Charters Towers to Hughenden

This morning was another departure for a town unknown, Hughenden, and other villages on the way.

Following our packup, we topped up with fuel at the BP station only a short distance from the Caravan Park. Then it was into the CBD.

After we parked the rig, we walked to the Stock Exchange Cafe for our final cappuccinos in Charters Towers. We had a lovely chat with the owner before we eventually left for our rig.

We drove through the streets to eventually join the Flinders Highway. Some fellow told me it was very rough but all I could say was that he must only drive in the city normally. It was a very good regional highway and only had a couple of rough spots of less than 100 metres. This highway pretty much parallels the Mount Isa Townsville rail line. This is another of the busy Queensland rail lines transporting mining ore and other material to Townsville.

The landscape was continually changing from heavily covered in small trees, then to open plains, to undulating  lightly timbered land. It changes very often.

We decided to stop briefly at Balfes Creek and read some information on the area. The next stop was Homestead village. We bought a drink and some eats there. Our final stop was Pentland where we bought, from a roadside stall, some cashews and chilli relish as well as avocado and sweet potato. Prue also bought a pineapple but it was not good when opened up.

Finally we arrived in the Allan Terry Caravan Park. It is fairly basic but clean and has grass on each site. We ate our lunch after we had set up the Karavan.

Soon after lunch, we drove into town to the Discovery Centre. In this place we learned about the history of the development of this area. Also, there is a great display of a reconstructed dinosaur. There are numerous other ancient fosillised  creatures. A great display of various geological exhibits. In the centre are two audio visual  presentations on the area. It is worth visiting.

We walked along the street from the Centre. Previously, we were told about the cafe known as the FJ Holden Cafe. Inside there is a wonderful display of mostly early Holden items either models or literature. Among other items includes Coca Cola items and Elvis advertising signs. They make a reasonable cappuccino, too.

Following the Cafe, we continued our walk along the short main street before returning to the Mazda.  We noticed quite a number of empty shops. I remarked to Prue that the Pharmacy did not look as though it was a 'gold mine'. Then we did a drive around the town taking in the homes and businesses not in the main street. It is quite typical of the western Queensland towns. I really believe us tourists help keep some places open.

After the drive around the town, we returned to the Caravan Park and relaxed a little before our dinner.