Charters Towers - Townsville - Cloudy & cooler today Temps High 28 Low 20C  Distance 133km

Parked in Charters Towers so that we could have a wander around the town which was first establised when gold was found in the area.  It became the centre for trading gold - the new Stock Exchange.

The Stock Exchange

 

The Stock Exchange

 

 

 

 

In the Museum - panning for gold

Gold Shares Certificate

Beautiful old buildings in Charters Towers

 

 

For Steve

Display in Building once a Bank now a Theater

Charters Towers Post Office

Travelled to Townsville - not far - only 133km and stopped off to get the caravan window repaired on the way in.  Then booked into the Rowes Bay Caravan Park where we have stayed before for a bit of r n r after all the travelling.  Jacqui & Steve know it.






Our Caravan in Rowes Bay Caravan Park,
Townsville

Julia Creek - Charters Towers -  Sunny at first but became cloudy    Temp High 30C  Low 20C
                                                                                                               Distance - 504km

Travelled on from Julia Creek and refuelled at Richmond - the Dinasaur capital of Australia and then on to Hughenden and stopped for the night at Charters Towers.

Long freight train

Charters Towers Caravan Park

We had a long day of travelling with lots of head and cross winds slowing us down so not much to report.  We also had problems with a broken catch on one of the caravan windows and had to stop a few times to close it - eventually we had to tape it up so will have to go into Townsville tomorrow to get it fixed.  Tomorrow morning we will have a look around Charters Towers, established in the gold mining era.

Middle of nowhere - Julia Creek  -  Hot and Sunny    Temp High 32C  Low 16C   Distance - 308km

Sunrise at Free Camp 50k West of Mt Isa

The nights are quite a bit cooler now which is good.  We left the free camp and travelled to Mt Isa which is an important mining town - mining both lead & copper.  We spent a couple of hours having a look around the town.

Monument to the Miners

 

Mount Isa with mine in the background

For years the lead had to be transported by camel &  bullock cart to Cloncurry to be transported to the coast by train.  Eventually the railway was extended out to Mount Isa.


The next town we came to was Cloncurry - the birthplace of The Flying Doctor.

 

The Flying Doctor

Lunch at Cloncurry

A Change in the scenery

Softer scenery

 

 

We stopped for the night at Julia Creek, a small town which has a long history in the cattle industry. 

Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Triathlon

We stayed the night at the Julia Creek Caravan Park.  The caravan park was basic but clean and spacious and run by lovely country people.  It had a lovely relaxed atmosphere.  The local council pool is next door for anyone who wished to use it.

The main street of Julia Creek

 

Shady canopies down the centre of the main street

 

One of the local pubs

Julia Creek has a very comprehensive Vistor Information Centre presenting the facinating history of the small town.  The town is a credit to the locals and in particular the local council maintenance man - there were colourful bouganvilleas everywhere and the whole town centre was beautifully maintained and cared for.

St Barnabas Church

I got quite a shock when I got into the shower (in the caravan) - I turned on the water intending to wash my hair and the water was very, very hot!  I confirmed that the hot water tap was turned off and only the "cold" water was running but it was too hot to get under!  The next morning we were talking to the manager and he mentioned the Artestian Basin which provides the water for Julia Creek - the water comes out HOT.  He pointed to the coils of pipe under the cabins - an attempt to cool the water before it goes into the cabins!  Not such facility in our caravan!!  He told us that the water often comes out of the tap at 45C.

(This happened to Steve on our trip through the Gulf Country last November, (he thought the water was connected to the wrong taps) but that was nothing to do with artesian bore water - that was just because it was so hot that the "cold" water was hot)!!!

The Great Artesian Basin is huge and extends right down to South Australia  - see below.........

Hot cold water

Attack Creek - Three Ways - NT/Qld Border -   Hot & Sunny   Temp   34C          Distance - 635km

Miles and miles of remote straight roads once again.  Headed down to theThree Ways where we refuelled then headed east along the Barkly Highway towards the Northern Territory / Queensland border.  The landscape is not so barren - more grass & trees and a lot softer terrain. Lots of roadtrains and quite a few caravans heading north to warmer climes.

More remote straight roads

A Bar at the Three Ways Roadhouse
dedicated to the Roadtrain drivers
with pictures, number plates etc.

Barkly Roadhouse

As we travelled along we notice some cattle being mustered - the jackaroos (and jillaroos) were attempting to move a herd of cattle across the highway into a paddock on the other side.  As you will see from the pics below - there were a few runnaways that needed chasing!

 

 

The one that tried to get away!!

 

 

Yeah!  Back home in Queensland - only 2327km to go to Cooroy!

At one point on the side of the road we saw what looked like the remains of a caravan - the winds are very strong sometimes across the open plains - you can feel them buffeting the van.  We are pleased that we have a heavy 4x4 to tow it.

Just after we crossed the border we arrived at Camooweal where we refuelled before driving on towards Mount Isa, an important mining town.

We stopped for the night at another free camp on the side of the road about 50km west of Mount Isa.  There were a couple of caravans and some campervans already there.  It was a WWII site that they used when building a new road to enable them to move transport and machinery up to Darwin when the Japanese threat to Northern Australia became more apparent.  No water, no power but there was a bbq.

Terry catching up on the News\
 

WWII  free camp

WWII free camp

Katherine - Three Ways  - Sunny and Hot with Blue Skies     Temp 34C      Distance - 600km

Up early to start the long journey south along the Stuart Highway which connects Darwin to Adelaide straight down the middle of Australia through Alice Springs and Coober Pedy.  We however were not going that far - we would be turning left (east) at Three Ways heading for the Northern Territory/Queensland state border.  From there we would travel to Camooweal and Mount Isa.

Once again again we travelled on a remote highway but we noticed more caravans on the road  heading north now that the weather was starting to cool down south.

We stopped for the night just before the Three Ways at Attack Creek, a free camp beside the road.  There were about a dozen caravans and some campervans staying there too so quite safe and very social!  At night the stars look so bright in the clear sky with no lights to interfere with their brilliance.  It is quite spectacular.

Long straight remote roads

 

 

Daly Waters Roadhouse

 

Roadhouse



 

Monument to explorer John Stuart & his party

 

 

Monument to a Mounted Constable

 

 

Attack Creek Free Camping
(Our caravan on the left)