Month: May 2018

We checked out of Townsville and drove south – 3 1/4 hours, to Airlie Beach.  It was an interesting drive – Ayr was the first town, 88km south. The landscape was bush and trees but mostly marshy on the water side of the highway.  We drove through a lot of sugar cane fields and again, saw a vineyard.  We stopped at a factory shed that had signs saying that they sold fresh fish.  The fellow was very knowledgeable and had a good range of seafood.  It was 90% local, but frozen, which is no problem.  The other 10% seemed to be WA or SA produce.  He bemoaned the fact that so much of our seafood was being exported before it even reached the markets.  He did say that he had visited a processing plant in Vietnam that was processing Aussie product and then returning it to Australia.  He said the hygiene conditions in the factory were in some cases better than here.  We bought some threadfin salmon, a beautiful fish that we learnt about and ate whilst up in Kununurra.  We also bought marinara made from all local ingredients.  It was funny that the man was wearing a thick jacket as he thought it was quite chilly and winter had really begun.  It was 25 degrees and we were in shorts and t-shirts!

Ayr was a lovely town and quite big.  There was a very long main street – one of those wide ones where you can park in the centre of the street.

It was then on to Bowen, 110km away.  We had to cross the Burdekin River, a wide river, not full – there were sandy stretches across it.  Luckily/unluckily we had to stop in the middle of it for some time as there was roadwork being done on it and only one lane was being used.  It was good because we were able to get out and take a good photo.

The Burdekin River is 710km long and has the largest flow of any river in Australia.  It has a huge aquifer only 10m below the surface and it is said to be one of the largest in Australia – 44 times the size of Sydney Harbour.  It is used for irrigation and for water.  The Burdekin Falls dame is the largest in Queensland and has a capacity 4 times Sydney Harbour.  As a result of all this, the area is one of the main food bowls for Queensland.

Burdekin River from the bridge

Burdekin River from the bridge

We stopped at a roadside fruit and vegetable stall and were served by an English backpacker who was migrating to Australia.  His job was to set the stall up and pack it away for the farmer.  All the produce came from the farm.  We bought a beautiful pineapple and rockmelon, bananas, garlic and tomatoes.

Bowen was also a big town with very flat agricultural land around.  It was the closest we had come to the sea since leaving Townsville, and occasionally we caught glimpses of it.

We turned off before Proserpine and came out along the road to Airlie Beach.  We passed through Cannonvale, a suburb with a big shopping plaza that included Woolworths and Big W.  Then another shopping centre, this time anchored by Coles.  This was no small place.  Airlie Beach itself has all that is good and all that is bad about it.  The location is stunning, looking out to some of the closer Barrier Reef Islands, like Daydream, Long Island, and South Molle.  It is quite hilly behind the town and developers have used up this space to completely cover the hillside with resorts (ours being one of them).  Naturally the views are magnificent but from the shore it looks awful.  They are even starting to move around the hills, establishing new areas.  Down on the flat, there are areas that are green space at present, but with signs talking about future developments – a shame, as the green space separates town from the hill development.  The actual shopping strip of Airlie Beach is delightful, a cute collection of eateries, clothing shops, souvenir places, a couple of upmarket back packer establishments – all along a strip of road that forks to make a “Y” shape.  In front of the shopping strip is parkland along the waterfront that has recently been landscaped.  The Council has put in a large freeform interconnecting system of swimming/leisure pools.  Some with lanes, some with beach, some deep, some shallow for children. Lovely – and it is not fenced, and therefore free for anyone to enjoy.  As the stingers are a problem for half the year, this is almost a necessity.  A marina has been built at the southern end of the town and the sand used to create a spit with a beach beside it.  Homes are being built along this small piece of beach – huge homes.  On a couple of vacant blocks, people have erected signs that say “Stop inappropriate development”.

Pool area down by the water

Saturday had the weekly markets down by the beach and so what better thing to do than check them out.  An interesting collection of things – handicrafts, fresh food, even a man making a very large sand sculpture.

The weather has been a real mixed bag – quite windy and cloud coming and going;  It has rained each night but luckily not in the days.

We went for a drive to Shute Harbour, about 10km south. It was Sunday and deserted. It is pretty much just a port (small) and there are homes up on the ridge surrounding it – with magnificent views north or south.We have since found out that this is the port used by the boats to take workers to Hamilton Island in particular but also to other islands. In Cyclone Debbie (March 2017), the wharf was destroyed, work still seemed to be being done.
We stopped at the bakery in Airlie for bread and they were very chatty. They said that Cyclone Debbie crossed the coast at Airlie and caused massive destruction. They were without power and water for 3 weeks. You couldn’t get in or out due to the road being blocked by so much debris. She said everyone helped each other. There being no power, no one could access teller machines or pay with cards, cash was king. She said they loaned so many people money. The great thing was there was no looting. This explained why the pool and park area looked so new – it had been done since the cyclone, when boats were lying up where the pool now is.
Monday we had chosen as our day to take a trip. The weather had been changeable and the SW wind had been blowing. Hopefully the weather would improve. We had to be at the ferry wharf in Airlie by 6-30am, so an early start in the dark. It was drizzling and cool. What a slick operation Whitsunday Cruises are, very like airport checkin, but no scanners. We boarded and left right on 7 – our itinerary being to go to Whitehaven Beach and then Hamilton Island. There were not a lot of people, maybe 40. The captain told us that it was not going to be smooth sailing, especially when crossing parts of open sea. We had both taken seasick pills. It was miserable weather – it was raining, the swell was causing spray to come over the windows, and this was a big boat. We first stopped after an hour at Hamilton Island to let people off and pick up a few more. Then another hour to Whitehaven Beach. This world renowned beach is on Whitehaven Island, the largest in the Whitsundays. We travelled right around the island, I think the captain a little embarrassed that he was going to put we poor folks onto the beach for 2 ½ hours, in the rain. We motored around Hill inlet and the sand came into view and I saw a glimpse of blue sky. By the time we had reached the southern and protected section, it was lovely blue sky. What a wonderful time we had here. The staff came ashore and set up a shelter and had beach games organised if anyone wanted to participate. Mostly we all were happy to swim, take photographs and wander the beach. The water was crystal clear and warm, the sand white and very fine, almost like powder. They said it was great to use to polish jewellery, so I gave my rings and earrings the ‘Whitehaven’ clean – now they sparkle! The crew had fun building sandcastles and mucking around. They said that the air was 25 and the water 25 but they considered it cool! We were so lucky with the weather and that there were so few people sharing this special place. A seaplane came in with a couple and their esky (picnic lunch) and they had to sit at the very end of the beach for the privacy that such a trip promises. There were lots of fish, in knee deep water, some quite large. National Parks was working on the beach as storms had caused a lot of debris to be scattered along the beach. They were gathering it up into huge piles. There will be some great bonfires soon.
This beach is meant to have the whitest sand in the world, hence it’s popularity. We didn’t think it the whitest we have seen, I guess I am a beach expert – ha ha. It was however, beautiful sand and a beautiful beach.

Our boat had been anchored off the beach, and after more than 2 ½ hrs we went out on a tender to it and travelled back to Hamilton Island – ¾ hr. Here we left the boat and had nearly 5 hours to explore. This was a very cheap way of seeing what Hamilton Island is. It has an international airport and I think this makes it popular with tourists wanting an ‘island’ experience and the chance to be close to the Barrier Reef. Lunch had been supplied by way of a voucher at the Marina Tavern, so we set off to find that. All the retail seems to be around the marina which is home to some massive boats. There were the usual resort boutiques, chemist, bakery, tour operator and a cafe. The tavern was at the end on the way to the Yacht Club, a big, impressive structure, we think meant to resemble a whale. There were not many people here and it was lunchtime. We asked the waiter about this and he said it was very quiet on the island, numbers were down. The conference centre has not been rebuilt yet after the cyclone and he thought that might affect things. Still a lot of time to explore. They have 2 little shuttle buses. The green runs along the front of the marina and the blue, goes right around the island. We set off to find the blue bus. We had to walk a very steep hill and then down to the other side of the ridge to be in the vicinity of its stops. This was also where the main resort building is. A huge rather Polynesian structure, it has 3 pools, terraces, bars and eating areas. Oh, the hotel type shops, AND a bowling alley? The various accommodations are around it, including the very inappropriate high rise buildings. We found the bus and jumped on. It was a 40 minute loop with a chatty driver. A great way to see everything. We were surprised how hilly the island was and how much private development was also on the island. One Tree Hill, a high point, had magnificent views. Back to where we started and a wander down to Catseye Beach, the main beach in front of the resort. The tide was out so it was a long walk out to water if you wanted a swim. We chose coffee. A walk back to the marina and a bit more exploring. The thing really puzzling us was where do the people buy food to cook themselves, particularly the people living there. The general store was all locked up and appeared to have permanently closed. There was an IGA sign on a warehouse in the marina but in a part out of bounds. Can only think you order and it’s delivered? The other thing you cannot miss are all the golf buggies. They’re everywhere! The island is very hilly and it would be hard to walk everywhere, especially with children or if you were older. So, everyone seems to get a buggy. I googled the cost to hire and they rent by the hour, but 24hrs was $87. Not cheap. Our boat was leaving at 5.10pm but at 4.30 all these people came from everywhere in fluoro shirts and assembled at the wharf. They were the workers going back to the mainland. There was quite a bit of construction going on, hence all the workers. Their boat was going back to Shute Harbour and left before 5. Ours turned up, people got off who were staying at Hamilton Island and we got on. The boat had been to the outer reef for the day. It was a smoother trip home, getting to Airlie just after 6 and in the dark. It had been a long but great day. Our time at Whitehaven had been delightful and the visit to Hamilton Island very informative and interesting. Not really interested in going there again.
We had had to get up at 5.30am to get the early boat and I had heard a lot of traffic noise down in the town. It now made sense, that was the tradie peak hour, driving to Shute Harbour for their boat to Hamilton Island.
We were too tired to pack for our departure in the morning, bed looked good.

Today I am going to tell you a story about exploding dingoes. You will know it is true because I don’t lie about these things.
A long time ago, when the English people started coming to Australia, they found very many strange animals. Some of them missed their animals back home and some very clever people decided to bring some of the animals they were used to all the way to Australia.
They brought out cows and horses and chickens. But they also brought out rabbits, foxes and goats, and they turned out not to be very good for our country.
Later some more clever men brought out cane toads and they were really bad.
Anyway, my story is about more clever men. About 2 years ago they decided they wanted to get rid of some goats on an island off the Queensland coast. They thought they would put 2 dingoes on the island and the dingoes could eat all the goats.
They put tracking collars on the dingoes so they would always know where they are. And, because they thought all the goats would be gone in 2 years, they put a poison capsule in the dingoes’ necks, under their skin, that would explode in 2 years and the dingoes would die.
These were clever men – no more goats – no more dingoes.
Well – the very first thing the dingoes did was chew through each other’s collars. Now no-one knew where the dingoes were.
Next, the dingoes found the goats were too smart for them and they couldn’t catch the goats.
One dingo starved to death.
The second dingo learnt how to catch and eat all the protected birds on the island.
Now there are lots more goats on the island, one dingo and no birds.
The clever men have only 4 weeks now to wait and see whether the dingo will explode. They are really hoping it will.

Paul wrote this for the grandchildren, but it is a true story, told to us by one of the dive guides from Orpheus  when we went snorkelling out from this particular island where the dingo is.

It is sooo unpretentious. Noone tries to dress up, impress, talk about themselves all the time. One couple came in smart casual dress for dinner, but bare feet.
Since all meals are at tables for 2, and spread out, noone really cares what you wear. It is however very friendly because there are so few people, and people interact at other times and especially when there is an activity.
The place has so many spots to sit, relax, enjoy. The hammocks and lounges scattered along the beach, the 20+ lounges around the pool, the seats and lounges scattered in the various covered areas around the resort. There is a pool room with lounges and a big tv to watch movies that links to other spaces. The lovely table and chairs at the end of the wharf…. And so few people to use them. Easy to feel noone else is here.
From the time you arrive every staff member knows you by name. They all have time to chat, they seek you out to see if you have organised anything to do or anything they can help with.
We don’t know who the fairy is who comes to our room twice a day. Seems she knows when we go to breakfast and our room is totally serviced, even to washing the floor every day (it is sometimes a little damp when we return, that’s how we know). At night she comes whilst we are at dinner and fixes it up. We have never seen a housemaid trolley around – who is she? Where does she hide?
There are no keys, although Chrissy, the assistant manager said she could get us one. The only way onto and off the island is by helicopter or you hijack one of the boats. So doors are not shut – makes it easy.
We have wondered how they get supplies,  the food, in particular. We thought maybe backloads on the helicopter. Staff say not much comes that way. They get a barge from Lucinda every 6 weeks for the big items, they try and grow as much as possible and then they trade with the fishing boats. One of the staff goes out to a fishing boat that maybe in the area and trades their prawns, fish etc, usually for slabs of beer and cigarettes. Pretty good arrangement. Helps to explain the barramundi yesterday at lunch and dinner in different forms. We also saw the flat bottom boat come in – apparently it brings the meat and seafood once a week from Lucinda.  It also left with some empty gas bottles that presumably might come back full the following trip.
Paul enjoyed reading the wine list (even though we just drank the house wine, as did everyone else – which explains the type of people – not pretentious). His comment about the wine list was that it was mostly good Aussie wines. One of the staff said that the owner likes to promote Aussie.

A new day in paradise. After breakfast and laps in the great 25m x 13m infinity pool and a jog by Paul, we took out one of the dingys and a picnic lunch to a beach further down the island. There is a newish, substantial jetty there – Yanks Jetty. Apparently the Americans used the area in WW2. A jetty they had built was replaced by this one. There was a bit of a chop around the jetty and we did a few runs around it working out the best way to approach and then we managed to secure our boat. Onto the sand, a bit of an explore and then time to see what the kitchen had packed for us. The esky held individual bento boxes with smoked salmon, mini chicken wraps tied up with black and white string, cheeses and biscuits, sliced fruits, nuts and dried fruit, chocolate brownie and muesli slice! Wow! Then there were the plates, cutlery, linen serviettes, tablecloth, other cooler bag with wine, water, glasses. Definitely time to lie and read in the shade of a tree before a swim on our own beach. We decided around 3 it was time to head back. After putting everything back in the boat, Paul tried to start it. He tried and tried and tried. It was like the whipper snipper at home, non responsive. We waited awhile and then tried again. Nothing. So we had to crack out the emergency phone they had included and ring for help. The cavalry arrived – David and Ash in a high speed boat. David got into our boat, didn’t change anything, gave it 2 mighty pulls and it started! They did say the motor was a bit iffy at times. We all laughed and we set off for home. When we came ashore here, half the population ie 6 plus miscellaneous staff were around and all gave us a laugh.

Our deserted beach and our picnic lunch

A sunset cruise had been organised so not a lot of spare time before that. We and another couple had taken boats out, another couple had been dropped off at a deserted island, so it had only left 4 here for lunch. Whilst we had been out, the helicopter had brought in 6 new people, so now we had 16, 12 of whom came on the cruise. Callum and Billy took the big boat out with drinks and cheese and biscuits and we motored with the sun setting – rather beautiful and got to meet our new residents – another older couple, the man growing up in our suburb and 2 younger couples, one American.
Another fabulous dinner – followed by feeding of the resident reef sharks around the jetty. They get some of the seafood scraps, otherwise the many chickens get the rest. They try on the island to be as self sufficient as possible.

Yet another day here. There was a snorkeling trip on again, so 12 of us went today. Tegan and Callum took us to the north of the island and then across to a deserted island – Pelorus. The water was calmer and we could snorkel wherever we wanted within a certain area. The tide was low so there was not a lot of water over the coral which meant we saw it up close. This was a better site than 2 days ago. The variety of coral and the colours was very good. Paul and I especially liked the many bright blue clams in the rocks. There were not many big fish, but schools and schools of small fish of all colours. The water temperature was what I called warm, Callum said 25, but Tegan said was getting cool and that we must be southerners if we thought it warm. We did have short wetsuits on that helped you stay in the water for 45mins without getting cold. Then back to base, a swim in the pool for Paul and me followed by lunch. Lunches are a tapas style, based on a different country each day. Today was Aussie, Sunday was Thai. Don’t know what yesterday was.
6 guests left on the helicopter after lunch – we had got to know them, it was like saying goodbye to friends. No-one got off the helicopter, so it is just 5 tables of 2 for dinner tonight.

Our last full day.  Breakfast looking out to sea.  We were going to go for a kayak to the beach around the headland but decided that as the tide was dropping maybe that would be better later in the afternoon.  So…..some reading, a swim in the pool doing laps…. Another great lunch and then the kayak trip.  We took a double and paddled on flat water around the headland and along a small bay with mangroves.  There was a gap in them and we paddled into this tranquil area, not wide but long, with the mangroves and their roots creating artistic tangles everywhere.  Back out and around the next corner and we had our own beach.  The water was warm and so still – what a place to swim.  Time to paddle back and it was only 10 mins taking the direct route.  In to shore to have someone take the kayak and deal with everything.  Will make it hard next time we take our kayaks out and have to do everything ourselves.

Kayak to another deserted beach

Another dinner – our last. A beautiful half moon shining over the water eating superb food, served by staff who stop to chat, a bandicoot running over the floor, under a table and out into the garden, just 6 tables – so special.

Our last day at Orpheus but unlike most places that say you have to be out of your room by 10 or 11, here they just asked that we be packed by 1pm, have our lunch and the helicopter would drop in at 2.30 for us. There was another organised snorkel for the morning and we decided to do it. Only 6 of us went and this one was taken by Ash (driver) and David (snorkel guide), also the ones who came to our aid when we couldn’t start the boat. There was a wind, so they took us back to Fantome Island, where we had snorkeled the first time. It has been so good how they have chosen the snorkel site depending on the conditions. We swam further south this time and the tide was lower, so everything was so much closer. David let us snorkel within an area, so we could spread a bit and linger when we wanted to. It was spectacular. The fish – schools of all sorts and colours. Both Paul and I sighted about 20 fish, bottom half white and top half chequerboard. David didn’t know what they were and later the fish charts on the boat didn’t seem to have the fish. Glad we both saw them. The coral was also amazing, the colours really varied and quite bright. There was a lot of plate coral but in very different layers and patterns, with the soft corals swaying from them. A great site.
Back on land and we finished packing and headed to lunch, this time an Indonesian tapas. Once again beautifully presented and yummy. Paul was just finishing his coffee as we watched our helicopter fly across the beach. No rush, say goodbye, wander to where it landed with some staff, more goodbyes… There were 4 new guests getting off. One of the young staff, Billy, was also coming back with us as he was leaving to return to Melbourne. It was nice to see the pilot was Jackie, who had brought us over on Saturday. We sat in the front with her again and she flew us low over the beach as staff and guests waved, then took us over several of the Palm Island Group, including 2 small islands that the Army used in WW2 to practice bombing! Flying into Townsville we flew up the meandering river – like a muddy delta – a couple of small fishing boats also meandering through it. Jackie said it was good crocodile country and I can see why. She landed us above the big H circle on the runway and then we hovered back to their hanger – a strange sensation but a fun one. She was straight off to Magnetic Island to pick some people up so another pilot put us in the mini bus and drove us to our car which we had left in the long term carpark at the airport.
We were back on the mainland and getting ready for the next part of the trip. Back to the hotel to check in again, retrieve our suitcases we had left there and repack. Once again the hotel had the Cowboys wandering around, in their special room they seem to have, being given massages, bonding …… So much pampering! Wasted on us as we don’t recognise anyone.

Below are the 4 courses on Tuesday night.

Saturday arrived and our next adventure started. We made use of the bigger room in the hotel to repack what we needed for our 6 days at Orpheus. There was a 15kg limit and we had had to give them our weight as well, so we were being careful what we took.
We had to be at the helicopter checkin just after 1pm and left the car in the secure long term carpark at the airport. Our pilot turned up, weighed the luggage (which also had to be in soft duffel type bags), weighed us and we were just on 30kg. I had put on my joggers (heaviest shoes), tied my warm coat around my waist, put my phone in my pocket….. but she laughed and said I guess your weight includes the handbag and coat, that’s ok. We boarded her van for a drive to the hanger they had at the airport and watched the usual safety film and waited. We were lucky to be going in the bigger helicopter, just the 2 of us. We both sat in the front with Jackie (there were 3 seats in the back) and she organised the takeoff. She said that as Townsville is a military airport as well, there are stricter rules. We lifted up a few meters and moved to the spot on the runway with the big H, lowered to the tarmac and waited. The most unusual thing was that when she got clearance, she taxied down the length of the line on the runway a few meters above the ground before she then lifted off. (A few people here have also commented on this.) What a scenic flight – out over the collection of islands known as the Palm Islands – Jackie giving a good commentary. 30 minutes later we landed on the big H here at Orpheus to be greeted by the assistant manager with a glass of champagne. Our luggage was looked after and we walked to the resort (100m!). There we sat in the lounge with another cucumber water drink and Chrissie explained how things worked. She then brought in the chef and restaurant manager and we had a chat about what we like to eat or don’t like. Chrissie came back and brought us to our room – looking out to sea across the grass with 2 hammocks and lounges, the only things obscuring the view. In our room was a beautiful cheese and fruit platter and a bottle of French champagne on ice with a personalised welcome. Wow!
Dinner was at 7pm. There were only 14 guests (max of 28). A couple had eloped and been married here on Saturday and the celebrant and photographer went back on our helicopter. They were having a special dinner down on the jetty – very romantic. There was a couple with 2 boys and they had eaten earlier, so that left only 8 of us. There were 4 tables for 2 looking out to sea on the covered deck. Our personalised menus were on the table – mine different to Paul’s as mine had no jalapeno dressing on one of the courses as I had said I didn’t want anything too spicy. There followed a 4 course magnificent meal.

Sunday started with a breakfast of fresh fruit, strawberry smoothie, raspberry and currant brioche, fresh grapefruit juice, and a choice of cooked dishes – mine being asparagus, poached egg, kale, macadamia and rye bread croutons. Not a big serving, just right.
We had chosen to go snorkelling – they were taking a boat out and 6 of us chose to do it. The newly weds took a runabout and picnic lunch and I don’t know what the other 2 did. The family of 4 flew had flown out after breakfast. Now just a total of 10 of us. It was a bit windy so Callum (driver) and Tegan (dive instructor) took us to a side of Fantome Island (a leper colony till the mid 1970’s) and close by, which was quite calm. Here we drift snorkeled for more than 45mins. The coral and fish were very good. She showed us dead coral broken on the sea floor after Cyclone Yasi, but now having new coral growing above it. She said that the cyclones they had earlier this year had actually protected the coral from bleaching, as the cyclone moved the warmer water around. Not everything is bad. That was fun, then back to the shore – just leave everything, they fix it up. Since I was wet I decided to do some real swimming in the 25x13m infinity pool. Naturally noone else was in it. A lovely pool, beautiful view – wow! Just enough time to get clean and be ready for lunch. You sit for breakfast and lunch in a slightly different section, always at a table for 2. The chef tries to do theme lunches. Today was Thai, so we had soft shelled crab, a thai beef salad, green papaya salad and rice. The bowls were placed on our table and we helped ourselves. It was light and just right.
Paul then decided to teach me Kelly pool, a bit of fun. A read, a walk, then a champagne at 5 to watch the sun set, but a bit cloudy. Instead we got talking to one of the couples – he used to live nearby and knew a lot to f the same people Paul knows. Small world again.
Back at 7 for dinner, just 6 tables for 2 set along the edge of the open veranda looking at the jetty which had lit flames the length of it. We were now 12 as another couple arrived on the helicopter. Another amazing dinner. A 4 course degustation with our own personalised printed menu. We commented that each course was little, so it was not a big meal, but the technique and presentation as good as the best way we’d find in Sydney. We asked one of the other guests later why a chef this good would be at such a small resort on an island, and his response was that there are 3 chefs in the kitchen and they’d be being paid very good money.
They told us that they were going to feed the reef sharks from the jetty when dinner was over, and so 8 of us walked down to watch the salmon carcasses from dinner feed a variety of reef sharks, in an eating frenzy. A staff member had lit a fire on the beach, a crescent moon was in the sky, lighting the water. A short walk back along the sand to our room. A wonderful day.
We met the newly weds watching the reef sharks. They too live close to home. Such a small world!

Jetty in front of the resort where all the boats live, as well as the reef sharks

We left Carnarvon Gorge and headed for Emerald, a 3 hour drive. It was 50 mins out to the Carnarvon Highway and then 62km to Rollston, a very small town on the junction of the Carnarvon and Dawson Highways.We had stopped here for the toilets last year when heading south and had found a wonderful coffee van set up in the park. They had enhanced the area with cushions on seats, flowers on the tables and it was manned 7 days a week by volunteers. We stopped again and it was the same – a friendly local off a nearby property, home made carrot and chocolate cake and properly made coffee. She said the park used to be a dust bowl and they have been using the money they make to beautify it. She had a steady stream of customers. Well done.

It was then 70km to Springsure – a small town but perhaps a little bigger than you initially thought. It did have the impressive Minerva Hills National Park towering behind it. Another 66km to Emerald and our destination for the day. 6km before the town we saw grapevines – seemed out of place.

Emerald is a big mining town on the Nagoa River – lots of motels and a serious shopping strip – 2 shopping centres, one anchored by Woolworths and the other by Coles. Our accommodation was almost in the Coles carpark! Convenient if you needed milk, like we did. Our studio unit was big by our previous places and we managed to bring all our things in and spent time repacking and sorting what we will take to Orpheus, as we have a weight limit. Given the magnificent weather we had had so far, it was a complete reversal this afternoon. The rain started when we reached Emerald and continued on and off into the night. We went and had a Stone and Wood beer (thanks Greg for introducing us to it) at the Irish Pub in the main street. What a great place – it was huge but in a very cosy way – lots of booths, alcoves, a couple of bars and lots of Irish photos and memorabilia. We bought pizza and decided to take it back to our place, conveniently picking up a ready made salad in Coles.

The downside of the accommodation I learnt about at 3am, 4am, 4.30am, 5am when the workers all left. Entry to the block is a door code and the units had a door code, so the heavy doors closing made quite a sound. We had suspected that it might be workers accommodation by the facilities, and it was. Anyway…

Next day and a lovely cloudless blue sky, and it is Emerald to Townsville via Charters Towers on the Gregory Development Road. We knew we were in for a big day when the “talking man” said to turn right after 350km and then shut up for a very long time. The road to Charters Towers is 475km and very flat, dark soil in a lot of places, ploughed and ready for a crop, but on a grand scale. We pass quite a lot of cattle trucks, they seem to travel in pairs and you get the smell, a minute or two after they have passed. The small town of Capella, 52km north of Emerald, is a surprise. It is a lovely little town with a well maintained and pleasantly landscaped swimming pool, cultural centre, the silos that most towns have and is on the turnoff for gem fossicking. It is then 220km to Belyando Crossing, a possible coffee stop. The land we pass is very very flat. Once again there are vast areas of black soil awaiting crops. We pass Mazeppa National Park, but this appears as mostly flat black soil. We reach Belyando Crossing – initially flying past, not knowing that this was it. An old building, a couple of petrol pumps, several cars pulling caravans and 2 police cars. Inside is very typical outback fare – a couple of pies, of indeterminate age, cold drinks, lolllies and a few ice creams. Paul orders a coffee, which was instant coffee in a 1 litre cup, a big cookie and then we feel able to ask for the code for the toilet.

The road to Charters Towers became more vegetated in parts but there were lots of floodplain signs and dips for floodwaters. The road for much of the time is raised a bit above the verge, presumably for when it floods. It does make it very difficult to pull off the road and there are not many made rest areas.

Charters Towers was a much bigger place. We had lunch in a park and headed for the centre of town. We parked and walked along the main street admiring the beautiful old buildings – very much from a time when this was a big gold mining town. We had coffee in the old Stock Exchange building – now with an atrium roof over a mosaic tiled floor. Very pleasant, but there were no people around. The centre of town was dead at 2.30pm? I can only surmise that a suburban shopping centre might take away the people?

It was only then 135km to Townsville, our destination.

Townsville has grown! The suburbs started 8km out! The traffic was pretty heavy (although was Friday afternoon). We were told that the population is now 185,000 people. The “talking man” helped to get us most of the way to the Mercure and then we had to wing it a bit. It was good to have finally made it to Townsville and our accommodation. There was a wedding taking place so it was pretty busy.  Dinner was in the restaurant – open on one side to a covered deck. Very pleasant. During dinner a procession passed through, young girls, then lots of men, all pulling their luggage. Shortly after they made their way back to a separate room for dinner and massages. They were the Cowboys and their cheer squad, getting ready for Saturday’s game.

Lovely old buildings in Charters Towers

Lovely old buildings in Charters Towers

Lovely old buildings in Charters Towers

We left Injune and travelled north 100km and then turned left for the 45km to Carnarvon Gorge. The “talking man” had said that it was a 2 1/2hr trip – obviously because the road in to the Gorge would be slow. It was a lovely trip north – the road was undulating and there was a lot of bush/trees. As we drew closer to the turn off we could see ranges in the distance. After the turnoff the road was good bitumen and there were fields where wheat had been harvested and cattle were grazing, often loose on our side of the boundary fences. The sandstone cliffs got closer but the road remained fine, so we took 1 1/2hrs to reach our destination – Takarakka Bush Resort. It is 4km before the park entrance and Visitor Centre. There is another “resort” – they use the term, but it’s another place with some ok cabins, shop and café. We didn’t choose to stay there as you had to eat all your meals at their café. They prohibited any meal preparation in cabins. We stopped there yesterday to see if Paul could get a cup of coffee and he could only get a drip filter brew. He said he was glad he wasn’t eating all his meals there. Takarakka is very big but in a beautiful setting. There are camp sites set around 3 areas, all with grass and tall trees. We have one of 6 little cabins – quite new, with a lovely deck with chairs and table looking out to bush – very private. The sound of the birds is continuous and varied. It is not big and we have to store a lot of our things out in the car. Here you have to make your own meals. The 6 studios have their own outside camp kitchen – a microwave, bbq, gas hotplates, stainless steel work bench and sinks. There are utensils, pans, saucepans. You do wonder where they expect you to keep all your food – apart from in the bar fridge. The couple in the cabin next to us are here for 6 days and so have crates on their verandah. Paul and I laugh that we are getting very good at managing quite well in small spaces – our motel room at Injune was very small (Paul’s bag had to o/n in the boot).
We arrived Monday and as it was early, we decided to check out a couple of the shorter walks outside the park. We walked to Mickey Creek (3km) – a pretty walk along a mostly dry creek with some lovely vegetation. Then we walked to Baloon Cave (correct spelling) (1km) – to see some aboriginal rock art. You could see it, mostly hand stencils – it was ok. Monday night was our first experience of here – 4pm was Happy Hour on the deck – cheap drinks and free cheese and biscuits. We had wandered up a little earlier to try and access wifi (only available on the deck) with mixed success. Lots of people turned up and it was a very social place. At 5pm one of the staff gave a 40min talk on the Gorge and the various walks you could do, their degree of difficulty etc. He was very good. It was then time to organise our dinner in the camp kitchen. We had brought a beef in red wine casserole from home, frozen and so only needed to heat it. Paul cooked his great mashed potato and we cooked carrots and peas to go with it, and a bottle of red – easy beginning. Another couple came to cook, followed by a 3rd and of course we all got talking and had dinner together – lovely people and a great night was had by all. They were all from Qld – John and Deb from Maleny and Paul and Anise from Beaudesert.
Tuesday was our big day (or at least my big day). We drove the 4km to the Visitor Centre and then set off – our objective being to walk out as far as was comfortable and then turn back, exploring the side gorges as I felt capable of doing. I had been told it was a flat walk, very few steps – yes and no. Depends how tired you are. Returning, there seemed quite a lot of steps. We had also been told that there were 16 creek crossings in total – more of that later. I had said that I would like to get as far as the Art Gallery – 10.8km return, so that was our plan. It was a lovely walk, at first the gorge was very wide, we could hear water trickling over rocks but often it was obscured by vegetation or we would be quite high above it. The first creek crossing was a wide one but the stones were big and flat – and I did what I know you should do – I tried to stride across at a pace. I had decided to give Paul my phone, rather than leave it in my pocket (in case I fell and landed on my pocket, in the water – wet phone and smashed phone). I felt good with my rock hopping. We crossed a bit later and again my technique was great. The third one, the stones were a bit slippery and I heard a noise to my left whilst halfway across which distracted me (kangaroos by the creek) and I lost my balance and ended up with not one but both feet in the water! Paul was there laughing. I too had to laugh. Oh well, I found out my boots were waterproof. Crossing number 4 I was a bit more hesitant and of course went in again! 5 and 6 I regained my composure and dignity and succeeded. We later heard of a man who dropped his very expensive camera in the water on one crossing.
We had made it to the Art Gallery. It was a 300m climb up the side of the Gorge to a 62m wall of sandstone with Aboriginal engravings, ochre stencils and freehand drawings. It was impressive. We met one of the park rangers whilst climbing up to the Gallery. She was doing some “gardening” – clearing overhanging bushes. She said it was a great job working here, although much of their real maintenance work is done in the summer months, when few tourists come as the temperature is around 44 degrees! She said Ward’s Canyon was her favourite, and the fellow at the briefing the night before had said the same thing.
Back to the main track and I said that I would like to try Ward’s Canyon. It was a 240m climb up to a waterfall, then the track went further up into a magnificent fern filled, very narrow canyon. The sides were high, only a small amount of light at the top as they came so close together, and the “King Fern” dominated a lot of the ground here. It is the same fern growing at Central Station on Fraser Island – prehistoric and metres in diameter. We stopped here and had our lunch just enjoying the cool and beauty. We had been told of a rock pool near the top of the waterfall which the aboriginal women used as their birthing pool. Interesting – it had the right shape and the water was flowing through it.
Down on the main track and I decided that I would not go to the other 2 side tracks. It was still a long walk back – more than 4km. The Moss Garden was a 1.3km return side track and I was happy to leave this out and head home. I had acquired a walking pole (stick) which I found useful on the creek crossings going back – I didn’t need it but it was a comfort in case I got the wobbles. A lot of people were carrying sticks. It was interesting – you passed people, people passed you, you saw the same people at different stops – it was very friendly. We walked back to the Visitor Centre – there were 7 or 8 who had finished and were sitting on big stones at the end of the track, obviously waiting for friends. As we walked through they all cheered – fun. People behind got a cheer. They were the cheer squad for the finishers, until their friends finished.
It was then a well earned rest till happy hour, although we had ours on our verandah. We had booked for the roast dinner that the place does Tues, Thurs and Sundays. Interesting – it’s bring your own plates, bowls, cutlery, glasses and they provide the dinner. Then you take your stuff away and wash it yourself. We met up with our other 2 couples on the deck at reception and once again it was a good night. There were 62 for dinner, they gave each table a number and then she used a bingo container to pull out a number and that table came up to be served. She had explained the system and told us what was on the menu. As she was telling us the menu was everyone was going “Yeah” out loud to each item mentioned – sounded like no one had eaten for a long time, but it was fun. There was roast pork, lamb on the spit, baked vegetables, cauliflower au gratin, gravies, sauces, bread rolls and apple crumble and custard. It was outside, but the overhead sails and a couple of heaters and my long johns kept me comfortably warm. We did our dishes at our camp kitchen with one of the couples – the other took theirs to their cabin to do in the morning. They did have an excuse, they had gotten up at 4am to climb Boolimba Bluff and see sunrise. It is 900+ steps up and 900+ steps down. They got there an hour too early and had a cold wait for sunrise. We passed them later at the Art Gallery, so they had then done the walk that we did.
We awoke to another beautiful day and I have no aches or issues from yesterday’s walk – fantastic. Today Paul has gone off on his own, with his lunch and a little gas stove to make a cup of tea. That will make everyone envious. People were impressed with our lunch of Ryvitas, cheese and ham yesterday – most seem to just eat muesli bars or some similar snack. He has gone to do Boolimba Bluff (not for sunrise), and then will go to the Amphitheatre and Moss Garden. I am only too happy to remain back at our cabin and potter. That is possibly why this post is so long – I have the time. It is also helpful to us when we make our photo book and journal, to have the details. You forget things so quickly, especially if there are lots of interesting things you see and do.
No sooner had he gone off in the car than I realised our pegs were in the crate in the boot, and I was going off to hang out the washing we did yesterday! Oh well, the little shop at reception sold pegs. I thought that whilst I was up there I would try and hook into the wifi and get the mail and SMH on my Ipad. Well, it told me I was locked out and would need to reactivate the whole thing! The wifi is dodgy anyway. I can’t get it working but I do have the washing on the line.
Paul did walk to Boolimba Bluff and spent about 30 minutes at the top boiling the billy, admiring the expansive views of the gorge and well beyond, and chatting to a couple of couples. From the main track the climb was about 40 minutes and not too hard. After returning to the main track he headed to the Amphitheatre and enjoyed the quiet and spendour until the school group arrived! While there, someone said “that’s Paul **” Amazingly they were acquaintances from our suburb , Mick and Sue, who we have known for about 30 years.
Then it was on to the Moss Garden – carpeted by moss with water dripping from everywhere. I decided to have my lunch there. It was a beautiful, quiet and contemplative place and a few of us sat there in silence for many minutes – until the school group arrived!
Then it was back to the camp at about 2:30pm. Happy Hour and then off the check for platypus in the creek – they say they are around at dawn and dusk. People watching but no sightings.

Dinner back at camp kitchen and an interesting collection cooking – the Victorian vegetarians and the South African new Australians with their 3 children.  He had been shot, bashed, had rocks thrown at him in South Africa and they had made the decision to emigrate.  The wife was so happy to be living on the Atherton Tablelands.  They took their meal back to their accommodation and we had our dinner with our friends from the cabin next door.  Once again a lovely night and a good one pot chicken, bacon, spinach and pasta followed by tiramisu – not bad for the outback.

Today was an interesting day, a drive from Narrabri to Injune – some 7 1/2 hours.  We left before 8am with the temperature around 7 degrees, but not a cloud in a beautiful blue sky.  This gave the most beautiful views of the mist covered Dividing Ranges in the distance on our left, contrasting with the vast flatness on our right.  We were headed for Moree, 100km north and passed through the little towns of Edgeroi (only a silo) and Bellata, with at least a truck stop, a few houses and a police car waiting for speedsters.  The countryside as I said was so flat, with stubble from harvested wheat and cotton, black soil in places and a railway line following the mostly dead straight road.  Next town was Gurley, supporting a silo, pub and 2 houses.

Moree is on the Mehi River and is a big, prosperous town with lots of silos, a country airport, lots of motels all boasting they have artesian spas and a lovely main street with well preserved old buildings and landscaping.  We stopped for a coffee in a popular café (but it was Mothers’ Day).  A first was using a modern automated toilet out on the footpath that washed the floor when you left, played What the world needs now! and flushed when you washed your hands.

Leaving Moree we headed towards Mungindi – 120kms on the Carnarvon Highway.  Yesterday driving towards Narrabri and since, there has been so much cotton beside the road.  It has blown from the bales of cotton being transported on big trailers.  The landscape really was of cotton fields, with cotton growing and bailed up in the fields along this section of road. Traffic was almost non-existant.

[Paul] Paul was so excited to cross the Gwydir River about 5km out of Moree. He reminisced about the anonymous poem -“Spider from the Gwydir” – a favourite of his that goes –

“By the sluggish river Gwydir lived a hungry red-backed spider,
Who was just about as wicked as could be;
An’ the place that he was camped in was an empty Jones’s jam tin
In a paddock near the showgrounds, at Moree.
Near him lay a shearer snoozin’, he had been on beer an’ boozin’
All through the night and all the previous day;
An’ the rookin’ of the rookers an’ the noise of showground spruikers
Failed to wake him from the trance in which he lay.”

To find the rest of the poem and the tale it tells go to – https://www.bushverse.com/the-spider-by-the-gwydir

[Back to Leonie] In Mungindi we crossed the Barwon River and entered Queensland.  Unlike other places where you cross the border and they list the items you cannot take into that State, here the only thing was “No Rabbits – $30,000 fine”.  It was then on to St George – 118km away – the landscape flat, flat and more flat, with cotton still growing and blown off puffs of it lining either side of the road.

Paul had been told by a friend to watch for a sign that said “Free Beer, yesterday” and we almost missed it.  There was a rough sign but only a dusty track off the main road.  We did a U turn and went down the track a couple of hundred metres and behind some trees was the Nindigully Pub, 45km south of St George.  What a place – a true (replica!) outback pub – the one where there is memorabilia covering every piece of wall or ceiling.  This one had a big collection of hats nailed to the walls.  We ordered a beer and then felt free to wander around the place.  They had really developed around it, keeping it all looking similar to the pub.  There were rustic “sheds” for eating in, open air covered area for music, and then free showers and toilets.  The showers were in a corrugated shed with wording on the doors saying – “Exposed Tools”, “Old Tools”, “Silly Tools”, “Tool box”, “Private Tools only” – so outback!

St George is not a big town but is on the river, which gives it a pleasant place for open space and picnics.  It does not look as prosperous as Roma, 200km further north and our next stop.  The drive to Roma was through flat, scrubby land, with the soil getting redder.  It was so dry.

Next was our destination for the night – Injune, 85km north on the Carnarvon Highway.  We had booked our motel room and luckily we did as it is fully booked out – and on a Sunday.  Paul has suggested that some of the cars are utes, and it may be full with workers.  Last night we had felt sorry for the motels in Narrabri.  There were only 3 of us in the one we stayed in (could take 14) and the motels close to it also only had a couple of cars in.

We arrived in Injune this May at about 4:30pm and turned up at the pub at 6:15 for our Mother’s Day meal. There were quite a few people there, including John the cowboy who we met last year with his young wife and with little John who was now about 18 months old and quite cute.

We ate our schnitzel and then engaged with a cyclist who was wanting to book into our motel earlier but could not get in because it was full. He had set out from the Gold Coast 3 weeks ago, heading for Ayers Rock. His name was Wayne and we had a very interesting chat about many things including life and people. Paul shared a love of Banjo Patterson with him – AND the Spider from the Gwydir. Both had gone to Walgett just to see the “river so brown, the Darling River at Walgett town”.

We got back to our motel about 9:30pm to retire and anticipate an exciting trip to Carnarvan Gorge the next day.

This is the start of another one of our Odyssey trips.  We have had an appointment in Townsville for almost a year and had been prepared to fly up and back, but have decided that we have the luxury of a holiday with no set date to return, so we will embark on a road trip north.  We have planned the first 17 days, mostly because they are to places we really want to make sure we can visit, then it will be a case of where we choose to wander.