Sunday May 15
The last few hours in Carnarvon GorgeLate in the afternoon Wendy finally had a positive sighting
of a platypus, the only one any of us saw.
The platypus was very cooperative, cruising around for about 15
minutes. Then along came a big
tortoise…the platypus swam straight up to it and nipped it on the nose. A scuffle ensued and the platypus
disappeared!! Please use your imagination with the dodgy photos!!
We shared a barbecue for our last night as a group of
6. The wine and music flowed and it was
a great evening.
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Monday May 16 Carnarvon Gorge to Alpha
As predicted, rain started at about 5am. Damn!!
We were totally prepared this time and had as much as possible packed
ready to go. As soon as there was a bit
of daylight we packed up as the rain was supposed to increase. By 6.45 we were showered and having a very
relaxed breakfast. The others were ready
to go about 7.30 so we all headed for Rolleston where we met for a final coffee
together at a community run coffee van in the local park.
After farewelling Francine and Al who headed home to
Toowoomba, the rest of us turned northwards, stopping next at Springsure’s
information centre. Armed with more
local information we made a bee line to the bakery in Emerald for pies for
lunch. The drizzle continued to follow
us but we found a picnic table with a
roof!
Next it was a turn westwards, travelling through low ranges
on reasonable bitumen, undulating and meandering through pleasant forests.
The drizzle remained until we dropped down
onto the plains where the trees also disappeared! Our destination was the small town of Alpha
where we set up camp in a free overnight only space that came with toilets, hot
showers and power points in the bathrooms.
The only possible negative was it was beside a vehicle washdown
bay. A few very noisy vehicles came in
early. We’re hoping for none
overnight. A local farmer came over for
a really long chat and gave us a small pumpkin.
He was as deaf as a post, so the chat was somewhat challenging!!
Paul and Bev had a stressful hour or so, discovering that
their fridge wasn’t working. Fortunately
Paul was able to get through to a technician who we believe has fixed the
problem.
Tuesday May 16 Alpha
to Ilfracombe
Paul and Bev were heading up the highway directly to
Ilfracombe but Wendy and Rick had decided to do a circuit on gravel roads to
have a look at some roadside sculptures.
The gravel roads were in pretty good condition but there were lots of
floodways and cattle grids…which we always treat with great respect to avoid
tearing out the front end of the vehicle!!
The sculptures were prolific and mostly pretty classy. We guess there were about 30 altogether with
subjects such as helicopters, all manner of wildlife, Marj Simpson, Wally, a
yabby etc. The materials were recycled
farm junk along with some natural things such as tree trunks, vines and rocks.
They have all been made by a local artist on a non-paid basis.
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In Amarac they learnt the story of the importance of a white bull in Captain Starlight's capture. There were little bulls everywhere!
Wendy and Rick
stopped at Barcaldine to have a look at the Tree of Knowledge. A site where the shearing strike of the
1890’s began, along with the formation of the Labor Party as a political
entity.
We did a little grocery shopping
and then continued on to Ilfracrombe.
Paul and Bev were about to head off to the pub, right next door, but
waited for us to set up camp. We then
all enjoyed a cold beverage together.
After dinner we enjoyed a couple of games of Rummicub.
Wednesday May 17
Longreach
A slightly later than planned start saw us, at 9am, on the
30km road trip to Longreach where we had booked a tour for 11am. We had more than an hour and a half to work
our way through the static displays and were all amazed by the audio
accompaniments to the exhibits. The
system was location dependent so gave relevant commentary whenever you moved to
a new area. There were also plenty of
options to hear 2-3 minute vignettes about many aspects of life in that
particular era and activity. There were
also audio-visual displays that allowed one to sit and personally choose from a
wide display of short clips. At 11am we
were shown an extremely informative video about the past and present cattle
industry including the history of the stockmen themselves.
After the video we
moved on to an outdoor covered arena to
experience a show put on by a well experienced stockman, horse breaker,
dog trainer and musician/song writer. It
was really well done….very informative and entertaining! Thanks to our friends who recommended the
show.
Back at camp we did some onward planning of entertainment
and campsite bookings, all challenging with difficult internet! We ran out of time to try out the local
artesian hot tub. Bad planning! Wendy did a dash down to check its
temperature to see if it really was worthwhile for the next day. Yes!
Paul cooked a fabulous Moroccan dinner then Wendy produced a
very small but challenging jigsaw. Rick
accompanied the rest of us on guitar while we met the challenge. After about 3 hours we had it finished!
Lyn and Ken
2023-05-18
We loved our trip up that way in 2019. The 'stockman's Hall of Fame' and the show are really excellent.
Maureen Hickling
2023-05-23
Sounds like there's lots to see and do in Longreach.