Day 39 – Friday 30 June 2023 – Lara Wetlands to Alpha
We said goodbye (for this trip) to Ray and Gill and (for a couple of weeks) to Kay and Darryl. The three caravans headed off around 8:30 am. None of us had a long trip ahead.
It had been a great three weeks with the three caravans forming one group. There was plenty of fun, fellowship and friendship. Definitely a few campfires and camp dinners, and lots of laughs.
The others headed south and we headed east. We cancelled our trip to Lake Dunn, thanks to the forecast of heavy, possibly flooding, rains. This decision was endorsed by the camp manager at Lake Dunn. We stopped in Barcaldine and, over a cappuccino, we decided to head to Alpha - around 140 km away.
It was an interesting drive, mainly flat and fairly straight, plenty of trees and grasslands along the side of the road.
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| Barcaldine to Jericho road |
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| Golden Wattle |
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| Grevillea Honey Gem |
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| Depiction of the Battle of Jericho |
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| Statue of Joshua - The Trumpeter |
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Above & Below - Jericho Murals |
We headed east and smiled as we came upon a familiar sign - an attempt by the Queensland government to keep drivers alert. We love the initiative to ask a question and then, a few km later, to provide the answer. I include the following photos and leave it you to know or learn the answer.
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| A clue was provided "The name of the next town". So keep reading the blog. |
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Above & Below - Alpha Murals |
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| The train station that was moved from Beta to Alpha (yes I got that right) |
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| "Fossilised Forest of Alpha" A monument to the petrified wood that is a feature of this region |
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On April 8th 1941 a goods train was crossing the 'first' bridge over this creek when the bridge collapsed. Quick action by the Guard on the train in applying the brakes prevented a total catastrophe. Unfortunately, the driver and the fireman both died. The bridge was under repair at the time. After repairs the loco returned to service. The bridge in the photo is the replacement bridge. |
Day 40 – Saturday 1 July 2023 – Alpha to Capella
A
casual start meant an 8:45 am departure. Our destination was Capella – for no
reason other than we had never been there. Before we departed I took a photo of a mural in the caravan park.
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| Mural in Alpha Caravan Park |
We climbed and crossed the range that defines the Central Highlands and took a photo of the view.
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| View from the Central Highlands |
It was an ordinary road but the views were great. Although very dry there was a lot of grass and healthy-looking trees.
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| Scenic but hazy View |
We stopped for morning tea at Anakie (pop. 155) and took a photo of the monument to the gem industry in the region.
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| Recognition of Sapphire Colours |
The road turned left/north 50 km before Emerald, and headed through Sapphire and Rubyvale. Those town names have a common theme as we were in the biggest sapphire region in the southern hemisphere. Some years ago a 14 year-old boy found a 2020 carat sapphire. That works out to be around 400 grams of sapphire.
We
have been here before so we pressed on. The towns are a bit depressing (not
Emerald), like some other Aussie gemstone towns.
The
65 km from Rubyvale to Capella was even more scenic than earlier, although the
road was even worse.
A wedge tailed eagle feasted on its lunch but I was too slow with the camera. However, the dash cam did a good job. The following is from the dash-cam with additional images (from the dash-cam) edited in. The dash cam shows that I was doing 17 km/h by the time the eagle flew across the front of me. If I had not slowed down it would not have had a chance. [Although if it had sat still I would have driven around the eagle].
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| Wedge Tailed Eagle via Web Cam (one eagle - multiple images) |
Capella seemed a large town (house wise), but very little commercial enterprises apart from a couple of big enterprises and a population of 974. We found a café that sold pies so we bought two chunky steak pies. They turned out to be chilli pies, and pretty good pies as well.
There
was an impressive monument to the Australian Light Horse in the park so we read
the story and took a couple of photos.
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| The Story of the Emu Plume |
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| Light Horse |
We headed south-east, passing a significant number of crops, that allegedly (according to a truck driver on the UHF radio) were either wheat or chick-peas, and maybe also some Sorghum.
Shirley had found a camp spot at a place called “Lilyvale Waterhole” – a big coal mining area. It was 35 km south-east of Capella, so off we headed. Our home for the night was a flat/mown area maybe 400 metres square – beside a waterhole.
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| Lilyvale Waterhole |
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| Our camp site |
The occupants of the waterhole park for the night were us, a small motorhome, and a single lady in a converted 18 seater bus. Shirley conjured up some chicken and veggies for dinner.
Day 41 – Sunday 2 July 2023 – Lilyvale Waterhole to Lake Maraboon
We
opened our eyes to a tropical day of 11 degrees. I had realised late yesterday that
we had moved into the tropics and were 45 km above the Tropic of Capricorn.
By the time we had moved 50 km to Emerald (pop, 15,000) – 2 hours later - we were out of the
tropics. It was a short stay.
Before we left there was time for a sunrise photo and the pre-loved windmill was a feature. The dark clouds were looking ominous.
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| Sunrise at Lilyvale Waterhole (Maybe the top of the windmill is above the clouds) |
Now
in Emerald, we wandered through a Sunday market that cost us nothing and then chatted
to the very informative lady in the Information Centre. She advised us
that local crops include sorghum (photo below), chickpeas, mungbeans, wheat,
purple wheat (whatever that is), sunflower, linseed, corn and cotton. They had
samples of all crops in the Information Centre.
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Above: Sorghum near Emerald Below: Sorghum, courtesy of Wikipedia |
We admired the ‘Emerald Dragon’ sculpture, and the world's biggest Van Gogh sunflower painting in the park nearby. The superstructure is 25 metres high with approximately 13.6 tonnes of steel involved in its construction. The painting celebrates the Central Highland's past as a major sunflower producer.
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| World's biggest Van Gogh sunflower painting |
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| 'Emerald Dragon’ sculpture |
We did some
shopping and found some cheaper-than-usual diesel ($1.84), then headed out to
Lake Maraboon. Our home for 5 days is overlooking the lake which is three times
the size of Sydney Harbour. Note that Lake Maraboon and Fairbairn Dam are one and the same body of water. I am not sure why there are two names. The view was pretty good.
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| The view from our caravan (There is a lake behind the trees) |
Within minutes of being on site we were visited by two Rainbow Lorikeets, one Kookaburra and some Apostlebirds.
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| Kookaburra & Rainbow Lorikeet behind the caravan |
It is quite a long narrow park with a walk from our site to reception nearly a one km return trip.
We did some
walking, but more relaxing – then finished the day with lasagne and salad for
dinner.
Day 42 – Monday 3 July 2023 – Lake Maraboon
The forecast rain started with a sprinkle around 1:30 am and seemed to continue that way. By 8am the ground was barely wet, with a few minor puddles to be seen. Then the rain stopped..............Around 10
am we headed into Emerald to check out some local art in various streets.
Before we did so I bought two new windscreen wiper blades. The rain had highlighted
an issue with one.
Our
first art stroll was the ‘CBD Artwork Trail’ with all pieces having some local
significance. I include some below.
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| ‘Hands on the wall’ – a tribute to local people who made a difference |
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| ‘Overflow’ – representing the Fairbairn Dam spillway |
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| ‘Mandala Mural’ |
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| ‘Reggae Street Art’ – A mural that pays homage to the depicted artists |
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| ‘Nogoa River Economies’ – created by school students, it represents the Nogoa river and surrounding countryside |
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| 'The Meeting Place' - depicting four local sub-tribes |
Next stop was to ogle at the 250-million-year-old fossilised tree. Shirley wondered how we could get it home. It was over two metres long.
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| 250-million-year-old fossilised tree |
Then it was time to follow the mosaic pathway, that had 21 mosaics (maybe 900 mm diameter) inset into a concrete path. All depicted something of significance locally.
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Above & Below - Eight examples of inserts in the mosaic pathway |
It was time for lunch so a focaccia, coffee and milkshake happened.
As we headed back to camp the rain restarted, again not much more than a sprinkle. Then it stopped, just in time for a photo of the dam wall.
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| Dam Wall (Arrow denotes location of caravan park) |
Around 5pm the rain restarted - again not much more than light showers.
After our excellent and filling lunch we had a snack for dinner. We watched TV for the second time in 42 days - and only the news - via the internet connection. I had to put the phone at the highest point inside the caravan to get enough internet access to watch the news.
Day 42 – Tuesday 4 July 2023 – Lake Maraboon
The forecast significant rain started after dinner last night and continued well into the night. We went to sleep with the sound of rain on the roof of the caravan. Although it was overcast the rain had stopped by the time I headed to the shower around 7:30 am.
Apparently we had around 22 mm of rain since 7pm last night.
Around 10 am we drove 60 km to Comet - which takes its name from the Comet River, named by explorer Ludwig Leichhardt who made observations of Comet Wilmot in the area on 29 December 1844. Leichhardt created one of the many ‘Dig’ trees around Australia – the reason for our trip to Comet.
Some cove cut the tree down eons
ago and took the ‘dig’ component to a Brisbane museum. Some years ago the
people of Comet asked for it back – and succeeded.
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| Leichhardt Dig Tree 1847 |
While we admired the ‘dig’ tree a couple of birds sought my attention.
On the way back we took a photo of bales of cotton - one of hundreds that sit in the paddocks ready for shipment – plus an Australian Bustard and a flock of Brolga – one of whom wanted more attention.
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| A sample of the many bales of cotton we saw today |
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| Brolga - One doing a dance (Not that the other two seems to care) |
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| Australian Bustard |
After some chill out time we walked down
to the lake and went for a stroll around the edge for maybe half an hour. There
was not a ripple on the lake – apart from the occasional boat that rushed
past.
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| Lake Maraboon from near the water edge (just below our caravan) |
As we neared the end of American Independence Day - also a great day in Australia - with a glass of red wine in my hand, I took a photo of the sky from our caravan, maybe 30 minutes after the sun had set.
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| The sky to the south - A view of the lake from our caravan. The black arrow shows the horizon - water below, sky above. The red arrow shows the bottom of the cloud front. |
My birthday dinner was BBQ pork shops, potato wedges, pumpkin wedges, cauli and the mandatory red wine.
It has been an excellent day.
Day 43 – Wednesday 5 July 2023 – Lake Maraboon
Not much happened apart from ensuring that the cupboard was fully stocked for our departure south in two days. It was our best day - weather wise - for nearly a week.
After lunch I found a chair and admired the view - waiting for a bird to come and get it's photo taken.
The first creature to pose was a large insect - about the size of a bee - that hovered for around 90 minutes a mere 3 or 4 metres from me. I don't know what it was.
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| Unidentified Flying Insect |
A kookaburra broke the monotony and I watched it until it dived for some food and exited - stage left.
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| Kookaburra diving for afternoon tea |
There was then a long pause as I waited for our pizza, for dinner, to be ready. It was duly collected and was excellent. I was able to get a sunset photo while waiting for the pizza.
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| Super supreme pizza |
Day 45 – Thursday 6 July 2023 – Lake Maraboon
Our plan
was to visit ‘Minerva Hills’ National Park, so we drove 70 km south – to find
out that the access road to the great views and walking trails was closed for a ‘controlled
burn’.
We did get
some photos of the ‘Virgin Rock’ and other picturesque formations. Virgin rock is so named as someone once saw an image of the Virgin Mary in the rock formation. The rock is lit up with spotlights every night.
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| Hazy view as we approached Minerva Hills NP |
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| Virgin Rock (left peak) |
To make up for the disappointment we decided to visit ‘Old Rainworth Fort’ – so called because it was used as a safe haven by local settlers after an attack by indigenous locals who killed 19 settlers and kin. The home was the only building in the district that could not be burned down.
Unfortunately, the ‘fort’ was also closed. In recent times
the fort had been managed by two nonagenarian sisters – who have recently
passed on. No one has since stepped forward to take on the task. We were shown a selection of photos of the magnificent old home.
The following photo was taken from a Queensland Tourism
website.
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| Old Rainworth Fort |
Not seen in the above photo were slits (maybe the size of 2 bricks) near the top of the walls, to allow for ventilation (and for placing a gun when under attack).
We settled for a cuppa in a local park and chatted to two
lovely old ladies in the information centre. They provided plenty of local history
and sold us some locally produced jam and chutney. They also had a museum that
brought back some memories.
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| Mobile Post Borer. I remember my father using a similar device on the family farm in the late 1950's |
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| Automatic Bottling Machine. Something every good home should have. |
While having the cuppa I took some photos that were a ‘first’ for me – Blue Faced Honeyeaters with a green face. Apparently the green faced bird is a juvenile – less than 18 months old. The beak of the juvenile is also a different colour to the adult - Yellowish instead of bluish.
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| Juvenile and Adult Blue Faced Honeyeaters |
We headed back to camp and relaxed.
After a while I decided to do some packing up, in readiness of moving tomorrow. A camp for five days under trees with birds means an awning that need to be cleaned. The downside of an awning that rolls up like a blind is that the 'dirt' on the top gets transferred to the bottom when the awning is rolled up. So it had to be cleaned.
That being completed we relaxed some more, before the chilly evening sent us indoors.
Shirley conjured up some spaghetti for dinner.
Day 46 – Friday 7 July 2023 – Lake Maraboon to Moura
Our target
was 280 km for the day – halfway to tomorrow’s destination on the coast. The
scenery was magnificent for most of it. The road was terrible for over half of
it. The worst for the trip to date.
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| Looking south to the Minerva Hills National Park |
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| Cresting a range south west of Springsure |
We stopped for (instant) coffee at Rolleston. The navigator saw the coffee van on the way out (not the way in). She will need to lift her game.
We drove
through the coal district and saw a long coal train waiting to be loaded. A
coal road train pulled in front of us, but turned off maybe three km later. We passed huge amount of land with different forms of crops.
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| Road Train Loaded with Coal |
By just after noon we pulled into our camp spot for the night – Apex Park beside the Dawson River and 8 km west of Moura. We have been here (at least) twice before and have some great memories. We found a site with a concrete slab and a fire pit (it was a wheel rim in a former life).
After
lunch we went down to the edge of the river and took a photo of a mural on
the amenities block and the bridge over the Dawson River.
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| Mural at Apex Park |
In January 2011 water was flowing over the bridge below.
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| Dawson River Bridge |
The town of Moura is known for its all-year temperate climate being around 24 (top temperature) all year. This allows two crops in most parts of the district. The area is known for its cotton, its cotton gin, coal, ammonium nitrate plant, wheat, leucaena (a forage tree legume for cattle feed), sorghum, chickpeas, mung beans and corn – and of course prime cattle/beef. The consistent water supply allows significant areas under irrigation.
My
researcher was very impressed with that list of local products/businesses.
I
chilled out for a while then lit the fire, then started to cook the lamb chop
stew. Once that was well under way I did the damper in a smaller pot (there are
only two of us).
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| Campfire and Stew in Progress |
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| Lamb Stew & Damper |
We sat by the fire until it died down and it was time to eat. Dinner came out OK.
This chapter is complete. Tomorrow we reach the coast. We are there for five nights then we come back inland again. Then back to the coast for four weeks.
We are past the half way point of our trip and the stats so far are:
Nights away - 46
Distance - approx 6300 km (137 km per day)
Campfires - 16
Camp dinners - approx 14
Nights in free camps - 12
Nights in station stays and/or bush camps - 12
Average cost of accommodation - $27 per night
Average cost of fuel - $1.91
Jump to the Next Chapter - Chapter 8
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