We enjoyed our overnight at the hotel. We rang up and booked a caravan park at Longreach and also booked our stay in Warick. We were a bit worried about getting accommodation there because we arrive during a Jazz Festival and we wanted the particular caravan park that is close to where Graeme lives.
Before leaving we did a small amount of shopping, including buying some diced beef at the buther’s shop. We filled up with fuel, but did not dump our toilet cassette as already it was taking time to get out of town and there is a public dump point here in Longreach. Unfortunately we were tired when we arrived and after booking into our park, we had to make a special trip to the dump point – which made me vow to always visit dump points before leaving in the morning!
For a couple of days we have been noticing that we have a leak at the back. Looking underneath, it appears to be a problem with the clamp on the grey water hose. Now, if it was our fresh water we would have had it fixed immediately, but we want to empty our grey water, so this method means it empties itself. However, we will need to get it fixed in the near future.
Stephen is still feeling under the weather, and has had a headache for a couple of days. We are not sure what is happening and hope very much that he hasn’t contracted a serious viral infection, such as Ross River Virus. He couldn’t drive today, and although I didn’t find it too stressful to do the full day of driving I am still very tired. Part of it is that there are clouds and a sense of the air being very heavy.
We are in a funny spot in the caravan park parked up against a fence, with no slab or definite site, but have made sure that we have room for our slideout. I’ve put the meat and some vegetables into the electronic pressure cooker, and it will mean we have enough for two or three extra meals, apart from tonight.
I have a few photos from our first stop on the way this morning. They show the clouds which have been around the whole day.
Nothing that much to report. We decided to have a proper lunch at one of the hotels so that we don’t need to do very much for tea. A $14 beef roast with vegetables was good value. We have walked around the main street area looking at notices about the history of Winton.
We rang up this morning and secured a unpowered site behind the Great Northern Hotel in Winton. We have access to their toilets and there is one shower between everyone. I wanted to do some washing, but the little laundromat did not look very clean and someone said the washing machines were dirty. I did some hand washing in a bucket, using their water, and we put it outside the Winnie for most of the day, then inside.
We are having a cloudy day, with patchy rain. Stephen doesn’t feel well, the cold appeared to have left him, but now he has phlegm and is spluttering and doesn’t have much energy.
I had read about the chicken races held here, and we went to watch. Very funny, with the money going to good causes.
My younger sister Robyne reaches her special birthday (60) this year, and we won’t be here to help her celebrate. There is always a cost to being away.
We tried to contact Matt on FaceTime, but his iPad wasn’t connecting to his house wifi, so we talked on the phone. A little later they had managed to get it working and we had our FaceTime session after all. Happy!
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.
A little shabby
Those tablecloths!
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.
The weather this morning was still very humid. It made us feel very lethargic. We used our air conditioner after we arrived at the caravan park yesterday, and also used it on fan only when we went to bed, but it didn’t help much.
We had some tasks this morning. First of all, we had our empty gas tank filled at the caravan park. We have two small tanks, they last quite well, and having two means that when one is empty we have a little time to fill it. Then we went to the visitor centre and museum.
After an hour or so, we went to a truck tyre place, where they checked the tyres. They were down slightly, but considering that we last checked them when leaving Adelaide, it was good. We filled up with fuel, then went to the local bakery for lunch. Afterwards we felt ready for a rest and went back to the visitor centre where there is a large carpark and the ground is level.
We then drove about 60 kms, taking the right fork on the highway towards Longreach, to this fee camp site. It is just about perfect. The sealed section is for trucks, but there is plenty of space for the rest of us here. It has been raining further south, and we have had a couple of fairly light showers since we arrived. It is MUCH cooler and we are very happy, especially as we have a phone signal with fairly slow internet access.
By the time we left the Irish Club last night it had cooled down to about 22 degrees. We drove back to our odd overnight setting and had a good night’s sleep. We even needed our quilt as well as the sheet by the morning. I didn’t get a photo of the setting, pity. But, here we have one of Stephen at the Irish Club.
We decided to spend the morning at the Visitors Centre/Museum. This fitted in with our next destination of Cloncurry, only 120 kms away.
Stephen went into the fossil museum, whilst I enjoyed sitting in a lounge chair in the reading nook and visiting the garden.
It was pleasant all morning, so we decided to walk over to the shopping centre. Stephen bought a new fitting for our hose and a pair of plyers, plus we replenished our pantry and fridge.
Afterwards it was hot in the van, so we had lunch at Outback at Isa where we had spent the morning.
Often when we park somewhere (we were told it was OK to be on the lawn), another motorhome or two or three will join us. As happened today.
The scenery on the drive to Cloncurry was wonderful. We could only stop once where there was a view and here are a few of the photos.
There were other wonderful sights, but the first half of the drive was very challenging, very windy, curving up through cuttings in the hills, sharp downward parts, and roadtrains travelling both ways to add to the difficulty.
At one point I was watching a roadtrain coming around a curve towards us with the rear carriage (no. 3) fishtailing. I slowed, to the consternation of the road train driver behind me who must have found it very difficult to avoid going into me. I don’t know why he was travelling so close behind me – we were about 3 kms from a passing lane. I pulled over at a rest stop and had to go in very fast because I knew he was just behind. He gave me a serve over the two way, on reflection, I was impressed that he didn’t swear as the experience from his point of view must have been as frightening as it was for us. Also, he did wait until we were safely in the rest area before saying anything.
But why he was travelling so closely behind an RV? Stephen was about to say something in return, to try to explain, but I stopped him. The man had got his feelings off his chest, and really, I should have held my ground when I saw the fishtailing because slowing down wouldn’t really have helped us if it had got worse.
We were told when we bought the Winnie to pay attention to what was in front of us and ignore what was happening behind as that was the next driver’s business. The whole thing of cars and RVs sharing the road with road trains is a mess, we have such different aims and shouldn’t have to deal with each other.
We had about half an hours rest, then drove on. We were about half way and the road did get easier, if less spectacular, as we went along. We had rung up the caravan park at Cloncurry in the morning to book, and were told not to worry, they had plenty of places. When we arrived, they we full, but managed to squeeze us into an overflow section. What we really wanted was to have power so that we could use the airconditioner. The evening is still very warm and humid, and would be very uncomfortable without. Like the other RVers in our section we are very grateful to be squeezed in together with power and water.
We enjoyed one of our standard RV life meals, vegetables and tuna. We also had some salad bought fresh today. We have to shop fairly frequently to keep us in bananas.
We had our showers early as there is the threat of the water being cut off between 9.00 p.m. and 3.00 a.m. for upgrades. In sticky weather having proper showers, rather than just washes in the van, is quite lovely.
As the number of photos suggest we have quite fast internet here.
The landscape in the photo continued until after the first town where we filled up with fuel, dumped and filled up with water (at the same place, but separate taps), with the plan of staying at a rest area out of town. Then we were in bushland, with lots of creeks, some even had a little water.
There was more and more build up of clouds. The forecast for Mt Isa said there might be rain and a possible thunderstorm. We arrrived at the rest area and had a cup of tea. It was a pleasant spot, but over 30 degrees and very, very humid. We decided to take a chance on getting a powered caravan site in Mt Isa.
As we got closer to Mt Isa the landscape changed from being mostly flat, as it has been since we left Tennant Creek, to being quite hilly. We weren’t tired of the previous landscape, but it adds interest as we travel that things are always changing.
Well, at the first place we tried there were no vacancies, but the woman said the Tourist Information Centre had phoned to say they were opening up a park for overflow. We went to where she said it was happening, but there was pretty clearly nothing happening there. Stephen rang a different caravan park, and they told us it was at a different park, owned by the Irish Club. It wasn’t there, but when we rang the Irish Club, they told us we could stay overnight.
The Irish Club is nearby, so we have come over to have a meal and spend some time in air conditioning. The food is a bit of a comedown after the Barkly, but at least we are not cooking in the van in this heat.
We heard a huge rumbling that shook the building, we were alarmed, but no one else was. I suggested that it might be blasting at the mine.
There is a notice in the loo about living safely with lead. It’s a big problem for this town, and I would not like to bring up children here. I had some local fish, thinking that one dose of lead shouldn’t cause me problems.
Tomorrow is also forecast to be hot a humid, with the weather changing on Friday. We will have to consider whether we choose to stay here for sightseeing or move on in the hope of finding cooler weather.
Barkly Homestead to Avon Downs Rest Area July 4th, 2017
We spent the day travelling through a different landscape, basically flat with spinifex. Still, we always find it interesting. We were sad to leave the comforts behind.
It was quite a warm day, but we were not really prepared for how humid and warm the evening would be. At the Barkly Homestead it was cool in the evenings. So, we sat outside until it was dark, then had our meal. For the first time we had to put aside our warm quilt and sleep with just a sheet over us. We had all four roof hatches open, and all five windows. There were lots of other travellers in various types of vans around us, and a police station across the road, so we felt quite safe.
The police station was established about 100 years ago because of cattle rustling in the area. We met the policeman as he and his wife came over to invite the travellers to buy stuff for fundraising for the local cricket team.
It was lovely in the morning. It was cool, still humid, but comfortable.
To allow Stephen a bit of rest, and me too, we have stayed at the Barkly Homestead for a second night. The lure of an attractive cafe/bar as an alternative to sitting in or outside the Winnie was also a factor.
I washed the floor and did second load of washing. I’ve tended to be cautious of using the provided lines, and found my caution well founded. As I went to check on the load of washing this afternoon I found someone taking my stuff off the line and putting it on the dusty concrete! Eeek! I was somewhat forthright in my criticism, especially as I was about to take the washing off the line to give someone else a chance, even though it wasn’t completely dry.
So, washing will be strung around the Winnie next time. I have a free standing airer, plus one which fits in the bathroom, so have options.
In the morning we spent some time in the cafe/bar having our preferred drinks. The afternoon here was rather warm and I had the air conditioning going for a while. Still, it was very peaceful and pleasant.
We’ve come over to the bar this evening. Stephen wanted to look at the books, and has bought one on the Burke and Wills expedition. He is especially interested in the Dig Tree, where a cache of food that would have saved lives if it had been found by some of the explorers. He thought of visiting the Dig Tree, but we would have to travel on unsealed roads to get there and don’t want to tackle it without knowing how far we would have to go and how good the road would be.
Of course, some gravel roads wouldn’t be a problem at all, the Norseman to Hyden 300 kms is apparently quite wonderful and is something we want to do sometime as it has interpretive place markers along the way. We were talking with some travellers who have just gone that way and they said it was the best gravel road they have ever been on.
I took some photos and video on the GoPro this evening. Just including photos as it would take forever to upload video.
Tennant Creek to Barkly Homestead, on Barkly Highway, on the Barkly Tablelands
Stephen has a slight cold, and we need to contact Matt tonight, so have opted for full hookups at the Barkly Homestead where there is 3g access on our way to Queensland. At 10.17 a.m. this morning we left the Stuart Highway, confirming our decision to head east, rather than continuing north to Katherine. I’m not sure how we made this decision in the end, but think that the warmer weather has contributed.
We enjoyed the Territory Day celebration last night – it was much more low key than we were expecting, for example, there were only three food stalls, we missed the speeches, and there was almost total segregation of Aboriginal and white folk. Not quite total, as I noticed a woman sitting with several children around her for whom she seemed to be taking motherly responsibility. However, at the end she left on her own, so perhaps she is their teacher.
The fireworks were quite good, but it was unnerving that anyone could have fireworks. Near the showgrounds we had to avoid some boys setting off firecrackers. When one set fire to some grass the children took responsibility for putting out the fire, which was something.
We chose American food from what was on offer (hamburgers), and Stephen went back for some pear upside down cake for us. Another Grey Nomad couple joined us at our table and we discuss territorian things, like trucks or train for freight. We agreed to meet next year, same time same place, and they will get the table next time.
Walking home we mingled with local Aboriginal people, who were mostly peaceful, apart from a couple of men who got rather shouty. The police acted very quickly to pick them up, perhaps too quickly? It felt punishing somehow. Later, when there were less people around we joined up with some other ‘nomad types’ heading back to our caravan park.
We enjoyed the drive here, with about three stops for morning tea, lunch, and another. Travelling at our slow speed of 80kms per hour we get to enjoy the changing scenery. There were signs warning of crosswinds, but today has been fairly calm, with some clouds to give a bit of shade.
We went over for the happy hour at the bar. I had a glass of wine, and I’m very tipsy – but it’s worth it. We are going back to have dinner there. The showers are ensuite type, you get a little bathroom and toilet all to yourself, rather a nice feature of the place.
The internet is slow, so am only uploading one photo for today.