We
stayed overnight at Bullwaddy Rest Area along the Capricorn Highway headed for
Cape Crawford. It was a lovely quiet night with very little traffic and got
down to about 12 deg.
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| Bullwaddy Rest Area |
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| Back under the van :( |
I
previously mentioned a problem with the water pump on the caravan and in the
morning, I spent a fair bit of time checking the entire water system for leaks.
After finding none, through desperation, I decided to see how much water the
tanks would take, even though the gauges were reading full. The two 60 litre tanks
took 120 litres so it would appear I don’t have a problem with the pump, but
rather the gauge… go figure!
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| Back on the open road |
When
we arrived the afternoon before, I was annoyed by the amount of rubbish lying
around and cursed the previous campers for their inconsideration. Before seeing
to the water tanks in the morning, I was picking up some rubbish and got
talking to a fellow who was doing the same, and it turned out he was a
contractor that travels this way every 3 weeks to empty the bins and clean up
the rest areas. He assured me that campers were not to blame for the mess it’s
the crows that pick rubbish out of the bins.
We
left there at 9.40 and continued east, checking out Goanna Creek Rest Area (#15
in Camps 5) on the way. This isn’t a bad spot, on a hill and with good views,
but quite small. About 10 klms before Cape Crawford is Little River Rest Area
(#14 in Camps 5), and this is a really nice spot on the banks of the McArthur
River. I had hoped to camp here for a couple of days but there were already a
number of caravans and a fifth wheeler set up parallel to the river, leaving little
room for anyone else to see the water.
I
cannot for the life of me, work out why Cape Crawford is so named. It’s in the
middle of nowhere, not on the river and miles from the coast. It’s merely a pub
on a road junction selling fuel (or a servo selling grog… not sure which!) with
a shady grass area behind called a caravan park. We topped up the fuel tanks
again (185c / litre) and grabbed a lemonade ice block (at $4 each) before
turning south toward Barkly Roadhouse.
We
had lunch at the Kiana Turnoff Rest Area, 107 klms from Cape Crawford. After
turning south, the road became shocking and at times, we travelled at 60 kph in
an effort to save the van from the whoop-de-dos that were plentiful. Apart from
the shocking single lane road slowing us up, we pushed a very strong head wind
that played havoc with our fuel consumption (over 25 litres/100).
Along
this section we came across a couple travelling with a Jayco van. They’d lost
the nuts off the rear curbside wheel on the van and as it took off, it had
caused considerable damage to the body of the van and the brakes etc. They were
travelling at 40 kph and making for Cape Crawford. We gave them the details of
the excellent caravan parts supplier that we’d used in Darwin, so hopefully
they got back on the road relatively quickly.
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| Undulating roads |
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| Brunette Downs Rest Area |
After
travelling 404 klms today, we pulled into Brunette Downs Rest Area (#11 in
Camps 5) at about 5pm and called it a day. This is a great spot with tons of
room, sheltered picnic tables, fire places and drinkable water available. We
had the place to ourselves and enjoyed a quiet happy hour by the camp fire, where
we cooked dinner and relaxed before heading inside for the night. The wind died
down overnight but it got quite cold.
The
road south was bloody terrible until about 50 klms north of Barkly Roadhouse. Even
though it is still a single lane, the road had recently been resurfaced from
here and was much more enjoyable to travel. We stopped along the way to take in
the scenery. For 360 deg, the view is dead flat and uninterrupted (except for
my car and van) all the way to the horizon. The vastness of the country here is
absolutely breathtaking!
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| Wildlife hanging in there on the windmill |
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Fabulous fire warmth out in
the middle of nowhere |
At
the Roadhouse we had a look around and grabbed a T shirt (proof of our visit!)
and although we didn’t buy any, fuel was 185c/litre.
We
crossed back into Queensland (the sign going into the NT is much more
impressive!) and at Camooweal we got 50 litres of fuel to get us into Mt Isa.
The fuel economy for the day was the worst we’ve had at 26.2L/100, courtesy of
the continuing head winds. 70
klms further along we pulled into Inca Creek Rest Area (#311 in Camps 5) and
set for the night.
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| Billy & Jana |
Once again, it seemed we would have the place to ourselves,
until about sunset when a wizz-bang pulled in. The young couple came over and
asked if it was ok for them to stay the night. I was baffled why they would ask
and later, over a couple of cold drinks, it became apparent that during their
travels, they’d been made to feel unwelcome by caravanners. Their loss I say!
This was a very nice young couple and interesting to spend time with. Billy is
a 23 year old chef from Switzerland and Jana, a 26 year old German hospitality
worker. They had hired a, barely road worthy (in my opinion) van, which was
under equipped for free camping (but they were assured by the rental company
this was normal), travelled from Cairns to Darwin where they couldn’t get accommodation,
and were headed back to Cairns to hand the van in early. They were quite
disappointed in their travels but we assured them the east coast would be
fabulous. Because
they were unable to keep anything cold, a servo sandwich was on the menu for them.
Vic just wouldn’t allow that, so did a loaves and fishes trick with the apricot
chicken she’d prepared for us. Around an open fire after dinner, we shared
coffee and each other’s company. I just hope we did enough to convince them
that most of us on the road, are a far more tolerant bunch than the narrow
minded pinheads they’d met earlier.
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| Things you see on the side of the road |
It
was 7 deg in the morning and another beautiful day for travelling. After
exchanging details with the young travellers, we continued on toward Mt Isa
where we filled the tanks, grabbed the Sunday papers and a Macca’s coffee
before hitting the road again. The drive through the hills east of Mt Isa, is
really interesting and the head wind through here had disappeared. Before long
we had passed through Cloncurry and turned onto the Matilda Highway.
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McKinlay's main tourist spot
Walkabout Creek Hotel |
At
about 2pm we pulled over and had some lunch and while parked here, Vic noticed
water leaking from under the van. I found a hole in the filler hose, which I’d
say was caused by a stone. The million dollar tape solved the problem and we
drove on to McKinlay, arriving at the Walkabout Creek Hotel at 3.30pm. You
cannot possibly drive past here without pulling in for a beer at this pub that
featured in the Crocodile Dundee movie.
Behind
the pub is a small, but very neat caravan park with drive through sites plus
open areas for campers. It’s a well appointed park with spotlessly clean
amenities, so we decided to pitch here for the night. After showers, we went to
the bar for drinks and took in the photos and memorabilia that cover the walls.
One of the great joys of travelling Oz like this is the opportunity to spend
time in some of it’s iconic pubs, and while we’ve not done too much of it, we
really enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere of this place.
There
were a couple of jovial blokes (that we’d noticed in the caravan beside ours)
at the bar, chatting to anyone. One of them was wearing a Jeep cap, so as you
would expect, we got talking to them. They were mates from Adelaide, travelling
around visiting mines and demonstrating a concreting system designed by the
fellow without the Jeep cap. He drove a Ford Ranger and as Jeeps were 2 to 1…
he became the target. We joined them for a great country pub meal after a few
beers, and had a funny night with these two old mates.
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| Blue Heeler, Kynuna |
We
were in no hurry on Monday morning and got off to a late start. It was a
pleasant and uneventful drive through to Kynuna where we got some photos at the
Blue Heeler Hotel. Unfortunately, it was way too early for a beer (for me
anyway), so we continued on to Wanora Downs Rest Area (#363 in Camps 5) for
morning tea and then Morella Rest Area (#355 in Camps 5) for lunch. While
pulled up here, we noticed the brake lines on the van hanging close to the
ground. The nylon zip ties holding the cables in place had all disappeared
somewhere along the line, so a quick fix was in order. Thankfully, all the
cables were undamaged and the brakes were working just fine, so we arrived in
Longreach with no dramas and settled back into the Longreach Top Tourist Park, the
same park we had stayed in back in March on our north bound trip.
When
we were here back then, the park had just been taken over and was being managed
by a lovely young couple, Shane and Ally, who were given the job, even though
they had no previous experience. They moved to Longreach from Sydney and are
more than justifying the owner’s decision to give them a shot. The caravan park
was pumping, and even though it’s a large park, was almost at capacity. The
amenities were clean and tidy and the showers hot (my park quality gauges).
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| 5 o'clock - Happy Hour |
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| Shane - Longreach Tourist Park |
Shane
is a Jeep driver also and in March I shouted him a beer as we discussed the
benefits of owning one. It had been a few months since then, and as Vic and I
were setting up this time, in the late afternoon, Shane came by with 2 beers
saying it was his shout. This guy is good!! If you are passing through
Longreach at any stage, do yourself a favour and stay at this park… you’ll be
made to feel very welcome.
We
stayed 2 nights and I took the opportunity to replace all the zip ties on the
brake lines, drain the water tanks and refill plus a couple of other chores
which needed doing.
On
Wednesday, we stopped off at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and grabbed some
souvenirs as we left town, then had coffee at the Ilfracombe Café before
turning south toward Isisford. This was a good run along a single lane with no
traffic.
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| Downtown Isisford |
At
Isisford, we took 5 minutes and walked both sides of the main street and took
photos of the original buildings and stores. We visited the Hooper and
Brockhurst store, which, along with its attached accommodation, is just as it
would have been early in the 20th century (except for the steel
mesh!).
I’d
read about the Barcoo River Nature Park, which is on the banks of the Barcoo
(Duh!) 500 metres from town, and had to have a look while we were here. This
isn’t a free camp, but is as close as you can get! If you pay $2 / night ($10 /
week) at the council office in town, you can set up camp anywhere you choose
along this stretch of the river. I’ve gotta say… it’s the best value we
discovered on the whole trip. At the river there is good potable water
available from 2 spots, clean toilets (daily), dump point, bins, tons of shade,
lots of space and plenty of fire wood, while a short walk away at the park in
town are nice hot showers and more clean toilets. At the edge of town (1 klm
away) there is even a wash down area where you can give the car and van a
spruce up as well. All this plus phone and TV reception and Internet access.
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| Isisford camp site - fabulous spot at $10 per week |
I
fell in love with the place and we ended up staying 4 days, even though Vic
kept reminding me that our new grandson wasn’t going to wait.
During
our stay we relaxed heaps, took short drives to explore the area, walked into
town a few times, tried my luck with the yabby traps, had plenty of morning
teas with some of the other campers and enjoyed happy hours… great happy hours!
As was the case in Darwin, we ended up being a group of 10 from various parts
of the country. Our neighbours had a stockpile of firewood so each afternoon
we’d sit around the campfire, telling stories and lies and having a lot of
laughs as the sun went down.
Until
next week… Happy travels!
Since
arriving at Isisford on Wednesday, we had been thoroughly enjoying the spot.
The weather was great with nice warm days and cold, clear nights that got down
to about 4 degrees. Vic had only approved of staying for a few days because the
TV reception was good, which allowed her to watch the Olympic Games Opening
Ceremony and the subsequent competitions. Happy wife… happy life!
Why a meat ant? Augathella's football team was known as the mighty Augathella Meat Ants and were fearless in their attack against their opponents. This then earned the town the nickname...Meat Ant Country".
After
a sluggish start in the morning, we had a slow trip along the Warrego Highway
through Morven and onto Mitchell. The whoop-de-doos were a curse again and
caused a bit of bother inside the van with the pantry shelves coming loose. We
had lunch opposite the Muckadilla Hotel and then continued onto Roma where we
had a stroll around to stretch our legs.
