Don't quite know why, but we have always had a hankering to visit Charters Towers. From Porcupine we took a gravel road short-cut to Prairie and visited the quite famous (with Nomads) Prairie Pub. It's a ripper with rusty corrugated iron, mud brick, buckling timber floors and outback bric-a-brac throughout. Out back is a beer garden, showers and toilets to cater to the Nomads who stay here the night in a dusty yard. If it were late afternoon when we arrived it would have been a great stopover, however, being 11am, we continued onward 

 
The road to Charters Towers proved to be longer than the actual distance as it is always on a slight uphill, and we battled a 35klm head-wind. Fuel consumption climbed and the fuel gauge needle quickly fell. The drive was pleasant and we arrived in Charters Towers about 1pm. A quick review of available camp spots on Wiki-Camps showed a best option on the north east side of town, the Dalrymple Tourist Van Park which is adjacent Royal Charters Towers Golf Course. 

The park was excellent, offering us a large site, plenty of grass and shade and great amenities. After setting camp we opted for a look around Charters Towers and a visit to the Info Centre. The photos will tell the story! The history of Charters Towers is a worthwhile read on Wiki-pedia, a gold town, and the mines are still operational with shafts and pits around and under the town. So much of Charters Towers is heritage listed and the buildings are wonderfully restored and maintained.

We spent two nights here, and it would have been longer except we had a date to keep in Cairns.