Queensland

Yah!! We have crossed the border into Queensland.

 It is hot and dry though and there's not a lot of greenery. The countryside is extremely dry and grey looking. The temperatures are an unseasonably 37-38 degrees most days. We have decided to stay in caravan parks to keep cool for now until we get further south. The bus has a great air conditioning system but only when plugged in to power. Hopefully it will cool down when we get to southern Queensland areas. We arrived in Mt Isa and stayed at Moondarra caravan park.

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We topped up on supplies at the local Coles and I treated myself to a comfy pair of shoes but unfortunately have made my heels sore so it's back to the cheap slippers I bought in Coober Pedy that are extremely comfortable. John has hurt his back lifting the A frame off (even though I have instructed him on lifting techniques) so is moving very slowly and with great discomfort. It's regular nurofen and codeine for him! Mt isa looks very pretty from the top of the lookout but is in reality a very dry dusty town and situated right next to the mine stack with plenty of pollution pouring out. Not a great place to live I don't think. We left the next morning looking forward to getting to some greener pastures. Imagine our surprise when we came accross the Walkabout Creek Hotel in the middle of nowhere. This pub was made famous with the Crocodile Dundee movies and is the place where Mick Dundee and his mates hung out for a drink. We stopped and had a drink and a chat at the bar. The owner has been there for 24 yrs and has photos of all of the cast from the movie. It was amazing to find this place and we are glad we stopped and had a drink in Micks pub.

We stayed the night at a small roadhouse caravan park in a little town called Kynuna. This is where Banjo Patterson penned his song Waltzing Matilda and the poor old swagman had his last drink at the Blue Heeler hotel. There were a couple of overly friendly Brolgas who tried to get his head into the bus looking for some tucker.

The sunset was delightful and there were some lovely old houses accross the road that looked quite old and like houses out of an old movie. Off to Winton, a little place renowned for its dinosaur fossils. With no rain for ages it was like a dust owl in the desert and the caravan park we stayed at was not good. We did find the Musical Fence and the landmark for Qantas' first airfield and had a bit of fun playing in the wind. Also found this little fellow wandering the streets of town. I decided to name him "Connor" as he was cute and full of mischief.

There is also a lovely historical building that has been kept to its original look especially for the tourists.

It's on to Longreach tomorrow and to the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame. Thanks for reading and don't forget to log in and leave a message or two. Talkies soon Xxxx Son n John

Tennent Creek

TC is a very interesting place. There is a lot of activity with mostly tourists creating the hub bub. The locals are content to just sit under trees and watch the world go by. Gold mining was the main reason and although some small gold mining the main workings are now closed. The gold battery is open to tourists as well as a museum. Times were certainly hard in the old days. Just 5 ks out of town is a man made dam which is a recreational fishing, swimming spot for the locals. It's quite incredible to find such a place out in the dry dusty land and certainly a beautiful place.

After Tennent creek we stayed at a freecamp accross the road from a police station in the middle of nowhere. John was breath tested when we left in the morning ha ha. See you in Queensland Xx Son n John

The Devils Marbles

The Marbles speak for themselves so will just let the pics do the talking...

It's a very majestic place and as quick as they appear on the terrain they are gone just as quickly. The marbles are just south of Tennent Creek so it's just a skip away. Xx Son n John