Leaving Home

We managed to rent our house out a lot earlier than we first expected due to a high demand for properties with pools in January. This meant a very rushed job of packing up the house and leaving within a few weeks. With lots of help from Craigs parents we managed to complete the task just in time. We spent the first few weeks living at the Durack caravan park, & then the last month at Craigs parents’ house in Ipswich which we were very thankful for. Looking back, moving out early was such a blessing as it took the stress out of moving and leaving at the same time. It also allowed Craig time to modify the car and caravan ready for the trip, and also to pack. Craigs last day at work was Wednesday 4^th April 2012. We spent Easter with Craigs family at the Gold Coast and then with Di’s family up at Hampton (near Toowoomba).

Craigs side of family before leaving

Di's side of the family before leaving

                        Chinchilla  10/04/12

 We left from Hampton at 10.30am where Di’s parents live, and made our way through the cotton fields (stopped so Braydon could get a sample) to our first stop at the Chinchilla Weir. On the way there we stopped for lunch & groceries at Dalby. The Chinchilla Weir was a free campsite (No. 635). It was a great little spot with free power but terrible amenities and water. We were amazed at the amount of mine cars and utes that drive past in the afternoon. We travelled 188km.   

Chinchilla Weir first night camp

Braydon with some cotton from a cotton tree

Roma  11/04/12

We left Chinchilla and made our way to Roma. It took a long time as there was lots of road works with Stop/Go men every ½ hour or so. We stayed in a nice little park called the Villa Holiday Park, which cost $32 for the night. Again we were amazed at the amount of people in the town that work at the mines. It was a bustling little town. We got some last minute groceries and filled the car up with fuel ready for our next stop. This day we travelled 208km.

Carnarvon Gorge  12/04/12

On leaving Roma at 9.30am there were a fair few trucks on the road. We stopped at the Injune truck stop for morning tea, and were amazed at the amount of road trains full of cattle. After we left Injune the road was empty with virtually no traffic. There is a gravel road leading into Carnarvon which has a couple of shallow water crossings which Braydon loved. Then we arrived at the Takarakka Bush Resort at 2.15pm which cost $42 a night, & had a late lunch. This is the only place to stay with a caravan at Carnarvon Gorge. We walked around the campsite & went down to the river. We travelled 241.5km.

Truck stop at Injune

Road into Carnarvon Gorge

13/14/12 

We drove to the Rangers Station in the afternoon & did the Nature Trail Walk – 2km. We then started to do the 2km Rock Pool Walk, but after walking about halfway, we realised it was getting late so decided to turn around. On both walks there were many creek crossings with stepping stones which made it interesting. Braydon only got his feet wet a couple of times.

14/04/12

Today we left camp at 8.30am & drove to the Rangers Station. We did the Moss Garden walk, which had many creek crossings. On the way back the ranger said to go up to Ward’s Canyon, as it was only 10 mins. up the track with only 2 creek crossings. It took us about an hour with 6 creek crossings & many stairs, but it was well worth it. We arrived back at camp at 3pm & were totally exhausted. In total we walked about 10kms, with Craig carrying Aaron in the backpack the whole way. He was a good boy all day and Braydon did an excellent job walking all that way. (The Cathedral Cave was closed due to recent flooding)

15/04/12

Dianne can hardly walk today. Her calves are very sore. In the afternoon we did 3 shorter walks. Firstly the Rock Pool walk – 600m; then Mickey Creek Gorge – 1.5km;  and lastly Baloon Cave – 500m. The cave had Aboriginal drawings in it. We also walked up to the lookout of the caravan park late afternoon to take photos of the sunset. We were lucky to get into Carnarvon as the roads were flooded just the week before.  

Lake Maraboon (Fairbairn Dam)  16/04/12

We left Carnarvon Gorge at 10am & travelled to Lake Maraboon, which is just south of Emerald. We arrived at 3pm. We had morning tea at a park in Rolleston, & had lunch & went grocery shopping at Springsure. The park cost $34 a night, & is run by a couple of guys, or is that gays, and it is full of caravans with tinny’s fishing for Red Claw. The park put on a sausage sizzle last night, and entertainment which was for the grey nomads, but it was still good. On arrival, Craig saw some Lorikeets on the ground, so he got some bread to feed them, but got attacked as they came from everywhere. It is a very friendly park with everyone talking to each other. We went for a walk to the dam late afternoon.

Attack of the birds

17/04/12

Craig & Braydon went fishing in the morning, but didn’t catch anything. In the afternoon we went for a walk to the dam, & Craig & Braydon put the red claw pots in. Then Braydon & Dianne made Craigs Birthday Cake – a chocolate swirl cake.

No we didn't catch this :(

18/04/12

CRAIGS BIRTHDAY!

Craig & Braydon checked the red claw pots first up before breakfast. They caught 4 little ones. We left camp at 10.30am for Emerald. We drove over the dam wall & saw the spillway. We went to the Information Centre to find out what we could do at Emerald. The best they could come up with was to go out to Fairbairn Dam. Maybe we wouldn’t be able to stay the whole day & have a special birthday tea for Craig....... We had a birthday lunch at a cafe. Craig had a works burger with chips. We then went to the Botanical Gardens – very disappointing. No gardens, just weeds & bushland. Some of it was flood affected though. We decided to head back to Fairbairn Dam. Braydon played with 2 kids from nearby. We had iceblocks late afternoon & ordered Meals on Wheels for tea – delivered to your caravan at 6pm. Craig had a Seafood Basket & Dianne had Sausages, Bacon & a Rissole on a bed of Mash Potato. We then skyped Craigs Mum & Dad – we had the birthday cake out with a 40^th candle on it & sang Happy Birthday to him.

Dont give Aaron a piece of bread with birds around

Jericho  19/04/12

Craig & Braydon checked the red claw pots again first up before breakfast. They again caught 4 little ones. We left Fairbairn Dam at 10.30am & arrived at the Jericho Community Park at 3.30pm. This was a free campsite (No. 342) on the banks of the river Jericho. This was about 85km east of Barcaldine, & was a nice spot. On the way there we saw up ahead a herd of goats crossing the highway. The first we saw of it was the car up ahead with his brake lights on. We had assumed they were cows. Craig & Braydon rode their bikes & then we all went for a walk along the river bank.

Didnt feel any smarter after visiting the tree of Knowledge

Longreach  20/04/12

We left Jericho at 9am & arrived at Longreach at 1pm & had lunch. On the way we stopped at Barcaldine & had a look at the Tree of Knowledge, which is the historical site of the 1891 Shearers’ Strike, & known as where the Labour Party was formed. We stayed at the Longreach Tourist Park which cost $27 a night. It was very hot. Craig and Braydon had a swim, & then we all went for a walk around the park. We went to the parks’ restaurant for tea. Dianne had the days special which was Lasagne & Chips for $10. The chips were excellent. Craig had Steak, Chips & Salad.

21/04/12

Today we went to the Qantas Founders Museum. It was very informative. Unfortunately we couldn’t do the tour of the 747 as the front wheel had sunk in too the ground. It had been out of action for about 6 weeks, & they hoped to have the problem fixed by early May. A quote from Braydon was “It must have been a really bad driver to crash when the plane wasn’t even moving”. We toured the smaller 707. It was still good. It had been decommissioned & was sitting doing nothing in Southern England. Some Australian engineers went over on their own time to get it up & running again. The process to hand it over wasn’t easy & took 3 years. It was finally official when Tony Blair handed it over to John Howard. It cost approximately $150000 in fuel to fly it from England to Australia. This is particularly significant because the Qantas Founders Museum isin’t owned by Qantas, but relies on the public to keep it running. This particular model of plane is the same as Air Force One, & also the same one that John Travolta owns. The plane had many owners in its lifetime, the last one being the Saudi Arabians. It was also leased out at one stage to the Jackson 5, & then later on to Michael Jackson when he was a soloist.

22/04/12

Today we went to the Stockman’s Hall of Fame & Stockman’s Show. It was very interesting learning about life for the early Settlers & Stockmen. The show was put on by a very funny fellow. It went for about an hour. The highlight was probably seeing the Bullock team. We had Burgers & Chips for lunch. Craig washed the car late afternoon.

23/04/12

Our mate Billy

First of all today, Craig washed the caravan & Dianne did 2 loads of washing. We then went to the School of the Air. We enjoyed seeing how school was done in the outback. They usually talk with their teacher via phone or computer video for an hour every day. They then work with their home tutor (usually their mother or sometimes a governess) the rest of the school day. They receive 2 home visits in the year, and have a couple of weekly camps where they get together with students of the same grade. While we were there, Billy Moore (former State Of Origin player) was there talking over the phone with students and answering their questions. We then went in to town & had a look around & bought some groceries.

Kynuna  24/04/12

We left Longreach at 8am & travelled to Kynuna, arriving at about 4.00pm. Our first stop was at about 10am at the Australian Age Of Dinosaurs Museum, just outside of Winton. We first of all had morning tea, & then went to the museum & saw some remains of 3 dinosaurs. They were still working on the reconstruction of all 3, and the dig sites were still operational. We then went to the laboratory where they store the fossils and then work at preparing  and identifying them. It is all painstakingly slow work, and they have years of work ahead of them, not to mention new dig sites to uncover. We then travelled on to Winton where we had lunch. Winton is the home of Waltzing Matilda, & the birthplace of Qantas. It was then a long drive to Kynuna. The caravan park was attached to the local Roadhouse. It was a powered site that cost $15 for the night (No. 367).

Cloncurry  25/04/12

We left Kynuna at 8.30am & travelled to Cloncurry, arriving at about  12pm. Our first stop was at Mckinlay where we looked at the hotel from Crocodile Dundee. It was closed up & wasn’t very interesting. After having lunch at Cloncurry & a little rest, we went & had a look around town, and then went grocery shopping & bought fuel. The caravan park cost $25 for the night & was called the Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis. We had a pizza for tea. We travelled 366km.

Adels Grove  26/04/12

We left Cloncurry for Adels Grove at 8.30am. We had morning tea & bought fuel at the Burke & Wills Roadhouse. We then travelled on to Gregory Downs where we had lunch. We were going to stay here the night (No. 264), but there was a group of Aboriginals drinking. We found out later that they probably travelled a few hundred km. just to get grog because their nearest pub had burned down a couple of weeks ago. So we travelled on to Adels Grove (No. 265), arriving at about 3.30pm. What a beautiful place. It is a privately run park in Lawn Hill Gorge, costing $32 a night. The river is emerald in colour with many fish which we fed with bread. We built a campfire at night & toasted marshmellows.

27/04/12

This morning we explored the park further, & then in the afternoon we drove 10km. to Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park & had a look around. It was also beautiful. We had a scrumptious honey & macadamia roast chicken with roast vegetables cooked in the camp oven in the coals of the fire.

28/04/12

Today we hired a canoe & paddled (well Craig did) on the emerald green waters of Lawn Hill Creek up to Indarri Falls – 3km. Fortunately we were able to get a life jacket small enough to fit Aaron. There were spectacular orange sandstone walls on the paddle up the Middle Gorge to the falls. You then have the option of carrying the canoe around the falls to continue upstream to the Upper Gorge, but we were unable to do this with Aaron. At Indarri Falls there were 4 beautiful waterfalls created by the creek of the Upper Gorge flowing in to the Lower Gorge – it was fascinating seeing the creek at 2 different levels. The creek is fed from a natural spring. The water was beautiful and Craig & Braydon had a swim, even though there were signs warning fresh water crocodiles inhabit the creek. We met a lovely Christian couple, Chris & Sarah and their son Jack - 3 & daughter Leila - 10 months, & had a lovely chat with them late afternoon. He is the local policeman at Burketown (the place where the local pub burned down). He has a huge thankless job up there.

29/04/12

Today we did the walk to Indarri Falls. It is a 3.8km loop walk that takes you to the falls & returns via the hilltops and the gorge rim. We all certainly appreciated the swim at the falls – except for poor Aaron who just stayed in the backpack (it is self-standing). On our way to have a shower late afternoon, Braydon & I stopped dead in our tracks because there was a python blocking the path. We weren’t far from camp so Craig came to see what the problem was. Anyway, suffice to say, we didn’t have a shower that night.

Karumba  30/04/12

We have a big drive ahead of us today. We left Adels Grove at 8.15am and arrived at Karumba, in the Gulf Of Carpentaria, at 4.15pm. We had lunch (very expensive) & got fuel at the Burke & Wills Roadhouse. We booked in to the Karumba Point Tourist Park, costing $33 a night. Both boys were very good all day.

01/05/12

Today we all went for a bike ride up to the point. It was Aaron’s first time on a bike – he enjoyed it. It was good to see the sea again. Karumba is well known for its fishing, so there are heaps of boats. It was funny seeing so many 4-wheel drive vehicles with boat trailers lined up in the car park at the jetty. Many people, particularly from Victoria, come up here for 3 months at a time. It is a real haven for the grey nomads. During the wet season, from about November to the end of February, the town is isolated due to flooding. In the afternoon we had a swim in the caravan park pool – nice & refreshing. We met 2 lovely ladies here in their Winnebago – Debbie & Michelle. We had a look at the sun setting over the sea, & then had a lovely meal at the Sunset Tavern.

02/05/12

Craig was up early this morning & went on a fishing charter. The sea was very calm . He had a great day, & came home with 5 Blue Salmon. This was his 40^th birthday present from Dianne & the boys. We had another swim in the pool in the afternoon. We had Barramundi & chips for tea while watching the sun set over the sea (we decided to have Craig’s fish tomorrow night).

Mount Isa  04/05/12

                                     

We had a huge day of travelling today. We left Karumba at 8.30am & arrived at Mount Isa at 4.30pm. We managed to do the whole trip on one tank of fuel but the fuel light was on for the last  90km which Di got very excited about. We do however carry 20 litres of spare fuel just in case we miss calculate the fuel stops.  We thought we might only go as far as Cloncurry, but we had lunch at 1.30pm about 40km outside of Cloncurry, so we decided to push on to Mount Isa, only another 120km up the road. The drive into Mt Isa was really surprising  for us as we thought it would be a baron place but it  turned out to be a lovely hilly place with lots of vegetation, with a very clean town with the huge mine jammed in the middle of town We were all pretty tired that night. We stayed at the Sunset Top  Park, costing $31.50 a night. Today we travelled 644km.

05/05/12

We took it fairly easy today. In the morning we bought groceries & fuel, & went to the information centre to find out what we could do in the area. We booked an above ground mine tour for Monday. Braydon played with a couple of kids from next door. Craig & Braydon watched the motor racing in the afternoon. In the late afternoon, we had a walk around the caravan park. Debbie & Michelle arrived today from Karumba. You know you have been away from big towns for a long time when you have to really concentrate when pulling into traffic and even have to stop for traffic lights. Life seems so busy here the grocery shops seemed crazy.

06/05/12

This morning we went to the Underground Hospital. This was really interesting. It was built during the Second World War after the bombing of Darwin. It was thought that Mount Isa could be the next target because they were mining Lead & Copper for the war effort. Fortunately, it didn’t need to be used for its intended purpose. After the war ended, it was used by nurses on night shift as a cool place to sleep, & then for storage. It was then closed up & forgotten about. In the 70’s, a committee was formed to restore it, & found things pretty much as they were left, including equipment & medicines. We also went to the kids playground/water park that cost 4 million to build. The mine contributed 1 million to it. Braydon absolutely loved it. Craig & Braydon then watched the motor racing again in the afternoon. In the late afternoon we drove up to the lookout to get some sunset photos, & also to see all the lights on at the mine. As a bonus we watched a full moon rise from behind the mountains.

07/05/12

Today was our mine tour on the bus. It took 2 hours, so was very informative. The bus driver was an underground miner for 25 years, so he was very knowledgeable about all the aspects of the mine. It was particularly interesting hearing about the mines future. They are in the process of making the site all surface mining within 7 years. When leaving the mine site all vehicles need to be washed down to lesson dirt being transported in to the town. We then had McDonalds for lunch. The mine is expected to have a life expectancy of another 70 years.

Barkly Homestead  08/05/12

We left Mount Isa at 9am & arrived at the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse at 3pm. We stopped at Camooweal for morning tea, & then soon after crossed the border in to the Northern Territory.  Unfortunately we did not take a photo of the sign as we went past it and could not be bothered to turn  around. The roads in Queensland have been excellent but as soon as we entered NT the roads were in bad condition. Luckily enough it was for  30km or so and then the roads improved.  There was also vary sparse scenery once in NT where there was nothing to see for miles and the roads were straight and seemed to go on forever.  The speed limit also went up from 110km/hr to 130km/hr as well as the time going back ½ an hour, although we continued at do our usual 95 – 100km/hr. The Barkly Homestead Roadhouse is a haven in the middle of nowhere. We bought fuel here, & the caravan park cost $28 for the night. We went for a walk around the caravan park late afternoon. Today we travelled 445.5km.