Week 4 : 16 Mar to 22 Mar 2012 -- Woodgate to Longreach via Rocky, Qld

For the past week the weather’s been great during the day but each night we’ve had rain and our night in Woodgate was no different. We woke to a glorious day on Friday and to a big old kangaroo having his brekkie by our van. He was approximately 2 car lengths from us and wasn’t the least bit concerned about us being there.

As we pulled out of the park we got the phone call we’d been waiting for from Glen and Allie with the news that the Maden name will continue with the birth of their little BOY due early August! Obviously Vic and I are glad to know that all is well with their little boy and that Allie is keeping really well. We can't wait to meet him in a few months.

From Woodgate we made our way to Bundaberg and an enjoyable catch up with my older Bro’, Tony, and his wife, Dawn.

Gin Gin Rest Area -free camp 

We had intended to stay the night at Lake Monduran just north of Gin Gin but, on the way, we discovered there was a triathalon event being held there over the weekend. A quick change of plans had us relaxing in the Gin Gin Rest Area ( #119 in Camps 5) about a kilometre north of town. When we arrived around 3pm we were the 4th to set up for the night but by dusk there were over 30 making use of the free camp site. This is a great spot with good level grassy areas, tons of shade, clean amenities and potable water on tap.  We had the best tv reception here since leaving Brisbane. I love it when a plan comes together… good tv reception, Friday night footy and yeeha!! the Broncos whipped the Knights 24 - 10. Life is good! My only tip if you’re going to use this area is get as far back from the highway as you can because the trucks thunder pass all night.

Getting away early on Saturday we had a crap drive to Miriam Vale due to numerous road works. There were 9 separate work sites each being controlled individually by traffic signals and as you would imagine… none of them were green as we arrived! Hold ups like this play havoc with fuel consumption. A quick stroll through the Saturday morning markets at Miriam Vale and we headed up the highway and turned off to check out Tannum Sands. 

Calliope River - Free camp
Taken from the north bank of the Calliope River.

After a quick look around the area we returned to the highway and made our way to the Calliope River free camp site (#106 in Free Camps 5). After all the hype we were a little disappointed although I can see the attraction and I'm sure if the grass was mown on the southern side it would've been more appealing. The northern side had lovely manicured grass camping areas and clean amenities but no direct access to the river.

Singing Ship at Emu Park

We decided to head for Rockhampton or Yepoon as the weather was getting worse as the day progressed and the reports were expecting it to get worse over the next couple of days. Great!  By the time we arrived in Yepoon it was pouring rain so we made for the van park. This wasn't very inviting so we headed back to Rocky via Emu Park. Here, while it had stopped raining, we had a walk around the 'Singing Ship'.  Due to the windy conditions, it certainly was!


Back in Rocky we checked into the Riverside Van Park. Sunday was a rest day so we headed for the shops for a walk around as the weather outside was very wet and windy. Unfortunately for our bank balance the centre had a Jeep Store. After getting a few groceries and some great meat from the local butcher we retreated back to the van to watch the first round of the Formula 1 season from Melbourne. 


Monday was the day to catch up on some home duties. Cleaned the van inside and out, did a wash and prepared to head off on Tuesday. News had told us that some very nasty weather was making it's way down the coast so we were hoping to miss it by heading west.

A 98 carriage coal train heading west at The Bluff.

So, it was a little overcast as we left town and followed the Capricorn Highway, which runs along side the Central Line between Rockhampton and Longreach. We travelled beside massive coal trains (at 90kms/hr) which can be up to 2kms long and and one we ran with for a while had 2 locomotives, then 18 carriages, then 2 more locos then another 80 carriages. 


We had a break at The Bluff which is where the coal loading is done. From here we travelled on to Blackwater and then on to Emerald at 2.30. By this time the rain had caught up to us and was bloody heavy. We wanted to stay at Lake Maraboon, just out of town, so we could try our hand at catching Redclaw which are abundant out here. 

Bogantungan free camp

We were told at the Tourist Info Centre that the road out there was suspect in these conditions so we continued on and parked up for the night at a place called Bogantungan (#336 in Free Camps 5). Vic wasn't happy staying in a place with 'bogan' in it's name. Nonetheless, it wasn't a bad spot particularly considering it had water available, a picnic shelter, bins, overnight lighting and toilets and a phone at the train station (at the free camp location). It's just off the highway so was reasonably quiet. We had the place to ourselves which is something I hadn't expected to experience. Two lessons learnt here.... bulky items carried in the van ( tables, chairs etc) are a nuisance when it's pouring down outside and remember to park your van into the wind!


It rained heavily all night and there was a lot of water lying around as we made our way further west in the morning. We found out later in the day that all roads east were cut. 

We had a stopover in Alpha and met a very interesting little old lady named Nola (in the red shirt) at the Tourist Info Centre who let us into the Alpha Museum. It's really just a shed with some old stuff in it which would be ok if it hadn't been flooded so many times. All in all Nola made the stop worthwhile and it is people like Nola, that make the outback so rewarding to visit. 


Between Alpha and Jericho we crossed the Great Dividing Range at 444 metres. In Jericho we checked out the smallest drive in theatre in the Southern Hemisphere which holds 36 cars and still shows movies once a month.


We'd been Running with a tailwind since leaving Rocky and for a while the Jeep was running at under 15 litres/100 but after crossing the Great Divide it settled down to 20.5 for this tank.

At Barcaldine we visited the Tree of Knowledge Monument which dominates the street scape as you enter town. The size of it took me by surprise, which is understandable when you consider that the timber used in it is enough to build 14 homes.


After a couple of hours checking out "Barcy" we continued our trip with the rain having eased a little. The road was getting chopped up by the amount of water lying around and the massive road trains which are common this far west. 30kms out we decided to get off the road and call it a day at Packsaddle Creek (#349 Free Camps 5).
I parked into the wind this time which meant we could have the awning out so entertained ourselves until dark with cold drinks, watching the rain and the huge road trains as they rumbled past.


This stopover is right on the highway and can be noisy but there were very few trucks overnight so we both got a fairly good sleep. There are picnic shelters, overnight lighting, bins and toilets.

Packsaddle Creek Rest Area - free camp

During the night 2 road trains had rolled in and Vic heard neither of them. In the morning we spent a fair bit of time talking to one of the truckies who was carrying building materials from Bundaberg to Derby, a trip of over 4000kms which he'll do in 4 days, even though it's a 3 week job for him. On the 3 trailers he's carrying 6 containers with 1 of them alone holding 30 tonnes of floor tiles. The freight bill will be $54k. His truck has 62 tyres and is 54 metres long.

A very small portion of the Machinery Mile in Ilfracombe.

We eventually got away about 10 in windy but dry conditions. The next stop was Ilfracombe with it's Machinery Mile. I found this really interesting but Vic was over it after an hour and headed to the cafe. We were surprised to see virtually no reference to the Governor General anywhere in town. 


We rolled into Longreach mid afternoon and set up for a couple of days in the Longreach Tourist Park. We found the Tourist Information Centre then back to the van for happy hour drinks. 


There's been a lot to see this week and we are now in country that neither of us have ever seen before so the trip has taken on a new perspective. It's finally hit us that we are doing this thing we've planned so long for and the realisation that all our family and friends are a bloody long way away is making us a bit more aware of each others needs.


'til next week... happy travels!