On the Overland Track

---

On Monday morning, after a lovely time in Alice Springs, we again headed north. Our goal was Tennant Creek which was about a 5 hour drive and we motored along happily, listening now to Thunderball and noting the monotonous scenery of red earth, spinifex and low scrubby trees. Our one stop along the way was at the Devil's Marbles, or Karlu Karlu, which stands out amidst the rest of the country. Round boulders sit atop each other and there are several outcrops. An interesting sight. We arrived in Tennant Creek about 4pm and checked into the Goldfields Hotel/Motel. The room was comfortable, with all we needed except the WiFi was unreliable. We then went for a drive to see what was there. We drove up to the Bill Allen Lookout from where we could see the surrounding countryside. Gold had been discovered here in the 1870s and we went back down the hill to the Battery Creek Mine and Museum. As it was now 4-30 we couldn't have a tour but strolled around looking at the various old buildings, including the mine head and an old workshop.We also saw the Old Telegraph Station. This was also one of the main reasons the town was founded.

We ate at the Tennant Creek Memorial Club aka the RSL which was recommended by the policeman checking licences as we bought a couple of bottles of wine. It was very pleasant and we drank a bottle of Grey Nomad wine, appropriate we thought!

Next morning we left early, 7-30am, as we had a nearly 9 hour drive to Cloncurry. The Barkly/Flinders Highway is known as the Overland Way as it was the path that the early drovers took , bringing their cattle to graze in various places. Our first stop was at Barkly Homestead where we filled up with petrol, then we headed to the border between the Northern Territory and Queensland. Once over that we soon stopped for lunch at the first Queensland town, Camooweal. Here we went into the pub and ordered a steak sandwich each. It came fairly quickly , but when I bit into it, it was delicious, but after careful inspection I found there was no steak in it! I took it back to the server and he spoke to the cook who had left the steak on the grill accidently! Once reassembled, it was delicious!! We also took photos of the drover's statue in the town. From there it was a couple of hours to Mt Isa. As we drove in we observed the huge mine and its surrounds on the outskirts of the town. This was considerably bigger than some of the other places we have been through. The final leg for the day took us another 120 kms to Cloncurry, making it just as our car was running on empty! We filled up and then found the Leichardt Hotel Motel and checked in to a huge room with double and single beds and a very large bathroom. We had WiFi and all facilities for well under $100 for the night. We drove around to see what there was in the town and found that there was not much to see but there were 5 pubs for a population of 2,000. We ate in the hotel and had a counter meal, but my lasagne was t but so big I couldn't finish it.

We took our time the next morning, but still were on the road about 8-30. From here the road became the Flinders Highway but the landscape was much the same. The only animals we have seen as we drive are dead 'roos and wallabies, with the birds, mainly ravens and raptors, feeding happily on the road kill. We stopped in Richmond. On our way into the town we had seen cutouts of prehistoric creatures with the tag, Uthinktheysaurus! We discovered that the area around here was rich in fossils and many sea dinosaurs remains had been found as this was once part of the Inland sea. We went into the Tourist centre which was also a fossil museum, but we unfortunately did not have the time to explore. We did stop at Hughenden and found the bakery where we had their excellent pies for lunch.Then it was onwards with the land becoming more hilly and treed.We filled up the car at a small town called Torrens Creek and pressed on. By now we had finished the James Bond CDs and were on to Cadfael and Agatha Raisin (on different CDs). We have been grateful for Sam and Tracey's thoughtful offering of these as they have made the driving very easy. We did stop at a sign which said WW2 Memorial. This was a section of the original highway, built by the Americans in 1941. The last stage of the trip took us to the largest place we have been to on this trip so far, Charters Towers. This based its wealth on gold discovery in the 1870s. It is still a prosperous looking place. Our hotel, the Park Hotel provided us with a very comfortable room and the biggest TV I have seen. It must have been 72" and dominated the room. Outside our room we could see Lissner Park and the trees directly opposite were filled with fruit bats, twittering away in the late afternoon sun. After checking in we drove into the town and walked around the city centre. There were many beautiful old buildings, which had once been banks, but were now used for various things. The tall tower of the Post Office dominated Gill Street and we went into the Stock Exchange Arcade where once fortunes had been made and lost. We then drove up to Tower Hill where gold was first discovered. This is quite a steep climb to the top and we could watch the setting sun from there. There are remnants of the mines and WW2 bunkers here and information about the history of the place. Very interesting!!

That night we dined in our hotel's dining room, beautifully furnished with real white tablecloths and fancy cutlery. Unfortunately, the food did not live up to the surroundings. My Chicken avocado and bacon was dominated by the thick Hollandaise sauce, but underneath was dry and overcooked. Again the serve was huge and the overall impression of all food we have had (apart from in Alice Springs) was that quantity was more important than quality. We retired to watch TV on our large screen. and cracked another bottle of wine to accompany our viewing!.

---

Photos

Typical Countryside
Typical countryside