Barcaldine to Winton

After Barcaldine, we travelled towards the never ending horizon. Although we did not see many oncoming vehicles, I was wary of stopping to take photos in case there was a car right behind me, something not that easy to see behind our little caravan.

Every hundred or so kilometres there were convenient pull overs where we could stretch our legs and have a snack. Only a few of these had facilities and all were in flat and devoid of shade. The lack of shade did not concern us at this time of the year however the wind was biting, despite the sunshine.

The flat landsacpe was not at all boring as we played dodge the dead kangaroos.

There were so many kangaroo carcasses on the road - and even that of a black, wild boar. The crows feasted on the older ones while the eagles preferred the fresher kill. As we neared they rose from their meal to soar around the area until we had passed.

Flat and dry was the norm here however the types of grasses varied.

Today's drive was a short one so once we were unhitched at our campsite we set off back down the track for five kilometres and then down an extremely dusty and corrugated road to see the famous Winton dinosaurs.

This is one of many parts of a new type of long necked dinosaur that has been found in the area. The round hole is the spinal nerve canal.

Digging up the dinosaurs and all the work that goes into putting them together and identifying them is done by volunteers. The dig lasts for only two weeks each year because in that time they find more than enough pieces to keep everyone busy for more that two years. Volunteers over the age of eighteen may assist in the dig. What a great work experience activity that would be for senior students! Other volunteers can work at any time doing the fine work as in the photo above. Training is provided and a certificate of competency issued and after that you can work as long as you like coaxing the dinosaur bones out of the rock. Apparently grey nomads make it part of their travel experience.

From The Big jump, Winton

The view from the "Big Jump" ie dinosaur mountain was spectacular. Easy to see the mighty Lake Eyre Basin - or part of it.

Brisbane to Barcaldine

Our first two days on the road have seen us hurry along more than usual because we need make up for our delayed departure. We need to be in Mount Isa in a few days time. Despite this time constraint, we chose to take a more interesting but more challenging drive than a direct line up the Bruce Highway would have been. We took the D'Aguilar to Yarraman and then turned onto the Burnett stopping at Biloela for our first night.

The Burnett is an easy road to drive as well as being interesting with hilly parts as well as flat stretches. We stopped for lunch beside the Burnett River at Gayndah.

 

While researching for this trip I gained a lot of useful information from many dif.ferent on the road blogs so I will include some information that may be useful to other travellers. We arrived at Biloela a little ahead of dark and easily found the Discovery Holiday Park on Valentine Plains Road. While we didn't see much of the Park, the staff were very helpful finding us an ensuite site, the drive through sites being full.

After an early start the next morning we were soon zipping along  the Capricorn Highway, stopping for brunch at the roadhouse at Duaringa. On other trips we learned not to order a meal each and again, one big breakfast between the two of us was more than enough! So fortified, we carried on to Emerald where we visited the Information Centre on the western side of the town. We had been there on a previous trip and, again, the information on offer was excellent.

Onwards we went, stopping briefly at Alpha for diesel and a quick cup of tea at a lonely roadhouse. The facilities here were excellent and inccluded showers.

Our arrival at Barcaldine, after another day of travelling over 600 kms, was again just before dark. I soon learned that it is pronounced Bar-cal- din or Barky for short!

Tree of Knowledge, Barcaldine

Barcaldine is famous for the Tree of Knowledge, a Ghost Gum, now dead after being poisoned in 2006. It is a symbol of the 1891 Shearers Strike which gave birth to the Australian Labor Party.

Barcaldine

This C pattern windmill was built in 1917 and erected on the first free flowing bire east of Barcaldine. the slightest puff of wind will move the 27ft [ 8 metre] blades.

Tomorrow we move on to Winton, our next stop.

A Camping Road trip from Brisbane to Kakadu, Litchfield National Park, Katherine and Lake Argyle

Fifteen years  ago I planned an estimated year long road trip right around Australia but before we could get organised for departure a different adventure presented itself to us, the  Grandparent Adventure.  Now that our grandchildren [the two that live nearby] are older and going on an overseas family holiday adventure of their own, we will soon leave our home comforts for a brief life on the road, one a little less than of a couple of months instead of a year.

Fifteen years has made a difference in what we are able to achieve with activities such as mountain climbing and strenuous walking now definitely out of the plan. Coping with cold weather and very long days of driving now that only one of us drives will also now be a challenge as will being sure that we have more than enough of medicines needed for all contingencies. The circumnavigation of our country is just too hard so we have chosen just one part of this huge land to explore. The blue line on the map indicates our expected outward trip with a slight variation in green being the homeward  one.

Charlie, the Teardrop trailer

We are so lucky to have three great adult children who encourage us in our adventures. This time our son is to join us from Mount Isa to share the holiday with us and to assist with some of the driving. This would not be possible for him to do  without the love and support of our daughter by marriage who will be home alone with their very energetic and articulate two year old son while also working full time and dealing with the building of their new home. That's love and generosity in action.

Part of our preparation for this trip was to go down to Canberra to pick up Charlie, the "trailer." He was built by our son while he was living in America and is a comfortable large bedroom on wheels together with a compact kitchen under the back hatch. 

The drive from Canberra was my first ever towing experience so now I have a few kms under my belt, as they say. I haven't yet had to reverse it into a confined space so that challenge is to come!

For this trip we have to be able to be totally self sufficient if we are to be flexible and able to stop in interesting places and also to avoid long days of driving. This means carrying far more water than usual as well as a Porta Potty! As well as that we have extra spare wheels, fuses and so on. 

Charlie's kitchen

I have found www.caravancaravan.com.au a useful website for traveller reported information about the facilities and conditions of places where we may stop, either briefly or overnight. Other travellers' blogs have also been both fun to read as well as giving some useful tips. I am ready to try out the one mentioned to repel hovering mossies  by spraying Listerine mouthwash on the chairs! My travel plan is a book in its own right - a day by day journey in detail. Hopefully it will have all the information we need to travel comfortably!

Now that we have recovered from the bug that got us during the past two weeks [ Influenza B ?], have dealt with the insurance company after the break in, had the security door that was removed from its tracks attended to and cleaned up the mess left by the intruders, we will soon be on our way. 

[Any would-be crims please note that not a thing of value is now on our property and that a security company is engaged in surveillance. The Very Observant Neighbour has also returned from her own holiday and is also on surveillance duty, police number at the ready. The police will also be cruising around at least three times daily.]

We're almost ready to depart. Let the last of our camping adventures begin!