Gold Coast to Birdsville

12 April 2016 - 

Prelude: Well the day has finally arrived and we are off west again. Our year of travelling has started. The first part up until now was filled with supporting Mum through her second knee replacement followed by a week at Brooms Head, NSW surfing every day. Our travelling companions on this trip called in for a couple of nights at Brooms Head too. All this was done in the van. Mum's knee went well once again and the week at the beach was fantastic. Returning home for Easter and the school holidays we are now ready and rearing to go to hook the van on and explore Australia a little bit more.

At this point we are planning to try to get to Birdsville (they have had lots of rain and the roads have been closed due to flooding) then turn north to Mt Isa then on to Normanton in the Gulf of Carpentaria. Our goal, for no particular reason, is the Undara Lava Tubes. Once we have finished there we will evaluate where we are and how we and the rig are travelling before deciding what to do next. We will be away around 10 weeks and plan to return by 24 June 2016. 

So that's the plan, which is always subject to change of course.

Friends of ours, Ray and Gael who we met in Norway a couple of years ago, are travelling with us for a while. Ray worked in central Queensland west of Winton around Stonehenge, Dulacca, Jundah, Windorah, out to Boulia, Mary Kathleen and Cloncurry. He doesn't know it but he has volunteered to be tour guide for the first part of the trip. They are travelling in a 4WD with slide-on on the back. 

The Trip: 12 April - all packed up and ready to go we left the Gold Coast around 10am. TomTom (Tommy) had the address for our van park in Killarney, Ray and Gael set off separately from their property in Canungra about 30 minutes earlier. The road to Killarney via Woodenbong I remember from years ago to be a winding, steep, undulating road so bad that I decided to get Tommy to take us further west towards Aratula then to head south before Warwick. A nice road with a travel time of about three hours. We expected to arrive in Killarney before 2pm, set up and have a few drinks with Ray and Gael. The road past Queen Mary Falls is closed to caravans coming from the north so we needed to avoid that too.

Smoko at Peak Crossing

All excited we headed off out through Ipswich then Tommy had us turning south as expected through Peak Crossing, the lovely town of Boonah and on to more and more back roads through the picturesque Boonah valley. Spectacular volcanic plugs poked out of the lush valleys into the sunny blue skies above us. With only 40 minutes to go before arriving in Killarney, Tommy had us turning right into another stunning deep valley with basalt cliffs rimming the sky high above us. I remember commenting to Julie how the valley before us seemed to have no way through it. The big sign now in front of us confirmed my idle thoughts - "Not suitable for Trucks, Buses, Caravans or Trailers" screamed at us, so I screamed back at it. "Bugger!"

From there, the quickest way to our destination added an extra 100 klm and that was along one lane, winding goat tracks that wound themselves through lush dairy farms that always got in the way of anything like 100 metres of straight road. Sharp switch-back corners and no verge were the main design features of the road engineers. We had lovely views of Mt Barney though, which is why is was called the Barney View Road.  Finally we popped out onto the highway - the Mount Lindesay Highway that goes through Woodenbong - the very road I wanted to avoid.

This detour added another 1 hour 20 minutes to our previous enjoyable drive in the countryside. The road was just as I remembered it from 20 years ago - a winding, steep, undulating road with milk carrying semi trailers coming at you.

Tunnel to Browns Falls

Arriving in Killarney at 3:30pm we set up and spent the afternoon calming our nerves with the aid of a couple of cold beers and wine. 

Next day we set off into Killarney to visit the IGA/Home Hardware/everything combined shop. Then to the Op Shop for some reading material before setting off to do waterfall walks at Browns Falls and Queen Mary Falls followed by lunch at a great cafe at Carrs Lookout. The spectacular food was only surpassed by the spectacular views. 

Browns Falls

Queen Mary Falls

Carrs Lookout lunch stop

Condamine Track

Next we headed down the steep, winding, narrow road that is definitely "Not suitable for Trucks, Buses, Caravans or Trailers". We then turned left onto the Condamine Track that crosses the Condamine River 14 times and passes through some thoroughly beautiful scenery. Having left camp at 9am we arrived back at 3:30pm all having enjoyed the day. Dinner was held outside under clear skies.

Condamine Track

14 April - light showers overnight washed the dust off the car and van from yesterday. The cool weather we are enjoying is a welcome relief from the long hot summer we have all just endured. The day cleared to a lovely sunny day with light cool breezes. 

Today's adventure has us travelling south to do a loop drive through Legume, Liston and finally to Undercliffe Falls. The highlight of the day was racing sticks down the clear flowing creek flowing over large granite boulders before the water plunges over the falls. The drive itself was pretty as is the whole region of the Granite Belt.

Stick races

15 April - Moving Day.  Last night was 10 degrees! It was not forecast to be that cold. Hopefully Autumn has arrived for good and the weather remains cool and dry. Several of the roads out west we wish to travel are still closed due to flood waters from earlier rains and storms. We will keep accessing our plans to work around any closures.

Shane Webcke's Pub in Leyburn

We are heading towards Chinchilla via the back roads through Pittsworth, Cecil Plains and Tara. We are not sure where we will camp the night. If we come across a nice spot we will just pull up.

In Leyburn we stopped at Shane Webcke's Pub (we think) for a look around before heading to Cecil Plains for a morning tea stop. 

Our rigs

Lunch in Cecil Plains

Cotton on roadside - it's pickin' season

For miles and miles we travelled through flat featureless cotton fields. Crop dusters flew above the fields like huge eagles swooping spraying their environmentally friendly chemicals over the already destroyed environment. Coal Seam Gas is targeting this area too. How ironic were the many signs on the side of the road erected by the cotton farm owners saying that Coal Seam Gas is "Mean not Green". 

Around 3pm we pulled into a bush camp overlooking the Chinchilla Weir. We jagged a great spot on the corner of the designated camping area and set up for the night. This is a great camp provided by the Chinchilla township 9 kilometres up the road. Its free with some sites having access to power (we went off grid in exchange for a great view). Rubbish bins and flush toilets are available too. The place was busy but not packed.

The afternoon was spent walking around the lake which is currently very low. The weir wall is fully exposed as are numerous tree stumps and the boat ramp.

Camp at Chinchilla Weir

Walk around the weir

Julie and Gael on weir wall

Their is still enough fish in the lake to support a large group of pelicans ,cranes and egrets. The rest of the day and early evening was spent sitting under the awning chatting and creating a sizeable pile of recycling cans and bottles to pay for a full repaint of the local Scout's Den.

Men in Blue in Delacca

Next day under sunny skies we travelled further west towards Roma. On the way we stopped at Dulacca where Ray was the sole policeman for seven years. We wandered the streets while Ray told us stories of local murders, speeding cars and of the interesting characters of a time when the town was thriving. Today a number of shops have closed down as have the railways, Post Office and the like as the population has moved to somewhere else.

Dulacca

Next stop was Wallumbilla, my Mum's birthplace 83 years ago. Her parents ran the local General Store here before they all packed up and moved to Brisbane. We called into the old store and spoke to the lady owner. She has had it for five years and since buying it has increased the turnover from $270k to $1 million annually. It's up for sale too. Mum's old house has been recently bought and is being renovated. Once an abandoned run down over grown property is now a tidy attractive place.

Mum's house today, Wallumbilla

Inside today's shop, Wallumbilla

The shop as it was

Very early photo of the shop

The shop as it is today

Men in Blue (MIB) walking to town in Mitchell

We had lunch back on the main road near the large white silos where there is now an informative Museum and coffee shop. 

Camp for the night was in Mitchell - another dying town. 20 years ago when I was here with the family on our around Australia trip, there was a great bush camp on the Maranoa River just before you come into the town from the east. It is now a lovely tidy van park. Many shops and pubs have closed and the town is obviously suffering.

Morven - kero tin hut

After a cool night we headed further west towards Charleville. On the way we stopped in at Morven for morning tea. A dwelling from the Great Depression has been preserved here - a hut made from flattened out kerosene tins. Originally there were five huts surrounding a single tap. Also in the park was a tree which was a seedling from one of the original trees where the battle of Lone Pine took place at Gallipoli. Certainly an interesting little town to explore.

Flattened kero Tins

We arrived in Charleville to stay for a couple of nights. The first night Julie and I went to the Cosmos Centre for a couple of hours of star gazing through their powerful telescopes. The staff were very informative and a great night was had. Ray and Gael stayed at camp to be entertained by a visiting Probus club staggering back and forth from their fridges to get drinks. In the dark at least one of them went AOT sending cutlery and munchies everywhere.

Charleville river walk alongside the Warrego River

Our second day was filled by a long walk along the Warrego River and their new flood levy bank then shopping and generally preparing to turn west onto dusty roads leading to Birdsville. The good news is that the roads have reopened and we should be able to get through. The weather remains cool at night and around 30 degrees and dry during the day. 

The sign says it all

19 April - Moving Day. 

Smoko stop 

Ray choosing between food or beer

Stopping at Tambo for morning tea we wandered the streets reading the history boards. We came across a Furphy on display in a park. Manufactured by Furphy and Sons in Australia, these water tanks were used to supply water to soldiers in World War I. As they drank from the 135 gallon tanks the soldiers would swap yarns and rumours. The driver would then relay the stories to other troops. Some of the stories might seem unbelievable and were deemed Furphies. Tambo is also the home of the famous Tambo Teddies which was also visited.

A Furphy

Blackall was our lunch stop after which we spent a couple of hours at the wool scour and then onto the Black Stump.

Inside the wool scour

  

Blackall wool scour

Blackall wool scour

Same tractor 20 years ago with the kids 

The Black Stump

The Black Stump

Just after 3:30pm we left Blackall by the back door and headed west. Camp tonight was a bush camp on the Barcoo River on the town common in Isisford.

Isisford camp

Isisford campsite

Only two other caravans were camped here so the place was peaceful. Our camp was right on the river overlooking the weir. At $3 a night with flushies and drinking water available it is a great place to stop.

Isisford Street Walkers

Mural on Pub wall - Isisford

Isisford like other towns we have visited seems to be going backwards but with the good camping spot made available by the townsfolk it should be saved by the tourist dollar.

Next day we headed further west towards Stonehenge.

The changing road surfaces

Heading to Stonehenge

Somewhat isolated morning tea stop

The landscape flattened out, the blue sky rolled out above us meeting the orange gibber plains in the distance. Bitumen gave way to dirt and the sense of finally entering outback Queensland had arrived with the flies. The roads were in good condition so we let the miles pass us by as we travelled leisurely along savouring the serenity of the landscape. Treeless plains and rolling hills were eventually broken by the rooftops of the tiny town of Stonehenge. Ray spent seven years here as the sole policeman in an enormous area of central Queensland.

Old Stonehenge Police house

Having a quick beer in Stonehenge Pub

A visit to the Tourist Information office was followed by a beer at the pub. The stories of people and events of Ray's time here started to flow. There is no longer a police presence in the town as cutbacks made Ray the last policeman to live in the town. 

We headed a further 40klm west to a jumpup and a fantastic bush camp perched at a lookout. We had views across the endless plains below. Nightfall brought up the near full moon and after dinner we sat back and counted shooting stars and satellites. With no one else around the conversation slowly dwindled as total isolation soaked in. This is why we like to travel.

Camp at jumpup near Jundah

First full moon of the trip

Artistic sunset photo

Tonight's sunset

Our camp

The Lookout

The view

Ray's excellent bush skills lead us to a Native Well

Away early the next morning we continued west. A sign on the road pointed us to a "Native Well". These small rock holes collect and store precious rainwater and were used by the Aborigines for generations. They are relatively common out in this area and are easy to find because they are signed. 

Looking for a Native Well

The dirt road and flat plains led us to the little town of Windorah. This is a town that presents itself really well and doesn't seem to be struggling. With only a pub, general store and a few houses is has lovely grass medium strips and a park. On the edge of town is a very old two room tin house that was the original police house. An old couple bought it after a new house was provided for the policeman. They and have lived in it for decades and it looks like a photograph right out of the Depression years. 

Windorah General Store

Old Police house now a general residence - Windorah

We pulled into the garage to fully fuel up (car and two jerry cans) for the long distance to Birdsville. The garage had no diesel! The fuel truck hadn't arrived that morning and they were sold out. Down to the General Store we went. It had a single old bowser out front and it was a diesel one and yes they had fuel - YES! So we were able to fuel up and keep on going.

The bitumen soon gave way to dirt and dirt it would stay that way for most of the 380 klm to Birdsville.

The last of the bitumen

Following Ray and Gael

Combined Airstrip and road

The road to Birdsville

We started to pass through the channel country and although there was recent evidence of flooding, the flood-ways were dry and the road was in good condition. Our camp tonight was at the spectacular Deon's Lookout. 

Deon's Lookout

Perched high on a jump-up is a covered table and chairs and a campsite to die for. With 360 degree views and 40 trillion flies we looked out over the channel country and flood plains to the horizon in the west. Storms lined the horizon, lightning flashed. Skuds drifted around us but clear skies remained above us and the full moon filled the eastern sky just after sunset. The flies went to bed and there we sat mesmerised by the sight below us, the isolation and the solitude. Around 9:30 pm the wind picked up and up. Everything was packed away as we prepared for bed. The wind shook the van most of the night. The storms in the distance might cause us some problems tomorrow but we will have to wait and see.

The Audience

The view

The moon

The moon again

The nibblies 

22 April - the storm in the west didn't move all night and we woke to distant lightning and dark skies towards Birdsville. We had to eat breakfast in the van as the flies were in plague proportions following the recent rains.

Road to Birdsville - Ray and Gael's dust in the distance

The ghost town of Betoota

Storm clouds in front of us at Betoota ruins

We set off under sunny skies and headed towards the dark skies in the distance. Veering off the main track we pulled into the abandoned town of Betoota. Up until the crazy owner of the Betoota pub crossed the creek to the nearby homestead and shot the farmer the place was an important stop off point for a coldie and fuel. It is now abandoned because the publican is in jail and the "highway" bypasses the place by 7 kilometres.

Off we set and just as we pulled back on to the main drag it stared to lightly rain. It was just enough to clean the dust off the windscreen and create a couple of puddles on the short stretches of bitumen. As luck would have it we skirted behind the main storm and drove on dirt roads that had had enough of a sprinkle to mildly settle the dust.

Public Art on hillside on the road to Birdsville - Rainbow Serpent

We did leave some dust behind although it didn't seem like it

Morning tea on the road to Birdsville

Arriving at the Birdsville Caravan Park

We arrived in Birdsville around 12 noon.

I will end this Post here as I have to satisfy the publisher's deadlines. We are having a great time. 

Bye for now 

Jeff and Julie