NEXT STOP - HOME

Charters Towers is the last town on the Flinders Highway before Townsville on the coast.

Gold was discovered in this area.

 

On to Townsville. It is normally a beautiful view over the city and ocean but bushfires were bad in this area.

 

 

The beach at Townsville looking out towards Magnetic Island.

 

 

 

The Strand, right along the shore is a beautiful area. Chris and Kath’s son Robert is one of the  landscapers.

 

 

There are also some beautiful old buildings. Townsville was in the running as the capital of Queensland, but Brisbane won the honour.

 

We drove to the top of Castle Hill for this magnificent view.

 

 

 

We’re in sugar cane country now and harvesting is in progress.

Look out for the train!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued down the coast towards home. Unfortunately I dropped my camera so there  weren't too many more photos.

 

 

When we arrived at Harvey Bay to catch up with Chris & Kath, this is the only photo I could take – the  Marina.

I then took a more serious look at my camera and discovered I had put the wrong batteries in it. We stayed a couple of days in Harvey Bay and then moved on again.

Next stop was Gympie where  the Jacaranda trees were flowering – quite a sight.

 

 

 

The first sign to mention Brisbane.

 

 

 

 

The Ettamogah Pub on the Sunshine Coast is a thriving business.

 

 

 

 

Ah welcome to Brisbane – we can feel the pressure of the traffic already. This is the new and old Gateway Bridges.

 

 

And 30,000 km later - waiting at home were our six beautiful little grandchildren.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did.

ALICE SPRINGS TO TOWNSVILLE

I know – we’ve been home for a couple of weeks now and I have been very slack in finishing my picture journey.

After our trip to Nyirrippi we returned to Alice Springs and spent the weekend with Archie & Di. 

  This is where the Railway, Stuart Highway and Todd River run parallel to each through the gap in the Macdonald Ranges.

 

 

Alice Springs attracts tourists from all over the world to its Casino and Hotels

 

This visit we had more time to look around and were surprised by the beautiful golf course – with green grass.

 

 

No visit is complete without going up Anzac Hill for the view over the City.

      

 

 

Looking south to the gap in the Macdonald Ranges where the road, river and railway pass through.

(In the first  picture above)

 

 

We’re on the road north again (this is the only back-tacking we did in the whole trip) This is a view of the country-side with the Ghan Railway running parallel to the highway

 

Every town has something unique. This is Wycliffe Well which claims to have the most UFO sightings in Australia so they have decorated the Roadhouse accordingly.

We stopped at the Devil’s Marbles at Wauchope again. The boulders are almost impossibly balanced.

 

 

We’ve turned East at last – Queensland here we come!!  This is the Barkly Homestead (Roadhouse) on the Barkly Highway.

 

 

We’re not in Queensland yet – just miles and miles of ‘nothing’.

 

 

 

This is the sign we have been driving towards for the last two days.

 

 

 

 

 

Camooweal is the first town you come to in Queensland. As you an see from the sign board outside the service station it is ‘pretty central’ – only 1992 km to Brisbane.

 

 

Camooweal  is an old town as you can see from the museum building which was the general store.

 

 

 

Mount Isa is an important mining city with everything centred around the mining of lead zinc copper & gold. .

           

This is downtown Mt. Isa.

 

 

We passed through Cloncurry on our way to Julia Creek. A Hotel and a few shops makes up this town.

 

 

All these small towns were railway sidings on the line from Townsville to Mt. Isa. This is the main street in Hughenden. 380 km to the  East Coast.

NYIRRIPI

We are making this side trip to visit our friends Archie & Di who are working at an Aboriginal Community called Nyirripi 160Kl  West of Yuendumu in the Tanami Desert.

 

 

 

This is the Shire Office where Di is the Manager for the Community.

 

 

 

And Archie is in charge of Vehicle Maintenance and Roads. This is his workshop.

 

 

Gypsy is a domesticated camel who lines up for a drink from the water hose and loves vegetable scraps.  She also gets in the yards and eats all the plants!!

 

There are about 300  Aboriginal people in the Community which along with the Shire Office and workshop has a clinic, general store, police station, school and  recreational  hall.

 

The mail arrives by plane each Wednesday. Nyirripi boasts a bitumen-sealed airstrip which is also used for emergency evacuations.

 

 

This is Col and Archie relaxing while waiting for the plane to arrive.

 

 

 

We visited an outstation which is being made ready for the Traditional Owners to occupy.

 

 

 

Even though the area is desert, there are natural wells where water can be found.

 

 

 

 

 

And the scenery is unbelievable – the country has not been grazed – it’s like it would have been 200 years ago.

 

But still the best view was as we were leaving and heading back to Alice Springs.

KATHERINE TO ALICE SPRINGS

We have had a few problems with the Scout and the mechanic was not at all helpful so Col replaced the gear box at the caravan park.

 

 

Bye Katherine! The intersection of the Bypass and the Stuart Highway on our way out of town. We were there for 5 weeks and 1 day in all.

 

We cruised quickly through Mataranka and Larrimah this time and on to the oldest Pub in the Northern Territory at Daly Waters.

 

 

Inside the pub  is an interior decorators delight. You stop here just to say “I had a beer at Daly Waters” and a barra burger.

 

 

On to the Devils Marbles Conservation Reserve – finely balanced piles of huge boulders – near Tennant Creek.

 

 

Everywhere you go there is bound to be an International truck. These relics are being admired by a tourist riding a bicycle outside the Wauchope Hotel.

 

The Overland Telegraph  Station at Barrow Creek is a well kept example from pioneering days.

 

 

 

There are small settlements (pubs and roadhouses) all along the Stuart Highway and between these are miles and miles of ‘nothing’

 

 

Just north of Alice Springs, the Tropic of Capricorn is located.

And a little further South is a monument depicting the highest point on the highway connecting Adelaide in the South and Darwin in the North

 

 

And at last – Alice Springs.