It’s a Monday morning in the whistle stop village of Dajarra, 150klms south of Mt Isa. I’ve spent the weekend at a free camp, all footy’ed out, with blue skies and the open road beckoning me once more. An early start would get me to Mt Isa by late morning and maybe one night inContinue reading “Mt Isa and No Parole”
Author Archives: southseasojourn1291
A Conga Line of Cruisers
I wasn’t sure how long I’d be staying in Boulia. I had a few days to spare before Mt Isa. But, as fate would have it, a bit of that time was consumed with the ‘invasion’ by the Shitbox Rally, a ragtag, conga line of 225 noisy, garrulous motors on an odyssey between Melbourne andContinue reading “A Conga Line of Cruisers”
Naturally in Boulia
Ten days in Birdsville went by quick enough I’d spent the last three nights free camping with the town in sight and now it was time to hit the road again. The goal was Mount Isa, the Shangri-la of shopping in north-west Queensland. My fridge was becoming an echo chamber. The run to Bedourie wasContinue reading “Naturally in Boulia”
Big Red
A large slice of the town plus and an area the size of Victoria is owned by the one family who run cattle for export.The impact of these cattle holdings can be seen in the landscape on the way in to Birdsville. The red soil patchworked by green pastures and lagoons comes as a realContinue reading “Big Red”
Birdsville
There was a bypass around Betoota, but seriously, who could pass up the opportunity to visit a town where the official population is zero. You may or may not of heard of The Betoota Advocate (https://www.betootaadvocate.com/), a satirical on-line newspaper. Apparently they wanted the name from the smallest town in Australia, and they weren’t wrong.Continue reading “Birdsville”
Channel Country
The western Queensland plains fanned out in all directions as I pulled out of Windora the next morning. Three hundred and eighty kilometres to go and a mix of road conditions ahead. The further west, worryingly, the darker the skies became. The road to Birdsville had just been re-opened to general traffic and knowing whatContinue reading “Channel Country”
The Best Laid Plans…..
And then it rained some more. No more than a few mill, but it felt like a dagger through my hopes of some sort of escape anytime soon. It was now day three of my incarceration. Getting to solid ground was turning my Tradie boots into snow shoes. I realised with a festering sense ofContinue reading “The Best Laid Plans…..”
The Ride to Innamincka 4 – The Devils in the Detail
There’s only one thing more poignant than watching a movie with a tragic ending and that’s going to the place where the tragedy took place. The difference between triumph and disaster a mere nine hours. Life and death crossed paths on the way to Coopers Creek and I was on my way there. I leftContinue reading “The Ride to Innamincka 4 – The Devils in the Detail”
The Ride to Innamincka 3 London-Paris-Thargomindah
That title sounds so crazy, it HAS to be true, but how? How could a tiny outback Queensland town be sitting at the same table as London and Paris? Let me throw a little illumination on the subject. Thargomindah was the first town in Australia only the third town in the WORLD to have electricContinue reading “The Ride to Innamincka 3 London-Paris-Thargomindah”
The Ride to Innamincka 2 – Ourimperee and the Dowling Track
When the tar ran out after only 10klm, with 100klm to go, I sat in the Jeep for about 10 seconds to contemplate the wisdom of my devil-may-care decision. Oh well, if I’m throwing caution to the wind, I might as well hurl it. Would the tyres have to air down? A couple of timesContinue reading “The Ride to Innamincka 2 – Ourimperee and the Dowling Track”