The wind had been blowing from the east for days and Emerald of course was 370klms east of Longreach. I left at 7am hoping to catch a lull between the overnight howlers and the late morning re-charge. However the exposed landscape made sure that whatever wind was going, I’d be beating into it. I almostContinue reading “Carnarvon Gorge Part 1”
Author Archives: southseasojourn1291
Longreach
The APEX Club, bless they’re cotton socks. First plus for Longreach, a free RV camp with toilets, rubbish bins, internet and only three minutes from town. Second plus, by a quirk of history, Longreach is the spiritual home of our national airline QANTAS and therefore has a kick-ass museum and display. And like gravity, otherContinue reading “Longreach”
A Week in Winton
Winton is part of the Cretaceous ‘golden triangle’ in outback Queensland, the other two being Hughenden and Richmond. All three were once submerged in the ancient Eromanga Sea. What was the Eromanga Sea? A body of water. But that’s not important right now. First priority was to find a place to set up for aContinue reading “A Week in Winton”
Julia Creek
It was a sad leaving the dam, but it was time to push on. Julia Creek was a bit of a diversion, but I promised that I would try and visit the famous names in Queensland, and this is one of them. The Jeep seemed to be regaining it’s confidence -just like old times, asContinue reading “Julia Creek”
A Load of Ballara
The sign at the highway rest area sounded exciting. A self-drive trail to historic mining towns, only 20klm of dirt road and the promise of something called the Ballara Springs, which, on another 37 degree day, was just the carrot I needed. Another early start, but a wrong turn, saw me going into a blindingContinue reading “A Load of Ballara”
Dam…this is cool!
Man, it’s HOT!! Not even the end of winter and it’s 35 degrees+ every day. You feel like your skewered on a rotisserie in a convection oven. Why Clem Walton Park? Because it fronts onto Coella Dam – lots and lots of swimmable lake and plenty of shade. Talk about the nick of time. AContinue reading “Dam…this is cool!”
Mary Kathleen
Well, the good news is I actually left Mt Isa, but not before one final twist of the knife. I’d noticed that one of the leaf springs on the van was a bit skewif, so Lawrence kindly said he’d check it out before I hit the road. Well, just as well. What I thought wasContinue reading “Mary Kathleen”
Lord Almighty, Free At Last
It’s Saturday. The Jeep is not quite ready. ANOTHER lost weekend. My KAYO subscription is being pummeled. It’s 35 degrees outside. I have a visage of consternation and hope is just annoying. Still, I must at least go through the motions of preparing to leave. Surely this time, this week. I dare myself to pullContinue reading “Lord Almighty, Free At Last”
Cowboys and Hot Dogs
Well, who’d ‘av thunk a Mt Isa Rodeo ticket mistakenly purchased for July instead of August, and I still get to use it? The rodeo is a four day extravaganza, the feature event on the Mt Isa calender every year. The first day is the Indigenous Rodeo, drawing people and families hundreds of, if notContinue reading “Cowboys and Hot Dogs”
And now, we wait…..
I quick update on my incarceration. Finding spare parts for a Jeep is a bit like Where’s Waldo? Normally, that’s the mechanics job, but we decided to replace the timing chains and tensioners since they have been pulled out already and one of the chains was stretched (don’t ask me what they do). They mightContinue reading “And now, we wait…..”