We did it! We made it to Birdsville. After 2 long years in the planning we were finally here AND so were thousands of others.

We had the best nights sleep at our campsite on the banks of the Eyre Creek but we were both excited to be only 130km from our destination and woke early. There was no argument….it was up and get going.

Our camp at Eyre Creek was only a few kilometres from where the great tar road became a great gravel road. We expected there may be a bit of water across the road at Cuttaburra Crossing but it had all dried up and was no problem. Quite a few campers were set up there.

The road became a good tar road again and it was another 20-30km of this before we came to roadworks. There were many big earthmoving machines working away at the new road. It won’t be long and this road will be a tar one all the way to Birdsville.

We stopped to check out Carcory Bore and Homestead Ruins. It was amazing to see the boiling water coming out of the bore and running into a channel before entering a dam to cool. Apparently that water comes out of the ground at 85 degrees. No wonder it was steaming!

Carcory Homestead was built in 1877 out of local limestone. Only the walls remain today. The roof is long gone. The story goes that the roofing iron was commandeered by the Federal Government in WWII. This was once one of Sir Sidney Kidman’s properties however after losing 4,000 bullocks during the drought in 1906 the property was abandoned. Carcory is now part of Rosebeth Station.

At the end of the roadworks we arrived at the section that had already been finished and tarred. Wow, what a great road. We really ate up the kilometres on that stretch.

It’s funny what you see on the side of the road sometimes. We came across a pile of junk that people have left behind and it included a stove, a satellite dish, a lawn mower, an air conditioner, a washing machine and a dishwasher. Now why would anyone want to leave those things in the middle of nowhere?

The next odd thing we saw was a garden table and chairs sitting in the middle of a large paddock of red stones. Now that was just odd!

A bit further on was a ‘shoe’ tree covered in shoes, boots and thongs of all descriptions. I really don’t know why people do this.

About 30km from Birdsville the road became a shocker. It was rough gravel and I thought we’d been too lucky with the roads so far. Our speed had to drop right off over the 23km of corrugations. We were passed by so many on this section including one idiot in a Landcruiser towing a Crusader caravan who went past us so fast he threw rocks up all over the front of our motorhome. All the others passed us slowly but not that one. Serves him right if he gets a flat tyre!

We stopped for a cuppa at the Waddi Tree Grove. There was a large parking area and about 5 vans were already pulled up including the idiot in the Crusader. I wasn’t going to talk to him!

The Waddi Trees are a rare and ancient species of tree. They are so hard that they can cause damage to axes and saws and, when dry, is almost impossible to drill. Waddi fence posts nearly a century old have shown little sign of decay. Waddi Trees are now a protected species and are now only found in three sites, one of which is Birdsville. When Australia had a much wetter climate 400,000 years ago Waddi’s would have been widespread across Central Australia. They are very slow growing and can live for hundreds of years.

About 10km out of Birdsville the road became a tar one again and we gained some mobile service on our Telstra phone. We got to send and receive messages from our family and to hear that Kevin and Sally are back in Winton however they cannot get a tyre until next Wednesday. It was now Friday. The Big Red Bash is to be held Tues/Wed/Thurs so they will miss it. What a shame for them.

When we arrived in Birdsville we went directly to the Roadhouse to fill up with fuel. Then around to the famous Birdsville Bakery where we met up with some of our group. Next stop was the dump point before making our way out to the Birdsville Common where our group was camped. It was great to see everyone.

Water is available at taps around the common so before setting up camp we filled up with water. I got two loads of washing done while filling up. We quickly set up camp and got our washing hung out. It was a gorgeous sunny day so our solar panels are charging the batteries nicely.

Most of the group left to go for a drive out to the Simpson Desert and across some sand hills but Robert and Richard stayed behind and went shopping while I took the opportunity for some quiet time to update this blog.

I’m sure there will be a great night of socialising around the fire pit tonight. I’m just so excited that we’ve finally got here and the Big Red Bash is going ahead. Can’t wait.

PS: not enough service to load photos (and I’ve taken hundreds) so they will have to come later!

Oh what a slow start to the day with a welcome sleep in. The last week had been an early start each day so a sleep in was appreciated by all. We set off from Middleton Hotel campground about 9.30am and continued our journey west. The countryside around Middleton is flat grasslands with the occasional flat topped mesas in the distance. The road is a narrow one lane tar road with wide gravel shoulders. The straight road stretches way ahead of us and we could see the Farrells caravan in the distance.

As we approached Cawnpore Station we came to an area of mesas. The road traveled up and over this line of hills. We stopped at Cawnpore Lookout and walked to the top. The scenery is just spectacular. The mesas with their top layer of ironstone and then the red sandstone layers under are incredible. There was a guy flying a drone and I’m sure he would have been getting some amazing footage of the hills from above. I just can’t stop taking photos! I’m sure my phone is going to run out of storage!

Past Nerida Station and the land had flattened out again to wide open grasslands, although there wasn’t much grass left to speak off. It looked like it had all been grazed out.

We stopped at the site of the ruins of the Min Min Hotel. Boulia Shire has erected a signboard explaining the phenomenon of the Min Min lights. The creek nearby had water in it. Evidence of the recent rains. The paddocks surrounding this creek were covered in a slight green tinge of new grasses coming up. The land flattened right out after this and the narrow road stretched straight ahead into the horizon. We both commented on the lack of animals. I think we’d only seen one lonely cow and a couple of dead birds on this part of the trip.

We came to a series of floodways and went up and down over those. Some of the little creeks had water in them. On the other side of the floodways we came to the ruins of the Hamilton Hotel. Not much is still standing just a bit of fence and a brick and stone chimney. We stopped to take a couple of photos and continued on. We hadn’t got very far when we caught up to the Farrells. They were on the side of the road and oh no! They had another flat tyre on their car.

It took the better part of an hour to change the tyre and put on the spare. Now they have no spare. I just hope they’ll be able to get a tyre in Boulia. I wouldn’t like to be traveling out here without a spare or two!

After travelling down the road a few hundred metres the Farrells pulled over to check the tyre and let us know they had decided to return to Winton as they thought they’d have a better chance of getting tyres in a bigger town than Boulia. We think they made the right decision. Hopefully they will get the tyres sorted and catch up to us in Birdsville.

We continued on and made it to the tiny outback town of Boulia. Boulia sits on on the Burke River and it was a muddy brown waterhole as we crossed the bridge into town. We fueled up, visited the tiny supermarket for fresh bread and came back across the bridge to park under a shady tree for lunch. We were parked right next to the caravan park which is on the riverside. Across the fence was an RV we recognised from our travels since Winton. It is an orange Kombi towing a red teardrop van. I had a chat to the couple as they waved when they saw us pull up. They recognised us too.

They are from Melbourne and luckily left Melbourne on the day lockdown started. They were very happy to be across the border into NSW just in time. It was no surprise to learn that they are also going to the Big Red Bash. They are first timers too!

Also stopped for a break in Boulia was the Pizza Van and the Pie Truck we’d seen camped at Middleton the night before and again along the way. They are on their way to BRB too.

While having our lunch break we had some decent Telstra service and were able to speak with our daughters and daughter-in-law. It was great to talk with them.

We left Boulia heading southwards. The land around there is very flat and there was a line of jump ups on the far horizon to the west. I was quite astonished by the quality of the road. It’s a very good two lane tar road and we were able to eat up the kilometres on that stretch.

Some of the shallow depressions in the paddocks still have water in them from the rains a week ago. We regularly cross cattle grids along the way.

Around 3.30 we crossed the Georgina River and saw a huge mob of cattle on both sides of the road. They were Brahman cattle and they looked fat and sleek. Not long after this we passed the marker for the Tropic of Capricorn. We’ve crossed this line a couple of times already on this trip.

About 100km south of Boulia we came to an area of stones. As far as the eye could see the land was covered in red stones. Not a lot of grass in that area for cattle to eat. I’ve never seen so many rocks. They need a Big Red Rock Eater out this way!

The sign for Motorcarbreakdown Creek was missing. Rich said someone’s taken it home as a memento for their man-cave!

About 30kms north of Bedourie we left the red stone plains behind and came to an area of red sandy country covered in scrub much like the country around Menindee. There were large shallow channels between the sandy hills that were covered in water.

We arrived in Bedourie around 5.00pm and went directly to fill up with fuel. There was a bloke near the bowsers taking down the amount of fuel everyone used and handing them a paper to take inside to pay for their fuel. We asked him why he was doing this and his answer saddened us greatly. He said that in the last week three vehicles have pulled in, filled up with fuel and driven off without paying. Scumbags!

We continued on southwards and drove until the sun was about to set. We ended up camped by the banks of the Eyre Creek. Water views again! We had hit the gravel road not long before and as the sun was soon to set we pulled up for the night. Only 130kms to go tomorrow and we will reach Birdsville.

After our fabulous tour with Red Dirt Tours out to Lark Quarry we were dropped right back at our motorhome. We quickly got going. Rich dropped me at the Spar to get some supplies whilst he went to get a gas bottle. Next stop was the bottle shop to stock up on some wine then we were driving west out of Winton.

A few kms out of town we took a left off the Cloncurry Road and turned onto the Kennedy Development Road that would take us all the way to Boulia 365km away.

The road for the first part of this journey is a narrow tar road surrounded by flat native grasslands. In the distance you can see ‘jump ups’ (mesa hills) and they shimmer a blue colour in the far distance.

About 65km out of Winton we came to the Diamantina Causeway. This is a long stretch where the narrow road crosses over many floodways. Some of these were low bridges and a few of the channels underneath had water in them. All these channels feed into the Diamantina River. Some of the floodway markers were 2m tall so I can’t imagine what it would be like when there is that much water going down these channels.

The landscape changed after crossing the Diamantina. There were lots more trees and the soil was really black like it had been burnt.

The road was a one lane narrow tar one but every now and then it would widen into a two lane road to enable people to overtake safely. Crests of hills were also wider. I was surprised how good the road was. A few times we needed to get off the edge of the road to allow others coming towards us get past. This just means slowing right down and putting half our vehicle on the shoulder to give them enough room. A couple of times we had to get right off the road to allow big triple trailer road trains go by.

We made it into Middleton just as the sun was setting and found Sally & Kevin already set up camp and had a BBQ dinner ready to go. We enjoyed not having to cook.

After dinner we all wandered across to the historic Midddleton Hotel where we enjoyed a cold beer and chatted to the lady owner Clara. Her and her partner have taken over the hotel from his parents and have great plans for the future of the hotel while still preserving its history. We wish them luck. One thing they could do immediately is to start charging a camping fee. They provide a large flat space for campers, toilets and showers and I don’t think any campers would mind paying $10 per night to camp there. We gave a $10 donation into the RFDS tin on the bar to cover our camping fee.

The hotel, in the middle of nowhere, was once a Cobb & Co changing station. Cobb & Co’s first run through Middleton was in February 1865. The hotel would have been a welcome relief for passengers where they could get a meal and have a rest after being jolted about in the coach. I don’t think traveling by coach was particularly comfortable.

The last Cobb & Co Coach to pass this way was in the early 1920’s. Middleton was once a thriving little town proclaimed in 1908 and had a police station, store, hall, school and the changing station and hotel. Only the hotel remains.

The Middleton Hotel is the last changing station remaining on the Winton to Boulia mail route.

We had a choice to make in Winton. If we wanted to visit Lark Quarry to see the Dinosaur Stampede we would have to drive 110km south of Winton on a rough corrugated dirt road or we could leave the motorhome in Winton and take a tour. We elected to take the tour and I’m so glad we did. If we’d driven out there ourselves we wouldn’t have learnt anything about the country we were driving through and would have missed out on seeing some of the most spectacular scenery.

We parked the motorhome behind the Waltzing Matilda Centre and right on time at 8.45am the Red Dirt Tours bus pulled up out the front of the centre to collect us. I got the whole back seat to myself whilst Richard sat up front ‘shotgun’.

Our tour commenced by leaving Winton and heading south on the Jundah Road. The road crossed over the many channels of the Western River before becoming very flat again. Our tour guide Vicki gave a fabulous commentary along the way and explained that we were seeing natural grasslands all around us. The only trees that grow in that area are along the channels and rivers. The open plains are covered in grasses. It is great cattle country.

Vicki left the main road and we entered Carisbrooke Station. As we drove through the station Vicki told the story of the property and the land we were traveling on. We pulled up next to the edge of the escaparpement where Vicki produced a delicious morning tea. What spectacular views. Carisbrooke Station is huge, some ?????acres.

Following morning tea Vicki followed the tracks that took us around the edge of the escarpment. So many great vistas. Finally we arrived back on the main road and drove into Lark Quarry Conservation Area.

Once there Vicki pulled out the esky and produced a chicken or ham salad with fresh bread and butter for our lunch.

After lunch it was time to take our tour of the Lark Quarry facility. Some of us elected to get there via the lookout walking track. What a dry rocky place it is around there. I can’t imagine how hot it would get in summer.

Once inside our group gathered and our tour commenced with a short introductory film about what we were about to see inside. The film was well produced and explained what dinosaurs footprints we would see and how they came to be preserved in the rock. The film finished with a looming dinosaur opening its mouth at the screen. It looked like it was about the eat the people in the front row. That might be why the tour guide asked people with children to sit at the front. The couple of kids sitting there jumped and everyone around laughed.

Then the doors were opened and we made our way inside the huge shed that has been constructed over the dinosaur footprints to help preserve them. The tour guide used a laser to point out the various footprints and tell the story that the footprints have left behind. There was a family of sauropods probably at the edge of a lake and other smaller dinosaurs as well. Then a large predator dinosaur came through looking for a meal and the sauropods scattered. You can clearly see where the large predator went and turned quickly chasing a meal.

The tour lasts for about 45 minutes then we headed back outside where Vicki was waiting for us with some refreshing fruit salad before we boarded the bus for the trip back to Winton. This time we stayed on the main road and it was no time at all before we were arriving in Winton.

Vicki dropped us right back at our motorhome and, as Vicki told us that rain was expected overnight, we went to the Waltzing Matilda Centre to pay for a camp spot at the Showgrounds. We didn’t think it would be good to stay at Long Waterhole on the black soil if it rains. We let Farrells know that’s what we were doing and they joined us later after touring at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs.

Before we left home I had booked online with Red Dirt Tours to do a half day tour of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum. To meet the tour we had to pack up camp and drive into town, park out the back of the Waltzing Matilda Centre and be waiting out the front 15 mins before pick up time of 8.30am. The 4WD Red Dirt Tours bus arrived right on time and, after another couple of stops to collect passengers, we set off heading back towards Longreach.

The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum is located out of town on one of the ‘jump ups’. These tall mesa type formations are scattered around the Winton area. Australian Age of Dinosuars was incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation in 2002 and was originally based at ‘Belmont’ a sheep station owned by David and Judy Elliot. In 2006 a huge 4,000 acres of rugged mesa wilderness was donated by the Britton Family and the Museum relocated there in 2009. The museum now houses the world’s largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils.

In 1999, while mustering sheep, David Elliot discovered the fossilised bone of what was, at the time, Australia’s largest dinosaur. The bone was identified as a femur belonging to a Cretaceous period sauropod that roamed the Winton area 95 million years ago. Following this and more discoveries the Elliots called a public meeting in Winton with a view to establishing a dinosaur museum at Winton and the rest is history.

The Red Dirt Tour bus toiled up to the top of the ‘jump up’ and our first stop was the Laboratory where we were shown the process for finding, preserving and processing of the bones that are found in the regular digs that take place in the area.

Next stop was the new Reception Centre where our tour was led into The Collection Room. The Collection Room houses the bones of Australia’s most complete sauropod Diamantinasaurus matildae (known as Matilda), sauropod Savannasaurus elliotorum, the most complete theropod dinosaur Australovenator wintonensis and pterosaur Ferrodraco lentoni. We were shown a presentation of these famous dinosaurs and what they might have looked like. This was very well done. The Reception Centre also houses a cafe and a gift shop.

Next stop on our tour was the March of the Titanosaurs exhibition. This is amazing. It is a 54m long track site that was discovered on a property near Winton and removed piece by piece and reassembled in the spectacular new building at the Museum. The track site was made when herds of sauropods roamed the area when the landscape was covered in temperate rainforest and muddy billabongs. The track site also has tracks of small mammals, turtles, lungfish, crocodiles and tiny therapods as well.

Outside are two enormous bronze sculptures of an adult and juvenile sauropod. They made for a great photo opportunity.

Also near this building is the new Gondwana Stars Observatory that was opened in May 2021. The Jump Up site has been designated as Australia’s first International Dark-Sky Sanctuary. The building has been made to look and feel like a meteorite that has landed in a simulated impact crater.

Next stop was the Dinosaur Outpost and the Dinosaur Canyon exhibiton. This fabulous outdoor experience follows an elevated concrete pathway some 300 metres above the gorge below. At various points along the walkway are recreations of dinosaur life including a billabong where a large sauropod has died and it’s bones are left scattered probably by scavengers much like they do today.

The next exhibit is a family of pterosaurs perched atop a large boulder. They had small conical teeth perfect for catching fish or other aquatic creatures.

The next exhibit is a dinosaur stampede that has 24 small dinosaurs leaping across a chasm to escape the sharp claws of a 5m long theropod dinosaur Australovenator. This large predator was 2m tall at the hip and 5-6m long and weighed 500-1,000kgs.

The last exhibit at the end of the walkway is a small group of Kunbarrasaurus ievesi. These were an armoured dinosaurs and they were plant eaters.

What struck me during the walk along this exhibiton was how stunning the scenery is at the top of the ‘jump up’. I just couldn’t stop taking photos of the spectacular views.

Future plans for the museum include a natural history museum that will be built on the edge of the jump up. That will be worth coming back to visit in the future.

One of the interesting people we met on the tour was the husband of our tour operator Vicki. Her husband Hylton is a pilot and he told us he will be taking his bright red helicopter to Birdsville for the Big Red Bash. When we explained that’s where we are going he said to make sure we do a flight with him and to mention that we know him when we book. Can’t wait for that one!

Our trusty bus took us back to Winton and dropped us back at the Waltzing Matilda Centre. Hilton has told us while on the bus that the best place for lunch was the ‘Tatts’ Hotel so we parked up and walked to the pub for a crumbed steak sandwich. It was a pleasant spot out on the footpath watching the caravans go by.

Vicki, the tour bus operator, had told us that 1-5mm of rain is forecast for tonight and not to get stuck out on the blacksoil if we can help it as it is very easy to get bogged. So where to camp for the night. After checking out the Showground camping area that we thought looked OK we had to go back to the Waltzing Matilda Centre to pay our $20 and get a permit to camp there. We got one for Kevin and Sally too as they were still out at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs.

As I wrote this we were camped at the Showground waiting for Farrells to arrive after their sightseeing day. I have a lamb roast cooking in the oven and it smells amazing!

The rest of our BRB Makin’ Memories group are all slowly making their way to Birdsville and are at various places such as at Windorah and on the Birdsville Track.

There must have been over 200 campers at the Apex Riverside Park overnight. Many were quick to move out in the morning. The park is provided by the Longreach Council as a camping ground. There is a self registration box and it costs $5 per night per vehicle or $25 for 7 nights. I think there is a toilet block somewhere but we don’t need to use that as we have our own on board.

The park is right beside the muddy brown Thomson River. Sally and I walked up there last night and guessed that the river wasn’t very deep. Sure enough we came to a marker and the river is only 0.5m deep. No wonder it is so brown.

Apparently there is a paddle boat that does regular cruises on the river including a popular sunset cruise. This was not on our to do list as we’d just spent time on the PS Murray Princess not long ago.

We spent a few hours doing some washing (the chores still have to get done) before heading back into Longreach to top up with water. A quick stop at the IGA and the servo to buy a couple of bags of wood and we were leaving Longreach behind. The land along this stretch of the journey was not quite flat, just low rolling plains covered in tough grass and scrubby trees. The paddocks are huge and we saw mobs of Brahman cattle and freshly shorn sheep.

The only other sign of life was the magnificent Fork-tail Hawks. These huge majestic birds swoop and glide above the road searching for game and eating the odd bit of road kill. I tried so many times to catch one in a photo but they are too quick for me. We also saw a couple of pairs of Brolgas. I wonder if they are always in pairs. Maybe they mate for life like some other birds.

In the far distance was a low line of hills that shimmer blue as they break the wide horizon.

There was a lot of traffic, mostly RV’s of all descriptions and the occasional road train. Sadly we saw a caravan left on the side of the road and missing a wheel. It looked like the bearings had failed and the y needed a whole new wheel. No sign of the tow vehicle so they’ve probably gone back to Longreach to see if they can get a replacement wheel.

It’s 180km from Longreach to Winton and the countryside was pretty much the same all the way. It’s a big sky out this way. The road is long and mostly straight with the occasional floodways reminding us that we are in the Lake Eyre catchment.

The road to Winton is alongside the railway line on the right. It looks like the railway line is still in use as there were piles of old sleepers along a long stretch of line where the old sleepers had been replaced.

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We came into Winton, the Dinosaur Capital of Australia around lunchtime and, after a quick drive down the Main Street to orient ourselves, we drove out to Long Waterhole, about 2km south of town, to check out whether it would make a good camp spot for the night and to have some lunch. You know how I like a water view.

Long Waterhole is clearly signposted on the Jundah Road and we turned off onto a dry dusty track that goes for 1.5km to the man-made waterhole. This is the community water hole used for swimming and even water skiing.

What a gorgeous spot. Quite a few campers were already set up around the edge of the waterhole. We enjoyed our lunch with water views and decided we’d come back and camp here for the night.

Our first stop back in town was the Waltzing Matilda Centre. We spent the afternoon there exploring this wonderful museum of all things outback and in particular the Waltzing Matilda story. The museum was burnt down in a devastating fire in 2015 and completely rebuilt. The new museum opened in 2018 and it an interesting piece of architecture with it’s earth coloured concrete and rusty steel. I really liked their rusty steel down pipes that have a chain hanging down for the water to run down into the gardens below. My dad would have liked those!

The Waltzing Matilda centre is the first museum in the world dedicated to a song and first opened in 1998. Banjo Paterson penned the ballad of Waltzing Matilda whilst staying at Dagworth Station near Winton in 1895. No one at the time could have foreseen what a special place this song has in most Australians nor how popular it would become. It has been sung by soldiers, sporting teams and their supporters and has been recorded in over 500 different versions and numerous languages.

We spent a good couple of hours exploring the museum, checked out the photography exhibit in the Art Gallery and wandered the outdoor exhibits that include a steam train, carriages and a railway station, old horse drawn vehicles, a display of medical memorabilia, a shearing shed with blacksmiths and saddlers tools, an extensive glass bottle display a complete old cottage full of items showing how people once lived, anda huge machinery shed full of more memorabilia. If visiting Winton you need to allow at least a couple of hours to see all of this.

There is a large flat paved car park behind the Waltzing Matilda Centre for RV’s and it has rubbish bins and a dump point.

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We had a wander along the Main Street with its historic buildings and interesting street art in the middle island. The North Gregory Hotel is a part of Winton history as it was the very first place that a live performance of Waltzing Matilda was held in 1895. The building next to it the heritage listed Corfield & Fitzmaurice Building, a perfectly preserved old style general store. The Australian Hotel on the other side of the road has seen better days. The floor is up and down all over the place.

There are a few shops selling opals and opal jewellery and we had a bit of a browse in those.

One fascinating building is the Royal Theatre, one of only two remaining outdoor theatres in Australia. The other is in Broome. The theatre was built in 1918 and in 1938 the Evert Family purchased it. The theatre is still owned by the same family and is now run by a non-profit organisation and we met one of the family members who explained how they are really working hard to preserve the old theatre and all its memorabilia. The Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival was on while we were there and there are two feature films being shown each night as well as classic films during the day. We thought we might try and catch one while we were here.

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We headed back out to Long Waterhole and set up camp. There were many more campers there since lunchtime and although we couldn’t be right on the water we still had water views. It cools down rapidly once the sun goes down and I’m glad we were able to buy a couple of bags of wood in Longreach before we left. As I wrote we were sitting around a lovely little fire waiting for the Farrells to turn up from Longreach where they’d spent the morning at the Qantas Founders Museum.

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It was Richard’s birthday on our last day in Longreach. We had a lovely dinner out the night before at Harry’s Restaurant. Richard asked around town which was the best restaurant in town and the answer was always Harry’s so he’d made a booking as he walked past. Harry’s is upstairs at the Longreach Motor Inn and it was a popular place. Most tables were full when we arrived for dinner.

We had lovely meals and Rich was very pleased to see they had a St Hugo Shiraz on the wine list. The service was very good and friendly. We enjoyed our ‘night out’.

This morning was a bit of a slow one. We slept in, had a very leisurely breakfast, sorted food supplies and made a grocery list, uploaded more photos to our motorhomemeanders.com blog, and generally tidied up the motorhome.

Our BRB Makin’ Memories Group are all on the move and it was great to see messages coming in telling us where people were on their journey to Birdsville. I’m happy to say the sun was out in full force and really helping to dry things out. I was becoming a lot more confident that we will be able to get to Birdsville after all.

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During the day we had messages from Kevin & Sally to say they would make it Longreach this day so after filling up with water we headed out to the Apex Riverside Park and set up camp with plenty of room next to us for the Farrells when they arrived. We put out our awning, laid down our mat, got the chairs and table out, set up the fire pit and I even put up the fairy lights under our awning. We were all ready to celebrate Richard’s birthday AND watch the State of Origin.

In due course the Farrells arrived and parked up. We spent the rest of the evening enjoying a meal and some laughs around a lovely little fire. We can’t say the footy was great. NSW flogged Qld so it wasn’t much of a contest.

So now we are a convoy of two.

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Luckily we had purchased tickets online before we left home for our Stockman’s Experience Tour at the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame & Outback Heritage Centre. When we arrived at 10.45am for our 11.00am tour people were leaving the building saying to us ‘hope you already have tickets, they are booked out’. Obviously they’d chanced rocking up and being able to get in. The car park was nearly full when we arrived however we were able to find a spot to park next to some other motorhomes. We were quite excited to be visiting one of Australia’s best known attractions.

The iconic building is one that most Australians and many overseas visitors will recognise. It was established in 1988 to celebrate and recognise the contribution that people in the bush have made to Australia. The world class museum attracts over 1,000,000 visitors every year to learn, see and listen to stories of the many tales of outback history.

The whole centre was refurbished in 2020 and the centre today is an outstanding interactive museum.

Our Stockman’s Experience Tour began with a movie in the Cinema. The movie was called The Stockman’s Tale and told the story of the development of a livestock industry in Australia and the importance of the stockman in that story.

Following the movie we moved back into the foyer area where we each received an iPod on a lanyard and a set of headphones. These were needed for the next part of the tour. We entered the main exhibit area of the museum and as you walk along and stand close to an exhibit your iPod immediately begins to tell the story of that exhibit. You can immerse yourself listening to further tales by pressing on the different icons on the iPod. As you move from exhibit to exhibit the iPod recognises where you are and begins to play the appropriate story.

I listened to many tales from Mary Durack, RM Williams, some Aboriginal drovers and stockmen, even an Aboriginal woman that became a Head Stockman. The tales are short and relate to the area of the museum you are in. I loved the tales of the ‘Afghan’ tinkers who used to ply their wares all across the outback pulling their large cart with camels. There is a fine example of a tinkers cart inside the museum.

There are exhibits on the rise and fall of the wool industry and a large wool wagon that would have been pulled by a large team of horses or bullocks or camels is on display. There are tales from shearers and of course, there is the tale of Jackie Howe, the gun shearer who is claimed to have invented the singlet.

There is a large display devoted to the Royal Flying Doctor Service and a original Beechcraft Queen Air plane hangs from the ceiling above.

A display on the second floor is all about the traveling showmen and famous boxing tents. Many of Australia’s most famous boxers talents were uncovered in those traveling tents. Lionel Rose is one I remember.

Another display upstairs is dedicated to bush poets and here you can spend time listening to some of the most famous ones.

At the exit you hand in your iPod and headphones and are given an ear tag to be used as your ticket to the live show before making your way out into the cafe. We stopped in here for a ham & cheese toastie and a coffee before making our way outside to the Billabong. The Billabong is a recreation of a billabong and is the meeting place for those waiting to attend the live stockman show in the covered arena.

Our entry ticket to the live show was the ear tag given to us earlier. The large crowd entered the covered arena and filed in an orderly fashion to sit on the grandstand. The show was a fabulous display of horsemanship and stockman’s skills by Lachie Cossor ably assisted by his lovely wife and a variety of horses, dogs, sheep, a mule and even a Brahman bull. Lachie and his animals really put on a fabulous show including some of Lachie’s original songs that he sings accompanied by his guitar.

When Lachie is not doing this show at Longreach, he and his family take it all over Australia so if you get a chance to see it I would recommend you go. It was a great show. At one point his horse was being ‘naughty’ and kept lying down on the job. There was a small child sitting not far from us and each time the horse did something ‘naughty’ this child would get the giggles. It made everyone around him get the giggles too.

The show went for an hour and a half and we were captivated throughout. It was an enthusiastic crowd that gave applause at the end of the show. Lachie and his wife lined up near the fence, he riding the Brahman bull and she on her Australian Stockhorse, so that people could give them a pat on the way out. We just had to buy one of Lachie’s CD’s to listen to later.

By the time we got back to the motorhome it was 3.30pm and time to find a camp for the night seeing as the caravan parks are booked out. We drove out to the Thomson River to see if the Apex Riverside Park had dried out enough for us but we thought it looked too muddy still and was not worth the risk of getting bogged. Maybe another sunny day would help. So back to town and we got a park in one of the dedicated caravan parking spots next to the Rotary Park and set up there. While I blogged Rich went for a walk up the town and came back all excited that he’d made a reservation at a ‘fancy’ restaurant for dinner. ‘Oh no….not Chinese’ I thought. He wouldn’t tell me anymore so I, and you, will have to wait and see.

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Stealth camping in Longreach. That will be something to remember! We were not disturbed at a our spot in the carpark at the Qantas Founders Museum. How small does our motorhome look next to the Boeing 747?

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We spent the morning checking out the Main Street until it was time to do our tour at the Longreach School of Distance Education (LSODE). Our tour was to commence at 10.30am. We were quite surprised by the number of people that were there for the tour. There are so many tourists in Longreach at the moment.

What a tour! I loved this place. We were shown a short video of how the school works and how it all started using radio. With the advances in technology the school now uses the internet and video conferencing for classes. Each class has there own teacher but sometimes the children may do lessons with a different teacher for a special skill such as maths or music. Yes they even have music lessons and dance and PE. I was amazed to learn that the school puts on an bi-annual musical production and it involves every child in the school. Due to the long distances the students are from each other they only get about 6 practices together before they come together for the final production. The standard is very high.

The video interviewed children and teachers and the children obviously love their school. On a regular basis the school holds Cluster Meetings. This is an opportunity for the students and their home tutor, sometimes a paid governess or govie but usually the mother, to get together with the teachers in a central location. This getting together face to face helps the children with socialisation and making friends and it also helps the home tutors network and discuss common issues.

We were taken on a guided tour of the well resourced school with its classrooms, conference rooms, teacher spaces and studios where the teachers conduct the online classes, and the fabulous library that not only has books but also toys and games, videos and learning support materials.

At the rear of the site is a group of buildings called The Quarters. This is where the students and their home tutor or parents could come to the school for Mini School sessions and had overnight accomodation for them with a kitchen and living space. This facility is much loved by the school community and sadly it has been shut down by some bureaucrat in the Depart of Education. Apparently the excuse is that the building has asbestos. The building is in good condition and does not need any modification so I fail to understand how having asbestos can affect the use of the building. There are probably millions of buildings that have asbestos and as long as the asbestos is not disturbed they are still perfectly OK to use. But not according to the education department AND they have no plans to replace the facility.

I was so angry when I heard this part of the tour. Does the department not realise how vital it is for these remote families to come together in an environment like this one? The P&C have commenced a fund raising drive to raise money to build a new facility however the department of education has come back and said they can raise the money but it can’t be built on department land. Are they kidding? This just does not seem at all right to us.

However we were very impressed with the school and the dedication to learning that the teachers and families showed. We thoroughly enjoyed our hour long visit and made a donation to the Beds for the Bush fundraiser to go towards a new accomodation centre.

In the grounds around the school are many sculptures. Each year the school holds a competition for the best sculpture. They are made by the kids with help from their parents. Some of them were fabulous.

We went back into the main part of town and stocked up on some groceries, wine and went to the pub for lunch. Interesting fact about Longreach…the streets are all named after birds. The north/south ones are named after land birds and east/west streets are named after water birds.

In the afternoon we checked in at the Longreach Tourist Caravan Park and I spent the afternoon doing lots of washing and cooking. Richard got his MacBook out and was glad to have some internet again. We hadn’t had any service ever since we left Charleville.

The Tourist Caravan Park in Longreach is huge. There are some 306 van sites, some with ensuite, some drive-thru but all of them just on gravel. They also have some cabins.

After the rain there was a lot of mud but I was surprised how quickly it was drying out. We did think it odd that there was no drainage for sullage at all in most of the park and you are told to just let your grey water out on the ground. I understand this if it is grass or gardens but there it was just gravel. The newer section of the park has sullage points at each site and as a result was not as muddy as the rest of the park. It costs $40 for a medium size powered site. Our site was not too muddy. The park was booked out again and they are for weeks ahead. They are raking in the money this season!

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Lara Station is a 15,000 acre cattle property located 28km south of Barcaldine and 78km north of Blackall. We arrived at the turn to Lara off the Landsborough Highway coming from Blackall. The turn off is well signposted. You follow a well graded (a bit corrugated) road made of red sandy loam for 13km to arrive at the Wetlands Campground. What an oasis in the middle of this arid landscape.

On Mondays and Wednesdays you can do a tour of the Homestead and hear the story of Lara Station, how it was started and the setting up of the wetland camping area. Luckily we were there on Tuesday and Wednesday so we were able to book for the Wednesday tour. Everyone on the tour meets in front of the office and from there you can choose how you will get to the homestead. You can ride in the back of a trailer sitting on hay bales (which we did), be driven in a car or you can take the short walk through the Gidgee scrub.

When you arrive at Lara Homestead the group is met by the current owner of Lara, a young woman named Jodie. Jodie only purchased the property in September 2020 as a home for her and her three young children. Jodie had grown up on the land and she is ably assisted on the property by her parents and her brother who also have properties in the area. The previous owners were the ones who got the Wetlands Campground up and running but tragically the husband was killed whilst flying his own helicopter. The lady ran the property on her own for many years before selling out to Jodie last year.

We learnt that Lara homestead was built in 1914 by Eric Sealy. The house is a Queenslander style built up on tall Gidgee stumps and has a verandah almost all the way around. The house itself was originally a Y shape however the tail of the Y was where the original kitchen, and servants quarters were and this has all been removed as it was falling down. Only the Gidgee stumps remain. A small kitchenette has been built in the verandah that was once the breezeway between the main house and the kitchen.

The remaining house is only one room wide and each room has a set of double doors on both sides. This, as well as the verandah and being raised up on piers, allowed cooling breezes to help beat the summer heat.

The house is constructed of timber and some of the rooms have lovely pressed metal ceilings. A couple of the bedrooms have the original Lino flooring. Sadly all the fine furniture, and even the fixtures and fittings were all sold off in a big clearing sale years ago. Eric Sealy became a very wealthy man at Lara as a wool producer in the time that ‘Australia ran off the sheep’s back’. There were old photographs on display of the homestead in its hey day with a tennis court and gardens. There was even an old photo of the verandah with tables set for a wedding reception.

Following the tour of the house the group was offered tea or coffee and scones with jam and cream on the verandah. The big wide verandah has plenty of chairs for people to sit and enjoy their Devonshire Tea.

Following morning tea Jodie led the group across the house yard and stopped in front of the original bore. She explained the importance of the Artesian water to the property and that open bore drains once led from the original bore off in all directions towards troughs, to the next door neighbours house and down to the wetlands. A new bore has been sunk and the water is now all piped to where it has to go. Jodie’s assistant Amber, one of the farmhands, turned a handle on the new bore and water started to pour out of the old bore at around 25psi and 68 degrees. It’s hot! Water is sent to a cooling dam before being used around the property.

We were then shown to an old shed that the family call ‘The Museum’ and it is really just an old corrugated shed full of old stuff. There was even an identical kerosene fridge to the ones we have up at Mikala although this one was in sad need of some TLC.

The tour ends there and people can either walk back or be driven. I elected to walk back and it’s just a short walk along a dusty red sandy track back to the oasis that is the Wetlands.

The Wetlands was originally a natural depression where water gathered after big rains. The previous owners saw potential in doing some landscaping and setting up the campground. The large roughly circular wetlands is home to many birds and other wildlife. When you arrive at Lara Wetlands you come to the office building. Here you pay your $25 per night for 2 people, the rules are explained, and you are given a map and instructions to drive around and find your spot. If you park on the waters edge you must park straight in or reverse in. Sideways is not acceptable as it limits the number of campers.

There is no power at the Campground but water is available at various taps around the place. Grey water can be let go on trees or the grass and all rubbish must be taken out with you.

There are push bikes and kayaks available from the office and there are three amenities blocks and a dump point. There is a large camp kitchen and a communal fire pit area where every Saturday night they hold 3-course camp oven dinners for $25 per person.

Next to the Camp Kitchen is the Thermal Pool and there is another cool pool not far away. The Thermal Pool is kept at 38 degrees and most campers make use of it. It is recommended not to stay in it for more than 15 minutes. A 15 minute soak in the hot artesian water eases many aches and pains.

On Tuesday nights ‘happy hour’ is held with live Country music and although we didn’t walk around to that we could clearly hear the music from across the water.

Fire drums are scattered around the campground for campers to use and you can buy a trolley load of cut Gidgee wood for $15.

Lara Wetlands is a magic place and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone passing through this area. It is popular though and we reckon there must have been over 100 camps there each night we were there.

I spent the afternoon paddling my inflatable kayak around the lagoon. It was a very relaxing afternoon. Rich was reading a book. We enjoyed a nice hot Indian Curry & Rice for dinner by the fire pit. Magic!

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