This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.


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2006 Travels April 9

SUNDAY 9 APRIL     MT ISA

Although the skies were grey and threatening, there was no rain today. But it was hot and humid.

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On the outskirts of Mt Isa

We had a quiet morning. There were no shops open, of course.

John went out to suss out the bowls scene, and came back having booked us in to play social bowls in the afternoon, so an early lunch was needed.

The bowls were on grass rinks, which were really water logged and heavy. It was not fun. Just hot and sweaty and hard work.

I really had not wanted to play, because my sore heel was getting better and I did not want to stir it up again, but John was insistent.


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2006 Travels April 8

SATURDAY 8 APRIL   WINTON TO MT ISA   470kms

The radio news at 8.30am said that the highway was open, so we decided to go for Mt Isa.

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The caravan park in the morning

Around McKinley, we could see where water had been over the road. There were some sections where the road surface was damaged, too.

We were in light rain for most of the day.

Refuelled in Cloncurry, on the way through, after 365kms. $1.29cpl. It seemed anomalous that, the further we were away from the populated areas, the cheaper the fuel was. Usually, it is the other way round.

At Isa, booked into the Argylla Caravan Park. $22.50 after discount. Told them we were not sure how long we would need to be here. We had stayed there last year, too.

The park was on the eastern edge of town, so it was a bit rural in feel and outlook, and was away from some of the noise that could occur right in town. The permanent dwellers here were tucked away in their own separate area.

Phoned Adels. The roads to there were still closed. They had two guests who were stuck there until the roads opened.

At this rate, we might not be getting there to start work before Easter. But neither would any guests, so it would not matter. But, having exerted ourselves to get here quickly, it would be boring to have to wait around for too long in Mt Isa, not to mention costing us money, instead of earning any.

Such are the vagaries of travel while the Wet Season is still on. We remarked that it had been fortunate that such a rain event had not happened this time last year. It could be ages before the roads to Pungalina are open, this year.

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We had travelled this route in just six days!

We enjoyed a bought fish and chip tea.

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2006 Travels April 7

FRIDAY 7 APRIL   CHARLEVILLE TO WINTON   700kms

Near Augathella, we nearly hit a mob of emus, this morning. Of course, the group that was on one side of the road, all decided at the last minute that they had to make a dash to the other side. John managed to slow down just enough – without endangering the rig – to just brush the tail feathers of the last bird. That was one lucky emu. The brakes all seemed to be working quite efficiently!

Stopped for a coffee break at the excellent rest are at Tambo. Got chatting to the occupants of another van that was parked there. Discovered that they were also going up to Adels to work. What a co-incidence! But they were not due to start until the end of this month.

He had hit his van on the corner of the shelter roof, as he’d pulled in, and taken the top front corner off the van. So now he had to find somewhere to get repairs.

They seemed pleasant people, which was good, because working with people one does not get on with, in such an isolated place, gets really difficult.

Refuelled at Tambo – $1.36cpl. 420kms done.

Had decided to try to make Winton today. We would feel happier once we made it to Mt Isa!

Refuelled again at Longreach – 326kms done. $1.35cpl.

We were in rain from Longreach on. It was quite heavy at first, around Longreach, but had eased off somewhat by the time we reached Winton.

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Rain band near Winton

The radio news said the Landsborough Highway was closed at Kynuna, after Winton. However, we were not sure if this was still accurate, as there seemed to be a lot of trucks passing us, heading east, and they had to have come from Cloncurry or beyond.

Refuelled again at Winton, even though we’d only done 186kms. With the rain. we thought fuel supplies further on might be uncertain. $1.35cpl.

Went into the Matilda Caravan Park at Winton. $18 after discount, staying hitched up.

The camp ground was really muddy in the drizzling rain. Apart from necessary visits to the amenities, we just hunkered down in the van, had an easy tea and an early night.

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2006 Travels April 6

THURSDAY 6 APRIL   BOURKE TO CHARLEVILLE   455kms

We had an uneventful drive to Charleville, on a road we have travelled several times before.

Broke the drive with roadside stops for coffee and lunch, and to refuel at Cunnamulla, having done 268kms since Bourke – $1.36cpl. Back in the State of cheaper diesel.

Booked into the Bailey Bar Caravan Park, as we had done times before. $18.90 after discount.

Not much had changed there. Rigs were still placed under direction, where it would allow a maximum number to be fitted in. That did not greatly affect us, this time, being here for only one night. They did place us so the rig could stay hitched up. We did not need to put up an awning, or set up camp furniture outside.

We walked to the shopping centre. Had to get a few oddments – including soap and container for John!

My heel seemed to be slowly getting better. We walked about 4kms.

Thought I should phone house sitter and check with her. She said all was alright at home. Spook was sleeping in the box we’d left for him – since he would not have our bed to sleep on. She had bought him a blanket for it – nice of her.

Phoned Adels Grove, to see what was happening there, and alert them to our time line.

It was only about two weeks since Cyclone Larry hit the Qld coast and caused a big low pressure system to come across the Gulf country, dumping over 500mm of rain around Normanton and Burketown, and flooding a lot of country.

M said the Century Mine trucks were using the Riversleigh road, as the usual way to the east was shut, due to the Leichardt River flooding between Gregory Downs and Burke and Wills Roadhouse. She reckoned Pungalina could flood again, too. It had been raining solidly for three days at Adels, and guests could not get there.

It was raining through much of the north west of Qld – we could have some trouble getting through. But with the dentist appointment in Mt Isa, we needed to try to go on.

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2006 Travels April 5

WEDNESDAY 5 APRIL   HAY TO BOURKE   580kms

John went to the park office and found the number for a dentist in Griffith – there was none in Hay! We had not actually intended to go through Griffith, but…. John phoned the dentist. He had no room to squeeze an appointment in for him in reasonable time. John tried to phone another one in that town, was told they would check and call back. They didn’t.

I twisted the ankle on my good foot, this morning, stumbling on some uneven ground.

I used Sensis to get some different dentist contacts in the areas we would be going to. Found one in Charleville, but when I phoned, found there was only an emergency dentist there now and there was no hope of a transient getting in.

Then found one in Mt Isa, where we were able to get an appointment for next Monday. So we would be detouring to the Mount, instead of turning north at Cloncurry, as usual. Well, that would be better than a side track to Griffith, anyway, and the tooth repair would just have to wait a few days.

I came to two conclusions after this exercise. One was that Telstra sucks, for eliminating the old, friendly, Directory Assistance, and replacing it with Sensis. I bet the charges would be high for my efforts today. Secondly, the bush was very badly served for dentists!

It was a long day, but it was nearly 10am before we left Hay.

Refuelled at Hillston – 311kms. $1.43cpl.

It got warmer through the day. Some cloud developed later and it was actually a bit cooler between Cobar and Bourke.

We found a good roadside stop, about 100kms south of Cobar, to stop and eat our packed lunch – at Gilgunnia.

There was some roadside water lying about – there had been rain, in recent weeks, through these parts.

At Cobar we debated whether to stay there, or press on to Bourke, a further 170kms. John wanted to go on and, in the end, I was pleased we did, now that we must reach Mt Isa in four days.

Filled Truck on the way through Bourke, at the fuel depot there. 430kms. $1.40cpl.

Continued on to North Bourke and booked into Kidmans Camp. $22.

The clouds that had developed led to a very pretty sunset. We sat out on the lovely grassed area outside our van and watched the sunset. It reminded us of happy hours at Pungalina, last year.

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At shower time, John discovered he didn’t pack his soap container – or soap! It had taken him a week to find this out??

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2006 Travels April 4

TUESDAY 4 APRIL   SWAN HILL TO HAY   240kms

We did not leave Swan Hill until after some tasks had been completed.

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Murray River at Swan Hill

I visited a jeweller to get my watch going again. But the verdict was that there was something other than just the battery wrong with it. I had little choice but to buy a new one, as I really had to have a watch to function properly at Adels. So I bought a stainless steel one, quite nice, for $200. Had the band from my old one fitted to the new one, as it was a style I preferred.

We also bought a case for the video camera – more compact than the one we had been using.

John posted off the fleece jackets, bought in Halls Gap,  to Brussels.

We drove to Hay via Tooleybuc and Balranald, to stay on the better faster roads, even though it was not the most direct route.

Topped up the fuel at Balranald, at 222kms done. $1.37cpl.

There were a few spots of rain at one stage in the afternoon, confirming that summer had really gone.

Booked into the Hay Plains Caravan Park. $18 after discount.

We set out to go for a walk, but did not go very far because I had a really sore heel, ankle back. I wasn’t sure what was wrong with it; there had not been any incident or accident to account for it. All I could think of was that it was an aftermath from all the standing at the Games work.

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Murrumbidgee River at Hay

To add to the accumulating woes on this trip, after tea, John pulled out a filling when using dental floss. It would need to be fixed as soon as possible.

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2006 Travels April 3

MONDAY 3 APRIL   HALLS GAP TO SWAN HILL   315 kms

Once we were heading out of Halls Gap, discussed our options for today. If the Truck repair was done quickly, we did not really want to dawdle away the rest of the day in Birchip, so decided to try to press on and maybe make Swan Hill for the night.

After leaving Halls Gap, stopped briefly in Stawell, so John could buy a cable for his laptop, to replace the one he’d realized  he left at home!

We were in Birchip by 1pm.

The freight truck with the new pump did not arrive until 3.15pm!

We filled in the time with a couple of tasks. I went to the Post Office and sent off a little jumper I had just finished knitting for son’s coming baby.

Refuelled Truck – $1.37cpl. Had done 446kms.

My watch had stopped working. This trip really had not begun well!

We talked with W, while waiting for the part to arrive. He told us that the water in O’s house at Pungalina had reached five foot deep. It was no longer liveable-in. O had phoned him a couple of days previous, from Borroloola – where the lady friend was working. W said that the owner of the place, A, wanted to fly W up there to work on the flooded machinery and get everything going again. But O reckoned he could do that himself. We all speculated that things up there were worse than O had let on, and that perhaps he just wanted to try to sort it all out himself. We wondered what had happened to the boats, which would have been brought back to the house area, from their places on the river, at the end of last year’s season. Or at least we presumed they had. I wondered if the wheeled container that normally held all the Safari Camp stuff through the Wet, had been parked above flood level? I hoped so, after all the work I had put in last year, to get the place properly equipped.

Once the part arrived, W was pretty fast with the repair, so we decided to stick to our plan to try for Swan Hill. The vehicle work cost us $400. Nothing to do with Landrovers is ever cheap!

It was dark when we reached Swan Hill. Booked in to the Pioneer City Caravan Park – $27 after discount.

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2006 Travels April 2

SUNDAY 2 APRIL     HALLS GAP

John slept in. After my breakfast, I went into Halls Gap for the Sunday paper. Met daughter and partner there. They came back to the park, to say goodbye to John, and to have a look at what the park was like, for  future reference. This time, they had been staying in a cottage in the township.

We went driving. Up to Boroka and Reids Lookouts, then to Roses Gap, Wartook and back to the van. All that way was through burnt country.

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Almost half of the National Park was burnt. It would be a long time before access was open again to many of the best places.

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Victoria Valley, Moora Track, Moora Moora Reservoir

White posts marking the road sides, and the road signs had melted, or were indecipherable. All the walks in the area behind Halls Gap were closed; tracks would have to be cleared of debris, signs and railings rebuilt before they could be re-opened. It would be a massive job.

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The view from Reids Lookout showed the devastation in the central Victoria Valley. That was country I had regularly hiked and camped in – impossible to visualize it as the same lush, green, beautiful area I had known.

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The Wonderland Range

We would not be sorry, tomorrow, to leave our neighbours in the next van. They had three whinging, wailing young children. They kept their heating system on all night – it started up every five minutes or so, and ran for a couple of minutes each time. It was most noisy and annoying. All I could think was that such inconsiderate adults deserved such horrible children!


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2006 Travels April 1

SATURDAY 1 APRIL     HALLS GAP

It was a chilly day.

After breakfast, we drove into the Halls Gap village. The evidence of the fire impacts were all around.

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Fire burned along the ranges, each side of Halls Gap

At the newsagent, where I’d gone for the papers, we encountered daughter and partner. The shop also stocked  tourist oriented items. I bought a heap of post cards – mostly to add to the stock that I use when remote, to regularly send to the grandchildren.

John bought polo fleece jackets for his two grandsons – a small koala one for the boy born last year, and a larger kangaroo one for the three year old. They had hoods with the appropriate ears and were really cute. We hoped they were a hit when they reached Brussels.

There were not a lot of people in the village, considering the time of year, and the weather.

We wandered up and down the main – only – street. Although still small, Halls Gap had changed a lot since I used to regularly visit, back in the 70’s and 80’s. Somehow, it seemed more developed. And the new aboriginal display/information centre had been built.

After lunch, went for a short drive down the Dunkeld road. We were not feeling very energetic.

It was sad that none of the popular tourist walks and attractions were yet open, after the fires. The village could certainly have benefitted from the tourists that would only come in numbers when there were things for them to do.

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Once was a picnic table and bench seats

The extent and ferocity of those lightning-started fires was quite awesome. They burned for a couple of weeks and extended across all the best parts of the Grampians. Halls Gap survived, but it must have been really frightening to have been in the village during the fires.

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There was already evidence of some regeneration of eucalypts, and of course the opportunistic bracken fern was regrowing.

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John kept remembering stuff he had forgotten to pack. This year’s had definitely been his most disorganized departure.


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2006 Travels March 31

FRIDAY 31 MARCH   BENDIGO TO HALLS GAP   345kms

Said goodbye to the grandson, as they left for creche and work at 8.15am.

We finished our breakfast and departed, quite calmly.

Reached Birchip at noon, as previously arranged with W.

His service work revealed that Truck needed a new fuel pump. It would be Monday, at the earliest, before the part would arrive in Birchip.

We had lunch with A and W. There was lots of talk about Pungalina, where we’d all worked last year. W told us that the manager had been in Darwin with his lady friend, when the heavy rains occurred, a couple of weeks previous. A monsoon trough that stalled over the Gulf. We were surprised that he was away, at all, during the Wet season, and surprised that he was not able to pick up the likelihood of that event from the weather forecasts, in time to fly his plane back.

According to W, there had been much damage, caused when the Calvert River flooded to a high level. Water had inundated the house to a depth of about a metre. A lot of the mud brick walls had dissolved. The Troopy, and much of the machinery on the place, had been partly submerged. A lot of loose items had simply floated away.

A and W were planning to go up to Pungalina in mid-May. It would have to be via the Calvert Road in the NT, as the Gulf track would not be open by then. There would certainly be plenty of mechanical repair work to be done!

Now, with a couple of days to fill in, we decided to go to Halls Gap and see what that  area was like, after the big bushfires that had occurred in the Grampians in late January. It was only a couple of hours away. Daughter and partner were going to be there too, for an anniversary, but grandson was being looked after by friends at home.

We headed south. Refuelled at Donald – $1.39cpl. Had done 456kms.

We reached Halls Gap just on darkness, in a deluge of rain and with it freezing cold. What suddenly happened to summer? It had still been around this morning. Somebody turned the off switch!

We had phoned ahead and obtained an en suite site at the Halls Gap Parkgate Caravan Park. It cost us $33.30 a night, after discount.

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