Collinsville at last- why?

We finally drove to Collinsville yesterday, and what a letdown!  John's been talking about it ever since Lake Elphinstone- apparently he'd seen some photos of it which made him keen to see it.  We couldn't find the places where the photos were taken, or they've changed in the meantime- never mind, at least it filled in some time on a miserable day.


We'd woken to really strong winds again, and we were tired of them so a drive inland seemed like a good idea. Sure enough, the wind dropped as we went inland, but the rain started instead.  Wipers were going for nearly the whole time we were away, but luckily it eased off when we were having morning tea in a nice little park in Collinsville, and later when we returned for lunch, as we'd not found anywhere better.  There are several small parks in the area, but this one had some shelter as well (just in case).  


We were visited by a very inquisitive bird, who turned out to be a juvenile  pied butcherbird, still in brown rather than the black and white he will sport when he grows up.

                            Juvenile pied butcher bird


Collinsville is strictly a mining town, but on a slightly different model from the others we've seen.  Instead of dongas housing a hundred or so people (mostly men), they have a number of smaller, house-sized, buildings scattered through the residential areas, each with 5 or 6 rooms, communal kitchen and laundry.  We don't know how the locals feel about having these people in their street- certainly the people of Moranbah, shown on 4 Corners last week, don't like it.  And we did notice a disproportionate number of VERY BIG dogs amongst the normal houses.


The argument given in the program was that all these single men are living in residential streets (where the husbands may very well be away for 10 days at a time working) and nobody knows them.  They are there themselves only to work, they have homes elsewhere, so they don't participate in the town's activities, etc.  It's not like having normal neighbours.  There's no incentive to do anything except drink, and the crime rate, especially rape, has skyrocketed.  The husband being interviewed said his solution was, guess what, a very big dog.


We tried to find the Collinsville weir, but it was inaccessible;  We did see a number of open cut mines, including a new one just being started up, and we were approached by a road-train driver for directions- fancy asking us!  We didn't even have a map but we thought he was on the right road to Nebo, which turned out to be correct.


Back through the rain to Bowen, which was still windy but bone dry- the first drizzle was starting as we arrived there.  Kim had invited us in to the motel for dinner, which was very pleasant, and we were joined by a motel guest who hailed from the Central Coast.  He's the owner of Aurora Tours, which does tours for Seniors-they pick up from their home and take them to the airport, then they are met at the other end.  He's investigating tours in this area. He said they have one client who's 94 and has done several tours.


We've had to change our plans on hearing Burdekin Dam is currently being upgraded and really doesn't have vacancies at the moment.  We've decided to stay at Ravenswood instead, and do a day trip to Burdekin.  From there we'll go to Charters Towers for a few days before heading to Townsville.  No internet connection at Ravenswood, as mobile coverage is poor.


Kim's given us the use of a canoe, which should make the red claw fishing more interesting for the guys.  

                 John's vehicle with canoe aboard

Blown away in Bowen

Last night the wind howled and raged.  We took down the awnings because they were flapping so  much we were afraid of damaging them.  Strong winds have been forecast all the way down the coast from Torres Strait to Hervey Bay- glad we're not going out to the islands today!

This morning we had a conference to decide where we'll stay in Cairns in a month's time.  It was important to book early because we need to leave them while we're on the Thursday Island tour.  It's now all settled, Ruby's booked in to a kennel, the vans are booked in and the tour company knows where to pick us up on the day.

There was also a long discussion about what to do before and after Cairns, but that's just about settled now.  Tomorrow we hope to do the postponed trip to Collinsville, inland from here.

On Friday we'll be going to Groper Creek with Kim and Debbie, who have the weekend off.  They'll return to Bowen on Sunday, but we'll go to Burdekin Falls, which is also inland from here, but reached via Townsville, almost.   After that we'll go to Townsville, then up the coast to Cairns.

                                    Another photo of Whitehaven Beach- couldn't resist it.


Chris and I walked around the pretty lagoon not far from here- well kept grounds and gardens, lots of birdlife and a tortoise.

                                                           Mullers Lagoon, Bowen
                                            

                                                 Tortoise at Mullers Lagoon

                                          Brolgas and carpet snake artwork at lagoon

Wonders of the Whitsundays

Chris and I had a wonderful day yesterday, on a cruise amongst the Whitsunday Islands, visiting the pristine white sands of Whitehaven Beach, and snorkeling off Hook Island.  Wonderful weather and warm water (22 degrees for the water, mid-20s for the air temperature) made the snorkeling a delightful experience, as we floated above colourful coral reefs, watching lots of colourful fish.  All the gear was supplied by the operator, who had cups of tea ready for us when we returned to the boat.  Then we headed through rather bumpy seas to Whitsunday Island, the largest in the group, where we landed on the almost pure white sands of Whitehaven Beach, where we had a BBQ lunch.  

Whtehaven Beach, Whitsunday Island, near Airlie Beach, Q.


We were pleased to find  toilets hidden out of sight from the water.  Goannas were plentiful at lunchtime, wanting to share the food. 

                   Goanna trying to get some of our lunch


There were quite a lot of small fish in the shallow water right at the edge of the beach, and we'd seen a green sea turtle next to the boat when it stopped- unfortunately she'd dived before we got our cameras out, but we did have a good look at her.


After an hour or two on the beach, we returned to the boat and resumed our trip, this time rounding a headland at the opposite end of the beach where we landed once again and walked up to a lookout over the estuary.  Great views, including the yacht which was beached here 6 days ago- the moron who hired it had tried to sail it into a protected area at high tide, and didn't notice the sandbar.  Attempts to refloat it have so far been unsuccessful  No doubt it's becoming an expensive mistake for the hirer as we believe he'd hired it for 4 days only.

                       Beached yacht on Whitsunday Island

                          Whitsunday Island

                           Whitsunday Estuary


We had a speedy trip back to the harbour, passing several other cruise boats on the way. I managed to get a photo of Airlie Beach (through water-sprayed windows) on the way back.

Blurry, waterlogged image of Airlie Beach from the water

Here come da sun!

Halleluia, the sun shone today as we took a drive to the north.  More roadworks, every road in Qld is under repair, it seems.  Aftermath of floods, no doubt. 


The landscape is flat like a table top, but with odd excrescences ( think of salt and pepper shakers, sugar bowl etc)- some of the mountains are quite large, but they pop out of the flat landscape, often kilometres from the next bump, and rising so steeply.  The Great Divide here is not a range of mountains, merely a series of  sometimes very big hills, usually quite rocky.  One of these had a lookout at the top- we drove up an incredibly steep incline to reach it, luckily not passing another vehicle until we reached a wider spot near the top.  From the top, the view is breathtaking, something like being in a plane, as the flat land spreads for miles around.  We could see far distant mountains and also the sea.

We'd been told about a really good free camp at Home Hill so we stopped to check it out.  This is superb.  The town council's erected modern buildings which include toilets and showers as well as a camp kitchen, with a limit of 48 hours stay.  You simply park at the side of the road, next to pleasant lawns- people today had their chairs out on  the lawn soaking up the sun.  What a great way to attract people to the town- there are directions to the various businesses, the information centre's in the old railway station across the road, and everything's so well done that we were overwhelmed.  


After crossing the wide Burdekin River, we carried on to nearby Ayr. where we were surprised to find quite  a large town with a big shopping centre. We headed for Alva Beach where we came across our first crocodile warning sign, and long sandy beaches with no surf whatsoever.

Back in Bowen, we headed up Flagstaff Hill again to enjoy the view in good conditions- what a contrast to the rainy view we had a few days ago!

Airlie Beach in the rain

For some reason this blog has suddenly reduced in size, perhaps I've done too many posts??? I hope you can read it. I'm using a larger font than previously, I hope it doesn't show up as giant size because it's only just big enough for me to read it as I type.


Yesterday we gave up on waiting for the weather to improve- we thought we might have to stay here forever waiting!  Yesterday Chris, Marg and I drove to Airlie Beach regardless.  John and Ruby stayed behind as John was itching to get back on that ride-on mower.  He hasn't mowed a lawn in weeks, and people who know him at home know that he does like to keep his lawn looking nice.


The windscreen wipers were on almost for the whole trip there and back- the rain, although mostly not heavy, did not let up.  The mountains had clouds apparently permanently stuck on their tops, which looked rather pretty if a bit bleak.  


First we went to the Cannonvale shopping area, which holds all the ubiquitous chains we expect to see everywhere.  Chris did a bit of boring shopping in boring shops like Supercheap Auto while Marg and I stayed dry in the Prado.  


Airlie Beach itself  is of course a tourist trap, with many shops for the backpackers and other tourists, but it's not really a beachy place as much as a town for boaties.  There are a number of marinas with some beautiful boats in them, yachts and cruisers, big and small.  There are numerous big apartment blocks on the surrounding hillsides (and it's very hilly).  The beach is tiny, and you can't swim anyway because of the stingers.  There's a very nice boardwalk along the front and we had a pleasant barramundi lunch before making another dash for the car, which we'd had to park a long distance away. Because of the rain, we didn't get a chance to take a photo of the area.


Shute Harbour, about 10 kilometres further along a winding and hilly road, is quite lovely, with delightful views of many islands.  We were enquiring about ferries to various islands, but discovered that only Hamilton Island can be visited from here. (We were horrified to see our bugbear, Pay and Display parking, which we met everywhere in England). 

                         Shute Harbour seen from hill above.


So back to Abel Point on the other side of Airlie Beach to enquire at the opposition ferry wharf.  We've decided to do a day trip which passes a number of the islands, stopping at Whitsunday Island for lunch and snorkelling, and returning past yet more of the islands.  (Just hope the weather improves!)  We'll probably go on Monday, which has the best forecast. There's to be a cruise ship visiting that day, so we may not be able to book then.


Near Abel Point is a little beach called Shingley Beach for obvious reasons. Chris got talking to a French backpacker who was complaining about the weather and being bored with nothing to do in the rain.  We can relate to that!

     Shingley Beach, looking towards Abel Point marina


On the way back, we detoured to check out Proserpine, which we'd passed on the outskirts a few days ago.  Not worth the bother.  


The road between Proserpine and Bowen is quite boring, with miles of spindly trees and not much else to look at.  The road is quite good with long straight sections, but it really does become tedious with same-same flat landscape and foliage.  As you near Bowen there are tomato fields, we saw people working in one of them the first time we did that section- very labour intensive, there were at least 20 workers.  No crop visible, so we think they were thinning the bushes.


Closer still to Bowen is the Information Centre and the supposedly renowned Big Mango (big monstrosity, and big ripoff as it reputedly cost $90,000!  Can you believe it?!?) The guy at the info centre said he doesn't like it because it's upside down- the committee which ordained it said that's how they get packed, but he says it's not how they grow.  The stalk is next to the ground.  He said it needs another coat of paint but I think it needs a stick of dynamite. Admittedly it might help if it was painted by someone who'd actually seen a mango. BTW, he said it's never been fully paid for- the committee used to run chook raffles and the like, but most of them have since died and nobody's worried about it.  

    Big Mango at Information Centre, Bruce Highway, Bowen
   
Back at the motel, it was still raining, and a small watercourse had appeared between the two vans, which are facing one another.  Luckily the ground is sandy so it disappears quickly once the rain eases, but it makes things a bit unpleasant when it's pouring.


In the late afternoon, another van arrived, friends of Kim's from Brisbane.  They have just driven off- I didn't get much chance to speak to them, thought they would stay longer.  I hope the cranky man from the caravan park saw the third van here- he came to enquire about us the other day.  We're parked next to the motel on a spare block of ground, and as it's the corner of the street I suppose it does look as if we've just decided to free camp here.  The block belongs to Kim, and will one day be part of motel extensions, so we simply told him it's private property and he went off grumbling.


This morning looks a bit brighter, with no showers so far (9am)-  a little patch of blue sky is visible.  It's too early to say it's going to be a fine day, but fingers crossed!

A wild, wet and windy night....

Bowen has really turned on the bad weather for us.  From overcast with showers yesterday, overnight we had strong winds and heavy rain.  There must have been a mini flood between the two vans during the night, as we can see where it's been.  Luckily the rain eased in the morning and at the moment it's just wind.

Bowen's in the dry tropics and rain at this time is very unusual, we're told.  "It harAfter a quiet morning doing housework in the vans (doesn't take long) and battening the hatches, tying down the awnings, etc, the guys did a few chores for Kim to help out. After lunch, we took Marg and Ruby for a drive to look at the beaches, of which there are several.  First was Kings Beach, a long stretch of windswept sand, with the tide out of course.  dly ever rains in Bowen," Kim said a few days ago.  The weather's been proving him wrong ever since.

                           Kings Beach looking south- it's nearly as long in the other direction, too.

Second was Horseshoe Beach, a delightful spot with a sheltered though tiny beach, under the big balancing rock which can be seen from many parts of the town. I wouldn't like to be living near it in an earthquake!

Horseshoe Bay 

The rock is named Mother Beddock for some reason.  I imagine the view's great from there, but there was no way we were climbing it with this cold wind blowing!

A short diversion to Murrays Bay was disappointing but Rose Bay was much nicer.  As you come over the hill, you are confronted with water backed by mountains, a delightful view even on this gloomy day.  There's a tiny little beach, and lots of rocks.  I may not have mentioned that Bowen has a profusion of very large rocks, also a number of smallish hills, which in itself is remarkable in these flat plains.

Rose Bay looking towards Gloucester Island

A few kilometres further north we came to the estuary of the Don River, and the northern end of the long stretch of rather dirty looking sand (containing rutile) known as Queens Beach, which as far as we've seen is the only patrolled beach (though I may be wrong there).  A fisherman had just landed a nice flathead when we arrived.

We drove back into town via a different route for a new perspective.  Some of the streets are very wide, most of the shopping area has middle of the street parking as well as the normal kerbside parking.  We haven't noticed any particularly remarkable buildings apart from a couple of nice old Queenslanders.  Back at the motel, John was happily mowing the large lawn using a ride on mower.  He seemed to be having far too much fun so Chris took over, and couldn't wipe the grin off his face.  Lawn mowing was never so good!

Bowen

The town is fairly large with most of the usual shops but no optometrist- (the hinge came out of my specs) luckily I always carry a spare pair of glasses.  The shops are handily gathered around a few blocks so quite convenient to reach.  I had my hair cut this morning - it was badly needed- the woman did a very good job on it.  The post office was terribly busy when I visited yesterday, I was 8th on the queue which I thought bad enough, but by the time I was 5th, there were another 9 people behind me.  I suppose it's pension day or something.

Residential areas are well spread around, with no highrise as yet.

Driving around town today, we found the foreshore area has been nicely done up, with a children's playground, sound shell and lawn areas.  There's also a simple but quite well done Catalina display, which would be good for Rathmines as well.  This was an important Catalina base after Port Moresby was overrun in WW11, the planes being heavily involved in the Coral Sea battle which was a turning point in the Pacific war. There's a big concrete slab area similar to Rathmines but the ramp is not as wide. No good at low tide, because like all of Nth Qld, the tide goes out forever.   We always seem to be photographing mud flats at low tide.  I know the tide comes in sometimes but we never seem to catch it.  Speaking of catching, Chris spotted a fisherman with a very nice fish dangling from his line as we drove past- the area's renowned for fishing, it seems.

Glass historical sign at the old harbour foreshore.

This area was the harbour but the focus has been shifted some way up the coast, so that Bowen is no longer covered in a film of coal dust.  There's a marina and the fishing fleet in this area.  A little further south is as a salt works operated by Saxa Salt and major roadworks which cause long delays, not a good introduction to the town.

The main beach seen from Flagstaff hill on a rainy day.

We drove up Flagstaff Hill, a convenient lookout with a cafe on top- my kind of lookout.  Unfortunately here in the dry tropics today, it's raining, or intermittent showers anyway, so the views are not as good as they should be.  In the bursts of sunshine we could see the lovely azure of the water, as well as rainbows in the distance, but big Gloucester Island, which was clearly visible just offshore yesterday, was today hidden by cloud.  We'll have to go back up there another day when it's sunny.  Predictions are for a "rain event" all over coastal Qld tomorrow, but the weather should improve on Saturday.


I mentioned Kim's generosity- he insisted on giving us a great fish meal last night, and today it's to be roast beef.  He wanted us to have breakfast in the motel but we circumvented that by eating in the van before we saw him this morning.  In return he's asked the men to do a little chore for him, but it's not adequate return for what he's doing for us.

Boulders, beaches, and Rex the Welcoming Dog

We've just spent a few days at beautiful Boulder Creek, about 15k inland from Calen, between Mackay and Bowen.  It's a magic spot, with crystal clear water, a little park with tables, chairs and BBQs (BYO firewood)- and Rex, the Welcoming Dog.  Rex is a funny little character, who is on hand to welcome every visitor who arrives.  He doesn't impose, politely waits till you indicate a desire to speak to him before he comes over, but he's ready with a tail wag whenever you look at him.  He'll approach for more attention if you want, or go to the next person.  He'll accompany you on a short walk, as long as you don't wander too far- he might miss out on a newcomer!  He belongs to the local farmer, and goes home each day- no trouble at all, just a friendly little face and waggy tail. A happy little chap who thinks everyone's his friend.

                                          This lovely creek is right next to the campsite

                                                            Rex the Welcoming Dog
The men put the traps out in the creek and caught some freshwater prawns, if that's what they're called.  When they went to check the traps again later that day, they got several surprises:  four baby tortoises, and a carpet snake!  The tortoises were actually in the traps (and were of course released) but the snake was sitting almost on one of the ropes so it was decided to leave that trap unchecked overnight.  Next morning the snake, though still in the vicinity, had moved away a bit so they were able to check the trap and found some more prawns.

                                         One of the tiny tortoises that crawled into our net

                                                    Inland Carpet Python- note our orange and blue ropes

We drove up the coast a little from Calen to Midge Point- save your petrol, it's awful.  The wind was howling, the trees bend so far it seems that that is the normal weather here.  The "beach" is flat and brown, the "surf" non-existent, and there's not even a corner shop, just holiday homes and fairly ordinary ones at that. We couldn't work out what you would do here- you can't swim or surf, or even fish apparently. And the name suggests that the ubiquitous midges are very prevalent here, no doubt when the wind drops because they'd be blown to billyo when it's blowing!

                                                          Midge Point tree

Heading south, we visited Halliday and Ball Beaches and Seaforth.  Halliday Beach wasn't much better than Midge Point, though without the wind.  Ball Beach has a campsite right next to the beach, with a charge of $21 per night for toilets and outdoor cold shower, one power point for the whole place.  Beach is flat but good for launching a boat, and turtle come up to lay their eggs on it October- February.

Halliday's Beach (or was it Ball Beach???)

Seaforth was much nicer and we thought a stay there could be quite nice. Unfortunately no photos from there.

We had a little bit of rain yesterday and it's overcast today.  We've moved on to Bowen where the vans are parked next to Kim and Debbie's motel.  They are very generous and are providing power and water, food and drink.  Kim just told me to borrow money from the staff to use the washing machine- they get the coins back, of course.  "Whatever you do, please don't use your own money for your washing," he said.  He's so generous it's almost embarrassing.  We'll try to take them out for a meal to thank them- if they let us, that is.

Mirani, Mackay, miserable weather

Woke this morning to fine, sunny and warm weather so set off for a drive wearing shorts and T shirt.  Big mistake!  Unlike yesterday, which really was warm and sunny, today took a turn for the worse, the temperature dove down, and the wind blew- strongly. We visited Sarina and nearby beaches, ho-hum and shiver. Up the hill to the viewpoint for the coal loader- Marg and I stayed in the car out of the cold wind.

Mackay itself is quite a nice city, apparently wealthy, with lovely parks and an excellent information centre and staff. Unfortunately picnic lunches are not the best in wind and rain, though only showers.  We finally managed to find some shelter in Queen's Park, which has very old fig and banyan trees and an excellent display of orchids.  A drive to the harbour to see the sugar-loading operation (also oil, coal and other products), a short detour to Harbour Beach, a wide yellow but very flat beach, with rough surf today.

Melba House, briefly the home of Dame Nellie Melba.  Born in Melbourne, she came to this area when her father built the sugar mill at nearby Marian, married the first mill manager but left with her baby son after just over a year to seek a musical career in London.  Though she returned to Australia for visits, she never returned to the Mackay area.


Yesterday was a top day with very special attraction for Chris and me. We were going to a national park (no dogs) so the others did their own thing.  First we visited Finch Hatton Gorge and the Araluen cascades, crossing numerous pretty streams on the way, and enjoying a walk in a real tropical rainforest.  We heard a lyrebird but didn't spot him- no surprise there.  The cascades were lovely and well worth the fairly easy climb to get there.  On the way back to the main road we stopped several times for photos of the beautiful streams you have to ford, as well as at the long bridge which crosses Cattle Creek- this creek, like Araluen cascade, has some massive rocks which make you wonder at the power of waters tumbling down from the mountain.

                                                                Araluen Cascades

                               One of the little streams we had to cross on our walk to the falls
                                                   

                               Cattle Creek.  This gives some idea of the surrounding peaks.
We are staying at Mirani (pronounced Mir-annie), a sugarcane area in the Pioneer Valley.  The Pioneer River flows next to the town, reaching the sea at Mackay.  The river valley is almost dead level, though surrounded by some biggish mountains, the biggest we've seen for a long time.  At the head of the valley the road suddenly soars upward, round tight bends with spectacular views, till it reaches Eungella, at the top of the climb. The caravan park there had been recommended to us, but we're very pleased we went up sans caravan, as we met a number of tip trucks both coming and going, and there isn't a lot of room on those bends! (The CB radio, installed to my disgust, has proved to be a boon as we can hear the truckies talking and know in advance when one's approaching.  They have many, many very wide loads (mining machinery) in these areas and when we're towing the van, which is wider than the car, we can get out of the way before the wide load arrives).

Eungella (this is tricky, so bear with me- Jung like Carl, gel as pronounced by English toffs saying "girl". Jung gell a).  There's a splendid lookout called Sky Window, which lays out the vast panorama of the valley flats before you, the river winding its way down towards Mackay in the distance- the valley's about 60 kms long, so the far view is a bit hazy, to say the least.  Sugarcane as far as you can see, fringed by bits of bush and occasional little towns.

                                          Pioneer Valley from Eungella Sky Window

 The highlight of the day, though, was watching wild platypus in the Broken River not far from Eungella.

One of the small towns in the valley is named Pinnacle- wouldn't you think it'd be at the top?  Not at all.  They do have a view of a pinnacle, though.  It had been suggested that we should get a Pinnacle Pie at the pub, so we did, and very good too.  We got takeaway because a busload of giggling girls on a hen's night had arrived just before us.  Curious clothes some of them were wearing- is the full skirt with rope petticoat back "in", or were they doing retro?  Some of them had distinctly forties hairdos (which actually looked quite nice) but if they were trying to be retro, they had their eras mixed up.  I saw a couple of dresses I might have worn myself at that age.

Tomorrow we move on to another free camp (so probably no internet) between Mackay and Bowen, where we'll stay a few days if we like it.  Once we get to Kim's motel at Bowen we may stay as long as a week, doing drives each day to explore the area, visiting places like Proserpine as well as inland.

Lake Elphinstone

Travelling from Clermont on Tuesday 15th May, we passed the northern edge of the Peak Range, which we've just about circled in recent times.  Once again we saw the Lord's Table and the Anvil, as well as various other bits of rock sticking out of the plains.  Chris says they're volcanic plugs left behind when everything else eroded.  One of them looked like a giant you-know-what!

Continuing east, we were able to see much bigger mountains in front of us.  This is the eastern part of the Great Dividing Range.  However our destination was in between the two ranges.  We lunched in a park in the little town of Nebo, where there was a colony of fruit bats in some poor person's yard.  They are horrible noisy, smelly things which also carry disease, so you would not want them in your yard- they are very hard to get rid of, as well.  Coincidentally, the previous night the new Qld Premier, Campbell Newman, was talking about giving councils the right to let people shoot them when necessary- they are normally protected.

From Nebo we headed north to Lake Elphinstone, which is a small lake formed when a landslide blocked a stream nearby. It's quite full at the moment after all the rain earlier this year, but apparently does almost dry up at times.  The men were hoping to catch redclaw but the edges of the lake were full of reeds- there was nowhere to put the traps in.  Some of the other caravanners had boats (including the folding boat people we'd met at Theresa Ck) and they reported poor catches, although they did show us some quite large red claw.

The campsite is mowed by council and there's a very basic amenities block, sewered with hot showers as long as someone has lit the fire for the donkey engine, an ingenious device which heats water by passing copper pipes through heated drums of water (hence the fire).  The water, once heated, stays hot enough for a shower for several hours, so they usually light the fire in the early afternoon, and people have showers from about 3.30 pm till dark.  There's no power or water for the vans but it's entirely free.

                                   prickly pear growing in guttering, Lake Elphinstone, Qld

                                                    Fruit bats (flying foxes) at Nebo.

                                                Pretty little creek near Lake Elphinstone, Qld


There were a few other little dogs on site which gave Ruby plenty to yap about. Not that she needs an excuse.

One night John and Chris made a fire using an angled piece of metal as a wind shelter and we had a lovely time sitting there under the myriad of stars, eating my very first effort at cooking damper- and it was quite a success, too.  Pity Chris' idea of cooking in the coals means putting it right in amongst the fire- next time we'll get it right.  As it was, the damper was delicious once we scraped off the charcoal.  Yes, it was wrapped in foil, but the fire was so hot it melted!  We could see three distinct glows in the sky from surrounding mines, which operate around the clock.

We didn't do much in the three days we stayed there but enjoyed the quiet times.  One day we drove a bit up the road, crossed a pretty creek, and drove past the Burton Mine, a huge open cut which goes on for kilometres in every direction.  We have plenty of open cut mines near home, but you usually can't get a good look at them- this one had a spot where we were able to pull up and have a good look.  The men were interested, and so was I- in a job I was doing some years ago, I used to be responsible for importing the "jewellery" attachments which are used by the huge trucks and the enormous dragline buckets- most of these  parts came from the US and Canada.  I'd love to see a blast in a coal mine but we never seem to get near one on the right day.

There was a lot of birdlife near the lake, including some of the ubiquitous black kites we've seen by the hundreds- a pair, which could be seen soaring most of the day, had a nest in a nearby tree. I love watching them, the grace and ease with which they wheel and soar- wonderful.  They won't come close enough for a photo, though.

Failed detectives

Today we paid a woman, Margie, to take us detecting for gold.  We enjoyed the trip but came back empty-handed, utter failures at detecting.

Margie's a character, with missing teeth and the raspy voice that signals a heavy smoker, but she's not a drinker- she drinks only Coke or water. She's had a bad accident in the past, breaking her spine in 5 places; the doctors said she'd never walk again but she's a hard case and wasn't going to let that stop her. She still likes to ride though she can't go enter competitions any more. She admits it's hard to put her boots on in the morning so she wears thongs.  Although she didn't bring her cat out today, she often drives with it on the dashboard or on her shoulder looking out of the driver's window.  Hmm. (Strangely enough, she has been booked for this unusual habit).  Still does it, but puts the cat in a cage when driving through towns. She drove us about 40 kilometres each way at high speed- I wasn't game to ask for details of her accident, but hoped that it was from falling off a horse rather than from a head-on collision.

It took about an hour to reach her secret spot, but most of this time was spent driving slowly over a very bumpy track, with sharp bends and sudden uphills and downhills.  We were driving in what's known as a GPA (General Prospecting Area)- an authorised fossicking area which has previously been thoroughly mined, but people still find gold there.  (Not these people).

It was interesting to see how the detector works, and we each had a try at it- each of us had the excitement of a signal which turned out to be other than gold- a few tiny bits of lead, and some metal that looks like bits of an old watch band.  Disappointment.  John had made divining rods from a coathanger so we tried that, too, to no avail, oddly enough.

Margie helps Chris don the gear.  It's fairly heavy but very well-designed to balance the weight.

It's making the right sound- unfortunately gold and lead make the same sound. Guess which it was?

                            Digging deeper, all intent on the task- except Ruby, who couldn't care less.

                                                    Complicated spider web

                                        John detecting, Val divining, Marg talking to Ruby


Once again the weather's great, though not as warm today.  We kept our jumpers on for quite a bit longer this morning.  We were out there for about five hours and quite enjoyed the experience (though we would have enjoyed it more if we'd found any gold).  Never mind, back to the caravan park- each couple has a bag of gravel from Rubyvale and we might find some sapphires when we sort them.

Tomorrow we head east towards Mackay, but we plan to detour to Lake Elphinstone for a few days first.  If you're following us on a map, we need to head north at Nebo.  We'll probably be out of touch for 3 or 4 days but maybe not.  We can always hope.

Back to Rubyvale

Drove around Clermont, saw their lovely lagoon with circling walkway, and the piano in the tree. Clermont, originally built down near the lagoon, suffered a disastrous flood in 1916, when the whole town was inundated and 35 people drowned.  When the waters receded, three pianos were found in trees.  The current one is a statue of sorts, a stark reminder of the depth of water which washed away the town overnight.  (Aborigines had warned them not to live there, but they knew better).  Afterwards, the town was rebuilt up the hill, only about half a kilometre away.

                                          Piano in the tree.

On towards Rubyvale, which we first visited a couple of weeks ago.  This road is the opposite side of the triangle bounded by Rubyvale, Capella and Clermont, and is the same road we'd travelled on to Theresa Creek Dam.  Some distance past the dam turnoff, we came to Theresa Creek itself, crossing it on a causeway which washed the wheels.  What a beautiful spot, with fresh flowing water and clean sandy beach.  It would be a great place to camp.A little further on, we crossed Tomahawk Creek, which is very similar.  Both these creeks are wide and tree-lined, with sandy banks- quite photogenic but you can't stop in the middle of a single lane causeway to take a photo!

Some distance further on, we came to the turnoff for Tomahawk Creek.  We'd been told about this place when we were in Sapphire a few weeks ago, and would have gone there if not for the day's rain which made the road impassable at that time.  We had morning tea by the roadside, and John got into conversation with Tommo, a passing motorist, who gave him the gen.  About twenty kilometres, he said.  So John drove down the ever-diminishing track, over cattle grids and through grazing cattle, for about the required distance.  We came to a VERY sandy part but John, a former farmer who's used to driving rough roads, took it in his stride.  Then the road forked- one way had a sign to a telephone (we were miles from anywhere and in thick bush!) so that seemed to be the major road, so to speak.

                                          Tomahawk Creek intersection.

We passed the telephone box, which must qualify as one of the most isolated in Australia.  Not a residence for miles around, and although the bush temporarily thinned out, this must be the strangest place to locate a phone- and look at the necessary accessories to make it work!

John kept on driving, and the track kept on diminishing.  We were being thrown around quite a lot so Marg had trouble keeping Ruby on her lap, and Chris and I, in the back seat, were using muscles we'd forgotten we owned in order to stay upright.  The track became quite rocky rather than sandy, by now just two little wheel strips amongst the grass, winding wildly around trees and back again.  Eventually we saw a vehicle in the distance, which proved to be owned by a father and son who are working a claim.  They were having a beer after their work and were quite happy to chat with us.  They said the track petered out altogether a short distance away- we'd taken the wrong turn back at the telephone sign.

A U-turn was indicated, and we bumped back along the excuse for a track to the intersection, if you could call it that.  We got out and wandered around, John examining the mullock heaps, Chris and I individually wandering down to the creek crossing.  The creek here (we assume it was Tomahawk Creek, but it was bone dry) was very sandy and Chris picked up a tiny stone he thought might be gold.

It was well after lunchtime by now and we had no more food with us, so we headed for our original destination, Rubyvale, arriving at the cafe at 2.30 to find the cook, exhausted from a busy day, was just going on a break.  We managed to get a bite to eat, then crossed the road to the pub for a very welcome and very cold ale.  Chris consulted an expert about his little find and was told he'd found a tiny star sapphire, which amazed all of us.  Bright yellow! Too small to have any value, unfortunately.

Then back  towards Clermont, driving in between two mountain ranges, both at some distance but clearly visible across the rolling plains.  To the east was the Peak Range, which we visited from Capella a week or so ago.  If you saw the John Doyle program on ABC on several Sundays recently, you will know that the Great Dividing Range splits in two in Queensland, the western range passing about 100 kilometres west of here, through Alpha.  They look like real mountains, unlike the Peaks which are merely individual peaks, striking though they are.

We've arranged with the Margie from the caravan park to take us out tomorrow (I've yet to see her, but Chris says she has one tooth in her top jaw- can't wait!)  She's to pick up the 5 of us (including Ruby, of course) to take us gold prospecting tomorrow.

Cranky people in Clermont

Clermont (pron. Claremont- named after a French guy who settled here in the 1860s) is a town of 3,000 odd people- well, maybe they're not all odd but they sure do have some bad tempered people here, in the shops at least.  When we were at Theresa Creek Dam a woman told us about a really cranky shop assistant here, and we've encountered them in the bakery, one of the two supermarkets and the sewing shop.  Really abrupt and terse, not a chance of a smile or a joke, what's wrong with them?  It was a pleasure this morning to go to the other supermarket, the smaller IGA rather than the Super IGA, to be served by a pleasant young lady who smiled and said good morning.  I commented how nice it was to see a smiling face, and both young assistants laughed, said they'd heard that about some of the other shop assistants.

I visited the shoe shop, which is in the process of closing down, with all stock drastically reduced.  Marg and John bought two pairs of shoes yesterday and were very pleased with their purchases.  With my terribly broad feet I can never find shoe bargains and thought there was little chance of finding "C" fittings, but yes!  so I'm now the possessor of a new pair of shoes, $50 off the original price.  Yes!  And there were C fittings wherever I looked, and some very nice styles too.  Shame they have to close down.

The bakery's quite good, but only opens on Tuesday and Friday for some reason (and don't expect smiling or even courteous service).  They were being besieged, no wonder as it's the only chance to buy fresh bread.  Luckily we'd been warned so arrived there about 11 am yesterday and were able to buy what we needed but there was little stock left.

There are several clothing shops, a newsagent, sewing supplies (good for me because I have a hem down and neglected to bring my emergency repair kit).  Post Office, ANZ bank, etc.  Mitre 10 some distance from the rest of the shops.  Several service stations.

At the top of the main street are 4 old train wagons which have murals (wagonals?) painted on the sides- they depict the different industries such as cattle, agriculture, mining and sheep, although the town owes its existence to gold originally and later copper mining.  They say one can still find gold in the area, but it's not a cheap hobby- we already have the prospecting licence but you also need to buy a prospector's kit for $100 which then allows you to prospect on certain land.  A lot to pay out for a day's entertainment with little hope of finding anything.

The caravan park, run by the Council, is like others we've seen, with many semi-permanent vans and tents occupied by people working in the area.  As with the other towns, there's a shortage of accommodation.

We're having a quiet day today after our hectic yabbie-catching time at the dam.  Probably tomorrow we'll go for a drive around the area, possibly even revisiting Rubyvale for another go at the Willy Wash if we feel like it.

Taking time at Theresa Creek Dam

We've spent four days at Theresa Ck Dam, about 22 kms from Clermont, Qld.  What a delightful place, with emerald green lawns (constantly being watered from the dam), beautiful lake views, lots of space, children's playground, etc, etc.  Even a coffee shop.  In fact, everything you could ask for except power and water.  But at $10 per night, we can manage.  There is water available, and a shower block, but we have big tanks in the van and we filled them in Capella before leaving.

                                  Looking towards the coffee shop and the children's playground

We can manage fine without power because we have solar panels which power our 12v things like the frig, hot water, lights, TV, even a little 12v vacuum cleaner.  Can't use the microwave, the air conditioner or the frypan but we have a gas stove and the weather's perfect.

On Wednesday night we booked in for dinner and a movie.  Dinner was roast beef, a bit how's your father but OK for the price ($12) and the movie was Warhorse, which we saw last year but we enjoyed watching it again.

We came here particularly because it was recommended as a good spot for the red-claws, and we certainly proved that, for three days the fellas put out the nets and got a good catch, so we had 3 feeds of yabby, which taste like a cross between prawns and lobster, really nice.  We tried them several different ways, all delicious.

Theresa Creek Dam was installed with the assistance of Blair Athol coal mine which is nearby.  It's a huge area and although there's a constant stream of vans coming and going, we counted in excess of 50 there each day, but with so much room there's no crowding.  We were really lucky to score two spots together with lake views, though!

                                                Sunset at Theresa Creek Dam

Early morning scene from the caravan

                       Reeling in the catch- they hope!  This trap was empty but the next one had 16 yabbies!

                                         Red claw yabbies.
We've met some lovely people here, and looking forward to seeing some of them again on our travels.  You hear some interesting stories and see some unusual ways of doing things.  One guy has made a good little cooking stove from an old gas bottle, and another has a folding boat, of all things.  It seems to work quite well, but it folds up and is carried on the side of the van- weighs only 26 kilos!

Many of the people have been coming here for years, and many stay for weeks at a time.  It's a cheap way of living, and a lot of the people we meet do actually live in their vans, travelling all the time from one spot to another.  I don't know if I'd like to do that..........

The weather's been perfect.  It can get down to 6 degrees overnight but it's mid-twenties during the day, every day.  Just wonderful.