Winton & out to Lark Quarry

A warm morning greeted us in Winton. The wind had died down over night  and the morning sky was clear of any cloud. 

A little after 0645, I went for a ride around the town. I decided it was a high cadence morning and I would check out the whole town. Firstly, I rode around the perimeter of Winton. It was a massive 7 kms! I did an hour of this type of cycling. Hardly a car was around. Just before I left the Karavan, there was the sound of a train shunting wagons. As I found on my ride, it was maneuvering wagons to load cattle that had been brought in by road trains. 

Lark Quarry display centre

After a quick shower, we were on our way from Winton on the Jundah Road to visit Lark Quarry. The road going out there was about half sealed and the remainder quite good gravel. The trip took about 11/2 half hours.

When we arrived we entered and did a little pre reading  about the area. It is a wonderful display and is best to read about it here. We were told the story by the presenter Bill. He is very well versed on the whole area. 

 The following photos are of the dinosaur footprints, both large and small. These are all inside the Display Centre.

While at Lark Quarry, we were videoed by a Caravan and Motorhome show. They were getting information for a show to be shown later in the year.

 The area around the lark Quarry display is a stark reminder of what this area can be like

One of the local inhabitants

We had our lunch there before we set off on our return journey to Winton. When we arrived back in Winton I had a cappuccino at the Visitor Information Centre. It is a place that does make a reasonable cappuccino. After that we walked up and down each side of the main street and took in the sights that are there.

Then we returned to the Caravan Park for a relaxing afternoon of mainly reading. 

We had an early dinner again as we were going to listen to the "Bush Poets On Tour". We listened to Mel and Susan again as we did last night. The show tonight seemed to be even hilarious than the show last night. They used different items. They also included Mel's father in the show. No wonder Mel is so funny!




This will be the last post until we get home as we have been through the next areas quite a few times. However, if we happen on some thing interesting we will share it with you.

Final trip statistics will be posted when we get home. 

Thankyou for reading the posts. 

Hughenden to Winton- Outback Queensland

No Photos today

This morning was a very easy pack up as we were only on a one night stop over. We were ready to leave the Caravan Park a little after 0800.

The first destination was a return to the F J Holden Cafe for a cappuccino and toast. Again the coffees, including Prue's soya one, were very good. Sometimes it is possible to get a good coffee in a little town but mostly rare.

So about 0830, we set off for Winton.  After about an hour we stopped at Stamford Roadhouse. There is a big 'Donga'(temporary accommodation) village set up beside the roadhouse. The people who live in the village are the workers on the reconstruction of the Winton/Hughenden Road. The roads are really very good.

After about 3 hours, we arrived in Winton. This is my 4th visit to this town. Prue is visiting for the 2nd time. It is a typical western Queensland town, dry and dusty, and the people are friendly.

We booked in to the Matilda Caravan Park. The sites are dry and dusty but the amenity block is clean and tidy. We unhooked and set up as we are here for a 2 night stop.

It was lunch time so we went to the Winton Visitor Information Centre.   We had our lunch and another cappuccino each. While then, we purchased our tickets for entry into Lark Quarry for our visit tomorrow.

Then it was a bit of a drive around the town with us eventually stopping to take a photo of  the Mal Walker & Co.-Stock and Station Agency. Only one that we have seen with the same name as our son!

Our final  in town stop was the Spar Supermarket for a few items.

Then it was back to the Caravan Park for a relaxing afternoon. Then at 1830 we adjourned to the Park shed for an evening with "Bush Poets on Tour", Melanie Hall and Susan Carcary. I suggest you listen to some of their sample tracks. They were most entertaining and involved the crowd, too.

So ended another day on the road.

  

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.

Day 3 Charters Towers

This morning was not too bad temperature wise. So I went off on my bike ride which took me right around the base of Tower Hill. I also rode around many of the streets of the town taking in the various homes and gardens.  Eventually, I rode back into the Caravan Park.

Soon after I was returned, we said farewell to Steve and Grace who have been our neighbours for the past few days. They were off to Clermont to a dam near there. We been in a few places they have and at the same time.

About the same time, our Kimberley Karavan colleagues, Don and Evelyn, walked over and met Prue for the first time. We arranged to meet at the Stock Exchange Cafe in town around 0930.

We drove into town and did a bit of a walk around and in some of the buildings we had not already seen. This included the display, in the City Hall, of WW II photos taken in the district.

Also we had a walk through the old Australian Bank building, now known as the World Theatre, where there was a further display and also entry into the Arts Theatre and cinema.

Stock Exchange Cafe is on the bottom right of the building.

There is no doubt here are some magnificent buildings in this town.








By now it was time for our cappuccinos. We met Don and Evelyn and enjoyed our coffees and chatted for more than an hour. It was so nice to learn more about the areas we come from as well as get to know each other better. We all said farewell as we all had things to do.

Prue had an appointment at the hairdresser so I walked with her. As she went to her appointment I wandered into Home Hardware in the hope of getting a key cut but with no luck. I then went to the CRT and Hardware. No luck there, too. I had to organise a script at the Chemist so that was done  and then I met up with Prue again.

We decided on an early lunch at the cafe, Stock Exchange Cafe, that we had been in earlier. Our lunch was absolutely delicious and again the coffee was exceptional. A pity I had not found this earlier.

After our lunch, we went to the Venus Battery tour at 1230. On arrival the guide, Malcolm, briefed us on the workings of the Battery and its previous owners.

Then we went into the building, that houses all the machinery, where we watched a display which I think is called holographic. It is amazing and the person depicted took us through the history and operation of the battery.

Then our guide walked us through the machinery further enlightening us on the process of gold extraction. This was by the use of mercury in the stamping process and also the cyanide process.

Each process is a dangerous operation.  The final part was another holographic display using a fine mist of water as the screen. An amazing display.







We returned to town where Prue did some grocery shopping while I picked up my script from the Chemist. Soon after we returned to the Caravan Park and started to pack some items away.

So we finished another interesting day in the "Gold Cit", Charters Towers.

Day 2 Charters Towers

We had a leisurely start of the day. Our plan was to leave a bit earlier so I did not go for a bike ride.

Our trip took us into the CBD to firstly refuel the Mazda BT50. The fuel consumption has improved a bit due to the terrain becoming a little flatter as we departed the Atherton Tablelands. It has been more rolling with only very gentle hills to climb.

After refuelling, we moved along the street and parked opposite the Post Office. Prue went to the Polky Café and ordered our usual fare, cappuccinos and toast. I went to the Post Office to collect a small parcel sent from Ballina.

Following our morning coffees, we set off for Ravenswood.  It was a nice drive on a good road. We passed through a variety of  types of land forms from hilly to gentle rolling land. Most of the way there was plenty of timber. We encountered a few bos indicus cattle of various types and mostly looking for a green pick near the road edges.

It was a trip of about an hour mostly due to having to stop at several lots of road works. This has been a feature up here that there appears to be a lot of road improvement happening both on the coastal highway as well as inland.

On arrival in Ravenswood, we had hoped to visit the museum but the lady who runs it was unable to open due to ill health. So we walked along what was originally the main street. There are a large number of markers with a description of either the building or  ruins or the location. Most of the remaining buildings give us an idea as to what may have been there. Fortunately there are a lot of photos available to fill in the gaps.

After we had walked and taken in the feeling of the village, we decided we would have a counter lunch at the Imperial Hotel which is one of two in this small village. Apparently, there were around 50 pubs in the busy days. Some were little more than tents while some also had  girls available for 'entertainment'!

The Imperial Hotel is reputed to have a ghost. After we had our lunch, we spoke to one of the English backpackers who is working there. She says she has had moments that have made her nervous. She did say Room 12A was a room that supposedly had a person murdered there. The decor is from a past era.

After our lunch, we walked back to the Mazda. The we did a drive around some of the streets. On the way, we visited the Mine lookout. It was very windy and dust from the open cut mine was blowing around. We could see some of the rehabilitation of the mine as well as ongoing mining. We drove around the perimeter of the mine but could not see much more.

As we departed we looked at an original miners cottage that had been lived in until the 1980s after having been lived in for over 100 years. It was very basic corrugated iron cladding and roof and very primitive windows. The floor was originally dirt but it had been concreted at some later stage. The family consisted of 19 children and their parents. There appeared to be only 2 bedrooms and the kitchen and a small shed along with an out door toilet. So primitive but people lived in this and worse.

We drove back to Charters Towers. As we entered the town we turned to the north and did a quick visit to the Aerodrome. There is history everywhere in this part of the world. Even a gun sighting location that was used by aircraft to sight their guns. The aircraft was tied town in the flight attitude and adjustments made if required.

Note the flood height on the tower!

Then we drove to the Burdekin weir. It is the source of water for Charters Towers. Originally it was built over a century ago and was increased as recently as 1996 to attempt to drought proof the town.  It is also used for recreation and we observed several anglers there.

After returning to the Caravan Park we discovered another Kimberley Karavan located not far from us. It is Don and Evelyn from Bright in Victoria. They know quite a few of the other Kimberley owners that we know too.

We had an early dinner before going up to Tower Hill Lookout to take in the "Ghosts after Dark". We had a presenter tell us about the area and a bit of its history. Then there was a 3 projector vision to watch complete with apparitions of people who helped make the history of the area. It makes the history seem more realistic.

So ended another great day.

Day 1 Charters Towers

After a cool night the rest of the day did not get very hot with a maximum of 25 degrees. Although it was reported as 25 the cool breeze seemed to make it feel much cooler.

This morning just happened to be my birthday. I have not had a birthday at home since 2007! At least this year Prue was with me. I have had phone calls from my sons and the eldest grandson, my sister and several others. Also, I had some calls on Skype. Lots of my Facebook friends caught up with me. So it was nice.

I went for a bike ride around the area. It was enough to get my heart rate up a bit and get the legs spinning at high cadence. It is always nice to see an area by bike as time is not as critical and being Sunday morning the road was quite. I only passed 3 other cyclists going in the opposite direction.

Soon I was back in the Caravan Park. After a quick shower, we went into town and searched for a cappuccino. The first location made a disgusting machine type. So we then walked to McDonalds, of all places, and had one of their brews which was far superior to the previous one that I binned. We had our cappuccinos with another couple who are Park neighbours, Grace and Steve.

On our way back, Prue went to the Cookhouse Carvery and ordered Roast Pork for us to take back to the Karavan. I went to Home Hardware to get a fitting to replace on our drainage hose.

We had our magnificent roast pork while watching ABC TV's Landline then the tribute to the 3 ABC men who died in a helicopter accident on Lake Eyre.

A bit later, we drove up to the Towers Hill Lookout. It not only gives lots of information from boards established on Lookout but also a great view of the town and surrounding area.  Some of the original mining sites are still very visible. As we descended the hill we saw numerous  bunkers that stored ordinances during WW II. There are many fenced off mine shafts. We took a rough track over and around the hill and saw a few more mining relics.

Once down from the hill, we did a bit of a drive around the town and even checked out the large saleyards.  Then we did a bit a of a drive through some of the residential areas as well as a quick visit to the Rotary lookout. Then we drove to the Blackheath and Thornburgh School which is a non denominational College  with Christian values. Located here is the magnificent Thornburgh home from long ago.

From doing a little walk around the school, we then did a drive through more of the area around the CBD and took in some of the historic buildings, but only briefly.

Then it was back to the Karavan.