Leaving Charters Towers the next morning we filled up with diesel and headed south. When the tank was half full we stopped for a bite to eat then continued until the fuel level dropped into the red sector. Pumping additional fuel from the second tank soon topped us up and we continued south until we came to the town of Emerald. The road was long, rather tedious, bordering on boring. By the time we pulled up to camp in the free area at the Botanic Gardens, we’d clocked up almost 470 kilometres.
After such a day there was only one remedy, a large Guinness or two, so after dinner we walked to the Irish village pub, only to be informed that we were not allowed in without covered footwear – and we were wearing sandals. However, with true Irish hospitality the courtesy bus was made available to take us back to camp where we changed and presented ourselves for inspection, passed muster and were rewarded with our drinks.
The camp site was sandwiched between the main highway and the railway line, a location which we thought might be somewhat noisy, but whether it was the Guinness or the lack of trains I slept soundly and woke to a cacophony of sound from a gang of sulphur crested cockatoos. Kim claimed to have had a restless night but I can’t comment on that as I was quite oblivious.
Next morning we checked out the ‘historic’ Emerald Station. It’s worth noting that anything in Australia that is more than about fifty years old is deemed to be ‘historic’ and has some form of heritage listing. Look in any museum and there are usually whole sections of kitchen implements and furniture that look much like those we had when I was young. Better keep quiet before someone decides that I should be ‘heritage listed’.
We found out why last night was fairly peaceful. Only four trains a week stop at Emerald Station. I looked hard but couldn’t see any of them.
A great many sunflowers are grown around Emerald and so the great and the good of the town decided that this should be commemorated in some way. The result is what is claimed to be the world’s largest copy of Vincent van Gogh’s famous painting.
It was time to move and so we headed south once again. Kim the navigator seemed to be keen on getting some distance under out collective belts and we ended up doing another 460 kilometres on long tedious roads.
There’s not a lot of towns of any size on this part of Queensland and so we turned off to Tannum Sands, which boasts a population of just over 4,000. The only camp site is close to the beach and surrounded by trees, but the weather was chilly and threatened rain so we turned in after an early dinner.
Shock, horror. Next morning, none of the showers would produce hot water, so we made an early, if slightly grubby start and drove to the pretty little town of Agnes Water and the oddly named ‘Town of 1770’, named after Captain Cook who landed there in May of that year. Joseph Banks came ashore with the good captain and within a few hours had discovered more than thirty new plant species. Now that would have been an exciting day for him. We had to content ourselves with a visitor, a Kookaburra.
It was now a little after 2pm on Monday 3 June and we were faced with a minor dilemma, should we find a place to stop over on the way back to Brisbane or should we simply crack on and do the whole distance. Vin Rouge appeared to favour the latter option. Normally we cruise along somewhere between 80 and 90 kph according to how the vehicle is feeling. Today Vin Rouge decided it was a 100 kph plus day and we were soon racing along. Stopping only for a brief meal in the late afternoon, we covered the 600 kilometres by 7.30. Much effort had been spent in cleaning up the house and garden in the few hours before our arrival. Not all of this was the efforts of Sarah and Alexander, they’d roped in their grandparents to help.
So now it’s all over. We’ve been away four months and had an amazing adventure. We’ve seen some of this island continent of Australia, experienced some extraordinary sights; the magnificence of Uluru, Porcupine Gorge and the waterfalls, we’ve climbed Mount Kosciuszko, the highest point in Australia, we saw the little penguins come ashore at Phillip Island and we’ve seen how the flying doctor and the school of the air work under extraordinarily unique conditions. We’ve seen how people cope with life in the outback and how others rely on tourism now that gold mining is no more.
We’ve met some interesting and delightful people; Wally and Carolyn who became firm friends, Les Pilton at the Barrow Hotel who entertained us (and others) throughout the entire evening, David Christie who proudly showed us his extraordinary collection of model cars and Land Rovers, plus some of his real cars and half size models too. We caught up with long standing friends; Dick and Pat who have been sailing around the world for the last fourteen years, Peter and Carol Gardner with whom we celebrated a birthday, and Peter and Katherine who were our neighbours in Hong Kong so many years ago. Is there anyone I’ve missed? Probably, but they know who they are and we thank them sincerely for sharing and contributing to our adventure.
We met just a very few of the other kind of people but we’ll pass over them, as indeed they should be passed over.
In finishing I guess it’s appropriate to conclude with a few facts and figures. We travelled a little over 18,000 kilometres (11,250 miles), consumed almost 1,900 litres of diesel at and average of 10.5 litres per 100 kilometres, or 27 miles per gallon in real money. Oh yes, Kim took 8,000 photos!
We had a few problems along the way. Bearings in the alternator, water pump and fan belt idler failed. Metal fatigue caused problems with the fuel return pipe and the power assisted braking. Fortunately we had fantastic service from dedicated Land Rover service people (not the official dealers I hasten to add) and we were never held up for more than a few hours.
We’ve had a wonderful time. If we’ve managed to convey some of that wonder in these pages then the blog will have succeeded. Thanks for reading and goodbye – until the next trip.
Kim and Mike
and Vin Rouge
Now what did I do with the planner?
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