Week 5 : 23 Mar to 29 Mar 2012 -- Longreach to Mt Isa

Longreach School of Distance Education 

On Friday, our first full day in Longreach we visited the Longreach School of Distance Education (school of the air), which we both had been looking forward to, and found quite interesting. The only problem was that neither the Tourist Information nor any brochures tell you that there are no on-air lessons on Fridays.

This actually came to be par for the course in Longreach, as the official tourist season starts on April 2^nd and many of the attractions either weren’t in full swing or were totally closed. For example McKinnon & Co who operate the riverboat, stagecoach and many other attractions in the area had nothing going at all. Put that in the memory bank.

Longreach however is a really interesting place with plenty to see and really friendly people. They call themselves OM’s … Outback Mates. In the afternoon we headed out to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre and were thankful that they offered a pass-out, which enabled us to come back on Saturday to complete three of the other galleries.

Stockman's Hall of Fame and Outback Heritage Centre

There is so much to see here and the place is very well laid out. It is thoroughly worth the effort and entry fee.

We got back to the van in time for happy hour drinks and were joined by the new park manager, Shane, who happens to drive a Jeep. To top off the day we watched the Broncos win over the Rabbits 20-12.

Saturday was Qld's State Election Day and after casting our vote we returned to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame to complete the other galleries. In the afternoon we drove out to the Qantas Founders museum in time to do the advertised 2.30pm tour of the Boeing 707, only to be told that they decided to have the last tour at 1.30pm today. L . Also, the 747 was off limits because it is sinking into the ground and is unstable, due to the rain.

No go at the Qantas Founders museum :(

The person who greeted us had a negative personality (Vicki's words... not mine!) and left me wondering why it is that millions can be spent developing fantastic attractions and be left in the hands of staff who are not worth two bob. We walked around the outside taking what photos we could which can still keep you occupied for some time. We headed back to the van and did some domestic duties and cleaned the car ready for our departure Sunday.

After a really lazy start we left Longreach at 10.45am and headed further west. The weather since Barcaldine has been fabulous with beautiful clear days and warm temperatures. There had been a stiff breeze blowing from the East, which has done wonders for our fuel economy. At around midday we pulled in to the Morella Rest Area (#355 in the Camps 5 book) and had a short break before resuming our run to Winton. 

Crawford Creek Rest Area - free camp

At 46 klms before Winton we pulled into the Crawford Creek Rest Area (#356 in the Camps 5 book) for a sticky beak cause it looked quite interesting from the road. As it turned out this is a great stopover with heaps of room, six covered picnic tables and toilets. The area looked quite inviting so by 12.45pm we had picked our spot, opened the awning, grabbed our chairs and kicked back for the rest of the day.

Wild budgies

While Vic caught up on the news via the newspapers, I went off exploring the area and picked up a couple of very cool old railway spikes from the tracks nearby. 
There is a large bore here, which would make a great spot for a swim, but to be quite honest we couldn’t be bothered. I have been keen to give the yabby trap a run so threw it in to try my luck. Vic and I enjoyed some cold drinks watching swarms of wild budgies come home to the trees along the creek near us. The whooshing sound of these flocks of birds as they flew over us was something to behold. We enjoyed dinner while watching a glorious Outback sunset.

Our first Sunset in the Outback! 

I was woken on Monday morning by the chattering of the budgies in the trees and got up to check my yabby trap. No luck! Something had been at the bait though.L

Corfield and Fitzmaurice Store in Winton

We were on the road by 9am and in Winton by 10am. We made for the Waltzing Matilda Centre first up and enjoyed a coffee and a monster muffin before strolling up and down the town centre.
We visited the Corfield and Fitzmaurice store that is heritage listed and first opened in 1878.  The North Gregory Hotel is where Waltzing Matilda was first publicly performed in 1895.We could only have a look in here due to work being done installing fire alarms.This is probably a good thing considering that, after being built in 1878, it burned down in 1910. Although it was rebuilt, it burned down again in 1915 and was again destroyed by fire in1946...they catch on quick out here! Also in Winton we checked out Arno's Wall which is a 2 metre high by 70 metre concrete wall of stuff Arno found at the local tip. 

Arno's Wall in Winton

There is some rare and collectable stuff in this wall that would normally be worth quite a bit but being set in concrete makes it worthless. Personally I think Arno's wall is a monstrosity. 

Rod having fun on the drum kit
at Winton's Musical Fence.

We got to play every musical instrument that makes up Winton’s Musical Fence, which was a lot of fun.

I couldn't get him off it!

Corfield

Leaving Winton we left the Landsborough Highway( we were to pick it up again just east of Cloncurry) and followed the Kennedy Development Road northeast to Hughenden, stopping at Corfield (home of the annual race meeting, the Corfield Cup) for lunch.

It was a long drive to Hughenden, and while it is being upgraded, the road is very ordinary, rough and undulating. We came across roadworks and of course, the watertruck had just done it's run!

On Tuesday morning our first stop was the Hughenden Library where we had hoped to find some reference to the Maden name. It was in this area that my grandfather was born in 1896. There was nothing in the cemetery records so we left as much information as possible for the local Historical Society to follow up and advise. Hopefully they may find some information out for us. We then did the main street stroll, photographing the points of interest and took a short drive around before heading for Richmond.

Hughenden

Local yocals at Hughenden

Trailer plug mishap

The road between Hughenden and Richmond was so rough that the 7pin trailer plug came adrift, at some stage, but wasn’t discovered until we pulled up for a morning cuppa. Cuppa ended up being lunch while I replaced it. 


Richmond is an oasis out here with lots of gardens and a lovely big lake and picnic areas that the council obviously takes a lot of pride in. We visited Kronosaurus Korner before making our way towards Julia Creek. The countryside out here is unbelievably flat but in its’ own way incredibly interesting. The vastness of the place makes you feel very insignificant. We are quite astounded by the lack of traffic on the roads, particularly caravanners.

We stayed the night in Julia Creek and from here it is a short run to Cloncurry over flat plains with dead straight roads that only deviate occasionally to go round someone’s property boundary.

Local taking his pets for a walk.
Neither leashes were being held.

We pulled into the servo at Cloncurry and were amazed to see a local walking his dog and his bull through town. Certainly not something we’ve seen too often. 


At 40klms on we had coffee at the Burke and Wills Memorial and shortly after here the countryside changed dramatically. The flat grazing lands became mountainous rocky outcrops and far more interesting to travel.

As we neared Mt Isa there was a noticeable increase in traffic. Once reaching town we checked into the Sunset Tourist Park then took a drive to the lookout, which gave us a great understanding of the area and a fabulous view of the mine. We took a drive out around the mine and was gob-smacked by its’ size and the way it dominates the town. We booked in for an underground mine tour on Friday but more about that next week.

View from the lookout towards the mine.

Today we did the normal domestic chores before taking a drive out to Lake Moondarra where we enjoyed a picnic lunch, on the banks of the lake, overlooking the dam. It was really peaceful out here as we had the place to ourselves but we are sure it will be a different thing once the weekend hits.    

We did a few things downtown before coming back to camp and having our first happy hour shared with other caravanners. I invited the neighbours on each side plus another couple from Kilcoy... Jeep drivers, to join us. They are an interesting blend of characters and it really was a laugh.


One fellow was telling us how he went to Centrelink to check his availability for welfare and the attendant didn't believe he was old enough. Once he lifted his shirt and showed her the colour of the hair on his chest she agreed he was eligible. When he told his wife about this she suggested he should have dropped his pants... she reckons he would have gotten a disability as well!!


We're at the end of our first full month on the road and are keeping a close eye on our budget. We're doing ok but still find ourselves buying bits 'n' pieces we need for the car or van. We've travelled 3773 kms, 2675 (71%) of which were towing the van, and used 792.5 litres of fuel at a cost of $1,173.73. I'm quite happy with 21L/100 so far. An issue with dirty fuel, and a blown 10a fuse in the car has been our only concern. Everything seems to be working well with regards to the modifications we made to the car and caravan before we left, although we do keep a close eye on the auxiliary battery because, with the Waeco running as a freezer, the draw is quite heavy in the heat of the day.


Until next week.... Happy travels!