Where do I start?....how about some stats...To now we have travelled 10,811 km's, free camped 37 nights and paid for 36 nights - from as little at $6.60 (National Park fee) to $45.00 a night (Uluru)
We've snapped 2,217 photo's - aren't you glad I don't put them all up! We've sung our way numerous times, through the 8 CD's we packed, met countless other travelers, had many "Happy Hours" with them and met a few dicks but have not had any trouble - AND we still like each other!!!
From Julia Creek we headed South along a development road to Winton where we visited the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum which was very good and included a tour through the laboratory where they work on the bones. They have enough bones wrapped in plaster casts to keep a team of 30+ busy for the next three years! They only excavate the bones for three weeks a year because they don't have the room or manpower to deal with amount of bones they find. The staff are all paleontologists or volunteers and soooo excited about their jobs and everything they are finding. It was really interesting. After staying the night at Long Water Hole (which was mostly dry) we traveled north again to Hughenden and looked at their Dinosaur museum and various things around the town then stayed behind the Prairie Hotel at Prairie which was a tiny little place where we watched the Eclipse with the locals. We then traveled to Charters Towers and had a good look around the town and visited a miners Cottage. The buildings in town were very beautiful and rich due to the gold mining boom in the late 1800's. Then on to Townsville where we had a look around including Matt and Traceys' house they had before Lochie was born. We stayed the next two nights in Home Hill which was a great little town with a free camp as well as free showers and the locals were great. They really cater well for the tourists. It was good to have TV coverage as well so we could watch Bathurst and the MotoGP! After a restful two days there and doing our washing etc we moved on staying at Boulder Creek, just outside Mackay. That was an interesting stay. We pulled into the free camp and it was full of hippies. They were chanting and having a good time. We went for a walk to the water hole and the smell of wacky weed hung through the forest and there were people laying all over the rocks. We wondered if we should move on but they seemed harmless enough. It ended up being really good and a girl sang to a banjo and had the most beautiful voice. We thought they might be up all night dancing to the moon but as it happened they were all asleep before nine and it was very quiet!
Flaggy Rock was our next overnight stay which was huge and grassy and only three other couples there. We all got together for happy hour.
We arrived in Rockhampton on Wednesday (another free camp put on by the council) That night we went to the Great Western Hotel for a cheap meal and to watch the Rodeo Practice. They have a big arena joining onto the Hotel where we watched bull riding. We really enjoyed the excitement of it all. Those bulls are massive. Yesterday we left the van and drove to Yepoon (I love saying that, Yepooooon) You can see the Great Keppel Islands from there and its really pretty. This morning we went to the Stock Sales. It's the largest stock sale yard in the Southern Hemisphere. The noise and the smell and the thumping hooves and the auctioneers - it was fascinating.
After that we visited the Zoo and Botanic Gardens - just for a change of pace.
Rockhampton is lovely and we will be here until Tuesday because our car is being serviced on Monday.
'Banjo' at Australian Age of Dinosaurs
In the lab where they work on the bones
they are planning on building a bigger facility
Just some of the bones in casts waiting to be unwrapped
Our camp at Long Water Hole
Emus visited next morning
Dinosaur museum in Hughenden
'Mutt' in Hughenden
We had a great night here with the locals watching the eclipse
We've been to every Bunnings shop from Darwin to Rochhampton looking for a water pump and in Townsville we even stayed outside one!
The Rock Pool in Townsville - funny memories of this place when Matt and Tracey lived here!
Another ocean to dip our toes in - Townsville
Lots of funny characters on the road!
A big snake at just outside of Ayr
Our camp at Home Hill - a very friendly place
A cane train on the move
they can be very long!
Our Hippie camp at Boulder Creek
it was very zen
we made scones on the campfire here
We watched a guy on a wind kite at Bowen
never did find out what made these holes surrounded by balls of sand
Our camp at Flaggy Rock. Lots of lovely green grass!
coastline at Yepoooooon
Gods joke to Queenslanders - give them beautiful beaches and then fill the water with stingers!
Yepooooon (just love sayin' it!)
The view from our campsite in Rockhampton
Kershaw Gardens Water Falls, Rockhampton
Kershaw Gardens Water Falls, Rockhampton
Dinner and entertainment at The Great Western Hotel
The Stock Sales
Turtles at the Botanical Gardens, Rocky
The birds kept standing on the turtles!
Koala at the Rocky Zoo
Monitor at the Rocky Zoo
Peter made friends with this one
and so did little Stoppy
