Blogs from Charters Towers, Queensland, Australia, Oceania

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 ... read more

A town paved with goldIts the end of the day. I am sitting by the mighty Burdekin River at yet another free camping ground. Well actually it is Fletcher Creek which is a pretty little tributary of the big river. Its an oasis really as the surrounding countryside is really quite inhospitable. The air is filled with the sounds of crickets or cicadas, birds are making their last caw caws before the sun goes down and the night turns black. There is a lovely balmy breeze with a little prickle of chill rustling through the leaves on the massive r... read more

We set off from Brisbane with the plan to travel via Binjour Range, Biloela, Rolleston, Virgin Rock, Emerald, Charters Towers. Folk we met in the free camp at Binjour range had just come from North West on this rout and reported that the road from Moura to Rolleston was still in bad shape and under repair. So we adjusted the plan and travelled through Dululu to Blackwater, Emerald and then on to Charters Towers. Generall the drive to Binjour via Gympie went well but there were bush fires burning behind Gayndah. The smoke was carrying north on the breeze and gave some colourful effects at sunset. Too much smoke for a good sunset photo. Day 2 we drove on our revised route more north than west, still plenty of smoke around but getting less. We stopped ... read more

As if to confirm we had made the right decision to move on, Saturday 17th September greeted us very early with the noise of kiddies cycling and shouting. Clearly their parents have no respect for the comfort of others (you can’t blame the kids) as they were let loose before 6:30am and seemingly with no supervision at all. Multiply that three or four times and you may realise why we thought it a good idea to “head for the hills” today. Traditionally, this school holiday period means a seaside holiday and with the weather forecast promising perfect seaside conditions it is not surprising that places like Rollingstone cater so obviously for young families. It influenced our thoughts about destinations today and we were convinced that an inland location would be more suited to us for a ... read more

We left Chinchilla 20th July, after meeting up with Den’s brother & wife – Warwick & Margy. The first night was spent at Virgin Rock Free Camp (428) at Springsure. We had travelled about 480 klm’s & were all tired, & apart from a bad tank of LPG gas at Roma all’s good. The next morning was so cold we were freezing, we headed off & drove to another Free camp at Cape River (420) 110 klm’s south of Charters Towers. A lot warmer now thank goodness. Poor Warwick started to get “the shits” literally & was really sick. 22nd we headed off to Charters Towers with one sick man & Margy had to drive. We booked in to at The Charters Towers Caravan Park for 2 nights & had an easy afternoon & they had ... read more