The Joy is in the Journey

 Monday 12th July We re-joined the Matilda Way this morning. Once again, we found the road heading west involved long straight stretches and landscape bereft of livestock. This area has suffered drought for up to 9 years and the farmers have all had to destock as the feed ran out or prices got too high to purchase it. Now, after rain the grass is returning but the prices for cattle and sheep are so high, the farmers can’t afford to restock. We drove nearly 270 kms and saw a flock of about 10 sheep, one goat with two kids and some emus. Terribly sad. On the way we passed through Ilfracombe, famous for its Machinery Mile. We had initially planned to return to here after our station stay, so we didn’t stop to have a look. The township was founded as a transport hub for the historic Wellshot Station, one of our greatest sheep and wool producers. Apparently, the pub is exactly as it was 120 yrs ago, but we have changed our plans and will be staying in Longreach, so that is a bit of a ge...

 Saturday 10th July Fuelled up ($1.37) we turned onto the Capricorn Hwy and headed for our morning cuppa stop at Alpha, having passed through Bogantungan and glad we weren’t born there under that moniker.  The café and bakery were both shut so no coffee to be found in Alpha but I did buy a pack of homemade cornflake cookies in the craft shop. When did I last see cornflake cookies? Alpha boasts 27 murals but the ones we saw mostly looked like they could do with a touch-up. There was also a sculpture representing petrified wood. Perhaps we have been spoilt by the fabulous silo and water tank art now featuring around the country.  We pushed on to Jericho, built on the banks of the Jordan River and just south of Galilee Dam. Not surprisingly, they have an impressive Crystal Trumpeters monument and Trumpeter statue in town which reflects their biblical infused history. Unfortunately we just missed their Saturday morning market and there is no coffee shop open here either. We s...

  Tuesday 6 th July Today we are heading to Carnarvon Gorge. We have wanted to visit here ever since my mum and dad did so in about 1988 and raved about it. We have arranged to meet up with Heather and Michael Munro here too, they are travelling up from Ballina and we will travel together for the next ten days or so.  We first met this couple in Singapore in 2013. We left Emerald and stopped in at Rolleston to top up fuel and water. This is the last place you get to do so. Lovely coffee van in the local park run by volunteers was much appreciated by many travellers. It has been a lovely drive today with lots to look at on the horizon as we passed by the Minerva Hills National Park with its spectacular peaks. Although the sky looks brilliant we are starting to feel the chill. Notice Eric's stance in the next pic, he remained in that posture for the next couple of days.  Heather and Michael drove up from Roma.   We pulled into the Sandstone Park reception just as an...

 Sun 4 th July Now that’s a first. I had a lovely hot shower in the block 50m from our site only to realise, as I stood naked, dripping and beginning to cool, that I had forgotten my towel. I swear it will not happen again. On a cool but clear morning we drove south to Emerald. I always assumed Emerald was named after the gemstone, this being right in the centre of the Qld gemfields. Turns out the first settler in the area (around 1860) was so impressed by the greenness of the pastures that he called the property Emerald Downs. The town takes its name from his property. The first 200kms was easy going and we swapped drivers at Clermont. We’ve entered the Bowen Basin, Australia’s largest coal reserve. This is also the site where Bob Brown and the anti-Adani mine protesters met with the local pro mining community. We kept our mouths shut and kept moving south. From here and for the next 250kms the surface of the road became rough, somewhat like a choppy day on the harbour an...

 Fri 2nd July The weather is overcast and gloomy but the good news is we have heard that Darwin has reported no more Covid19 cases, and so the lockdown will be lifted at last. We have been thinking of our family and friends experiencing it for the first time.  We turned off the Savannah Way and onto the Great Inland Way heading for Charters Towers, considered to be where the outback meets the tropics. We know very little about the place other than many of the students who passed through Katherine School of the Air, came to boarding school here. The trip was uneventful with just a quick stop for fuel at Greenvale ($1.46). We moved on from C to D and the first track was a Rod Stewart hit 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy'. Conditions did improve and by the time we got to town it was fine enough for Eric to have a hit of golf while I went into town for a look see. I was immediately struck by the architectural reminders of the booming goldrush era, somewhat like Ballarat and Bendigo where ...

The sunset over Georgetown was just magic last night (sounds like a song title). Eric's new thongs were almost twice the price but they are double pluggers! When did you last see a pair of them? On the other hand fuel was the cheapest we've seen since leaving home ($1.42).  Armed with a one month fossicking licence for all of Qld ($10.65) and a pick, I am ready to find my thunder rock. First stop O'brien's Creek, just a short drive out of Mt Surprise. A quirky little town with some quirky sights. 30th June Mt Surprise is a very small town between Georgetown and the Undara Lava Field. It is also only 45 kms from O’Brien’s Creek Fossicking Area. Today I tried my luck fossicking for topaz. I had been advised that I could hire a sieve and get all the advice I needed from the manager of the camp out there. Unfortunately, today the office was unattended; probably doing a tip run I was told. Not much help, we’ve just driven 35 kms on a dirt road and I have no idea what I’m loo...

  Wednesday 23 rd June Already refuelled at $1.38 we were ready early to move on. Libby made the first of her bold statements for the day. ‘We’ve been parked in a good position these last few days to survey the people who empty the toilet cassettes at the dump point. To a man, they have all been men. You see, it’s your job Eric, that’s evolution for you’. So this morning what happens? We both see a woman doing the task. Immediately I decided she must have been genetically modified. Eric drove to Cloncurry which sits on the banks of the Cloncurry River. These rivers must be a sight after rains. As the passenger my mind wandered, and I considered if she could have been an avatar at the dump point.   Perhaps sent to upset the natural balance of our universe. Maybe it’s time I got behind the wheel to occupy my mind! After a quick fuel top-up ($1.50) we turned off the Barkly and north onto the Burke Developmental Rd which forms the northern end of the Matilda Way. We noticed...