Into South Australia

We enjoyed our night at Birdsville in our secluded spot then set off bright and early heading south down the Birdsville Track. We had our passes ready expecting to be stopped at the border but there wasn’t a soul there so we entered SA passes unseen! 

    
We love these outback tracks and even though in some places it was pretty rough, on the whole it was good and we didn’t have any mishaps.  Last time we saw lots of wild life but we only saw one kangaroo this time. There were however lots of cattle - all in excellent condition. We nearly collected one young one who was reluctant to move out of the way - I could see this big rump ending up on our nudge bar!! ( I was too slow to get a photo) 

                                         
We met little traffic - except for three of these road trains - it pays to get off the road when they’re coming!

Our morning tea was on the northern side of a sand dune that indicates we’re near the Simpson Desert. Sturt’s Stony Desert also adjoins this track and the gibbers make interesting scenery -well we think so! You do get surprised though with these artesian water flows. 

    
We went onto Mungerannie where we’d hoped for a Father’s Day special cappuccino but the chef was sick so we had to be content with an icecream! The hills coming into here looked much like opal rich hills around Coober Pedy. 

We camped at the Cooper creek crossing last night and were the only ones there so continued our social distancing. It was another brilliant sunset and we once again enjoyed our campfire.

                                     

Today we ended the Track and at Copley spoilt ourselves with a cafe lunch as it was dusty and windy. Unfortunately today was a raised dusty day so we headed as far south as we could to avoid the dust. 

We just love seeing the Flinders Rangers and really could have detoured there if we didn’t have more important places to be! As we came south we could see the difference in crops - north of the Goyder line the crops were poor but we noticed how better they were as we travelled south. 

We love these tree lined water courses and the beautiful stone ruins which are common in this area.

Now we are in Melrose and I’d say our travel blogs are over. Tomorrow we’ll drop our van at Marg & Brians and spend a lovely evening with them, then head to Victor Harbor. So this will be the last of my travel blogs. We’ve had an amazing and very unexpected trip which has grown from the expected 2-3 weeks to 6 and we’ve enjoyed some wonderful times. We will love spending time with mum then getting home to tend to our garden which is no doubt out of control! We send our love to every one - keep safe ❌❌❌❌❌

 

Birdsville

Our trip from Cloncurry to here has been on our bucket list for a while and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Leaving  Cloncurry towards Dajarra was very picturesque as you pass through a range. 

We went through a little town called Dutchess which only had a pub and a railway siding and onto Dajarra then Boulia. The creek beds are lined with magnificent white gum trees which reminded us of the Cooper Creek trees.

                                 

As we headed south, the scenery changed to become more desert like - but still with a certain charm with these sort of rocky outcrops.

                                    

Boulia was a pleasant surprise being a  neat tidy town with a grassed median strip and a modern Min Min Centre (which we didn’t have time to see) The Burke river passes through here - named when Burke & Wills crossed here and replenished their water supplies. They would get much today as the flow is reduced to a few pools. Darryl was pretty impressed with this big road train fuel tanker.                                      

The caravan park was an oasis with grass, trees and even some animals to entertain us.

The Joey is an orphaned pet and follows the owner around - even when she was cleaning the amenity block! We’ve seen two stands of Waddi trees which are unique to only 3 spots in Australia. These are just out of Bedourie, as is the Tropic of Capricorn sign. 

Bedourie boasts of being where the Simpson Desert meets the Channel country and we could certainly believe it with the rolling red dunes and many channels and creeks. The Eyre creek was pretty full and we stopped by a water hole which still had enough water to entice a couple of brolgas. There was a look out along the way which gave impressive views of the flat landscape. This is part of a natural treeless plain - just like out of Coober Pedy. 

The Royal Hotel in Bedourie was a ripper (though too early for a drink there) and we loved this creek name.

Now we are set up by the Diamantina River at Birdsville where we will enjoy our last night in Queensland. It’s a bit cooler so reckon we’ll get our fire pit out and enjoy sitting by that. It’s been far too warm recently to even consider a fire! Our last visit to Birdsville was terribly windy with swarms of flies so thankfully the flies aren’t bad and the wind has died down. It’s pretty secluded down here by the river and we’re surely social distancing! Tomorrow we head down the track so are looking forward to that trip again. We’re still some 2,500k away from Victor Harbor and seeing Mum, but we’re getting closer!! 

                        

We send our love to everyone - hope all the Dads have a great day tomorrow - we’ll be thinking of you all. Rest assured I’ll be spoiling Darryl!! Love from the travellers ❌❌❌❌❌

Heading west and south.

We left Mt Surprise and continued along the Savannah Way through some interesting country and lovely towns. We struck very little traffic which was just as well as the road had some very narrow stretches. As we went over the bridge just before Georgetown, it was hard to believe that last year when we went over it, the Gilbert River  was full! Not so now!

The photo here doesn’t do justice to the lovely outlook as we went through the Newcastle Range.

         

We also loved these trees with yellow blossoms. We enjoyed lunch at Croydon which is another lovely town - mainly as it had wine on special at the pub! I don’t think I’d have much luck purchasing anything from the butchers though! We noticed this lovely old building which was once a men’s hospital.

       
We ended up Leichhardt’s lagoon some 25 km east of Normanton so we didn’t have to go into Normanton  - we saw it last year and doubt much has changed!  This was a pretty spot to rest and enjoy the lagoon bird life and beautiful sunsets. 

This place is very popular with fishing fanatics as it’s right by the Norman River. Some set up for months chasing that elusive Barramundi! The amenities were basic but very welcome as it was quite hot - we wished we could pop into the lagoon to cool off but a beware of crocs and snakes sign put us off! We really needed the Port Douglas pool! Today we turned south along the Burke developmental road and we’re  now at Cloncurry. Along the way we saw this Quamby Pub - quite derelict now which is sad to see. Hope our Quamby pub doesn’t go down this track! 

Tomorrow we hit some dirt as we plan to travel through Dajarra to Boulia. We’re getting closer to Birdsville and ultimately to SA. We hope everyone is well and coping with life's restrictions OK - we feel very fortunate that we are able to travel around freely. Till the next blog, we send our love ❤️❤️




















 

Port Douglas

What a beautiful weekend we had in this amazing resort - thank you so much to the Taylor family for their hospitality.

                                     

We really enjoyed this bit of luxury - such a change for us having so much space and not having to watch our water usage, think about finding a dump point or put coins in the washing machine! And the company was A1!
We could walk to the 4 mile beach and even though the weather wasn’t really beach weather, it’s a lovely beach to walk along - or even ride a bike! We enjoyed watching these kite surfers - amazing - and they weren’t afraid of crocs, stingers or sharks!

Port Douglas is a lovely place and we strolled through the markets, down the Main Street - where we had the most delicious ice creams - enjoyed a coffee on the beach front at a lovely pub and explored the area. However, we did make the most of the resort as what could be better?  We had our own pool which was very popular - especially as it was heated! Saturday night a delicious sea food dinner was beautifully prepared by Andrew David Craig & Megan to celebrate Anne’s birthday. They could run a seafood restaurant and it was a beautiful evening.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so this morning we packed up and left this beautiful place and bade farewell to the Taylor family. We picked up our van from where it was stored at Feathers & Friends and set off westwards. Now this trip of ours had had many unexpected twists and turns and the recent bonus is that we’ve been able to secure a pass into SA as we’ve been in Queensland!! We never dreamed when we set off that we’d ever end up in Port Douglas - or Victor Harbor! We can’t travel though NSW so plan to cross the border at Birdsville - and hit the Birdsville Track! We’ll be pretty nervous at the border as the rules seem to change daily - hopefully there’ll be no hiccups 

So we are travelling along the Savannah Way until Normanton then we’ll head to Mount Isa, Boulia, Bedourie and to Birdsville. Tonight we are at Mt Surprise in a lovely park - not quite Port Douglas standard, but lovely trees and a nearby creek.  

The Savannahlander train runs past this park from Cairns to Forsayth during the dry season - I’d love to see it go by as it’s a 1960’s diesel rail motor.  

                                         

So we won’t be doing much sightseeing as we have travelled these roads - but look forward to Bedourie & Boulia.  We send our love to everyone and hope you’re all keeping safe. ❌❌❌❌ Marg & Darryl.