Karen and Mary-Anne got up early today. Karen went for a walk through the township of Morven while Mary-Anne put her feet up and read a book. I caught up on a lot of lost sleep and had a sleep-in. For morning tea we had picklets, jam and cream with tea and coffee. It's a hard life. After that the girls caught up on the washing using the white buckets and the specially adapted long handled plunger. After a lazy day around camp we went for a walk around town at 3.15pm, hoping to visit the museum. However on arrival it was shut. We did get to walk around the kerosene tin hut. In the depression times people could not afford building materials and used the tin from empty kerosene tins to cover roofs and walls. These were readily available because of kerosene fridges and stoves. We walked home past Sadlier's Waterhole. It is very picturesque and peaceful. At the moment it is full to the brim. Mary-Anne cooked a spaghetti bolognaise for tea and we are all as full as ten chooks. Tomorrow we leave and head towards Blackall. For $5.00 a night we were lucky enough to have power and water. There were only 18 powered sites, 6 in each site.
8/3/2012
9.15am today we left the Morven Recreation Reserve after one day of R&R and drove 84kms to Augathella. What a great place. It reminded me of Baralaba. There were murals on the sides of buildings and everything was neat and tidy. We discovered that the movie 'Smiley' was based on a young boy who grew up in Augathella. The movie also starred Australia's John Wayne, the one and only Chips Rafferty. After morning tea on the banks of the Warrego River it was on to Tambo. There we had lunch and refuelled. Then the girls took me for a walk around town and led me to the shop that makes Tambo Teddies. Fortunately we are on a budget and no Teddies were purchased (The cheapest item was $20.00 and the dearest I could find was $235.00). We headed off again and drove 100kms through some wonderful looking country to Blackall. We stopped at the Information Centre and got directions to the Barcoo River camp on the banks of the Barcoo River. It is $5.00 a night to free camp. You have to be self sufficient but there are toilet facilities and a water tap accross the road at the picnic area. It is a great spot with a few trees for shade and plenty of sun for the solar panels.
9/3/2012
Today Karen and Mary-Anne got up early and walked through town and saw the Jackie Howe statue in the main street and found the 'Black Stump' which was behind the Blackall State School. The 'Black Stump" is not a tree stump but a surveyor's marker point. After a quick breakfast we packed up and drove through town and ended up at the Blackall Wool Scour and shearing sheds. The wool scour is where the wool was washed and cleaned prior to it being exported overseas. The admission fee which was $13 included a guided tour of the complex and our guide was an old bushie called Beaver. He had a dry sense of humour and related personal experiences of having worked there as a boy and also at times was hard to understand. The whole operation was opened in 1908 shut down in 1978 and the intact building and machinery was left to its own devices for a number of years. A heritage committee was formed and the scour and shearing stands are now operational again. It is the only steam driven shearing stand and wool scour remaining in Australia. It was getting on and we had to leave and drive 105kms to Barcaldine. We parked in the main street and walked through town. We saw the artifical Tree of knowledge. The original Tree of Knowledge was unforunately or fortunately poisoned in 2006. We then visited the Australian Workers Heritage centre. I called it the unofficial labor party headquarters. It was quite interesting if you ignored the ALP references everywhere. At 4.30pm I chased the girls up and we headed west for 20kms to a free rest area at Pack Saddle Creek. It was great. We camped in the middle of nowhere and before dark we could see for miles in every direction. When the moon rose we could see almost as far even though it was supposed to be dark. I love a full moon!!!
10/3/2012
We left our great rest area and drove 75kms to Longreach. We tried to see the QANTAS museum but couldn't find anywhere to park with the caravans. At least we got to drive past the 747 parked in the paddock. There were no problems at the Stockman's Hall of Fame as our two vans and a camper van were the only vehicles there. After paying our pensioner admission of $22.00 each, I love my gray hair, we sat through a complimentary film outlining the history of the outback. Then it was onto looking at and reading the exhibits. The whole place is really well laid out and there are many fascinating exhibits. After about 3 hours my feet were sore and I had seen everything twice. The girls were reading more things than I did and were still going. At around 2.30pm they were finished and we headed into town and bought some veggies and fruit and then headed to the free Long Waterhole rest area 4kms out of town on the Winton Road. We set up camp in another solar panel friendly area right next to the Thompson River. There are toilets and the tap water which has a lovely brown tinge. I have a feeling it is not drinking water!!!!! It is hot (36 degrees) but there is a strong breeze that keeps us cool under the awnings in the shade. Out in the sun it is a hot breeze and the sun just tries to burn you to a crisp. Mary-Anne is having sausages, potatoes and veggies. We are having steak, boiled potatoes, bacon and veggies for tea.
Smiley mural on front wall of picture theatre
Eagle nest sculpture in the Barcoo River Rest area Blackall
Mary-Anne and I having a relaxing time after hours of dodging road trains
Jackie Howe statue at Blackall
Pack Saddle Rest area between Barcaldine and Longreach
Stockmans's Hall of Fame Longreach
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