We packed up our Paramount Duet caravan, cryovacced lots of meat, stocked up on food and of course, drinks and set out for our first stop at Terramungaine Reserve just outside Dubbo. We met up with friends, Desi and Geoff, then set off early next morning for Lightning Ridge.
We tried to book into the Outback Resort, where we had stayed on two previous trips, but they were fully booked so we ended up at the local council caravan park, only $26 per night. We booked for two nights, as Carole and John were hoping to catch up with us there. Next day we did a 'Yellow Car Door Tour'of Lightning Ridge in our Landrover, checked out John Murray's Gallery, then got back to the caravan park in time to meet up with Carole and John. We had time to go to the artesian baths just up the road, where Trev, John and I had a good soak in the hot mineral waters - soooo relaxing. We had a good meal then sat around the brazier with a glass or two before bed. It was still cold at night, so we made good use of the heater in the van.
Next morning we headed for Mitchell and stopped just short at Springfield, a little freecamp on the banks of a sandy river. We had a roaring fire along with a beautiful sunset that evening, before filling our hot water bottles and going to bed.
We went to Morven next morning, where Desi and Geoff left us to go to Boulia. We carried on through Augathella, and stayed at Barcoo River rest area just before Blackall. Another cold night. Next morning we stocked up on groceries at Barcaldine. This was a busy little place - all the grey nomads had stopped to do the same thing and we had to fight to find somewhere to park.
Up the road we went to Longreach where we visited the Stockmans' Hall of Fame, as you must do when you get to Longreach. It was quite interesting, a great building, but a little overpriced at $32pp. Lots of reading to do, and not so many interactive exhibits. We stayed the night at Macsland rest area - a big freecamp back from the road with decent drop toilets. Another cold night, although the days are certainly quite pleasant - 25 degrees and rising. The roadkill from Longreach to Winton was unbelievable. We must have seen hundreds, if not thousands of kangaroos in the middle and at the sides of the road. The roadtrains must just bowl them over like skittles. There were also a large number of wedgetail eagles that had been clobbered - they are huge birds and I think they must underestimate how long it takes them to take flight when they are getting that last bit of meat from the roadkill. Such a shame.
Our next stop was at McKinlay and we stayed at the Walkabout Hotel Caravan Park - $20pn for an unpowered site, with free washing machine - bargain! This is the iconic hotel which was the base for the Crocodile Dundee movie. There are lots of photos of the making of the movie inside the pub, the 'Never Never Safaris' booking office and car and lots of memorabilia. We had a drink in the pub and read a lot of the jokes and cartoons plastered all over the walls - very entertaining, and a good value stop.
Next day we went through Mt Isa, refuelled and grabbed a few more groceries, had lunch by the side of the road, then went on to Camoweal Billabong for an overnight stop. This was a top spot on the banks of a billabong (hence the name) with lots of waterlilies and birdlife, including a pair of magnificent brolgas. Unfortunately there were no toilets here, not a lot of trees, and many, many grey nomads camping all along the wetland area, so it was quite a challenge finding a private spot to go to the loo! Regardless, it was the nicest place we've stopped so far. As you can imagine, I did take a few photos here. And the sunset and moonrise were fantastic. We have now crossed into the Northern Territory for the first time (at least for me) and stopped at the Barkly Homestead Roadhouse to refuel. This was again very busy, and I did buy a nice top here. We turned right up the Tablelands Highway, and our progress slowed down considerably. There is one lane of blacktop with dirt road either side of it - when a road train approaches you have to pull over onto the dirt and let them pass. If another vehicle or caravan approaches, each vehicle pulls over to the side, but remains on half the blacktop to pass each other. There is lots of nothing out here - I took panoramic shots to prove it. But even all the nothingness has its own stark beauty. We are now at a freecamp at Brunette Downs it's huge, all red dirt, spinifex and free-roaming cattle. It's about 220km south of Cape Crawford, which will be our next stop. The night sky tonight was inky black, with millions of stars and a glowing Milky Way - magic.
So far this trip we have covered around 2800km, averaging about 350-400km per day. From our next stop we will be taking it a little more slowly, giving us time to take in more and enjoy the trip. We hope to be able to catch up with friends Irene and Peter, too.
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