Fullarton River North Rest Area to Winton
Quite a day of driving today as we covered close to 300 kms. Our plan was to stay at a rest area about 60 kms from Winton, which would have given us a fairly short drive to the town tomorrow morning. We planned to stay overnight tomorrow night here.
What we found was that the rest areas on this section of the highway were geared towards trucks, without much room for caravans, etc. The telling factor was that no other vans were staying there. We decided to drive to Winton.
Of course, the problem is that all of the caravan parks would be full. At about 4.20 p.m. I had enough of a signal to contact the Tourist Information Centre. She said camping was available at the showgrounds, and we called in there before 5.00 p.m. to pay for our site. We have power and water – the interesting Winton water with the sulphur smell. Apparently quite safe. It is artesian water that is cooled in tanks before being used as the town water supply. The idea is that you allow the water to sit so the gas can escape, then chill the water, and it is the sweetest imaginable water.
Anyway, ensconced in our little bed/sitting room we don’t really care where we are. Last night we watched ‘A Hologram for a King’ with Tom Hanks, a very enjoyable movie which left us feeling we had been on a journey with the characters. Tonight we have TV, although not the ABC as reception is a little dodgy, probably our orientation or location out of town.
On our way we stopped briefly at McKinlay to dump our toilet waste and then Kyuna to have morning tea.
At the Kynuna Roadhouse it was quite a change to have an older woman, not an Irish backpacker, serving. She is the owner, and appeared to be having a meeting with other local residents in the cafe. For some reason I felt very comfortable in the setting – you can probably guess why.
This bird was outside, we think it is a jabiru.
There was a small group of them, but this was the only one that came close enough for a good photo.
We have been learning about the Burke and Wills Expedition in Cloncurry, but this area is also known for dinasor fossils, hence this bin. Our impression of Winton so far is of a traditional outback town with pleasant buildings, wide streets, and things well set up for tourists, including nice cafes and overflow camping at the showgrounds. We are still planning to stay tomorrow night, hopefully at a caravan park so I can get some washing done.