and just thoroughly enjoyed the peace and wonderful bird life around us and just before we moved on a brahman bull came down the waterhole to eat the sweet grass near the water and have a drink.

The Camooweal Caves are surface caves the aboriginal law says these caves were formed by a giant goanna who burrowed into the ground and the shape certainly looks that way.  It has unusual rock forms and granite looking rock with unusual layers, it is only visible from the top and the deepest point is quite dark where the rock has fallen away and left a cave, lots of finch fliting around in the scrub. Returned back to the caravan to pack up for moving to Mt Isa the next day also Gil wanted to watch his team in the Rugby League football.

Monday 14^th August, 2017

On the road again to Mt Isa the weather is hotting up and feeling a little uncomfortable, the Barkly Highway is a good road lots of spinifex, a brown shade, on the edge of the road now, lots and lots of termite hills on the edge of the road and in the bush area we seem to see more road kill as we got along cows and kangaroos which we had not seen for some time, lots of kites in flocks now and then skimming in the thermals in the sky, beautiful. We were very lucky to see some brahman cattle along the road and not on the road as there are no fences in some places and other cattle behind fences.  We also came across a flock of raven eating a road kill, we slowed down and as they flew off there was a wedge tail eagle still sitting there on the road kill, then he took off a lot slower, he came right in front of our car we were only going slow, we took photos, this was so exciting such a majestic bird hopefully he had the sense to stay away and not become a victim of the road. We only had one stop at a historical site for a World War II camp and is now a free camp and rest area, this was very interesting.  This important place was used in the war but also became the reason for making the Barkly Highway what it is today.  Onto Mt Isa this is a big city with the mines on one side and the city on the other it works very well.  Feeling very tired we set up, did washing which was badly needed then went for a drive into Coles for some extra food and a quick look around, found the visitors centre, one of the most important places when travelling.

 Tuesday 15^th August, 2017

Yesterday we gathered our information on what we thought we would like to do while in Mt Isa we had our road map, and a list. 

One of the tours we were interested in doing was a tour around the town but on visiting the centre this was cancelled for today, we then booked for tomorrow.  There were a few things to do at the visitors centre, called Outback at Isa, so we did the Isa experience this included a film on the area which was excellent, Outback Park, Fish Stocking Group and Riversleigh Fossils, these were very good. 

While at home we went to the caravan shows and the last time we visited the show, 2016, at Rosehill we went to the Mt Isa stand and met a wonderful lady by the name of Kylie Rixon who is the Tourism manager of Outback Isa, we had a great talk to her about her home town she gave us a jump stick in the shape of a miners hat, she also took a photo of the three of us as we said we would be visiting on our trip, with jump stick in hand today we did catch up with Kylie and she was very excited to see us, she produced the photo taken back in 2016, this was great.

 We were given at reduced cost a tour of Hard Times Mine and a Devonshire tea on the house all because we turned up like we said we would, we did not expect anything we just wanted to say “gidday” as Kylie is a wonderful person, the tourist manager of Outback at Isa call in to this place it’s a great place to hang out.

Wednesday 16^th August, 2017

Today was a tour day normally we like to do our own touring around and finding places to see, after reading the paperwork handed to us we decided this would be better as the mines are off limits to the public.  The day started off with a minibus tour around Mt Isa 2.5hours, this was very interesting as most of the buildings are rented by the miners and other personnel in other industries and operations with some of the employment being for short term e.g. 5 years and others longer depending one why or how they came to Mt Isa to be employed.  There is a new area away from the city centre which is now being developed for permanent housing i.e. people buy their own block and build their own house.  The tour went through the business centre explaining where the main shops were located, the lookouts around the area, information on the three manmade lakes and how they are used for recreational purposes and of course the mine.  Would have to say the mine area was very interesting as we went into places on this tour that by driving around ourselves we would not have been allowed.  The explanation on the works of the mine was very interesting Mt Isa is the largest producer in the world at this present time of copper, lead and zinc and it all comes from the one area.  The means of separating each of these metals is inspiring and makes you wonder how someone worked out all the processes, a lot of our metals are exported overseas. Outside of this mine the next biggest income is tourism and Mt Isa is getting the hang of this and really looking at how they can attract more people to this area although the summers are very hot and this does keep people away.

After lunch we did an underground tour of a mine.  This was the called “The Hard Times” mine, called this after the name of the horse of the original prospector who found the mineral which started Mt Isa. 

This mine is under the Mt Isa visitor centre and this took 3 years to build although a replica it looks very authentic when in it.  Long ago the tours were at the main mine but due to an accident this ceased and is now where it is.  To see this mine you have to book at the visitor centre they give you a time and date, your clothing is supplied, hard hat with light, orange overalls, some disposable and some not and gum boots, bring your own socks.  A guide takes you down and the procedure is the same as a miner how to clock on clock off, what happens in an emergency, getting down the mine is the same as the miners in a shaft lift we were given demonstrations in various parts of the tunnel of equipment and also having a go ourselves.  It is wet in parts hence the gumboots, there are lights around the walls but would have to say if you suffer from extreme claustrophobia do not go down on this tour it is 2hrs plus long. 

Would have to say doing the tour in the morning certainly helped in understanding the mine tour in the afternoon as the morning tour tells you what is on top of the ground and a little about what is underneath then of course the underneath tour is as it says but the two do join together in information, our guide was excellent, these guides are men who have worked in the mines and take this on when they can no longer work underground as a full time worker a great way to help them stay employed and for us to enjoy their experience.

Thursday 17^th August, 2017

Lookout day today.  Our first venture was to the Telecom Tower Lookout where you drive a short distance up a slope then walk up a slight incline then along a flat bit of road and then all this changes it goes and goes up hill. We went half way where we could see a view in the distance of Mt Isa between two hills it was very pretty, the road was probably another half kilometre up a steeper hill and we could not physically do this.  We returned to the car and went to the City Lookout this has a drive up the top with a very good timber ramp to walk up and just one beautiful view of the township and mine of Mt Isa we enjoyed staying here for a while, there was also a covered picnic table and chairs with a beautiful view. We then went back to Outback Isa and used our complimentary cup of tea and scones. After this we went to the underground hospital in Isa Street this is at the back of the main hospital.  The underground hospital was built during WWII when the bombing by the Japanese started in Darwin and Townsville so the admin at the main hospital thought Mt Isa could be  next due to the minerals being important to the Japanese, but the Japanese planes could not get down this far so it did not get used for this purpose.  It is still open today with all the equipment as a museum and also there is a tent house on the site to visit so we can imagine how the miners lived in the early days.

This afternoon we went for a drive to Lake Moondarra, 17kms from Mt Isa, which is one of three manmade lakes around Mt Isa.  The lake has no camping and no dogs and is open at 6.00am an closed at 10pm daily, it is also a catchment area and is used by the locals and visitors for recreational use, barramundi fingerlings are hatched at the Outback Isa and brought to the lake and put in a special area to grow and released into the main part of the lake when they are bigger for recreational fishing. 

The picnic availability is huge, beautiful grassed areas with shelter sheds, and a beautiful family of peacocks which just wander around not worrying anyone, all roads are sealed with a road going behind the dam to enter a park area with a fully fenced children’s playground, this can be entered by several turnstiles which is to keep the wild life out of the park.

There is a high point near the dam that gives a sensational view of the lake and steps to walk to the dam where it is an easy walk across the top.  We went back to the picnic area where we first came in, had afternoon tea and waited for the sunset, we were not disappointed it was exceptional, so beautiful, once the sun sank behind the ranges we left so we had a bit of light to get back to Mt Isa as we are very conscious of wildlife on the roads at dusk.

Friday 19^th August, 2017

This was a clean the van, clean our budgies cage and last minute shopping day we are packing up to move to our next stop, Normanton which is close to the Gulf of Carpentaria.  This will be a long drive, possibly 6 hrs, and we want to get an early start all being well.

Saturday 19^th August, 2017
Our drive from Mt Isa to Normanton we left at 7am and as we were driving out we got the fright of our life. 

We took a more direct route through one of the back streets as this was more direct for us to get onto the highway, we saw what we thought was workmen clothes on the road but as we got closer we realised it was a body with a yellow shirt, an aboriginal with a hat on his head, with his arm covering his face lying on the road feet in the gutter and body laying prone straight out, Gil quickly swerved car and caravan.  There were three aboriginal persons walking towards this person and not one of them started running or waving their arms at us to make us aware of the situation this really made us feel sick and we could of hit him as it was early in the morning and the sun was just starting to rise into daylight, these people are so dangerous in their ways.

 We were happy to get going towards Cloncurry on the Flinders Highway as driving through the ranges the sun was poking its head up over the top a beautiful sunrise.  We past the Kathleen Ruins which has very little remaining, there was copper mining in this area now it is all at Mt Isa.  After 122km we turned left onto the Burke Development Road where our first stop would be The Burke and Wills Roadhouse.  The road was good in parts and not so good in other parts, there are still some places where the bitumen is for single lane only, therefore when there is a road train coming toward us they took all the single lane and we had to move onto the dirt to let them through, with cars towing vans and camper trailers it was one wheel in the dirt and one on the tar and driving slowly so as not to kick up stones.  Fortunately there was not a lot of traffic and we seemed to be on our own more often than not.

 We arrived at the roadhouse around 11.30am after driving another181km this was a timber building with lots of Road Trains hauling cattle to Darwin, the drivers were having a break but the cattle could be heard kicking and moving around in these trucks.  The trucks were double deckers and three carriages long, most about 55ft in length.  We parked over in we went back to the car and found our battery in the van was making a horrible noise and we discovered it had gone flat as a connection to the car via our Anderson plug was not joined properly and this caused the problem, with the day been excessively hot did not help, our portable fridge and freezer were in bother.  We had to move on and hope all would be OK .

On we drove to Normanton another 192km the day was very hot and we were so happy to finally get to our destination The Normanton Top Tourist Park. We got our spot, set up and we noticed they had a beautiful swimming pool.  We took advantage of the pool it is big around 25metres and beautifully clean, the camp kitchen is behind this with trees for shade a beautiful setting.  This is a very good park amenities are good we have no problems here.  Once the power was on our battery charged up and back to normal.

Sunday 20^th August, 2017
Today we went to the Burke and Wills Camp 119 this is around 30km along the Savannah Way heading towards Burke

town.  It was here Burke and Wills made their most northerly camp on their expedition to cross inland Australia in the late 1800’s.  We found this to be very informative with boards at the site explaining the story of these explorers and their death from starvation. This is a very important part of our history on how this part of our country was opened up for the cattle industry and making the way to the top end coast.
 Again it was another very hot day and on top of this Ergon Electricity decided to cut the power to all of Normanton for maintenance, from 8am to 2pm, so we had the solar panels going to keep our portable fridge and freezer going and we put the gas on in the van to keep the fridge in the van working, with all this happening the pool became very inviting again. 
The power did come back on as promised so we decided to go to the wetlands just over the bridge at Normanton, Muttonhole Wetlands.  This was beautiful, waterlilies in full bloom stunning white with a few purple and mauve mixed in, very colourful.  The birdlife here was amazing magpie geese, jacanas, whistling ducks, white herons, pacific heron, brolgas and lots of other wading birds, kangaroos were also coming down to the lagoon to drink in the late afternoon.  We stayed at the lagoon for over an hour watching these beautiful birds it was great.  We then drove over the bridge and parked the car to walk on the old bridge which was built in 1966 this is now a place where the locals can fish from and sit in the seats set up in the middle and just enjoy their time.  The new bridge we drove across was built in 2002 due to the old bridge becoming unsafe for the heavy trucks travelling over it. Monday 21st August, 2017
We did the trip to Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria which will be the most northern part of Australia we will be going to on this trip.  We felt very excited about today, all new territory we have not seen, along the way we saw brolgas feeding in the grass along the road, a number of Brahman cattle herds around the waterholes and a jabiru in another waterhole. 
At Walkers Creek we could drive beside the bridge over a low road on the creek bed, this was great, a little tan coloured kangaroo came down for a drink, a shag standing on a branch in the water holding out his wings to dry them off, beautiful trees all gnarled and twisted looked lovely on the banks of the creek, protecting the wonderful bird life.  About 30km from Karumba the treeless plain appeared and it was quite noticeable with the worn patches of sand where the water must lay in the wet season.  We finally reach Karumba this is mainly a boating industry, a couple of caravan parks, boating tours, barramundi farming and a couple of pubs.  The cattle industry used to be big here but has now moved to Darwin which has kept the town quite small.  Looking at Karumba tourism would have to be its biggest industry although the state government and the local council have a joint venture going to make the Barramundi Discovery Centre into a huge place in the very near future with new premises now been built. 
Tuesday 22^nd August, 2017
This day was a relaxing day although we did checkout the Normantion Railway Station to get our bearings on the next day’s activity for the Gulflander and there we spent quite a while looking at the museum and watching a very old film on the origins of the Gulflander rail system it was most interesting. 
There was washing to get done before moving onto our next stop as we knew we would have time the next day and cleaning up the van.  We did go out for dinner at one of the local pubs, who better to ask than a local and of course we got the right one, The Albion pub.  This is a beautiful old building which used to be located at Croydon, when the goldfields collapsed this building was lifted and transported to Normanton, the old timber is wonderful if it could only talk we are sure it would have some wonderful stories.  Wednesday 23^rd August, 2017
Today was a whole new experience this was to go on the Gulflander train journey.  We had read quite a bit about this service and hoped one day we would be able to make this happen and today was the day.  The rail line goes from Normanton to Croydon where there was once rich gold fields but today tourism keeps this service alive.  This line is known to go from “Nowhere to Nowhere” the railway line has remained fully isolated from the Queensland Rail network.  This remote line is Heritage-listed and is the only railway line in Queensland to be still measured in miles.  Most of the line retains the original rail and sleepers laid between 1888 and 1891.  The steel sleeper system allows seasonal flood waters to flow gently over the line to prevent flood damage during the heavy wet seasons of the Gulf, a design not found anywhere else in the world.
It is a very popular tourist attraction and bookings are essential especially in the peak tourism time.  It is a slow run to Croydon due to the age of the rails and track, the driver gives a running commentary of the area and what to expect ahead.  When we went we took the front car then there were two more carriages behind a full load of passengers.  It was good in the front as there a lots of animals which like to run across the line in front of the train, kangaroos, Brahman cows, wild pigs and lots of birds fly over and around.  There are a few cattle stations along the way and we had one stop to deliver mail so this also offers a service for these outback station owners.  We passed through Critters Camp so named after the workers who used to live there and named after the variety of creepy crawlies that used to come in and out of the camp.
Our morning tea stop was at Black Bull Siding which has always been the case since 1890, this consisted of a cup of coffee or tea (with our tin cups we were given at the start and to keep) and a muffin each it was great, also good to get up and walk around.  A shelter shed with multiple tables with seats and an old siding shed.  After a half hour stop we moved onto Croydon where on our way through the dugouts were quite noticeable and still some old machinery hidden in amongst the grass and trees.  There is on or around 600 people in Croydon now but this has now become a tourist town, the road between Normanton and Croydon is fully sealed two lane road. Some of the passengers were staying overnight and returning back to Normanton the next day, some were returning by bus after having lunch at the local pub and others were going onto the Savannah Way to Burketown.  All in all this was a wonderful experience in a very old train.

Thursday 24^th August, 2017

We had a long day today driving to Richmond Qld leaving at 7.30am in the morning we arrived at 4.30pm in the afternoon, we needed to retrace our steps to Cloncurry then head east.
Now we are in what is known as the dinosaur trail.  We will spend some time roaming around and learning some more history on our wonderful country. We are staying at the Lakeview Caravan Park at Richmond and would have to say this is a very clean park, wonderful views over the lake which is a recreational lake for boating and fishing.  The council here is doing up the waterfront and is has a pontoon and walkway right around the lake with a children’s playground on the opposite side of the lake from the caravan park. 

Friday 25^th August, 2017

Today we went for walk into the township, the park is not far so rather than take the car we decided to use our legs.  It was a nice walk the footpath is even better than we have a home and the beautiful wide streets are wonderful.  Along the way are boards outside of various places with the history of the town explaining where buildings used to be and what happened to them or what they are today, we found these boards with the information very good. The Shire Council has a wonderful statue of a horse and stockman in the front grass area and both these are made completely of recycled steel - car parts, tools e.g. spanners, horse shoes, nails and other bits and pieces, from a distance so real, very clever.
We ventured into a smallgoods shop, the newsagent, recycled furniture store, books and other nick nacs all fascinating.  Walked back to the caravan park then decided to get the car out and go for a drive around the area we went down the Flinders River, this is a dry river bed now but when the wet comes you can imagine a big surge of water.  There was a small water hole further around the bend in the river where the birds were busy screeching and enjoying a drink.  We then visited the railway station where we noticed cattle yards and on closer view noticed a couple of the yards had Brahman cattle waiting for the sales, it was good to see they had a lovely bale of hay to keep them going.  There is another free camp caravan area in Richmond in the back streets, not many people in there.
After this we went to the Kronosaurus Korner which has a café and fossil display, we had lunch at the café and went into the area where the fossils are very well laid out in display.  It is hard to believe this area was once a sea, hence the fossils we are seeing today, this is very good we learnt a lot and were quite amazed how well each section was explained in detail. Saturday 26^th August, 2017
Today is our last day in Richmond Qld we wanted to see the Cambridge ruins so off we went on the Croydon Road.  Not long into the drive we spotted two male Brolgas then on we went for our drive, the road was dirt in a couple of places but we found the road had just be resealed in other places then the bitumen continued.  Along this road about 12km from Richmond is a couple of places after the two bridges at the Flinders River where fossicking can be done, there is a shelter shed and a toilet with a sign on the front “Poo-tential Coprolite Drop Zone”, very funny. 
We passed over a couple of creek beds obviously very dry then not long saw a funny bird crossing the road when we got closer realised it was a Bustard then we saw a couple more just off the edge of the road, this was so exciting as we had not come across these birds in the wild, on their own turf.  We had seen them at the Desert Park at Alice Springs in a compound and also at zoos this was so different seeing them where they belong.  Along one of the creek beds there was a lot of broken moon rock and this was used to stabilise the road on the edges, there were some whole moon rock but these were very big, they are very unusual rock perfectly round.
A few kilometres along we saw about six Brahman cows wandering along the road toward us so we stopped well ahead not taking a chance on which direction they would take, one look at the car and they headed into the bush, sensible cows.  There was another herd of Brahmans further on fortunately they were off the road just giving us the “look”. We crossed the Stallwell River bed Cambridge Crossing this is enormously wide and so much sand in giant heaps, we could imagine the water coming through this at the beginning of the wet season.  The water meter gauge shows a high point of 4 metres above the road.
 Finally the Cambridge ruin site came into view the original homestead 1865 had a cane grass roof, flagstone floors and one inch bars in the windows.  The cooking was done in a separate building adjacent with a large stone oven.  The water was carted from the adjacent creek and the homestead was built in the open downs away from trees in case of raids from local hostiles.  Later when galvanized material became available this replaced the cane roof.  When the main house was built, it became a Post Office and General Store.  A twenty-six stand shearing shed was built and many shearing records were set in these days.

Sunday 27^th August, 2017

We only had a short drive today to Hughenden approximately 1.5 hrs 112 kms therefore we left Richmond a little later than our normal departure from caravan parks and took our time driving, fortunately this was necessary as the road was a little bumpy in places and the scenery along the way was not all that interesting mainly very dry with a few trees and spinifex. 
We found the caravan park easily, Hughenden Alan Terry Caravan Park, it is beautiful, we could pick any spot but on the condition if they become very full we would have to share our space.  The caravan sites are very long and it is possible to have two vans in back to back not a problem, the first night not a worry but the second night more vans came in then we had a neighbour, very good neighbours.  Most travellers seem on only stay one night then move on but the park is almost full every night. Amenities very good and clean and despite the dry in central Queensland these people do their best to keep the grass green. After setting up as always in a new town we head for the Information Centre and we have never been disappointed with the help we get on local attractions and interesting places to visit.  A drive around and a walk around the town was excellent it allows us to get our bearings and see some of the local architecture and happenings, being in the dinosaur and fossil area there are sculptures and models of these wonderful treasures also windmills which are renown in this area.  One place which really caught our eye was the FJ Holden Café which we knew we would have to visit before we left Hughenden.  We drove out to the Showground where free camping is available, this was a dust bowl, caravans need to be self-contained with black and grey water. Opposite the showground is a magnificent Coolabah Tree and this has a very important history significants with a blaze marked on this from Frederick Walker and Sir William Landsborough whilst they were searching for Burke and Wills. There is no huge shopping centre here a couple of supermarkets, butcher shop a couple of cafes and other industries relating to the cattle industry in this area.

Monday 28^th August, 2017

Today we are off to Porcupine George this was on our list to do since we had left home.  Along the way there were some other attractions to see and of course the local cattle to keep a lookout as they just wander onto the road.  From Hughenden we crossed the Flinders River, no water at present, this is the longest river extending 1004km flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria, then drove through Mt Beckford Sandalwood Hill where the sandalwood was harvested  and processed at a mill in Richmond for the Asian market.
Another interesting site was the old dingo fence about 35kms from Hughenden, this is part of the original fence put up by graziers in the 1930’s to protect the sheep as there are no longer sheep in this area it has been left to fall down it is very interesting to see the old wooden posts of yesteryear compared now to the up to date steel posts used today on the dingo fence.
Eagle Hawk Gorge is on the edge of the road this consists of black basalt formations which is attributed to Mt Desolation, an extinct volcano located nearby.  The rocks are very hard to walk on to get a closer look at the gorge is takes careful steps and good boots. Around 55km from Hughenden is a lookout which is up a steep hill called the Bottletree Ridge Lookout.  We stopped and had a look at this and at first thought it would be too steep but on further investigation it was not so bad just a little steep towards the top and yes when you reach the top sure enough there is a Boab Tree (bottle tree) on the top of a gibber hill and when we took more a look around we could see a few more, a great climb.  Near the road in this area there is also the Mailman’s Grave and it is believed in the early months of 1886, the packhorse mailman was speared by the local aborigines from the top of the hill and he was buried where he was found.
On our way again to the Porcupine Gorge Lookout turnoff 62.5km from Hughenden this was getting closer to our destination we came around a corner and there in front of us was a herd of Brahman cows and of course two of them wanted to cross the road in front of us, the first one walked and decided to stop in the middle of the road and just looked at us as if to say “yeh it is my territory and I will take my time” then finally moved, along came another although she was in a hurry to get to the other side.  After this little stop we came to the turnoff to the lookout about 1.5km off the main road, it comes of a turnaround where a cement path takes you to the lookout platform which has a 120metre drop, it is a magnificent view, would   to say this is one of the most beautiful gorges we have seen.
To get to the campground it is needed to reverse back to the main road and drive a little further on about 4km to the Pyramid Campground and Lookouts turnoff, travel in 7km to reach the National Park campground. 

On the way in about 1.8km from the turnoff are a couple of trees the locals call “ebony and ivory” these two trees have grown into each other and the branches look like they are giving each other a “hug” quite astounding, nature at its best. 

At the campground are two lookouts – Pyramid and Rim Walks this was 1.2km to the bottom of the gorge.  We walked to the start of the track and looked down walking around the short path at the top it was beautiful, a decision was made, let’s do it.   By about half way down we thought we may have been making a mistake but continued on, it was steep toward the bottom lots of steps.  We reached the river bed and the scenery put all our hesitation aside in coming down, it was spectacular, beautiful grevilleas, bottle brush, reeds and water in the deeper crevices in the rocks even fish.  The contrast of the stone from white to cream to black and the washed out crevices the rushing river had left behind was magnificent, we were in awe. We spent around ¾ hr to an hour at the creek bed and we sat in the shade for a while before we started our return.
 The only bad thing we did was not to bring a bottle of water and we should of started our walk earlier in the day to avoid the heat. 

After taking all this in we had to return to the top one look and we both said we hope we can do this, well we did, with quite a few stops and sitting in the shade on the way up, we made it and we felt so exhilarated and excited.

Tuesday 29^th August, 2017
Today we went for a walk across the Ernest Henry Bridge over the Flinders River, a river which was in flood in January 2017 then we walked over to the Robert Gray Memorial Park a beautiful park with a rotunda, beautiful green grass a metal sculpture of fish set among rocks in a swimming motion in the local creeks, very clever and a signature windmill depicting these used in the 1920’s for getting water.  The park is very clean, there are amenities and picnic tables, tourists with their caravans pull up and fill their water tanks with water from a hose near the amenities and then move on.
Late this afternoon we drove to Mt Walker to watch the sunset about 10kms from Hughenden the road up the incline of the mountain is quite steep and is not recommended for towing vehicles or motor homes.  There are six lookouts all these lookouts are close together.  We went to the Sunset Lookout which is directly where the sun goes down at the end of the day.  The road is sealed up to the top then it becomes dirt for about 500 metres, it is a great spot.

Wednesday 30^th August, 2017

On our way to Winton to see more of the Dinosaur story 131km from Hughenden we took our time knowing it would not be a long trip.  Would have to say the scenery was not very exciting km after km of grassy spinifex plains with the occasional row of trees indicating a creek bed.  The road was a bit lumpy and bumpy in parts but at least it was bitumen.  We were booked into the Tattersalls Hotel Caravan Park just off the main street this is a good park with grassy patches to put your awning over and not have to sit in the dirt. To book in you have to go to the pub first and see them at the bar for site number and pay your fees. Being close to the main street an easy walk into the main area with information centre just around the corner for visitors to book tours or pay for centres you wish to visit. There is a great café/bakery, Hotels with meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner and most other essentials needed.

Thursday 31^st August, 2017

Another month gone for us, this has gone very fast as we have kept busy visiting lots of places and learning so much along the way.  
Today we are off to the Australian Age of Dinosaur Museum, a new museum located on top of an ancient mesa called “The Jump Up”, with huge rocky outcrops, cliffs, canyons and wonderful views.  This is located 13km from Winton on the Landsborough Highway then turning onto an unsealed road for 12km this is in good condition as this time.  As a precaution caravans and tow vehicles have to unhook and be left at the bottom of The Jump Up due to the steep gravel windy ascent to the top and big parking area is available to all.  The museum is a beautiful building it blends in with the surroundings and the shape is modern and welcoming, we were met at the front by a real life size Sauropod named “Banjo”, the most complete Australian carnivorous dinosaur ever discovered, he looked very real, paid for our tour at the visitors centre at Winton but this is not necessary it can be paid at the museum.  We took the full tour, 3hrs, of the Laboratory, collection of dinosaur fossils and film then the canyon tour this all flows from one to the other and we found this really helping us to understand these creatures of millions of years ago.
There is also a café, overlooking the canyon, gift shop and other walking tracks throughout the grounds.
When we arrived back in Winton we visited some other interesting areas like the musical fence which was a great find with bits of tin, can, car parts, and many other metal items hanging off various pipes and standing upright that can make a noise this is good for the young and the old.  Willie Mars which is the remains of an old Chinese garden including the sheds and old cars and then we visited The Pelican Waterhole which was a small town in 1875 started by a Mr Robert Allen but due to a flood in 1876 he moved his hotel/store to the present site of Winton as we know it today.

Friday 1^st September, 2017

The first day of Spring we have travelled the whole of winter and it has been very pleasant. 
We made an early start this morning to get to the Dinosaur Stampede at Lark Quarry Conservation Park, for our 9.30am tour it means leaving our caravan park no later than 8.00am as this was a 110km drive out to this centre.  The road is sealed for 50km then it becomes a combination of dirt and sealed in batches this slows down the kilometres, the last 5kms to the centre a quite badly corrugated but if you can take the car over this it is truly worth the effort to make this journey.
On arriving into the carpark we found this also to be a beautifully presented centre, built over the small mesas with a stainless steel boardwalk into the business area.  This building is built over the site, a mesa top, of the dinosaur stampede to keep this protected from deterioration. 
When this was discovered and became known 1970 there was a tin shed built over this site but soon this was being used by the local kangaroos for shelter, then hessian bags were put around to stop the animals from invading the site which did a reasonable job but the heat was causing some of the rock to deteriorate.  So today they have this beautiful ecologically sustainable building to protect these very dramatic tale of the hunter and the hunted from the foot prints left behind, this is the only known dinosaur stampede on the planet.
There is also a cliff walk out the back of the centre we walked to the lookout and a superb view over the valley and other mesa tops is truly wonderful, there is also another 600metre walk around the park and a longer quite hard 1.6km walk for those fitter people.

Saturday 2^nd September, 2017

Today is our last day at Winton we went for a great drive on the Route of the River Gum into Bladensburg National Park.  We knew this would take a while and half a day as advised.  This is a great drive although on a dirt road it is quite good a little corrugation but not bad there are clearly marked yellow signs along the way for stopping and looking at scenery or creeks or homestead etc for example it starts at 1.5klm then 1.9klm, 3.3klm, 5.5klm, 6.7klm etc with wooden signs accompanied by these yellow markers, no getting lost.
Some of the areas which took out attention were the 1984 Shearer’s Strike Memorial which is the site of the shearer’s camp in 1891 and 1894, this strike instigated a lot of political history in Australia which was the start of the Labour Party.  As we drove along there were lots of kangaroos in the shade of trees, some with little joeys, they were curious but did not jump away we took our time and did not try to scare them as we were in their territory. Bladensburg National Park Headquarters turn off takes you to the original Bladensburg Homestead buildings and surrounds.  We spent a lot of time here wandering around enjoying the atmosphere of the old buildings of this old sheep station, the homestead, blacksmith, stockmen quarters and the meat shed where the meat was prepared for home refrigeration, such a vast area to get here we crossed the Mistake Creek Shorty’s Crossing, at this time of the year is dry creek bed.
Before crossing the creek bed there is a left hand turn off to the shearing shed 1.4km this is certainly worth a visit, the shed itself is in good condition but the yards been open to the elements and have warning signs not to walk in the yards because of arsenic contamination and are more run down.  The shearing shed has a sliding door which can be opened by visitors to climb the stairs and enter into the shed, truly amazing, you can close your eyes and almost feel the workers there with you.  The shearing machinery still hanging from the wall, the bailer still in the middle and the pens inside in excellent condition, the races outside still connected to the shed.  The swallows have moved in to build mud nests in the roof but this is only a miner detail.  We had so much to look at here, it is important that the door to the shed is closed before you leave to stop animals from coming in and making a mess inside. Back onto the right road again then driving into the claypans this is quite a sizeable area and goes for about 4kms. In the wet season they fill up with water quickly then vegetation is able to grow during this time. 
Our next stop was Engine Hole which is creek bed in the shape of a horse shoe with white gum trees along the bank the river bed was dry where we were but there was a small waterhole not too far away as small birds were in and out of the trees and a heron was standing on the edge of the water eyeing off something, he did not move a feather and we were not going to disturb him. There were some more markers along the way Little Jump Up meaning mesa which the road climbs up a steep hill then Skull Hole Turnoff we did not venture to this as it was not of great interest to us another 4km along another track and back out again.
Bough Shed Intersection on Surprise Creek where there is a picnic area and toilets but no drinking water.  This had a dry creek bed but again lots of bird life so there must have been water not too far away, there were a couple of small caravans here, we did not have our lunch so it was a quick stop and look around and on our way but this is a very nice spot if bird watching is something you like to do. We retraced our way back to the main road not too far and drove across Surprise Creek it was very flat rock with a couple of small crevices again kangaroos were hanging out but as soon as we turned up decided to leave.  This was getting close to the end of our trip and returning back to Winton we were driving along and a willy willy (small dust wind) blew across in front of us, pushed the car a bit then went on its way these are common in the outback areas, this is a great drive if you don’t mind a bit of dust.  Winton is a great place to stay lots to see here.

Sunday 3^rd September, 2017

On to our next stop today Ilfracombe Caravan Park 27km east of Longreach.  This park had a lot of positive information about the park and we are very happy we took notice, it is a really good park.  We arrived around 11.30am from Winton, this was not a long drive, 2.5hrs set up very quickly, there were quite a few caravans in the park but not full, there is also camping facilities available. 
We decided to have lunch at the local pub, Wellshot Hotel this is a 19^th century bush pub one of the very few still trading in Queensland today, the pub has been on this spot for over 120 years , after lunch we went for a short drive to have a quick look around Ilfracombe, three streets one side of the railway line and two the other, not a big place.  Even though this is a small town there are some great places of interest, the Great Machinery Mile lots of old pastoral machinery, horse drawn wagons and other equipment.  Along with this machinery there are old houses with very special items inside, Jackson Collection the amalgamation of a lifetime of collectables which opened in 2009 of gun and war memorabilia, Hiltons Bottle Display, there are thousands of bottles all shapes, sizes and colours, the bottles which caught our eyes were the number of bottles with the labels still attached of the Melbourne Cup for each year, we saw one as old as 1919 up to the 1960’s.  There is also an Artesian Spa and pool here and all of $2.60 to use it we did not get a chance but believe this is wonderful.  We knew we had crossed over the Tropic of Capricorn again but either missed some signs somewhere or there weren’t any, so after checking on our very large map we found it was not too far away towards Aramac, so we decided to drive towards this town and not too far along, 9km, we came across the sign for Tropic of Capricorn South we are now very happy.
After looking around Ilfracombe we came back to the caravan to tidy up a bit more and have a rest but around 4.00pm there was a big commotion in the street in front of the caravan park, horns blowing, people talking loud, so obviously being sticky beaks we decided to have a look and we were very excited to see the Queensland Variety Club with their outlandish vehicles and their outlandish clothes had called into Ilfracombe Wellshot Pub on their way to Longreach there were so many of them, out came our cameras and phones it was wonderful. Monday 4^th September, 2017
We had a couple of items on today in at Longreach, our first visit was to the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame, a wonderful building well laid out it also has a café, there are various packages on offer and you can choose which one suits your price and time availability.  We chose the Museum – Self Guided Tour and we were not disappointed, we spent three hours here including lunch, this is not a place to be missed, the films, stories and items on display of our ancestors in the bush were truly wonderful.
We had some time to spare before our next event for the day so we parked in the main street of Longreach and walked around to get our bearings on the main centre of town. Our next event for the day was the Starlight’s Cruise Experience by the Outback Pioneers, Kinnon and Co, this included a cruise on the Thomson Belle Paddle Wheeler and stories of the Thompson River, enjoy the sunset, a traditional stockman’s dinner, a bare foot poet, Starlight’s spectacular sound and light show then finishing with billy tea and damper around the campfire, this was very good and really well fed.  It was a big day for us but totally enjoyed it, even though we returned to Ilfracombe in the dark, we took our time and it was only a 10 min drive.  There are various experiences this company provides therefore reading up on available suggestions and booking early you will not be disappointed.

Tuesday 5^th September, 2017

Back to Longreach this morning to Outback Pioneers Cobb and Co Stagecoach Experience, this was an excellent day, our ride on the stagecoach was great, Gil had a front seat with the driver and I stayed inside the coach.  I don’t know how our ancestors travelled this way for such long distances it is certainly rickety but we had a great time.  The coach went into the Longreach Common where it travelled along dirt tracks, we had ear phones so the driver could tell us how these coaches work and what he was doing next on our trip, very good.  As we returned our driver put the stage coach horses into a gallop and I must say the suspension is OK. They have a white horse that travelled along side the coach as he follows the father and one of the sons everywhere even on the coach run.
On our return to the stable yard we went through the to the café and we were all served morning tea, coffee, tea, scones with jam and cream, yummy, the scones were large.
After our morning tea we watched an old Australian movie “Smiley Gets a Gun” this was great, we were very spoiled as all of us were handed a brown paper bag of popcorn, wonderful, very Aussie. Gil saw this film at Windsor theatre back when it first came out and therte was also Smiley gets a bike.
Our final show for the day was an Old Time very hilarious Tent Show, very funny, and a lot of adlib needed to be done as working with animal’s is never easy, the young men were excellent they never missed a beat, we had a wonderful day.  We did not return to the caravan until 4.00pm, a big happy day. Wednesday 6^th September, 2017
Today was our own self tour around Longreach, most towns we go into we like to drive the back streets and see what makes up these towns.  Our first stop was the Longreach Showground, where we were very fortunate to see a father emu and five striped chicks wandering around the oval, this was our first sight of an emu with little chicks in all our travels.  The showground is well kept and there is no camping or caravans allowed this is good as there is plenty of accommodation in Longreach.
The next drive to Longreach Apex Park at the Thompson River where a large number of caravans stay here for a very small charge we found this to spoil the sight of the park, as they are parked very close together and most don’t seem to have the equipment needed for gray and black water.  There is a walking bridge across the river where it is easy to see the little birds flitting in and out of the water, possibly see a snapping turtle and maybe catch a yellow belly fish.  It was wonderful to see water and not a dry creek bed. 
Today we must pack up and gather ourselves for four quick overnight stays in a row, our long trip is coming to an end soon.

Wednesday 6^th September, 2017

Today was our own self tour around Longreach, most towns we go into we like to drive the back streets and see what makes up these towns.  Our first stop was the Longreach Showground, where we were very fortunate to see a father emu and five striped chicks wandering around the oval, this was our first sight of an emu with little chicks in all our travels.  The showground is well kept and there is no camping or caravans allowed this is good as there is plenty of accommodation in Longreach.

The next drive to Longreach Apex Park at the Thompson River where a large number of caravans stay here for a very small charge we found this to spoil the sight of the park, as they are parked very close together and most don’t seem to have the equipment needed for gray and black water.  There is a walking bridge across the river where it is easy to see the little birds flitting in and out of the water, possibly see a snapping turtle and maybe catch a yellow belly fish.  It was wonderful to see water and not a dry creek bed. 

Today we must pack up and gather ourselves for four quick overnight stays in a row, our long trip is coming to an end soon.

Thursday 7^th September, 2017

This will be the first of a four day sprint staying at a different caravan park stop each night, it can be tiring on the move every day, on our way home now and will stop at Bonny Hills for a four day rest.

Travelling from Ilfracombe to Tambo is the first day, along the Matilda Highway to Barcaldine where we had smoko.  All this country towns are wonderful they cater for all needs, there is always the inevitable Road Train, lots of dead kangaroos some areas worse than others sometimes it looks like a “killing field”.

From Barcaldine we travelled still on the Matilda Highway but heading south to Blackall where you can find the Historical Black Stump.  This is the stump which was used by the road builders by using their instruments for the co-ordinates to build the highway, today the stump is petrified wood as the original stump was burnt out.

We arrived at the caravan park at Tambo right at the beginning of the township, it was nothing special we pulled up next to a Boab (bottle tree) in the park so we could have a bit of shade $30 per night which we thought was a little expensive.  The amenities were clean, but old, two showers and two toilets all separate for the ladies and the men’s was an ablution facility which Gil said was a little small.  We went for a drive to the beautiful park at the end of town where wonderful boabs (bottle trees) threw shade and the lake had beautiful water birds swimming around, cranes, pelicans, ducks, cormorants and other birds, it was very peaceful and good to see the town giving us a wonderful park to have lunch and enjoy.  Later we went to start dinner and realised we forgot to buy gas cylinders for our outdoor cookers, it was a very quick decision to go the local Tambo Pub for dinner reasonably priced and very delicious.

Friday 8^th September, 2017

Up early and on our way to Roma another 4 hour trip, but first we had one very important phone call to make to our grandson who turned 15 today, we did this then off we went.

On our way we could see the vegetation starting to change and we were not seeing as many cattle was we had been in fact in some places there was almost no vegetation, so barren.  Again there were many roos dead and even some emus which is always sad, but we also had roos jumping along the side of us on the road and some emus in the bush and a wondering cow near the road.  Along the Landsborough Highway we passed through the town of Augathella and stopped for smoko.  Not far from here we had to change direction at the small town of Morven which put us on the Warrego Highway, this was a bigger town than what we thought.  Some of the names of these little towns are wonderful Dulbydilla, Mungallala, Amboola, Mitchell, (our lunch in a beautiful park here), Amby, Muckadilla great little places.  We could see there were fields of green which looked like Lucerne and more identifiable wheat.

We reached Roma at the time we had for our trip so we were quite pleased with ourselves, try to be in a park no later than 1pm so we can at least have some rest write up notes and sometimes unhook the van and have a quick look at the town.  Roma is a very big industrial town lots of metal and mine related businesses, from the way we came in the industrial part of town is seen first then further away is the main shopping centre very clean wide streets.

 This time we are staying at the Roma Gun Club we found this on our regular visit to Wiki Camps on the net which gives us a lot of information to make up our minds as to where we stay each night.  We were put into a level bitumen site with water and power $25 per night with the availability of ensuite bathroom facilities it was first class, we also received a card for a free coffee each at the local town bakery of course we did not miss this.  As we were only staying one night we unhooked our caravan and went on a quick tour around Roma and realised we are going to have to come back to this wonderful town another time.

Saturday 9^th September, 2017

Roma to Oakey today.  We drove to Miles being our first stop for smoko, we went to the information centre which had a museum behind it and we thought this would only take around half an hour, but on discussing this with the ladies in the centre realised it would take nearly half a day and we just did not have the time so another place we will revisit along with Roma.  We could not get coffee here either so off to the local bakery to have a quick smoko.  Other small towns along way Chinchilla, Dalby and many more some with only a couple of houses and a motel. 

The Warrego Highway with more road works and we noticed the traffic coming toward us had increased enormously off road caravans and camper trailers in particular, the Birdsville Races were going to be on so we thought this could be the reason. 

The silos were getting more frequent, the black soil and we could see the wheat growing in the fields so we were entering into the “Wheat Belt” of Queensland as we getting closed to Toowoomba.  The green and yellow fields were wonderful it was great to see less of the dry land. 

Oakey is a small town we set ourselves a distance each day to travel and this we ended our day staying at the Oakridge Oakey Top Tourist Caravan Park a small park has very clean amenities this park is on a slight slope the sites are levelled off.  We have not seen a McDonalds Restaurant for weeks and we noticed one at Chinchilla and one at Dalby today how funny out in the back of nowhere.

Sunday 10^th September, 2017

From Oakey we drove through Toowoomba and then Warwick where we stopped for morning tea then straight to Tenterfield then the Bruxner Highway to Casino although this is quite a curvy road the caravan handled this well. 

The Casino Gateway Caravan Park is a very clean well organised caravan park we had a drive through completely to ourselves, power and water $25.00/night with a ten percent discount off this again for a CMCA Member or Top Tourist Member.  The amenities were very clean and the grounds beautiful, although this park is near the airport we did not hear a thing.  Casino is an old country town where we were fortunate to catch up with some of Gils old footy mates, it was a wonderful afternoon.  This is our last continuous driving day although we do move on tomorrow to the coast we will be staying put for four days.

Monday 11^th September, 2017

Casino to Grafton via the Summerland Way this is a more direct road into Grafton, there is a bypass around Grafton to the Pacific Highway or driving through the town, as we have always gone around Grafton previously we decided to drive through the town this time, although it was too early for the jacarandas it was still a very pretty drive. 

On to the Pacific Highway this will be a magnificent road when it is finished parts are completed with beautiful four lanes and the regeneration of the centre island, this is continuous with off roads to the coastal villages. Quite a bit of work still needs to be done but we were very lucky to be able to drive on mostly new section although we were down to the speed 80km/hr at least we could see how the new sections were going. 

We were expecting to have morning tea at Coffs Harbour, it is so busy here and pulling a van we gave this a miss altogether, after a few kilometres south the road we pulled into a service station and had a bite to eat. 

From here a straight run to Kempsey then Port Macquarie where we turned off too early, Hastings River Drive we really wanted the Service Centre on Lake Road our nav man put us straight, we needed fuel and also lunch, found a spot for our caravan had a 15min break then onto Bonny Hills North Coast Caravan Park, this is a very picturesque site we have a beautiful view of the ocean at $39/night if you want front row it is $52/night and to tell the truth it is not much more than what we have, superb, could not be happier.  The amenities are very clean, great washing machines and ample room on clothes lines, although Bonny Hills is hilly the caravan sites have been cut in and made flat so easy parking, we are really enjoying our stay here.

Tuesday 12^th September, 2017

We did some washing today this will be our last until we get home, yes the end of our trip is coming, a bit sad but we can look forward to the next trip. 

We went for a drive into Port Macquarie this morning, looked into a patchwork shop very impressed with this, in 18/14 Acacia Avenue beautifully set out, I was given a look at the workshop, wish I worked in this workshop very nice, worth a look if you know anyone who likes to quilt.  There is another patchwork shop in Hastings Drive but parking is a big issue so did not go to this shop, into the main shopping space at Port  went to the Information Centre this is in the Glass House very nice atmosphere, picked up a few more brochures.  We had our eyes on the Pancake Place across the road so we just had to have a taste a little bit pricy but very tasty, from savoury to sweet nearly every conceivable flavour you could think you may like.  We were feeling a little tired, our fast and furious four day stretch was finally catching up with us, so back to the caravan to have a rest.

Wednesday 13^th September, 2017

We are off into the Burrawan State Forrest this morning after leaving Bonny Hills we headed out to the Pacific Highway to head south towards Kew, we needed to get onto the Bago Road which eventually goes into Wauchope.  The turn off was easy to find it is clearly shown, by taking a left hand side road then a right turn over the bridge, follow the sign to Bago Road and Burrawan State Forrest, following this for about 5kms then we came to the Internal Break Road which also has a brown sign for the Old Bottlebut Tree, these are not large signs, this road is also used for logging so care must be taken, follow this road and keep an eye open for a left hand turn to the Bottlebutt Reserve about 3kms.

We came to a very beautiful picnic area tables and chairs under cover and toilets.  There are two ways to start this walk left or right it would not matter which way it was started, the track is not suitable for wheelchairs, and you need good walking shoes, it is a good easy track with some downhill and uphill. This is a beautiful rainforest walk, the bird calls are magnificent we could also hear the scratchings of either a lyrebird or bush turkey, as we were walking on gravel our noise was keeping them away from us.  This is a wonderful walk about half way around we came to the Bottlebutt Tree around 200years old absolutely magnificent, we stood there in awe of this beautiful giant, it took a breath away. We sat on the seat near this tree to enjoy the atmosphere.  Eventually we had to leave and move onto our next destination.

Retracing our steps back to the Pacific Highway and continued toward Kew taking the turnoff to Laurieton on the Ocean Road.  Our destination was to be Dunbogan and Camden Head as we not been to these places previously.

We drove through the small holiday villages of Lakewood, West Haven then the bigger town of Laurieton where the turnoff to Bold Street connects Dunbogan via a bridge on Diamond Head Road then turn left into The Boulevarde which we followed to the Camden Haven Inlet but before we got there we spotted a coffee place called Dunbogan Boat shed. We sat out on the wharf and there was heaps of fish swimming around the piers waiting for some food. Camden Haven Inlet was a beautiful spot, part of the inlet near the park is roped off for swimming.  Along Camden Head Road we passed Gogley’s Lagoon then over to Pilot Beach.  Pilot Beach has a break water either side which keeps it protected from the open sea, this was very beautiful, on the left hand side boats can come and go out the heads past the breakwater and on the right hand side is Wash House Beach very long beach and quite rough.  We walked out to the end of the right hand side breakwater which gave us a beautiful view looking back into Pilot Beach.  After leaving this area we headed for the Kattang Nature Reserve and Charles Hamey Lookout which had an extended platform where we had a spectacular view of Dunbogan Beach.  On our return journey back we quickly had a look at a couple of caravan parks in these areas and would have to say we were not impressed, back to Bonny Hills to have lunch, a very interesting morning.

Thursday 14^th September, 2017

Our last day at Bonny Hills we have really enjoyed our stay at this caravan park it was good to stay away from the busy business centre of Port Macquarie.

Today we decided to do the “Lookout” run although we had already been to some of the lookouts around this area on previous stays we decided to make a half day out before we pack up and move on.

First of all we wanted to get to Grants Head near Bonny Hills although this is marked on a map, the area is not shown on a street sign where to find your way exactly to the area, we did find this eventually by going up and down a few roads but very disappointing we were expecting a good walking track.

Tacking Point Lighthouse was great we made our way along Ocean Road turned onto Matthews Flinders Drive then onto Lighthouse Road, the day started off cold, rainy and windy but did improve.  We walked around taking photos of Lighthouse Beach and as we looked further in front of the Lighthouse we saw a large pod of dolphins not far from the shore, magical.  Up to the Lighthouse where the wind was howling around we eventually saw more dolphins then a whale although not breaching it was coming to the surface, spouting, then going down again it looked beautiful, then another whale, although it was very cold we could not walk away while these beautiful creatures were around.

On our way to Nobby Head Obelisk we called into Sea Acres for morning tea, this is a beautiful rainforest with walks throughout the area, there is also a very nice café and visitor shop.  On to Nobby Head to the beach and the obelisk on top of a very high hill just off shore, it is easier to see this obelisk from Windmill Hill Lookout.  The Windmill Hill is the place where Major Archibald Clunes Innes (1834) a former commandant of the penal settlement, erected a windmill on this site to provide power for the grinding of locally grown wheat and corn.  The site was formerly known as Gillman’s Folly.

Our final lookout for the day Flagstaff Hill where there is wooden stairs to climb to the top of the platform, where the Flag Pole is today, beautiful views up and down the coast.  In the convict days boats came into this section of the shore to unload, the flagstaff was used as an indication it was safe to land.  eadHe

 PHOTOS TO COME LATER