20/6/2013 - 26/6/2013 Winton - Opalton

Wednes 19/6/2013 Winton

After doing all the domestic chores we headed out to explore Winton. Winton’s special attractions include Arno’s Wall - a stone wall built by Arno which incorporates items from all aspects of life into its construction such as pots and pans, a concrete mixer , a motor bike and even a kitchen sink! 

Another attraction is Winton’s musical fence - the fence wires are tensioned to particular keys and the vibration is transferred to a resonator so a tune can be played on the fence. Also there are musical instruments and a drum/percussion set made from assorted junk items.

 We looked at the opal in the local shops. It is very beautiful but also very expensive. Later in the afternoon we went back out to Bladensburg burg National Park and I found another piece of opalized rock. Four to me, none to Gerd ... yet!

Thurs 20/6/2013 to Wednes 26/6/2013 Opalton

Well stocked with supplies of food and water we set out for Opalton. We took about two and a half hours to travel the 115 km of dirt road to Opalton. 

At the “Outpost” we met Eric and his son Chris. They directed us to the bush camping ground, explained the local method of fossicking and also showed us some beautiful opal pieces they had bought and mined. They invited us to come out to fossick at their mine the following morning which we eagerly accepted. Thank you for your hospitality.

The bush camp has a flushing toilet and a hot shower using water from the dam if you light up the hot water “donkey”. Within minutes of our arrival and self selection of a suitable spot to camp Daryl, one of the local miners, arrived with kindling and wood for a camp fire. After setting up as quickly as possible we joined the other campers on our knees out under the low trees searching for buried treasure. 

Daryl was running a bobcat over the field to loosen up the mullock so that it was easier to work through. He came and showed everyone what to look for. Most of the rocks at Opalton have traces of potch or opal, but of course everyone is looking for that elusive special piece. 

We fossicked, took pictures and ate and slept (and Gerd talked to everyone) for 6 days. It was great fun.

 A deserted dunny.

A deserted campsite

The scenery

During this time I discovered that I had a big cattle tick on my back so we had to beg for some metholated spirit from Eric to treat it. Later  Gerd discovered that he also had a tick on his thigh, so we had to ask again for some more metho. That night I had night mares about ticks and woke up convinced that there was a tick attached to my leg but because it was the middle of the night I couldn’t do anything about. In the morning my  I was glad to find that the terror of the night was only a figment of my imagination.

Daryl tried out his racing car.

The full moon was beautiful.

We have a box of rocks to carry home, but mainly it is rock just for conversation starters.

Thurs 27/6/2013 Winton

Three exciting things happened last night: Qld beat NSW in the footy; Rudd beat Gillard in the parliament and the two Neuschulz returned to Winton and after showers had fresh clothes.

Today was a reorganising day - washing the sheets, towels, PJs, etc.; exchanging the gas bottle; stocking up on food for the next few days (food is much more expensive than in Wodonga), and refilling the water tanks. Winton draws water from the Great Artesian Basin at a depth of 1.3 km. It arrives at a temperature of 88 degrees celsius and is cooled to 43 degrees celsius before being reticulated throughout the town. The water smells of hydogen sulphide gas but this dissipates when it is boiled or stands and then it is quite nice to drink.

16/6/2013 to18/6/2013 2013 Winton and District

Sun 16/6/2013 Longreach to Winton

As we approached Winton some interesting mesa-shaped hills came into view on our the left hand side. About 10 km before Winton we turned left into the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum. We spent several hours there which included inspecting the laboratory where the fossilized bones are stored until the outside soil can be carefully stripped away with a fine dentist-type drill and then the palaeontologists work on the jigsaw puzzle of bones to reconstruct the creature.  The museum is situated on top of a “jump-up” (mesa top) which is a very scenic area, but the bones are found on the black soil plains of the surrounding lowlands .

We pulled into a caravan site in Winton and started arranging our little “nest” for the night.

Mon 17/6/2013 Bladensburg National Park (near Winton)

Washed! Fresh clothes this morning! 

Went out to Bladensburg National Park. 

The most exciting part was that we went  fossicking in a disused mining area and I found 4 nice opal samples.

The most interesting geological formation that we saw in the park was the Skull Hole. Runoff water has eroded a grotto, in a similar way to The Grotto near Wyndam. In the wet season there would be a water fall and a large pool. When we climbed down to the pool area we found a large goanna, close to 6’ long, but quite skinny, guarding the pool. There were swallows nest hanging along the rock overhangs.

The sunset tonight was very spectacular. The :fluffy ”white sheep” that have populated the sky all day turned a brilliant gold, then red and purple.

Tues 18/6/2013 Lark Quarry (Winton)

Lark Quarry, 110 km south of Winton, is famous for the dinosaur footprints that are impressed into the sandstone, which was once the muddy shore of a body of water.  We arrived at 11:00am which gave us time to do the 700m walk to the lookout before entering the building which protects the evidence of a dinosaur stampede. The red outcrops of rock and silver green spinifex grass make a very beautiful landscape.

After viewing the footprints and thinking about a very different world than the one we now inhabit we ate a picnic lunch and then set off on the 3.5km walk which does a circuit up and over the “jump up," that is the flat top of the mesa. The views were spectacular. We were unfortunate in that the sun kept disappearing under some very pretty cloud formations so I didn’t get the brightness I wanted for all my photos. The landscape colours varied from red, to brown, yellow and white. It was ochre spread out over a large landscape. I’m glad we saw the  dinosaur trackway but if I came again it would be for the landscape.

14/6/2013 to 15/6/2013 Longreach

Fri 14/6/2013 Longreach

This morning I washed our bedsheets and clothes, so we smell much sweeter.

We went to the RACQ agent and an auto electrician to get their opinion about the battery incase that had caused the car problem but they both gave it a clean bill of health.

We took a picnic lunch and set off to Starlight’s Lookout, along the Muttaburra  road. A cattle duffer named Harry Readford is purported to have placed a man to keep watch from this knob while he gathered 1000 head of cattle from Bowen Downs Station which he and two associates drove through largely unexplored country into South Australia. The mob was sold and Readford and his mates returned to the eastern states. Readford was caught and faced charges of cattle stealing, but was acquitted. The Knob is a very interesting and picturesque site.

Sat 15/6/2013 Longreach

I hunted on the internet for church contacts in Longreach but could not find any so we made a picnic lunch and set off to explore around town. We had a look around the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame.

Next we drove out to have a look at the free camping area on the banks of the Thomson River. There were a small village of travellers taking advantage of the free facilities but it was tidy and clean. 

We ate our lunch and watched kestrels and other birds flying around.

We went for a walk though the local cemetery to look for historic graves. We couldn't find even one head stone that mentioned the hope of the second coming.

Following that we had a 3.5km walk along the nature reserve in the town common. It was very dry. It was interesting to see the kangaroo trails in the dust. 

Pizza for tea!

11/6/2013 to 13/6/2013 Rubyvale and Barcaldine

Tues 11/6/2013 continued  Return from Tomahawk Fossicking Area to Rubyvale

On the way home the car’s gear stick would not move from P into D without pushing the gear release button, and the cruise control and brake lights stopped working. When we got back to the caravan park Gerd checked all the fuses but could find nothing wrong. (Once before a broken fuse had caused a similar problem).

Wednes 12 /6/2013 Rubyvale to Barcaldine

This morning Gerd checked all the fuses again and found nothing wrong but still we had the same problem. We made an appointment to see a recommended auto electrician in Sapphire at 11:00am. When we started the car to go to his workshop everything worked perfectly! He checked all the fuses and wiring but could find nothing wrong. He put in two new fuses, gave us a couple of extras (just in case), charged us $10, and sent us on our way so we hooked up the caravan and set off.

We crossed Jordan Creek (which is just south of Lake Galilee) and entered Jericho. We stopped at the i Centre so see the earthenware sculptures called “The Crystal Trumpeters” which celebrate the biblical story of the march by the Israelites around the original Jericho. In the i Centre they also have earthenware sculptures of the old houses in this village of Jericho. With an ice-cream under our belts (which are getting tighter all the time) we were on our way again.

We pulled into the show ground in Barcaldine and because it promised to be a warm night took an unpowered site ($17 instead of $26 for a powered site).

In the centre of Barcaldine, in front of the railway station is a monument to the 1891 shearers strike which saw the promulgation of trade unionism in Australia and the birth of the Labour Party. The 200 year old ghost gum tree under which the strikers met and planned their strategies died inspite of intensive care in 2006. The trunk and root ball have been preserved and a wooden structure built over it. From the distance it looks like a huge wooden crate but as you approach it you can see that it is a stylised tree canopy created from hanging timbers. It is actually very beautiful.  We walked back later in the evening to see it illuminated by coloured lights. Around the base is a glass walkway through which you can see the root ball. It is called The Tree of Knowledge.

Heather is very sick again so we phoned Lynette for news.

Thurs 13/6/2013 Barcaldine to Longreach

We inspected the Tree of Knowledge again this morning. It is a very clever, unique design.  We spent several hours visiting the Australian Workers Heritage Centre which celebrates the lives and achievements of working men and women in Australia.

We stopped to eat lunch in the park next to the artesian spar at Infracombe. While we were there a police car pulled up in front of where we were parked and started breathalising passing motorists. As we pulled out we said “hallo” and offered them each a chocolate which they willingly received.

All the way from Barcaldine to Longreach there was lots of road work and LOTS of road kill, mainly roos.

In Longreach we pulled into a caravan park and then went up the main street, looking to buy an i phone so we can keep in contact better, but Telstra had none in stock.

After the evening meal an old man in the caravan opposite us put on a singing/guitar playing concert for the park residents. We bought one of his singles called “I want to be a Refugee”, humorously comparing the welfare handouts for refugees with that available for pensioners.

Rang Lynette and then Heather. Heather’s breathing has improved so that is an answer to our prayers.

3/06/2013 to 11/06/2103 The Big Trip Begins

Big Trip Begins

Mon 3/6/2013 Brisbane to Chinchilla 

It was  good to leave a the hustle and bustle of vehicles and Brisbane freeways behind and get into open country. Much of the blacktop was quite narrow and in very “ordinary” condition with lots of patching up that made the road bumpy however there was also lots of road work restructuring and resurfacing the road (for which we had to stop a number of timers) so it will be much better in the future. The drive into Toowoomba is very steep. We were glad that we had not filled the caravan water tank up at that stage. Another man in a caravan told us that he, knowing the road, deliberately hadn’t filled his van’s water tank or his cars petrol tank before going up the hill. After Toowoomba the country side flattened out. The Darling Downs are very rich agricultural lands. We saw cotton fields, which Gerd kept calling wool fields.

There were lots of coal trains running from out west back towards Brisbane.  We stopped in Dalby for lunch and I bought a new book with free/cheap campsites throughout Australia. We will need a few free ones to pay for the price of the book!

We camped in the Chinchilla show grounds (power $25 P.N.). I was glad of the electricity for our heater because it was a very cold night.

Tues 4/6/2013 Chinchilla to Roma

Before leaving Chinchilla we went to the i Centre. I discovered that Chinchilla is world famous for its fossilised wood. I bought a fossicking licence ( family x 1 month $9) and paid $6 to go onto a fossicking area on a private farm - and out we went for a couple of hours. We did not dig, just fossicked over the surface and collected a full bag (to Gerd's distress, though he enthusiastically helped collect) of pieces that could be tumbled or cut and polished.

The country towards Roma was very flat, covered with small trees. There was a lot of traffic, especially big trucks, road trains, and mine/gas exploration vehicles.

When we arrived in Roma we went to the i Centre for brochures about the area. We were told about the show at the centre in the evenings called ‘The Big Rig” about the history of exploration for water/gas/oil in the Roma area.  For $7 it was a great show.

We camped in the Roma show grounds (power $25 P.N.). 

Wednes 5/6/2013 Roma

The morning was dedicated to washing and shopping.

Bottle trees are a feature of Roma. These bottle trees are NOT the boabs of Western Australia! They have a pithy centre but the name comes from their distinctive shape. There is an avenue of bottle trees in the centre of the town dedicated to the memory of WW1 servicemen. I found one dedicated to the memory of S. DeVere. My grandmother’s maiden name was DeVere - and it is an unusual name in Australia -  so he may have been a relative.

We drove to the largest bottle tree in Roma to measure ourselves against its girth.

Later we inspected the Roma cattle sale yards, said to be the largest in the southern hemisphere. We watched cattle being loaded onto double decker road trains for shipment to Victoria. Some of the beasts did not want to go travelling and had to be helped to comply with a little prodding from the “zap” sticks. There was one animal that was particularly contrite and preferred to charge the gate, and the handlers, and to jump over the other cattle to try to get out.

In the evening Gerd watched NSW beat Qld in the State Of Origin game using my computer.

Thurs 6/6/2013  Roma to Carnarvon Gorge

The road varied from very patched to brand new resurfacing still without line makings.

Between Injune and the Carnarvon Gorge turnoff the country is very beautiful with high 

sandstone bluffs  and beautiful vistas. There was lots of road kill - mostly small kangaroos. The drive into the National Park is suitable for normal vehicles and most, but not all, is sealed. On the way in we saw three brolgas strutting across the road. The Takarakka Bush Resort camp ground is attractive. After setting up camp we drove to the Visitors Centre for a map and explored the Rock Pool, and Baloon Cave which features aboriginal rock art. Back in camp we attended the Ranger’s briefing to find out the best plan of attack for walking the gorge in the morning.

We camped in the Tararakka camp ground (power $45 P.N. -it is peak season)..

Fri 7/6/2013 Carnarvon Gorge

The Carnarvon Gorge has white sandstone cliffs which tower above a boulder strewn creek. The banks are lush with vegetation and feature an abundance of fan palms and cycads. We followed the main track which criss crosses the creek many times, using boulders as stepping stones.

 The side gorges have special features and are a major attraction of the walk. First we inspected the aboriginal paintings, stencil art  and engravings at the Art Gallery, which is thought to be a women’s sacred area. 

Next we climbed the steps which wind around a small waterfall to Ward’s Canyon. It is an miniature Edenic area and not to be missed. Next, the Amphitheatre is entered through a narrow slot in the rocks and then opens out into a 60m deep chamber. The rock layers and their faults are a stone time line. It is spectacular! 

Finally we visited the Moss Garden where ancient water from the water table continually seeps out between the impermeable basalt layer below and the sandstone above. There is a small waterfall that splashes into a plunge pool. The sunlight only penetrates when directly overhead and as a result the area is covered in moss and ferns.

We left on our “walk” at 9:00am, stopped for 20 minutes for lunch at the point we thought it necessary to turn around or we could be walking home in the dark, and finally got back to the carpark at 4:30pm - over seven hours of walking and about 17 kms. We were tired, but not totally exhausted. On return to the caravan park we went over to listen to the ranger give his talk (again). He is an interesting speaker. A yummy meal, and a hot shower completed a great day. 

Sat 8/6/2013

We slept in until  disturbed by a flock of very noisy birds which settled and squabbled outside our van. After breakfast we took a cut lunch and set off to explore Mickey Creek Gorge. First we took the left  hand arm of the gorge which ends in an attractive green fern filled grotto and then returned to the cross road and took the arm towards Warambah Gorge. Having been told by the ranger to do so, we continued on past the “End of the formed track” marker. We edged around a small water pool and entered a narrow slot canyon which is the doorway into a different world. The narrow canyon has high, green moss covered walls, a damp boulder covered floor with intermittent pools of water that need to be negotiated by rock hopping or wall ledge shuffling and clinging.  It is an indescribably magical place that must be seen and experienced. We went in as far as we could without putting our selves or cameras in danger - or getting too dirty slipping down rocks. A highly recommended adventure! 

After lunch in the park at the Visitors Centre we took the short Nature Walk trail along the creek. I found a beautiful purple fungi which I duly photographed and then, birds and water reflections which also made great photo material.

On return to the camp ground we walked up to the lookout to view the surrounding peaks.

The finale of the day was a plate of fresh passionfruit pulp and ice cream. Who could ask for a better Sabbath day!

Sun 9/6/2013

Today we travelled from Carnarvon NP to Rubyvale in the Queensland gemfields.

We passed through Rolleston and stopped at the park next to the i Centre to look at a monument made from a great pile of petrified wood - full tree stumps!. the i Centre attendant told me that petrified wood is very abundant in the area and collectors come from all over the world because of its quality.  

The next town, Springsure - named because of its secure water supply, sits beneath a very impressive bluff. The majestic landscape is due to the fact that this was once an active volcanic area. It was such an overcast day I didn’t take any photos but I have put it on our agenda for exploration at a future date.

Sapphire and Rubyvale are mining town with the same ugly appearance as Coober Pedy but tomorrow we are going to look under the earth for treasure!!

Monday 10/6/2013

Today we went on a tag-along (drive yourself)  sapphire digging tour. Gerd did a lot of digging but not in the right spot! We were not very successful in finding sapphires. Some of the others got a couple of nice ones, we got a couple of small ones but it was fun. We came home very dirty and Gerd was worn out.

Tues11/6/2013

Today we washed our dirty clothes and then we went to look at gem dealers shops. On the way we stopped and photographed 4 brolgas strolling along the main road through Rubyvale. At the second shop some ladies were busy sorting through bags of “wash”, the gravel and soil mix in which sapphires are found. You can buy bags of wash if you don’t want to do, or can’t do, the hard work of digging it up yourself. They were having some success so we bought a bag and started sorting. It's a gamble what treasure you might find therefore it is a very addictive activity  ... so we did the second bag ... and the third bag.

 We have a tiny bag of sapphires and zircons to commemorate our time here. In the afternoon we drove 36 km to see the Tomahawk fossicking site. We drove past a number of old volcano cones, which were the source of the gems. The Tomahawk fields requires the removal of boulders the size of footballs or greater for about a metre in depth before you hit the “wash” - the bed of the ancient stream which carried the sapphires. In a fossicking area only hand tools can be used. The fossickers work very hard to obtain their treasure.