0033 Perth to Gold Coast - Week 2

 0033 Perth to the Gold Coast - Week 2

12th July 2021

Gorges, sand dunes, and lots of nothing !

Sunrise ar Hargrave Lookout

 Day 27 / 8.  Sunday 27^th June.   We were up at dawn at Hargrave Lookout, with a spectacular sunrise
over the valley below us – But very cold fingers while packing up !  After breakfast we drove down from the Neil Hargrave Lookout and on to Serpentine Gorge where we were one of the first there for a walk. After the short but scenic walk up to the lake (ie non-flowing river) at the end of the gorge, we then climbed the stairs up the side of the gorge to the lookout (They weren’t quite so extreme as those in Kings Canyon a couple of days ago) which allowed us to gaze down into the gorge below.  An excellent hike, and it was then back to the

Serpentine Gorge

car and an hour or so further up the road to Standley Chasm, which is only some 45 kms outside of Alice Springs and therefore gets a lot of day tourists who have flown in to The Alice.  We got there early enough to avoid a lot of the crowds, and had a delicious BLT sandwich….with egg, and a coffee.  Just what we needed after our cold and early start.  We then paid our fee (this gorge is more commercial and part of the local Aboriginal lands) and set off up through the

Standley Chasm

gorge – A very pleasant walk.  When we reached the narrow chasm it was 10 minutes to noon, and Jamie had mentioned earlier that the sun would be directly overhead (and thus lighting up the chasm) at precisely noon  - Yet again the Tourist Guide had nailed it !  There was only one other family in the chasm at that time, and together we waited for the sun to be overhead so we could take our photos – All very pleasant.  And as we left the chasm, it seemed that 15 coach loads arrived, and we exited gratefully and quickly.  An excellent morning.  By the time we got back to the car park there was hardly room to move, so we quickly pulled out and drove into Alice Springs – Ah, a blissful smooth tarmac road with no saucepans rattling in the back of the car !

Heading in to Alice Springs

On arrival in Alice we went to Coles to stock up our empty larder, but I think we made a timing mistake – Sunday afternoon, plus a potential Covid lockdown was rumoured, so the supermarket was packed, with extra long queues at the toilet paper aisle    Luckily we didn’t need any of that, but it was still a slow process before we got out.  Round here, liquor stores are closed on Sunday, so we had to leave that till the next day. It was then off to the Big 4 campsite – Not our usual choice but Janet and I had stayed there before, and it has good facilities, and we needed to do our laundry etc.  When we arrived there were queues outside – When I finally got to the desk I was told we had the last available site !  Apparently there is now a lockdown in NSW and South Australia has closed its border, while Victoria also has a lockdown, as does Queensland.  As a result, all the tourists from those states do not want to return home immediately – So everyone has piled into Northern Territory and Alice Springs !   This has also changed our whole trip because we were intending to drop down to Coober

Alice Springs City Limits

Pedy, which is in SA, before going through NSW and into Queensland via the Innamincka and Strzelecki tracks. With all the border closures, we would be forcibly quarantined when we returned to Queensland if we followed this route, and 2 weeks in hotel quarantine at our expense was not an attractive proposition. We were also faced with a possible lockdown in Alice Springs itself, so we changed our route so we could get back into Queensland both as quickly as possible, and as directly as possible.  This meant going north about 50 kms from Alice, and then turning right onto the Plenty Highway which would deliver us to Queensland some 600 kms later.  We knew that this Plenty Highway was quite rough, but realistically this was our only viable option, so that was our new plan.  Disappointing, as I have wanted to do the Strzelecki for years, but this can be done easily from the Queensland side another time.

So we got our washing and cleaning done in the afternoon, and had supper before playing some Backgammon for a while, and turning in.

Ice on the spare tyre

Day 28 / 9   28^th June.   Woke up at 6.30 am and it was MINUS 1.6 deg C, with ice on the awning and tent sides, so very cold hands !   After packing up, we  checked with the camp office and fortunately they had a (different) site available for us for the second night, after which we would escape from Alice.  We then went into Alice and met friend Paul for coffee – I know Paul from when Ashton and I were in Alice for the 2018 Outback Rally, and as he runs an immaculate 1965 Lotus Cortina, he must be a fine fellow !  We had coffee and breakfast with Paul and then he had to go to work.  He suggested we drive out to

Cold even inside !

the airport where 100’s (not sure how many, but lots) of aircraft are parked out there during the Covid shut down of international travel.   Quite a sight to see them all lined up on the tarmac.  I presume Alice is used because of its dry climate, and apparently a large number of aircraft mechanics have also moved into town because all these aircraft have to be maintained, and even started occasionally, so they are instantly ready to go back into service when required.   By the time we came back into town the liquor store was now open, so after showing our photo ID to the 2 policemen stationed on the door, we stocked up on some beer, and got a bottle of wine to take over to Paul’s house for supper – He had kindly invited us to join him and his family for the evening.  Then it was back to the camp site where we set up Troopie on the site, albeit

Jamie was cold too !

without the tent on the back in readiness for an early and quick getaway in the morning.  We also applied on-line for our passes to enter Queensland, and gave a sigh of relief when these were granted to both of us without a problem. At 5.30 pm Paul picked us up in his Impreza, and took us back to his home, where his wife Karen had cooked some unbelievably tasty salmon – Some of the tastiest

Aircraft at Alice Airport

ever – I think I need her recipe !  As expected, the conversation soon turned to cars and camping – And after Paul had taken Jamie out for a drive in his Lotus, we ended up looking at Paul’s super-lightweight camping equipment made by Helinox.  Ashton had brought a couple of their chairs on the Peking to Paris, but I was stunned when Paul pulled out chairs, camp stretcher beds, and even a table.  They are expensive, but they are very light and small – May well be a way of keeping weight down and optimizing space if I go round Australia next year in the VW ?   Together with the furniture inspection, the meal, and a beer or three, we had a really good evening with a lot of chat and ideas all round.  Thank you so much, Paul and Karen.  And also a big thank you to Claire who hadn’t been drinking all evening, and drove Jamie and I back to the camp site where we crashed immediately – Ready for an early start in the morning. 

Big termite mounds

Day 29 / 10.  29^th June.  Cold again when we got up at 5.30 am, and after making a cup of tea in the camp kitchen we headed north from Alice and turned right / east to Boulia on the Plenty Highway.  It started with good bitumen, then changed to moderate dirt, then became poor dirt – This was going to be a long drive !   Giant termite mounds started to

An almost OK wreck

appear along the road, and we even found an almost complete “wreck” beside the road – except the car was sitting on rocks and the wheels were gone !  The front corner was actually pretty bad - It looks like they hit a big ‘roo.  The road surface stayed quite rough, but we plodded on because we really wanted to get into Queensland before they locked down the border, listening to Led Zeppelin and other similar heart warming music !    By 3.15 pm we had arrived at Tobermorey Cattle Station, which was about 4 kms from the Queensland border, and as we

Cold beer sounds good

were both pretty weary, and there was a sign stating they had ice cold beer,  we decided to stop here and relax a little.  Tobermorey is a one and a half million acre working cattle station,  and they are developing a sizeable camping area together with cabins and showers etc.  The entire camp site and homestead is circled by a ? 20 ft ? high levee, which we found out later was required due to regular massive floods in the area – So they are hoping this will save the homestead in future.  We quickly found a spot (unlike some others who were driving round in ever decreasing circles discussing the pros & cons of every square inch !  ) and went over to the bar area for a beer, and a chat with a couple who help out at the station each year, and were able to tell us about the station.   After a beer or two, we went

Cooking supper outside

back over to the car via the ablution block, and found this hilarious pictorial instruction of how to correctly use a toilet brush !  It was a warm evening (for a change – We must be getting close to Queensland !) so we cooked outside despite the flies, while we watched (and listened to) a big flock of Galah’s squawking and playing in the trees above us while the sun went down.  After supper, we played a few games of backgammon (which Jamie of course won !) and went to bed, ready for the final 4 km run across the border in the morning. 

 

Road trains mean dust

Day 30 / 11.  30^th June.     After packing up, we crossed the levee and headed back to the main road.  Signs on the border were looking back into the N Territory, and looking forward confirmed that we had not only officially reached Queensland, but that we were also near the end of The Outback Way – The section stretching from Laverton in WA (which we had passed through on day 3 of our journey from Perth) through to

The Outback Way crosses Aus

Boulia and Winton in Queensland .  It is classed as Australia’s Longest Shortcut, and stretches 2700 kms right across the centre of the country.  It is Australia’s answer to Route 66 – The Great Australian Road Trip – Crossing the Great Victorian Desert (the largest in Australia, and the 7^th largest in the world) and the northern part of the Simpson Desert. 

 

21 m Flood marker

We continued on to Boulia, along one of the most desolate roads of NOTHING that I have ever seen anywhere, passing enormous flocks of noisy corella’s (like cockatoos, but without a crest), presumably feeding on seeds on the seemingly barren ground, and having the occasional enormous 3 or 4 trailer road trains go thundering past us, covering us with more and more red dust.  Mid morning we passed a big “Flood Marker” post, which was amazing – It marked the levels of

Flocks of corellas

the big floods over the past 50 years or so.  The 1972 flood at 7 metres wasn’t even half way up the post – The 1974 and 1977 floods were about 20 metres deep !   Over such flat country, one can hardly imagine the immense volume of water that this would entail flowing over mile after mile of the desert.   No wonder Tobermorey Homestead had built the enormous levee around the homestead ! 

 

Brolgas at Boulia

Coming in to Boulia we passed some large brolga birds, members of the stork family, before we came to the local (only ?) gas station that was called Riverside Rest, and it was a delight – Good clean toilets, lots of fuel, and the coffee and the egg & bacon sandwiches were excellent. What else can one need when on the road ?  On leaving, we turned south down through Bedourie to Birdsville.  Jamie had not been to Birdsville for about 40 years, and I had never been there, despite working out in this region for some years when on the rigs as a mud engineer back in the mid 1980’s. 

 

A lot of nothing out here

I think I mentioned that the roads east to Boulia were full of “nothing”?   Well, compared to this road south from Boulia to Birdsville, they were

jam packed with exciting things to see !   This road south SERIOUSLY has nothing – No trees, no scrub, no roos, no birds – Just mile after mile of nothing.  But it was far from boring – Just to see such an enormous amount of nothing is oddly a sight in itself – Most people would never get to see so much nothing in their entire lifetime, let along over 24 hours !!  Then in the distance we saw a big hill, with a couple of buildings on top, and as we got closer we were trying to see what the buildings were, through the binoculars.   When we finally got to the base of the hill, we found a turning and a nice tarmac road up to the top of a steep hill – to the Vaughan Johnson lookout, a politician who facilitated a lot of the road building in western Queensland.  The buildings we had seen were some information signs, and a fenced shed containing an old tractor – presumably used in the original road building.  A great Lookout – Over miles of Nothing !!

Pelicans on flood waters

Near Bedourie we came to a bridge over a lot of water – This is the Eyre Creek, part of the Hamilton River, which in turn is part of the enormous Diamantina River, a central part of Australia’s Channel Country that stretches for hundreds of kilometres, and sees massive amounts of water flowing across the country when it rains up north in the tropics.  We stopped on the bridge (for want of a better description !) and saw pelicans, spoonbills, and even some ducks.  The recent rains 10 days previously was starting to attract a large variation of birdlife, despite the seeming harshness of the country. 

Flooded road and mud

It was then on across lots more “nothing”, until at about 4.30 pm we came to some major roadworks, and we were directed off the seemingly almost finished highway onto a side track which was covered in water of indeterminate depth, and a lot of very gooey wet mud with deep tyre marks everywhere.  With no other vehicle to watch, I decided to have a look at the main road first, and we drove over the berms onto the main road – However 100 yards up we discovered the workers had dug a deep ditch in order to prevent people like us from driving up the new section !   As we started to back up, one of the worker’s pick ups started down the hill towards us,

Picnic table out in desert

and by the time we got back onto the detour section, a lady worker was there, politely advising us that the water was only 1-2 feet deep, and that as long as we stayed in the middle of the track, it was firm underneath and we would be OK.  So we switched to 4 wheel drive, and locked the front hubs, and were about to set off when a Kia Pregio 2 WD van pulled up behind us.  We had passed them earlier on, and presumed that they were just a couple of wandering travellers – although they shouldn’t have been on this road as the signs back in Bedourie had clearly stated that this road was only open to 4WD vehicles.  It turned out they were Germans, and they asked if they could follow us through the water – I said yes, but that we wouldn’t be able to tow them out if they got stuck !   We then set off through the water, and I think the lady worker was talking to them and asking why they were on the road in such an unsuitable vehicle.   We certainly never saw them again so maybe they were told to turn back to Bedourie ?

A shoe tree

Shortly before we reached Birdsville, in the middle of all the nothingness, we saw a concrete garden table and two benches sitting just 20 ft back off the road.  What on earth was it doing out here.  We stopped, and on closer inspection, it was basically brand new and undamaged – And just sitting in the desert ?  How or why it was here, who knows ?   And then, not 5 minutes down the road, we passed a shoe tree.  Someone had embedded a large branch in the ground, and passing people had put shoes of every imaginable description on to the branches.   It was, truly, a shoe tree !     Amazing what you see out here !

 

5 minutes later we came into Birdsville, past the enormous water towers, past some camels and a cameleer made from corrugated iron, and there, right in front

Birdsville Water Tower

of us, was the Camp Ground !  Too easy.    We were too late for the office to be open, but managed to check in on the phone and find a space.   It was only now that we realised that something was going on in Birdsville, and the camp site was overflowing and the town was buzzing !   We were told it was the Big Red Bash, and we presumed it would take place in town. We chatted to Gary Tischer who was camped next to us, and it turned out he was a photographer for the

Birdsville Pub

event, and suggested we go out of town to a sand dune called Big Red in the morning to see it.  He also said that the event didn’t officially start until the following Tuesday, a week away, so it was going to get a LOT busier in the coming days, with over 10,000 people expected, and maybe more since the 2020 event had been cancelled due to Covid. 

In the meantime, for the evening meal we went up to the iconic Birdsville Pub which was quite crowded, and we had a very tasty bangers and mash counter meal, plus a few beers, and felt a lot better for both !   It was then back to the car and bed, ready for the next day. 

Little Red

Day 31 / 12.   1^st July 2021.  Jamie headed out to search for coffee, and eventually returned with coffee and additional fresh croissants – A very civilized way to start the day !   After packing up, we headed out to Big Red as Gary had suggested, first finding Little Red, which we duly drove up in Troopie.  These are big sand dunes surrounding a dry lake bed, and it was in this area that we started to understand what the Big Red Bash was all about.  They were setting up sound stages and lots of toilets in preparation for some 10,000 people who were expected by the following Wednesday.  This would explain the many campers in Birdsville !  Jamie and I climbed Big Red and watched other 4WD’s playing in the sand, and even found lots of footprints of various animals large and small that had evidently been out and

On top of Big Red

about during the night.  This is an incredible venue for this 3 day festival which is normally an annual event, although due to covid it had been cancelled in 2020.  Together with the annual Birdsville races that are held in September, the Bash is a vital lifeline to the area (and everywhere in between, as we were to find out), bringing thousands to the area, and providing many with their first experience of the Outback.

 We eventually headed back towards town, passing a tree with a very large nest in it, although it appeared empty at the moment.  A stork ?  Or maybe even an eagle ?   On the stretch of tarmac road just before town, a passing car threw up a big stone that hit my windscreen right where I look out !!   Grrrrr.   This was a BIG stone chip – I could even feel it on the inside, and it would mean a new windscreen when I get home.  But that is the joy of driving in the outback, and why most car insurance policies include one free windscreen each year !!    Back in town we found the Bakery, and although they had run out of

Birdsville Bakery

plain fresh bread rolls (for our lunches on the road), their coffee was excellent, and we had a delicious egg and salad roll while we admired their art collection and photos of old Birdsville.   After collecting our coffee and eating our rolls, we headed out of town, passing the corrugated iron camels once more before realising we were on the wrong road, and heading back through town to get on the correct Windorah road heading east along the South Australian border line.   Traffic was starting to build up, and they were even closing off some roads in order to direct the traffic more easily.  Birdsville is only a small town, so the influx of 10,000 people, most of them in big 4WD’s towing caravans, is a major event that needs careful planning !

Burke & Wills Tree

Just outside of town we saw a sign to the Burke & Wills Tree.  Famous explorers in the 1860’s, they had established a route from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, but unfortunately died in this area on their way home.   I had heard of this Burke and Wills Tree, but when we found it I was somewhat surprised by its small size – Presumably it has a hard time growing in the harsh climate out here !

On the road it was bedlam – I think we were the only vehicle heading east – Everyone else was heading west to Birdsville for the Big Red Bash !  It was like a freeway out there, with no break in the traffic, and it was lucky the breeze was blowing to the south so the dust from the endless traffic didn’t

Dreamtime serpent

blind us from view.   An amazing sight after days of seeing virtually no traffic at all – We were starting to understand how big this Birdsville festival was !    It was then on past a large Dreamtime snake (Wagyl)

Betoota town sign

drawing on a hill and then in to Betoota, an interesting spot 170 kms east of Birdsville.  The city sign says it all – “Population 0, Elevation 70 metres” !!   It is officially the smallest town in Australia, has only one building (the Hotel / Pub) and 3 named “streets”.  It’s only official inhabitant (the publican) died in 2004, and new owners purchased it in 2017.   It started out in 1885 as a toll place for cattle drovers on the stock route, and was also a Cobb & Co horse change station in the days of stage coaches

The best hotel in Betoota

!  There was even a Police Station with a court built in 1915, but this closed in 1930 when they realised that no one had even been taken into custody or before the court ! Now the pub only opens between June and September each year – it opens in July for the Big Red Bash, with thousands of travellers also passing through on their way to Birdsville – is open for the winter season, and closes in September when the Birdsville Races are finished.   It holds an annual cricket festival at that time, when everyone heading to Birdsville passes through.  As a result of its history, there were hundreds of 4wd’s and caravans parked up, and people enjoying a cold beer or three in the middle of nowhere, while they rested up for a day or two on their trek west to Birdsville !  What a crazy crazy place !!  

Mt Henderson sign

We continued east towards Windorah, against the steady flow of traffic heading to Birdsville, with very little in the way of scenery.  We stopped to brew a cuppa at one stage, but due to the wind we had to boil the billy inside the footwell of the car ! Further on down the road, we came to a hill on the right – Mt Henderson, as it turned out.   We noticed a sign, and stopped to read it – There was an arrow welded into the pole of the sign, and if you looked directly along the line of the arrow it pointed to a hole in the side of the mountain, exactly as the sign said !!  I guess when there is nothing to see, one has to look hard for entertainment and sights.

Flood waters near Windorah

As we approached Windorah, we saw more and more standing water beside the road, and sometimes across it.  It doesn’t even have to rain out here for it to flood – This is the heart of the Channel Country, and any rain (and especially cyclones) further north results (eventually) in floods down here.  I used to work around here on the oil rigs back in the 1980’s, and was even stranded in Windorah by floods for a couple of days one time !  Arriving in Windorah, we were stunned by the number of caravans everywhere.  The small campground was overflowing, and cars and vans were parked everywhere where there wasn’t a house – it was truly chaotic !   We found a place amongst all the other vans, and made sure it was within walking distance of the pub, which we had already noted was full to overflowing.  Once we had set up camp, we headed over for a beer and a feed – It is always good food out in these country pubs.   We shared a table with a couple of paramedics who were (no surprise) en route to the Big Red Rocks, and had some interesting tales to tell of their work in some remote communities around the country.  A couple of beers, a great chicken parmy that was just so succulent and juicy, and we happily headed back to Troopie in the dark for yet another night on the road.   I would never have believed the amount of traffic we have seen on the road today – An amazing experience just in itself.

Thick fog in the morning

Day 32 / 13.  2^nd July.  Woke up at 6 am to a thick fog, and it was cold as well.  Must be from all the surface water lying around in the area.   We searched town for the bakery, hoping for hot coffee and sticky buns, but were advised that Windorah doesn’t have a bakery – A frozen white loaf was all we could have, so we went and had our own breakfast before packing up and heading out of town.  I wasn’t desperate for fuel, but we were hearing stories of places on the road to Birdsville actually running out of diesel due to all the traffic heading out for the bash, so when I found the (only) gas pumps were free as we passed, I decided to stop and top off my reserve tank.  We then set off east to in the very thick fog,

Driving in the fog

which lasted for an hour or more before the sun managed to burn it off, and made it very difficult to drive.  Oncoming traffic was already building up, mostly towing caravans, and since the road was single lane tarmac, and the dirt edges were very wet, it made for some difficult passing of oncoming traffic when you both had to put two wheels off the tarmac on to the dirt. We then turned north east towards Jundah and Stonehenge (on the Longreach road) and once we did this, all the traffic disappeared – They were all coming from Charleville in the east. 

 Because we had changed our route home due to a covid outbreak in South Australia, and had headed north instead of south, we had a few days up our sleeve, and our route

Sunset at Tocal

was taking us close to where Jamie’s daughter Sophie lived with her husband Rob and two girls, on a property south east of Longreach.  Since he doesn’t get here often, it was a good opportunity for him to spend a couple of days with them, so we were detouring to their property.  This involves following unsignposted dirt roads (“turn left on track just before 3^rd cattle grid” and similar) and opening and closing numerous gates (passenger’s job !), but eventually we arrived at Tocal – where Rob and Sophie plus the two girls were busy loading 500 sheep onto a B double truck to take them to a new owner in NSW.  So Jamie grabbed Gracie and Thea and we went and made a cup of tea !

Frogs in the toilet !

Basically I tried to keep out of the way for the next 48 hours so Jamie could enjoy the full and complete company of his two young grand daughters, although occasionally I could see he needed a rest, so we had plenty of fun along the way. I was introduced to the 6 green frogs that live in an outside toilet, and who seem to love it when they are given swimming lessons when the toilet is flushed !!  One certainly wouldn’t want to sit on this toilet without doing a round up first !!  In the evening we played some picture bingo with the girls before supper, and, after I had taken some sunset photos over the property, I went off to bed in Troopie outside, while Jamie had a comfortable bed (and an early grand daughter alarm clock !!) inside.   I should add here that when one is “on the road”, it is easier to sleep in the van than it is to gather everything like razor, toothbrush, pj’s, clean clothes etc from their various spots around the van and bring them inside !  Seems odd to some, but it is true !   However a hot shower inside in the morning is always welcome !!

Picnic beside the dam

Day 33 / 14.  3^rd July.    Next morning, Rob went off early while Jamie and Sophie took the girls off for a walk while I stayed at home a started on my blog.  Later Sophie returned and put together some cake and nibbles and I returned with her to the dam where Jamie and the girls had built a fairy garden.  Rob joined us and we had a very pleasant picnic between the dams – The weather out here at this time of year is a delight, and it was just perfect sitting outside while Gracie and Thea handed round corn chips and avocado dip !

On the way back we explored the old shearer’s quarters and shower block that had fallen into disrepair – It would be a major job to make them habitable again – Maybe too much of a major job.  The property used to be a big sheep property in the past, and it is always interesting to see how tough they had it when it came to life on these Outback properties. 

Story time for the girls

By the time we got back to the house, since the girls had a nap, Jamie and I did similarly, before spending some time reading stories on the couch.   At dusk Rob said he needed to get some dog food and asked me to accompany him – This involved getting the rifle and spotlight on the Ute and heading off across the property in search of some roos – Of which we duly brought back 3 which should keep the dogs happy for a few days !  First time I have been “spotlighting”, so it was quite an experience for me !

After a delightful dinner, it was once again time for bed.

Dawn over Tocal

 Day 34 / 15.  4^th July.  Porridge for breakfast around the dining table, and then it was time to pack up
the car, say our farewells, and head out towards Longreach.  I had been a very pleasant couple of days break from travel, and I had really enjoyed time at Tocal.  Sophie and Rob and the girls are a delightful family and so welcoming.   Thank you !

Jamie opening gates

Getting to Longreach was again a case of following dirt roads out through numerous gates for some distance, although this time we were escorted by 2 emus for part of the way, plus we saw a LOT of roos – Far more than Rob and I had seen last night when we were actually trying to find them ! We stopped in Longreach at the well known Merino bakery where we had pies and coffee – I had a Mexican pie, and it was surprisingly tasty !  We then headed on to Barcaldine, where we stopped to stretch our legs for a while at the Tree of Knowledge.

 

Tree of Knowledge

In 1891 Barcaldine was the site of a Shearer’s strike – a confrontation between them and the pastoralists over pay and work conditions.  While the strike eventually petered out, it is credited with being the start of the Australian Labour Movement, and this tree, located outside the railway station, is credited with being the centre of that movement.   Unfortunately it was poisoned in 2006, but it has now been preserved, and a memorial erected over the tree to permanently recognise the events of 1891, and the idealistic desire to create a better Australia.

 

Moving on from Barcaldine, we headed into Emerald, where we turned south on the Roma Road.   Our target was to get as near to the Carnarvon Gorge as we could before dark so that we could get there early the next morning and have a

Mounts lit up at night

full day to explore the gorge.  As it was, we got to just north of Springsure, still 150 kms away, but decided it was better to stop while we could find space.  It is Queensland school holidays at the moment and all the campsites and attractions in the area are booked out.   We found a potential free camp beside the road, but that was already full, however people were camping on the grass verges down a side road, and when we found there was a nice level spot available, we grabbed it and set up camp for the night.

 A pleasant surprise was that there were two spectacular mountains behind us – Mt Zamia and Mt Boorambool, and when it got dark, we realised these two mounts were floodlit, which made a perfect back drop for our camp.  We enjoyed our supper and played some cards before turning in, ready for an early start in the morning.

Day 35 / 16.  5^th July.   We woke early, had a quick breakfast and pack up, and hit the road south, in an

Mounts in the morning sun

attempt to get into the gorge before the crowds.  I had “found” the Carnarvon Gorge back in about 1983 when I was working on a drilling rig close by.   I had returned in 1988, the year of Expo 88 in Brisbane, when I had come here with my sister (who was visiting from England) and Janet’s sister, and we did a 2 week caravan trip around the region.  I had again come back in 2007 when I had my boss from the US out here with his wife, and I really wanted to show them the gorge.  It is a beautiful spot, and totally incongruous in that it is located out in the flat and often dry region 600 kms to the northwest of Brisbane – An area that is often very hot in summer.  However the deep and protected gorge is an

Aerial shot of Carnarvon

oasis of cool and green in the middle of this – A contrast that makes the gorge a stunning place to visit, and certainly one of my favourites.  Nowadays it is of course a lot more popular, and access has been eased by replacing all the rough dirt approach roads with tarmac, while formal commercial campsites have now replaced the former free camping that used to be possible right at the mouth of the gorge. Nevertheless, it is still a gorgeous spot, and one I always enjoy visiting – For Jamie it was a first.

 We reached the car park by 9.30 am, well before it was full, and after

Beautiful Carnarvon

making a sandwich for lunch and packing lots of water, we headed off up the gorge.  Unlike many of the gorges we had visited before which have separate walks of varying lengths and difficulty, Carnarvon Gorge is really one long walk, with individual walks off to the side as you walk up the main gorge.  So it is more a case of walking as far as you want / are able, knowing that you need to get back !  In the past I have been able to do the big 18 km round trip to the Cathedral, but no longer.  We went for some 2 hours, getting as far as the Art Gallery, before I knew I had to turn back before my legs gave out – Sitting in the car for a month is not good preparation for a long walk !

Crossing the river

The trail is delightful, criss-crossing the river 4 or 5 times on slippery stepping stones, with the path rising and falling quite steeply in places, but always scenic, with rock walls of the gorge visible to the sides.  Our first detour was to the Amphitheatre, a very narrow crack in the cliffs that, after climbing high up a steel ladder, one has to squeeze through before it opens up into a big open-roofed cavern, that has been carved out over the millenia by the action of rushing flood waters.  One can only imagine the water squeezing out of the narrow crack in the rock and rushing down to join the river below – A magical spot.

 

The Art Gallery

From there it was on up the gorge, and off to the Art Gallery.  This 62 m long rock wall contains some of the best examples of Aboriginal stencil art in Australia, and includes over 2000 engravings, ochre stencils, and free hand paintings.   Some of them don’t look very old, but it remains a significant sight in Carnarvon, and is well worth the effort of clambering up there.   By this time (after 12 noon) my legs were starting to wear out, so we agreed to call it a day and head back out of the gorge.  I would like to have made it into Wards Canyon, but this will have to wait till my next visit.  Unfortunately the 18 km hike to Cathedral Cave is probably beyond me now – a sad but realistic fact about older age !!

 

Bangers & Mash

The hike back down to the car park was as enchanting as ever, with the views and colours so different than when we had come up 3 hours before.  I love this place. Once back at the car, after a brief rest, we headed back down to the main road and turned south to Injune where we planned to spend our last night.  We found a campsite adjacent to the racecourse, which had great hot showers, so we could head home in the morning (relatively) clean !   During our walk in Carnarvon we had been discussing what we should have for dinner on our last night, and had settled on grilled Cumberland sausages, mashed potato, and good old Heinz Baked Beans !  Once we had set up our camp, that is what we prepared, and it was absolutely scrumptious, as expected, washed down with a beer initially, and then a glass of red with dinner. A final game or two of backgammon (which I allowed Jamie to win – as usual !) finished off the day perfectly, and we were soon in our sleeping bags and sound asleep.

Sunrise in Injune

 Day 36 / 17.  6^th July.  Our last day on the road.  Woke up early to a beautiful sunrise, had a long hot shower, packed up, and headed home. The day saw traffic volumes steadily increase as we approached Brisbane, and it seemed that the number of idiots on the road had increased considerably since we left just 36 days ago !  Probably the worst was a guy who had obviously been to Bunnings or similar and bought several very large sheets of plywood, which he had proceded to strap to his roof with string – or worse.   As we came up behind him on the freeway, I could see the sheets starting to flap, and I muttered something to Jamie about the load looking unsafe, while at the same time slowing a little in order to avoid the impending disaster.  Sure enough, a few seconds later one sheet came away and headed in our direction – fortunately falling in the road just in front of us. I watched in the rear view mirror as the cars behind braked and swerved to miss the obstacle – Luckily there were no accidents, but plenty of close shaves, while the owner of the plywood carried on unaware of the chaos he had caused. 

Jamie delivered safely

Apart from that incident, the drive home was relatively unremarkable, and at 3.15 pm we pulled into Jamie’s house, where Susie had assembled a suitable welcoming committee of teddy bears, unicorns, gnomes – All the usual, in other words !  I had a quick cup of coffee, and then continued the final 10 minutes to my place.

Dean and Judy have been house sitting in our absence, but it has been housesitting with a purpose.  Dean was the 4wd mechanic who helped me choose Troopie when I purchased her in 2013.  He then did all the preparation of her for the round the world trip which started in 2014, and while I was on the road, he was only a text message away when I had any mechanical questions or issues – He did the entire trip vicariously !  On my return, he decided to do the

Dean & Judy plus sidecar

same trip, so we attended Spanish lessons together while he prepared his motorcycle – Then covid hit !   So he and wife Judy added a sidecar and decided to go round Australia instead – But having reached Cape York, they decided to change bikes / sidecars, and thus needed somewhere to stay while they imported their new sidecar from the USA, and made the changes.  And after considerable problems along the way, they have just finished this week, so they are now heading off again, after 5 weeks in our place.  Perfect timing !

 

In summary, 36 days, we did over 12000 kms, used about 1800 litres of diesel and 1 litre of oil.  No punctures despite all the bad dirt roads, (I love those Yokohama Geolanders – Same as we used on the Healey to cross the Gobi !), although we put two new tyres on the front in Perth as a precaution.  Some of the campsites were literally out of this world (on the cliffs of the Bight, Giles’ Breakaway, and Hargrave Lookout spring to mind, although there were others) and the sunsets and sunrises were, as always in the Aussie bush, just Divine.  And the stars in the sky just seem to multiply and get brighter the further away you get from civilisation.

Even though we had to amend our routes considerably due to Covid alerts and border closures first in Victoria and later on in South Australia and New South Wales, it was a great trip, and once I have managed to clean at least some of the mud off Troopie and give her an oil change and service, I can’t wait to start again.  Maybe Cape York before the end of winter ?                                                                   Who knows ? 

Rest of the pics can be seen here :-  https://photos.app.goo.gl/gfSeCEdpuSJ7tV4s5