Day 12 – Stockman’s Hall of Fame, Longreach

Our inbuilt alarm had us up and ready to go by 8:30am as we headed for the Stockman’s Hall of Fame, a mere 1km away – Kev & Maz even walked! We were booked in for 9am and started with a very good 30-minute video that gave us an overview of the bush culture, history etc. We were then each given an iPod and sent to the main gallery where you could go at your own pace, listening to the stories that interested you, looking at displays, videos, and so on. It was fabulous! A real range of topics from the past and into the present. It talked about the pioneers, including women, the tough bush drovers, the stockmen, including Aboriginal stockmen who really got a raw deal, the travelling entertainments – music, shows, rodeos, boxing troupes, and so much more.

We then met up again a bit before 11:30am to go and see the Lachie Cosser Outback Stockman Show which was also fabulous. He’s a real showman, a real entertainer, as well as obviously being a great stockman. That went for an hour, and we were thoroughly entertained. He writes his own songs and sings and plays the guitar. He said he was performing tomorrow night at the RSL so we have booked in there for dinner after our big day out at Winton. (As you will discover later, these plans have now changed).

The boys then headed off for the races, Maz & Vicky walked back to grab some lunch and go to the races, and I needed to grab a small something to take out to Alan and Lyndal’s this afternoon so mosied on in to town and then did another 40 minutes of report writing before going to pick Gaz up at the races to head off for afternoon tea with Alan & Lyndal.

Alan and Lyndal live about 10km outside town and Alan’s brilliant directions saw us arrive on time and without getting lost – no small feat! We introduced ourselves as we had never met before and were soon like old friends. Alan showed us his fabulous wood turning efforts which he is readying to enter into the Longreach Show next week. It was very impressive. They have a lovely old home, circa 1911, that they had transported from Blackall to this block some time ago. It’s a true classic with beautiful wide verandas all the way around and a very sensible design that works well in this climate. We sat and chatted for an hour or two, had a cuppa and some cake and generally caught up and reminisced. They were lovely people and it was very generous of them to invite us into their home.

It was then back to do some laundry and join with the others for another companionable evening. Kev & Maz’s salmon spaghetti followed by stewed fruit was top notch as usual and the wine and beer flowed freely. Gaz and I have decided, after much thought, to leave Longreach two days early to try to outrun the worst of the rain that is heading this way. The stress of the windscreen wiperless situation has become too much given that the latest forecast is for 20-40mm on the day we are due to travel. It means we miss the scheduled trip to Winton tomorrow and the Cobb & Co coach ride on Monday … but, hey, peace of mind is a big thing! And, as Lyndal said today when we mentioned we were considering it, it means we need to come back! So, looks like it’s an early farewell to Longreach tomorrow.

Day 11 – Blackall – Longreach

A fairly cruisy start to the day. There was a small worry when it started to rain at about 8am but it turned out to be a brief shower only and we experienced no more rain today … phew … no wiper issues. We set out for Barcaldine, (BAR-CALL-DIN – I have been practising saying this ever since Roma when someone told me the correct pronunciation), and had no incidents on the way. I’d have to say the roads are pretty good. You can easily sit on 110km/hr without any problems. Although this is the outback, it is very green due to the recent rains, and we have been told that a couple of years ago it was very different with little grass and what was there was brown.

Barcaldine was a lovely town and we stopped for a wander up the street and a coffee for Gaz. There was a really cute shop that had 60 makers contributing various arts and crafty things – lots of earrings to give me ideas. The town was the scene of the Shearers’ Strike in 1891 and the beginnings of the Labor Party. There is a very impressive “Tree of Knowledge” there which marks the spot, with the original tree only dying in 2006.

It was back on the road, and we were at Longreach in no time, arriving just after 12pm. We unpacked and I rejoiced in the WIFI signal and caught up on uploading a couple of days’ worth of blogs. A quick lunch and shop in town, and we were back to greet Kev, Maz, Wayne and Vicky who had arrived from their Carnarvon Gorge adventure. They had a great time, did a big walk and enjoyed the scenery. Kev & Maz did have a flat tyre incident that would have been scary out in the middle of nowhere, but they finally worked it out and thankfully were able to get to the next town to get new tyres.

We did a bit of a reccy in town then I called Moops’ cousin Alan, who lives here and arranged to catch up with him and his wife Lyndal tomorrow. I don’t think we have ever met before, but it will be good to meet them and no doubt learn lots about that side of the family. It was our turn to cook so we gathered at the Camp Kitchen and enjoyed West African Chicken, rice, green vegies, and a fruit platter … oh and some wine and beers. Everyone was a bit tired, so an early night was called for and we relaxed in our cabin watching the footy. Unfortunately, our river cruise for tomorrow night has been cancelled due to the river being too high but we have planned to visit the Stockman’s Hall of Fame tomorrow and maybe attend the local races – I’m sure we’ll find stuff to do.

Day 10 – Blackall

Taking our time to get going, (because we could), we headed into town around 9:30am and started with a trip to The Jackie Howe Place, a museum and gallery dedicated to the great gun shearer, Jackie Howe who still holds the record for the most sheep shorn in a day … 321 sheep in 7 hours 40 minutes. He knocked off 20 minutes early ‘cause his mates were ribbing him unmercifully that he’d done enough. It was very interesting and Jenny Muir, his granddaughter, who runs the place with her husband Barry, was very friendly. In fact we have found everyone to be friendly.

It was then off to follow the Sculpture Trail map and we jumped in and out of the car taking snaps of various sculptures including Eagles Nest, Bottle Tree, a fossilised tree stump, the Pioneer Bore, and much, much more!

We were then keen to get out to the Wool Scour early to make sure we didn’t miss out and arrived with time to spare to watch a pre-tour video outlining the history of the facility that involves shearing, grading, scouring (washing), drying, and packing the wool. It opened in 1908 and was powered by steam with an abundance of artesian water. It closed in 1978 and lay dormant for many years until a group of locals saw its value to entice visitors (you aren’t allowed to call us tourists apparently), to the area. It was a fascinating tour, run by Scott, a retired buyer from the wool industry. This was historically sheep country but when the bottom fell out of that market in the 70s, many turned to beef. It was a fascinating tour that lasted about an hour – an hour where I got harassed by mozzies … forgot the aeroguard!

Back in town we sourced a lovely café where we dined on salmon bagel for me and toastie for Gaz, along with a slice of fruit loaf and coffee for Gaz. A slight detour via the cabin for a cup of tea (me), and we headed of to the Aquatic Centre on the edge of town. What a facility! An Olympic size pool, two spas, all supplied with 30+ degree artesian water. A whopping $2 entry fee each saw us jumping first into the spa and then floating about in the pool. They even have pool noodles to borrow for free! There was only one other couple there – Clem and Clem’s wife (oops, didn’t ask her name). OMG it turns out Clem and Gaz are soul brothers – that was THEIR words. “Where have you been hiding?” Clem said as he and Gaz regaled each other with conspiracy theories on … well … just about everything. Importantly, they always seemed to agree with each other. Clem’s wife and I drifted slowly up the pool, putting more distance between us and them as they became more and more animated. Strangely we reacted very similarly to their theories. Anyway, I enjoyed a lovely afternoon immersed in water – loved it.

After an hour or so to relax (Gaz) and work (me), we headed off to the Barcoo Hotel for dinner. Still reasonably full after our lunch, we opted for a shared seafood basket and shared apple pie and ice cream. The hotel was so accommodating – they served the mains on 2 plates with, I reckon, a full salad and chips on each plate with the seafood split between the two. The amount of ice cream with the pie had to have been double the normal serve – very thoughtful.

We raced back to the cabin as there was a scheduled family facetime call as it is Carly’s birthday today – Happy birthday! Unfortunately, Lucas tested positive to Covid this morning and she had a rubbish day at work with no time for lunch, didn’t get home until after 7:30pm … but other than that I’m sure it was a great day! ☹ For us it was a bit of TV and then planning the pack up and ship out tomorrow.

Day 9 – Charleville – Blackall

We were excited to head off for the Bilby Experience this morning. (We did have a slight detour to the hardware store to buy a windscreen squeegee thingy – not sure if Gaz is planning on leaning out the window and manually wiping the rain off as I drive!) Anyway, we were greeted by our guide, Lisa, who must surely be described as the Steve Irwin of the Bilby world. She was knowledgeable, excitable, animated, and passionate … and gave a fabulous presentation explaining to us about the plight of the Bilby and the emergence of a breeding program and Save the Bilby Fund that supports it. There was also a showing of the 60 Minutes interview in 2005 when they released 6 bilbies into a protected breeding area – this population has now grown to about 800 so they are very successful.

After the presentations, we were able to view two bilbies up close in a special nocturnal enclosure that simulates night-time so we can see them moving around. It was good to know that our ticket money was going to help conserve these little guys who are endangered due to feral animals. Did you know we have up to 20 million feral cats in Australia? Astounding.

We set off on the Matilda Way and our first stop was Augathella where we grabbed a coffee for Gaz and had a stroll down the main street. There was a big area of free camping near the Barcoo River there and I reckon at least a dozen caravans were there. Good to see some dollars being spread through these small towns. We also found a stunning painted water tower – I love these.

Back on the road and it wasn’t too far to Tambo, our lunch stop. We viewed the famous Tambo Teddies – they are gorgeous but a bit pricey at about $145 each. Fannie Mae’s Café was next door and we had a fabulous lunch there – chicken salad wrap for me and toasted sandwich for Gaz. Unfortunately, we couldn’t stay for the infamous chook races at the pub which start at 5:30pm as I hear they are a classic experience. It was back in the car and back to our audio book. We have finished The Scholar by Dervla McTiernan (4/5 stars from both of us) and have now moved on to Personal (Jack Reacher #19) by Lee Child which is also great so far.

There were a few really long Road Trains on the road today, going both ways. A sign said that they’re up to 53m long – that’s over half a football field – freaked me out a little, but I did pass a couple of them. The road has been pretty good, no overtaking lanes but mainly flat and mainly straight so passing is not too risky. We arrived in Blackall at about 2pm and went straight to the van park to check in. The first cabin we were directed to had a broken toilet so the owner said she’d swap us with someone who hadn’t yet arrived … which I felt a bit bad about. (No need to worry though because apparently the plumber turned up promptly and fixed it straight away and they got a bigger cabin anyway lol.)

After unpacking the car, we hightailed it for the Tourist Information Centre to get the lowdown. Armed with a map and information we then crossed off a few of the selected attractions we wanted to see. We started at Banks Park where we checked out the life size elephant placed their in homage to the Perry Bros. Circus that sort of started here. This is one of many displays that’s part of a Sculpture Trail.

The Black Stump is also here – we are actually beyond the black stump! It was the point that early surveyors of Queensland used as a reference point and has become synonymous with the edge of civilisation. The fact that both our phones don’t work here and my pocket wifi as well is cactus backs up this. Just as well Gaz insisted we buy an el cheapo Telstra phone as that is our only working communication device at present. There is a very weak public wifi that helps out occasionally.

We also checked out Ram Park which had some fabulous old buildings and displays – very interesting stuff. We took a drive around and found the Wool Scour and Aquatic Centre, both things on our list for tomorrow along with some more sculptures. A brief stop at the IGA and we were back at the cabin, settling in for the evening, fending off an onslaught of mozzies that are crazy big and very prolific.

 

Day 8 – Roma – Charleville

 

An early start saw us all packed up and ready to go by 8 am – Gaz to find the mechanic and I joined the others to tour the Roma Saleyards. The saleyards were amazing – our guide, Geoff, who had whip in hand, told us all about the process of the sales. He said an average sale might see 6000-8000 head of cattle sold in a day but the highest is 14,000. Today there were only 2700, perhaps, he supposed, because of the recent rains. We were fascinated to see the auctioneer in action and also enjoyed watching the ease with which the staff moved the beasts around from pen to pen, marking them, weighing them etc. The technology was amazing – they even have electronic e-tag devices that read the cattle as they go under the scanners in to be weighed.

Our next stop was St Paul’s Anglican Church where we were met by Anne who told us all about the history of the church and, in particular, its many lead light windows. The stories of these windows were incredible – one was found under the church after 100 years, still in good decision. It was an interesting tour with quite a few interesting stories.

Kev then dropped me off to meet up with Gaz who unfortunately had not been able to get the wipers fixed but did have it confirmed that we need a part … a part that is not available anywhere out here. He later made some phone calls and has ordered the part to be delivered to Rockhampton where we will be in a bit over a week. So, that’s a week without wipers … hmmm. Anyway, Kev, Maz, Wayne & Vicky headed off to Carnarvon Gorge for a few days and we headed to Charleville. We will meet up with them again in Longreach on Friday.

We had an uneventful drive to Charleville, stopping at Morven, a small town, for a really nice lunch – egg & bacon rolls for both of us. We found our motel in Charleville, unpacked the car, and then after a bit of car stuff, (calls re parts, insurance etc), we took off to check out the town. We found the water source for the town, a very prettily painted artesian basin water tower. The Information Centre was helpful as usual, and we have booked in for the Bilby Experience tomorrow morning. We headed out to the airport and looked through a couple of exhibitions. The first was The Royal Flying Doctors which was fascinating and good fun. They really do an amazing job. 

The second stop was the WWII Secret Base. Now this was incredible – thousands of American service personnel took over the Charleville airport during the war and the locals were sworn to secrecy. It is assumed it was part of the Brisbane Line, the same one that the Tenterfield Tank Traps were part of. It was fascinating but unfortunately it was about to close so we had to race through in 15 minutes.

We took a spin around the airport that was nearby and then headed back to town to grab some groceries. Gaz dropped me off at the Warrego River where I took the new Riverwalk pathway for a nice walk and then found my way back to the motel. It was then time to relax for a while, make a bread roll for dinner, partake of a glass of wine … or two, and plan for our next few days. And … we watched some TV for the first time in a week! Incredibly the adds are for Darwin, Alice Springs, Mt Isa and a couple of closer towns - we are really in the outback now.

Day 7 – Roma

 

A cool start to the morning but the glorious sunshine soon warmed things up. Gaz was not keen for a walk and decided to try to find a mechanic to solve the windscreen wiper issues. The rest of us set off for a stroll around town. We began not far from the caravan park and wandered through a lovely park and came upon a small bridge that crossed a creek. There were miniature train tracks on it. ‘We’d better watch out for trains’, we joked, and then the next thing we knew along came a train! ‘Hop on’, the driver said, so we did and had a lovely tour of the surrounds. Alighting at the Big Rig Railway Station, we finally set off on our walk.

It was a lovely stroll along the creek with some signage occasionally pointing out natural and cultural things of interest. We took our time and detoured via Sandy Lagoon which found us near to the main part of town. We had heard sirens (!) and noticed lots of flashing lights, multiple fire trucks and police cars in the distance. Turns out it was a car crash – hopefully everyone was OK, but it was a bit of excitement for Roma!

Most shops were closed but we found a café, phoned Gaz who drove to join us, and enjoyed a pleasant half hour stoking up on caffeine. Gaz informed us the mechanic can’t see us ‘til tomorrow, (because of the crash), so that’s the plan. We continued our walk while Gaz drove back. We found the Avenue of Bottle Trees, the Biggest Bottle Tree and came upon the train again where the guy stopped and said, ‘Hop on!’ We declined with thanks and headed back to the caravan park. Nice walk – good to get some exercise. I took the opportunity to do some laundry before we headed off in search of a picnic spot for lunch.

How lucky were we? We arrived at the Roma Bush Gardens to find that a group was just vacating the undercover picnic table, so we set up there. It was a very pleasant spot for a picnic, ably provided by Pen & Gaz, and then the walkers of the group, (everyone except Gaz), set off to circumnavigate the billabong (?), lagoon (?), pond (?) … well, whatever it was. This was also very pleasant, and we came upon a local who gave us a very detailed explanation of how casting stones into the water would determine the best place to find fish. This local had a rock in hand but no fishing gear so I can only conclude that he was unsuccessful, or indeed rushing off to get his fishing rod!

One of the ‘games’ on the trip is to break into song if someone says a word that is from a famous song – you get a point each time. I was languishing on zero but got on the board when we discovered a (labelled) Coolabah tree near the aforementioned billabong. My second point is still in dispute because we just drove past The Overlander Motel, and no one actually said the word, but I burst into song anyway. As usual, I think Kev is winning.

After our scrumptious lunch, (even if I say so myself), we set out to look for the famed Roma Clay Mural, finally finding it inside the Roma Cultural Centre. You press a button, and a light and sound show tells you the history of the area and the various industries that make up the Maranoa (see I learnt something!). It was then off for a quick drive by the courthouse made famous when the local jury in the 1800s refused to convict a notorious bushranger and cattle thief because they thought he had done so well to steal 1000 head of cattle and drive them a long way. The judge was outraged and for 2 years there was no court in Roma – the locals could not be trusted!

Wayne, Vicky, Maz & I decided to check out the Roma Saleyards Interpretive Centre – a fabulous facility with film, photos & info on the Queensland cattle industry and the saleyards. The Roma Saleyards are the largest in the southern hemisphere (!) and the logistics are incredible. We were able to walk out to view the saleyards from elevated platforms where they are preparing for a sale tomorrow morning, one which we hope to be able to view firsthand. The massive double decker road train cattle trucks were amazing, and we watched them unloading the cattle into the yards ready to be sorted, tagged etc.

Our pre-dinner entertainment was to attend the Big Rig Sunset Show that told us all about the oil and gas industry in Roma … who knew? It was quite interesting, and we ended up with a souvenir shot glass with port, (or grape juice for me), to sample while we watched a 30-minute movie on the history of the oil and gas industry with some colourful characters thrown in.

Vicky had done a magnificent job with dinner, and we were eating within 15 minutes of returning back to the caravan park – beautiful tender pork fillet and vegies. Another pleasant evening eating together outside with a couple of beverages thrown in and then we all decided it had been a big day and, as we needed to pack to leave tomorrow, we might have a night free from games. Early start tomorrow for the saleyards. Did I mention I did 16,000 steps and 10.4km today ... that's a lot ... for me.