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Published: June 17th 2008
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Gulf Sunset at Karumba
Tough job, but someone's got to do it. You’ll remember that our last blog finished in Lightning Ridge. Well with heavy hearts we left Lightning Ridge and our new friends and headed out along the ‘track’…...and cutting to the present - we are now in QUEENSLAND - you know beautiful one day, perfect the next - and with sunny 32 degree days it didn’t take long for the memories of Lightning Ridge to fade along with our porcelain white Melbourne skin. To our Melbournite friends and family freezing their way through winter - hee hee.
Ok enough rubbing it in, backing up slightly to fill you in on the gaps, our first stop after Lightning Ridge was Bourke which required a back track through Walgett. Walgett is a bit of a sad town now - I was here years ago, but since then the blackfellas have got a bit out of hand with their drinking and all the shops have shutters and iron bars. Unexpectantly we found Bourke quite pleasant with a great caravan park. We stayed 2 nights and did a 35 km bike ride around town and the sights, including Fred Hollows grave (famous eye surgeon) and went for a cruise on the paddle steamer parked
at the caravan park.
Left Bourke with it raining heavily and drove through to Augathella (517km) passing through Cunnamulla and Charleville. When Katie was only 18mths old we lived 224km from Cunnamulla in the middle of nowhere for a while and we used to drive to town hand the shopping list over the counter at the store (see photo), Sullivans style, and go the pub for lunch (see photo) and then pick up the groceries and drive the 224km home before the kangaroos and emus got too bad at dusk. Nothing much has changed in 27 years.
After Augathella we left for Longreach, passing through Tambo, Blackall and Barcaldine. We stayed in Longreach for 3 nights - it was very muddy because of the rain. Went on a Cobb and Co coach ride with a gallop through the bush - it was fascinating to feel just how the oldies used to travel. Went to the Qantas museum (Qantas was founded in Longreach) and saw the workings of an actual 747 and visited the Stockmans Hall of Fame, which was a bit disappointing - looks spectacular from the outside, but the displays are a little sterile. My grandfather was
a drover in outback Queensland for a while.
After passing through Winton, Kynuna and McKinley (see photo of Crocodile Dundee pub) we camped the night in a roadside camp where the massive road trains passed directly through the caravan all night. We reached Mt Isa (662kms) on Saturday of the long weekend. This is a town with mining shiftworkers and yet the supermarkets shut all day Sundays and public holidays! Bet some of you didn’t know that Greg Norman and Patrick Rafter are both from Mt Isa (let me assure you that this is the only claim to fame). As per other mining towns, not very picturesque. We did play golf on a fairly rough course built in a dried up river bed - that was fun, but apart from shopping and washing - not a lot else to do here. There was a very interesting small underground hospital that was built in case the town was bombed during WWII like Darwin.
One more overnight stop in the middle of nowhere before arriving in Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria. This is Barramundi country and the caravan parks are overflowing with dyed in the wool fisherman and their
Cunnamulla Supermarket
This is mostly for Katie and Colin. tinnies of every size and shape - Wes counted 92 at the boat ramp one morning (needs to get a life). We went on a ½ day fishing charter and I think I jinxed myself giving Wes a hard time about his virgin fishing rod, because he hauled in a couple of very nice fish and I caught nothing (only girl on boat, only one not to catch fish - how embarrassment).
Have I mentioned the fantastic weather? - oh yes I did. Well we stayed 6 nights and did nothing more than watch the sunsets, ride the bikes, went fishing, went to the pub (oh yes there was one within crawling distance of caravan park) and did some bird watching. Lucky the caravan park had a pool because there is no swimming at the beach due to saltwalter crocodiles.
Next stop Cairns to drop off the caravan and then Cape York - can’t wait.
By the way, for those of you that don’t know, the photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.
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Colin & Belinda
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It doesn't compare to a soggy week in Yorkshire!!!
Great to catch up with your movements, not at all jealous!!. Continue having a great time, and yes Bethany has been watching Love Actually.