Trip 40 - Opalton

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

On Sunday 24 May 2009 we left the Long Waterhole, Winton to head down the road approximately 120kms to Opalton where Don can catch up with more opal fossicking. Opalton, with a population of 25, became known for the largest piece of opal ever recorded in 1899.

Eric and Chris, father and son, who own the Opalton Outpost, are very friendly so we decided to camp at the back of the Outpost for $10 per night which includes flush toilets and hot showers. While Don fossicks, I wlll be catching up on some reading and music work since there is no phone or internet service out here.

We will stay in Opalton for 4 or 5 days then head back to Winton for another gig at the Winton Hotel on Friday night. Then up to Kynuna for a gig on Saturday night. I might even leave Don in Opalton and pick him up on Sunday for our journey to Jundah. Every day from dawn until dusk Don fossicks on the opal fields still trying to find that elusive opal that may make us a small fortune. While he does that, I do some long awaited computer work since we had beautiful sunny days with loads of power from the solar panels.

On Wednesday 27 May 2009 night all the campers got together at the Opalton Outpost for a sausage sizzle. With good food, good company and the sharing of opal stories, it made the night a very interesting one.

Thursday is mail day at Opalton. The mail lady, somewhere in her 80s, drives the 2 hour dirt track to Opalton to deliver the mail to the scattered miners around Opalton. It’s the one time of the week that the Opalton Outpost is buzzing with every form of transport from cars to motorbikes to 4WDs to trucks and lots of people. There are about 30 miners living in tin shacks around Opalton but only 3 remain during the hot wet summer. The rest head for somewhere on the coast of Queensland.

On Friday 29 May 2009 I left Don at Opalton and drove the 120kms back to Winton for a gig at the Winton Hotel. The gig rocked and was very successful with a great crowd who both sang karaoke and danced. Kev, Jo and Max were great hosts and I even had a free room to stay in.

Early on Saturday morning I left Winton and headed 170kms north to Kynuna for a gig tonight at the famous Blue Heeler Hotel. Kay, the publican, is lovely and again offered a free room for the night. Kynuna, with a population of 20, was once a town with three bustling country pubs boosted by a staging post of Cobb & Co. The solo / karaoke gig was a great night with about 30 people, mostly woman, singing and dancing.

On Sunday 31 May 2009 I headed out of Kynuna back to Winton to pick up a few supplies, then back to Opalton to where I left Don. After the long drive, it was a relaxing afternoon catching up with Don and all the rest of the guys in Opalton.

Unfortunately for me and fortunately for Don, he has collected more rocks than I can imagine so he really needs to go through them and cull out the ones he doesn’t want otherwise we are going to be carting tonnes of opal rock around Australia.

The Engel fridge in the back of the truck seems to have given up the ghost. The motor is running and lights are on but it is not getting cold. Hopefully, once I get phone reception I will call Engel and see if the problem can be fixed.

Today, Monday 1 June 2009, Don and I celebrated being on the road for 14 months so of course, to celebrate Don went out fossicking while I just hung around camp doing a few things. In the afternoon, we met Daryl, a local miner at Opalton, who is going to take Don out tomorrow to a good opal spot. However, the clouds coming in look like rain, so hopefully we will be able to get out of here before the big rain comes considering we are in red soil country.

While at Opalton, Chalky told us a very effective way to rid the flies from your face and head. Use Nature’s Botanical Rosemary and Cedarwood Oils in Natural Creme – you will find it at chemists or produce stores as they do use it on horses eyes and ears to keep the flies away. Just a few dots on your cheeks, forehead, chin and ears and the flies don’t bug you at all for a couple of hours. Wonderful stuff and better than any fly spray on the market.

Check out "more photos" on the right hand side.

Till next time, take care ...

Trip 39 - Winton

WORDS BY: Fina
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

On Monday 18 May 2009 we left Richmond and headed down the Richmond-Winton Road to Winton. Winton is a town in central west Queensland, Australia, located 177 kilometres northwest of Longreach. Shire population at the 2001 Census was 1616. Winton was one of the founding towns of the Australian airline Qantas. Main industries of the area are sheep and cattle. Named by postmaster, Robert Allen, in 1876 for his place of birth Winton, Dorset.

Winton is intimately involved in the story of the popular Australian folk song, Waltzing Matilda, which had its first performance in the North Gregory Hotel in the town. The song was written locally on a property beside the famous billabong.

We camped at a free spot called Long Waterhole campground which is 2km south of Winton. Again another beautiful bush camp spot beside a freshwater hole and some magnificent mountain scenery. We will stay here for approximately 2 weeks during which time I have 2 gigs in Winton on Saturday 23 May and Friday 29 May 2009 at 2 different pubs. Also, while in Winton for the 2 weeks, we plan to do a lot of activities such as visit the Waltzing Matilda Centre, go opal fossicking, visit the dinosaur tracks and generally have a good look around Winton itself.

While camped at the Long Waterhole near Winton, another camper told us a useful thing about muddy water. If you place a tablespoon full of Epsom salts into a bucket of muddy water, within a few hours all the mud has settled to the bottom of the bucket and the rest of the water is crystal clear and good enough to use as shower water or washing up water. Out of all the years I have been camping, reading magazines and camping books, I have never read about this method. Anyway, of course I had to try it and of course, it worked. Definitely will purchase some Epsom salts and keep this in mind for desperate water shortages.

On the road to Winton, we met up with John and Daph, a couple we met at Mount Surprise, who are also travelling around Australia but in a Winnabaga or as some people call them a Wingebago. Oh well, each to their own! They are a great, funny couple and it will be good to spend a couple of days with them They are then moving east to Longreach and Charters Towers while we will be heading further south towards Quiplie.

On Tuesday 19 May 2009, we had a very lazy morning then visited the Waltzing Matilda Centre with John and Daph. This centre celebrates the Waltzing Matilda song through interactive displays and exhibitions and for $20 per adult it is well worth the visit and incorporates Quantilda Museum, the Outback Regional Gallery, a Visitor Information Centre, Cafe and Westpac.

After a light lunch, we went walking around town and came across Arno’s Wall. Arno’s Wall is an eccentric landmark of a concrete wall reaching 2m in height. It is made up of rock studded with a whole mixture of objects, such as sewing machines, motors, typewriters and even the kitchen sink.

On Wednesday 20 May 2009 John and Daph left for Charter Towers so we went into Winton for more sight seeing. We visited the Opal Walk, Corfield & Fitzmaurice Combo Crafts, and the Musical Fence. Learn about opals and see their beauty in the Opal Walk before going through to the Royal Open Air Theatre where you will marvel at the world's largest deck chair. Corfield & Fitzmaurice Combo Crafts was once a general store selling all basic essentials for outback survival however it now sells craft items and displays fossils, opals, local dinosaur bones and a life size dinosaur. At the Musical Fence you can grab a stick and make some music on the world's first Musical Fence.

In the main street we spotted a Landcruiser towing a camper trailer the same as ours so we stalked them down the main street until they stopped and generally compared camper trailer notes with Chris and Julie.

As Don was starting to not feel too well, we decided on an early afternoon after meeting the publicans of both the Australian Hotel and the Winton Hotel.

The gig at the Australian Hotel, Winton was not too bad. The audience got into the music but didn’t want to sing themselves, so instead of a solo / karaoke gig it turned out to just be a solo gig.

An amazing thing in Winton! The local bakery is located at the back of a residential property. Apparantly, this is one of two bakeries located in Australia baking bread, buns, pies and sausag rolls from the back of a residential property. The owners don't where the other is located so if anyone out there knows, please let us know, otherwise we may discover it one day on our travels.

Rather than stay in Winton for the 2 weeks, we decided to head down to Opalton for a few days in between gigs.

Don't forget to check out 'more photos' on the right hand side.

Till next time, take care ...

Trip 38 - Richmond

WORDS BY: Fina
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

On Thursday 14 May 2009, we left Croydon and headed down a closed dirt track to roadtrains to Richmond. What we thought would take us about 6 hours to drive only took 4 hours. The track began as bitumen then dirt with the colour of the track and the scenery changing every few kilometers.

In Richmond we decided to stay at the caravan park right alongside a beautiful lake. After setting up camp we visited the school where I will be performing a karaoke gig on Friday night and the Mud Hut Hotel, another karaoke gig on Saturday night.

Richmond is a town of approximately 800 residents in western Queensland, Australia. The town is located on the Flinders Highway, 500 km west of Townsville and 405 km east of Mount Isa. It is the administrative centre of Richmond Shire Council. Recent paleontological discoveries have unearthed the fossils of prehistoric marine creatures, some of which are on display in Richmond.

Richmond came to the attention of all Australians in 1989 when the skeleton of a 100-million-year-old Pliosaur was discovered near the town. It was the second major discovery of an important fossil in the area. The famous Kronosaurus queenslandicus was discovered at Army Downs north of Richmond in 1929 by a team of palaeontologists from Harvard University. The area is rich in fossils as it was once part of Australia's vast 'inland sea'.

Built around these finds is Kronosarus Korner - the town's marine fossil museum, which displays fossil finds from the cretaceous-era inland sea, which existed from about 97.5 to 120 million years ago. Fossilised remains include the Kronosaurus, which was a large Pliosaur. Another fossil is the Richmond Pliosaur (known as Iever's crocodile), measuring 4.25 metres, with a long slender snout and interlocking teeth. These marine reptiles were fast swimmers feeding on fish and other aquatic animals.

The school gig was held in a huge tin shed at the back of the school. The kids were keen to sing and were submitting songs left, right and centre. However, as soon as they got up to the microphone their voices disappeared. Someone told me "... never work with children or animals ..." and now I understand why. Stage freight and nerves and singing in front of their friends took over. All in all a good night was had by all, including the adults.

On Saturday Don went fossicking for fossils just 12km out of town where he ended up finding some fossilised shells and squid. While he did that I caught up with loads of washing as well as the website. After fossicking he went fishing on the lake but didn’t catch anything of legal size. Better luck next time!

The gig on Saturday night at the Mud Hut Hotel absolutely rocked. I sang for a while until people got the courage to get up and sing themselves. With approximately 60 people, by the end of the night, people were dancing, singing and having a very good time. The publican, Bob, said if we ever come back into town to definitely give him a call for another gig night.

We were lucky enough to watch over 300 baby barramundi being released into the Fred Tritton Lake next to the caravan park. Fred Tritton Lake is a manmade lake within walking distance to Richmond’s town centre. Enjoy fishing, watersports, a swim, a BBQ or a walk around the late. On one side of the lake you will also find a bush tucker garden explaining the uses of every plant. A lot of help from local kids and volunteer adults made the event very special and probably a once in a lifetime experience for all concerned. The barramundi in this lake are legal at 60cam and these babies ranged from 10cm to 30cm. Unfortunately a lot died in the transport tank from Kurumba to Richmond but at least the majority survived and were successfully released into the water.

Don't forget to check out 'more photos' on the right hand side.

Till next time, take care ...

Trip 37 - Croydon

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don
On our way to Richmond, we decided to stop in for a night at Croydon approximately 300kms from Mount Surprise travelling along the Gulf Developmental Road through Georgetown. We will do the next 350kms to Richmond tomorrow.

While in Croydon we visited the Croydon Hotel where we met a lovely couple, Robert and Lisa, who are also travelling Australia but only doing the Australian coastline right around in three and half months. We left Croydon early Thursday mnorning and headed down a closed tract to road trains to Richmond.

An early night for a big drive tomorrow.

As we only stayed in Croydon one night, this is a really short story.

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side.

Till next time, take care ...

Trip 36 - Mount Surprise

WORDS BY: Fina

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Don

We left Mount Garnet on Saturday 9 May 2009 for Mount Surprise where Don is keen to do some topaz fossicking at the O'Brien's Creek Topaz Gemfields. With only 122km to travel we took our time packing and of course, saying our goodbyes to Marcus, the publican of the Mount Garnet Hotel. Thanks Marcus for making us so welcomed, for allowing us to camp at the back of the pub and for the 4 gigs during the week.

We were originally going to travel to Mount Surprise the back dirt way but with the last 4 days of rain opted to travel down the Kennedy Highway instead passing the Forty Mile Scrub National Park and the Undarra Volcanic National Park.

The Forty Mile Scrub National Park features ancient and recent volcanic flows, open grassy woodland, the headwaters of several creeks, and a rare, isolated pocket of semi-evergreen vine thicket. The Undarra Volcanic National Park contains the remains of the Earth’s longest flow of lava originating from a single volcano. Caves within this lava tube are fertile pockets in which rainforest plant and animal species thrive.

After arriving at Mount Surprise and having a quick look around town, we headed out on a dirt track to O'Brien's Creek Camping Ground approximately 45 minutes from Mount Surprise. The campground is close to the gemfields where you can dig for topaz, smokey quartz and aquamarine.

The campground is a beautiful spot to camp along the river with toilets and hot showers. As ususal we camped right next to the river so we decided to stay 4 nights leaving us 2 days to get to Richmond for gigs on Friday 15 May and Saturday 16 May 2009. The campground and gemfields are located on a private cattle station property with thousands of braham cattle along the dirt track. You must also be aware of the kingfisher kookaburras who swoop to grab meat off your fork however they are a beautiful blue colour unlike the ones found elsewhere.

Mount Surprise is a tiny settlement (no more than a pub, a couple of cafes, a railway station and a service station) located 319 km south-west of Cairns and 393 km east of Normanton on the Gulf Development Road. It is 453 m above sea-level and its annual rainfall is 802 mm. Its current industries include cattle, tin mining and gemstones.

Don of course dug holes for most of the three days and found some topaz and now has another jar of topaz. More rock to cart around Australia!

We also met Alf and Peter who were having a bachelor weekend away from Cairns. Peter owns a Japanese imported quad bike and Don and I had some fun on this until the caretaker informed us that we weren't allowed to ride it. Bummer!

Don't forget to check out "more photos" on the right hand side of this website.

Till next time, take care ...