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.