Go West

Monday 19th July

If we had a day up our sleeves, I would be visiting Opalton to fossick for boulder opal, its beautiful. Eric has his nose in the direction of home though and I might have had trouble convincing him of this side-trip. A game of golf in Darwin awaits and besides, we have dear friends who have arrived in Darwin in our absence that we hope to catch up with before they leave. So, once again it is time to refuel ($1.52) and hit the road, the Smiths and Munros parting ways.. We are heading north-west and they are returning to Ilfracombe and heading south. While we are very compatible travelling on our own, it has been a nice change to share some of the journey with old friends. And I mean that in the nicest possible way. 

Not long after taking the Matilda Way toward Camooweal, our music skipped from F to G and we listened to Galileo by the Indigo Girls. The landscape was unchanging, flat black soil plains with the occasional mulga or gidgee tree which manage to thrive in challenging terrains. 

Our first stop was at Kynuna, the true home of Waltzing Matilda apparently. Not much here, just a pub and a petrol station. The poet, A.B. Paterson, as well as the swagman and the squatter who featured in the song were all known to have visited the Blue Heeler Hotel, so we did too. Apparently the poem was set around an event that occurred during the shearers’ strike. The Swagman’s Billabong is just east of town where a suicide occurred, by shooting rather than drowning, but that’s poetry for you. There is not a scrap of wall space (inside or out) that hasn't had someone's moniker scribbled on it. The bearded barman was short of $2 coins so i was able to cash in all the coins in my washing machine kitty and he was very grateful.

Next, we took another short break at McKinlay to visit the Walkabout Creek Hotel which featured in the Crocodile Dundee movie and where Mick Dundee wrestled a bogus crocodile. The bar for the movie was specially built so the locals could still indulge during shooting. The bar of the film is still out in the beer garden. 

Two pub stops and we haven't had a drink yet. Eventually we entered Camooweal, looking for a shady spot to pull up for lunch. No such luck. We gave up and decided to continue to Mt Isa. We’re both sweltering in the car with no air con and down to t-shirts and shorts. The sad thing about returning to Cloncurry is that it means we have completed the loop. Our outback adventure is over, all that lays ahead is a short drive home that we have done before. 

After 460 kms we suddenly found ourselves in rocky terrain as we approached Mt Isa. We set up and showered before resupplying the fuel (1.49), fridge and cellar.  Next task was to complete the Border Control Passes so that tomorrow we should have no trouble as we cross. 

Eric’s birthday 20th July

Happy Birthday Eric! You’re a lucky man to be sharing this whole day with just me for company while we traverse 640kms from Mt Isa to 3 Ways Roadhouse at the intersection with the Stuart Hwy. I’ll shout you dinner in the roadhouse diner if they have a site available. If it is all full, we’ll continue 40 kms north to a roadside free camp and we’ll share a frozen meal out of the freezer. How good does it get? That’s assuming everything goes to plan, remember the trouble we had last time we were on the Barkly. 

Eric got us away early at 8am and drove to Camooweal, a record early start this trip. I drove the next leg to the Barkly Homestead, sailing through the border control without any fuss. 

We’d fuelled up again at Camooweal which was just as well because at the Homestead it was top dollar ($1.92). The Minties we bought at Bourke and Wills Roadhouse have all gone now. Things you do on a long drive when you’re retracing your steps and the scenery is not too stimulating…….

1. Eric calculated how many caravans we’ve been camping with in the towns we’ve visited in Outback Qld and came up with a figure of 2000 but we have no idea how accurate that is.

2. What’s the best new item we’ve brought with us this time? The reciprocating saw for collecting firewood.

3. What could we have left behind? The golf clubs and buggies. The golfers in this part of the world are made of much sturdier stuff and obviously we’ve been spoilt.  

4. Which song will come up next on the music list? Eg after ‘Harpo’s by Pheobe Snow it was ‘Harvest’ by Neil Young, then ‘Harvest Moon’, they were the easy ones. The rest we’ve got wrong so far. Oh, I forgot to mention we moved from G to H and the first song was ‘H….e Coochie Man’ by the Hoochie Coochie Men. 

As luck would have it, 3 Ways did have a spare site so at 3.30pm we are done for the day. That’s with the additional half hour taken off, so 4pm Qld time; eight hours since we left this morning. We were welcomed in by galahs and young Australian Ringneck parrots. Across from us is a set-up I haven’t seen before in all our travels. 

Once we were all settled in, Eric responded to many of the msgs he’d received enroute, but network is lousy here, so it took forever. I treated him to a mixed grill and a James Boag Premium. Like I said, how good does it get?

Wednesday 21st July

Another early getaway meant we were at Daly Water’s Pub for lunch. We think the last time we were here was 1989 and the place has exploded with people and crazy paraphernalia. That's a pet dog and goat tied up out the front. 

The place was rockin’ at 1pm with live music in the beer garden, queues at the bar for caravan park bookings, lunch and drinks. Since we were last here the park accommodation has expanded with three local cattle stations each now operating sites on adjacent blocks. 

After another big day of 640 kms, we eventually pulled up in Katherine on the verge at our dear friend Trina’s place. We shared a lovely meal and lots of conversation before falling into bed, dead tired. 

Thursday 22nd July

We had a very uneventful drive up the very familiar Stuart Hwy and into our driveway. Its been a long time in the planning and we've certainly had a good time. Still on H of the music drive, we have plenty of music to keep us entertained on the next trip. Already thinking of that itinerary; out west through the Hammersley's, but that wont be until 2022. We'll probably try avoiding the build-up, so not leaving until September. Let's hope we won't have to be dealing with lock downs and border closures by then.