Day 185 - 15 Jun 09

I ended up significantly over-staying the “legal” limit at Bushy Parker Park at Rollingstone, but it was such a beautiful site that it was very easy to stay for “just one more day.” I was all squared away and ready to move yesterday, but after having a glass of juice and a cup of coffee for breakfast, I just couldn’t be bothered hooking up so stayed another day.

A walk along the creek brings you to the railway and highway bridges over the creek as well as an old bridge on what appears to be the old highway and is now a bypass road. A couple of deep holes which make great swimming holes, but what struck me was the artwork on the supports under the bridge. It is amazing what some people can do with spray cans. If only they would do more of this and less of the “tagging.”

Drove through to Innisfail via Ingham, Cardwell and Tully. Beautiful scenery all along the coast and through plantations of bananas and sugar cane. Hinchinbrook Island would have to get the nod for the island the least distance off the coast, it's only a matter of metres and I think that at low tide, you'd just about have to call it part of the mainland.

Booked into the River Drive Caravan Park in Innisfail. Was originally going to stay for just 2 nights, but, unlike the majority of parks, the manager only charged me $15 per night because I was on my own, rather than the usual “2-person” standard rate, so I stayed for an additional couple of nights.

The information centre in Innisfail had a “1 for 1” free book exchange, so I took advantage of it to swap about 15 books, which should keep me going for another 3 weeks or so.

If I was going to go into business, I discovered a possible money-earner. I searched all over town for an axe. Had great difficulty even finding a place that sold them (you’d think hardware stores, but no luck.) Finally found a couple of places and the cheapest I could find was $78.00!!! Bloody Hell, you can buy a cheap chainsaw for not much more than that.

Day 189 – 19 Jun 09

OK, time to head for the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Took off from Innisfail this morning and headed over the Great Dividing Range via Millaa Millaa, but by-passed the Atherton Tableland (been there, done that). It rained the night before in Innisfail and the weather was still very overcast when I left. The result of this was that the high passes over the range were blanketed with fog, and I mean foggggg. Visibility about 50 metres and this is in broad daylight, but by the time I got to Ravenshoe on the other side of the range, the weather had cleared and it was fine and clear again.

Stopped for the night at a roadside rest area called Archer River and again it was a delightful spot. I think Queensland has to take the prize for having the best rest areas I've seen. No facilities except toilets (and they were backed up), but a really pretty area and some nice bushwalks along the creek and up the local hills. It has been fairly chilly here recently, getting down to 8 degC overnight and only up to 25 deg during the day, but it is all relative. It is the middle of winter, and it’s a hell of a lot colder in the south, I heard on the radio that it was minus 5 in Stanthorpe yesterday, and Lord knows what it is in Melbourne.

Day 192 – 22 Jun 09

A long run today, close to 400 km from Archer River to Gilbert River via Mt. Garnet, Mt. Surprise, and Georgetown. Gilbert River is only a Roadside Rest Area, with no facilities whatsoever, but there is plenty of room and plenty of shade and plenty of firewood.

It is very, very, very dusty here at the moment, evidently last wet-season the Gilbert River overflowed and covered the campsite, so it dropped a lot of silt which, now that it has dried out and been churned up by vehicles, has turned into a really fine powder or “bull-dust.” But what sunsets, and the sound of the birds in the mornings is magnificent.

Seems to be a popular spot, 13 vehicles here overnight on Tuesday night, 3 on Wednesday and 16 on Thursday. Most only stayed overnight, but a couple stayed for 2 or 3 days like me. I took a wander down to the actual river and it is amazing that a river so big can have so little water in it. I wonder if they are like the rivers in the NW of W.A. where the river acually keeps flowing, but beneath the sand.

There is a phenomenal number of vans and motorhomes on the road. I didn’t bother to count, but I would estimate 50 or 60 a day at least and it isn’t even school holidays yet.

Day 196 – 26 Jun 09

Well, I’m here at the Gulf. Left Gilbert River this morning and drove to Normanton via Croydon, about 220 kilometres.

I stopped for a couple of hours in Croydon and had a good look round. Evidently when it was a gold-mining area, there were over 8,000 people in Croydon and some small surrounding towns, but now has a population of around 150. The locals have preserved a lot of the old buildings and restored them for public display.

The general store claims to be the oldest store in Oz, built in 1884 and, whether this is true or not, they make an absolutely fabulous hamburger. A big meat pattie, egg, heaps of crisp bacon and oodles of salad and only $7.50. Got to be great value, I can scoff a couple of quarter pounders or double whoppers at a sitting, but this burger was a feed and a half. A bloke at Gilbert River said that the burgers at Burketown are the best in Oz, so I will have to get one there and make a comparison.

I’m at the Caravan Park in Normanton for a couple of days and will have a look around and take a side trip to Karumba tomorrow, before heading off to Burketown. Look for some photos in the next post.

The bloke who told me about the burger told me that the road from Burketown through Hell’s Gate and Booraloola is in really good condition so that bodes well for the future, I really don’t want to have to go back to Cloncurry and Tennant Creek unless I absolutely have to. He also said that the road via Roper Bar is in great condition, so if I can go that way it will be a real bonus. I was planning to go from Booraloola to Daly Waters, but Roper Bar would cut several hundred kilometres of the trip. Time will tell.

Day 178 - 08 Jun 09

One of the shortest stages of the whole trip, just 47 km from Townsville to the Bushy Parker Bush Camp at Rollingstone. What a great little (or not so little) camp site. Terrific shade, close to a beaut, clean swimming hole, toilets, free electric barbecues, drinking water and some of the sites even have taps that you can hook up to. Truly idyllic.

Camping is permitted (obviously) but is restricted to 48 hours and only once a week for those who might try to fiddle the books. This is a long weekend for the Queensland observance of the Queen's Birthday Holiday, so the Ranger won't be around until Tuesday to check. I arrived on Friday, so I'm planning to leave on Thursday morning which means I've managed to wangle a week here.

The place was absolutely chokkas over the weekend, probably mostly locals from the area, but the majority have gone now and it is really peacefull, the weather is glorious, 28 degC and not a cloud in the sky and the humidity is quite low. I shall be sorry to leave, but oh well, that's life.

I spoke to several people who are familiar with the area and it seems that there are a significant number of good free or cheap campsites along this part of the coast, Balgal, Bluewater, Toomulla, Big Crystal etc. and those who are on the road full-time, simply drift from one to the other in a cycle. The area IS delightful, but I think even Paradise might pall after a while.

The long-distance travelling is what attracts me tropics this week, savannah next week, desert the following week, mountains the week after.

I'm finally camping in the style I originally intended, stopping more than driving. This leg has been absolutely perfect - drive for less than 50 km and then camp for a week.

Day 168 - 29 May 09

I've been playing silly buggers with the pics I've been including, blowing them up to a larger size, but I think I'll just go back to the thumbs. For anyone who doesn't know, if you click on the pic, it will come up to full size in a new window, so I'm not gaining anything by making them larger in the blog.

Off Again. It has been flamin' marvellous staying here at Fletcher Creek, I didn't want to leave. Took a couple of runs into Charters Towers while I was here, just to get bread and milk etc. Crikey, that place must be the Flying Fox (Fruit Bat) capital of Queensland.
Headed north from Fletcher Creek up to the Harvey Range Developmental road. Bit dicey! Only just one lane and lots of road trains trucking ore use the road. If you see them far enough ahead, it's easy to pull off and let them through (most of them gave a "thank you" on UHF40), but in the winding sections, it was a bit nervous making.

Over the range and into Townsville. There was a beaut lookout as you crest the range, but no warning signs and I was past it before I could stop. Steep winding road on the way down and no place to turn around so I missed it.

Booked into the Coral Coast caravan park for a week to get some washing and shopping done.

04 June 2009 - Day 174

Had a drive around Townsville and up to Castle Hill. Great views from the top, they should make it compulsory for all towns to have a big hill just outside town so you can get a view like this.
Weather has been fine for the last couple of weeks and today was bright and clear so there was a terrific view of Magnetic Island from the top of Castle Hill.

The humidity has gone through the roof since I hit the coast, I guess I've been spoiled by the amount of time I've spent inland and the humidity has come as a bit of a shock to the system. Could be worse though, it could be the Wet Season when the humidity hits 99%.

I'm off again in the morning, heading north up the coast to Innisfail, should be there in a week or so and I should have coverage most of the way, so I'll put in some pics as I travel

Catching Up (6)

Day 136 – 27 Apr 09

Hughenden seems to have gone even more dinosaur-crazy than the others. Everywhere you looked there was some reference to a dinosaur.

I must admit some of the sculptures done by local artists out of junk were very imaginative. Reminded me a bit of the sculptures on the Oodnadatta track.

Starting to get into some hills now, first since the Alice, if you don’t count those pimples coming in to Isa. Stopped for a break at White Mountains near Pentland. White I’ll go along with, but whoever called them mountains needs to get out a bit more. Looks like there could be some good bushwalking there however.

On to Charters Towers. It never ceases to amaze me that when you look at the buildings in the centre of town, you feel like you’re in a big town of 10 or 12 thousand people, and yet it is actually a very small town (although I understand is has a considerable non-urban population). I guess it is because it once was a very large town during the gold-mining days, and, unlike some towns which have simply withered away, CT has retained the prominent buildings in its heart.

I was looking for a likely area to camp between here and Townsville and notice in Camps 5 a spot called Fletcher Creek about 42 kms north of CT on the Greenvale road. The thing that struck me was that “camps” states that you can camp here for 30 days! Thinks: that sounds like a good idea to me. What a great spot.

Toilets, showers (cold) a broad, fast flowing creek which is spring-fed, so it’s permanent, plenty of shade, plenty of dead wood in the surrounding area and plenty of room. It’s perfect, think I may stay here for a couple of weeks.

Day 158 – 19 May 09

Oh dear, how time flies when you’re having fun. I’ve been here at Fletcher Creek now for 3 weeks and it only seems like yesterday that I arrived. I’d been here for a week, set up right on the riverbank, when along comes some wally from the local council, complete with Stetson and high-heeled riding boots, (you really need them when you’re driving a Nissan Patrol) and tells us all (there were about 8 or 9 campers) to bugger off. It seems the EPA doesn’t want people camping on the riverbank in case they do wee-wees in the water. This completely ignores the fact that there is a mob of about 50 brahmin-cross steers who wander across the creek each morning and you can imagine what they do in the water.

People are evidently only allowed to camp outside the line of posts 25 metres or so from the riverbank. Someone at one time has pulled a couple of posts out of the ground (probably for his campfire) and it looks like an access point to the riverbank, so obviously people use it as such. It seems that it is more efficient to drive all the way out here and tell people to move, than it would be to replace the posts and put up a sign or two.

I did the right thing and moved outside the posts, but seeing I’d been disturbed I thought right, well I’ll have to start again and have another week. After about 3 days it came over all cloudy and we had a bit of drizzle each night. I thought this was grossly unfair, to rain while I’m having a holiday and determined that I wouldn’t move until the weather improves. That took another week and by this time people had started camping on the riverbank again, but it’s none of my beeswax.

I suppose I should think about moving on again. Let’s see, today is Tuesday, and I don’t want to get to Townsville on a weekend, so I think I’ll stay here until the weekend and pack up on Monday to move on.

Catching Up (5)

Day 122 – 13 Apr 09

10 days, and still no sign of the parts for the Kia. Good thing I’m not in a hurry. I checked the RACQ road conditions and it looks like there are still a few road closures in place up in the gulf, so I probably need to kill a bit of time anyway. This really is a pleasant site for a caravan park, price is reasonable at $28.00 a night, especially with the 10% discount for being a Top Tourist member (although that has run out due to the $25.00 maximum) and the “stay 7 days, pay for 6” which works out to a 14% discount as well. The facilities are top-class, great showers with plenty of water pressure, place is pet-friendly although there are very few pets in evidence. The place seems very popular, it has been chokka several times, although I would have expected more kids, it being the school holidays and all. Maybe kids don’t like the Mt. Isa area?

Day 129 – 20 Apr 09

Finally, the parts have arrived and they can fix the Kia. I could probably have taken a few side-trips like Lawn Hill or similar while I was stuck here, but I didn’t want to take the chance of the vehicle giving up the ghost somewhere out the back of beyond. I love automatics, but if you can’t start them with the key, you’re absolutely stuffed. No push-start with these blokes.

Now that I’m mobile again, I can think about moving on. Staying in a van park has its good points, but it can become expensive after a while. It’s not that I’m stingy, but the money has to last. I know that a lot of people work here and there while there on the road, but I don’t want to work unless I absolutely have to. To my mind, that’s what being retired is, not working. The couple in the van next to me are Kiwis, about 30-something, and they pull into a place, stay at a van park and get jobs. She’s cleaning at the Irish Club and he’s delivering Pizzas. Evidently they got their jobs the first day they hit town and plan on staying for a couple of months. Good on ‘em, but I’d rather sit on my duff and do nothing.

Day 130 – 21 Apr 09

On the road again. Departed the Isa this morning and took a run out to Lake Moondarra.

Very nicely set up, the lake is a dam on the Leichhardt River to supply water to the Isa and the mines, but they have taken the trouble to make it into a good recreation area as well. Nice lawns, shade, picnic areas etc., but also opportunities to take a good walk up the hills and so forth.

One thing I have noticed since getting into Queensland is the number of hawks around. They seem to be everywhere in quite large numbers. Must be the good conditions have increased their prey which has in turn increased or at least concentrated the number of hawks.

On the road back to the Isa from Lake Moondarra. I don't know what these blokes were drinking or smoking, but it must have been good stuff!

I remember coming through this way in 1973, stopping at Mary Kathleen for a break and a cold drink. The last couple of times I’ve been through, I couldn’t find any sign of the place. I know they pulled it all up and moved some of it to Cloncurry, but I couldn’t even find where it has been. This time there is a sign leading in to the townsite. It’s only a couple of kms off the road but the road itself is in a real bad state.

I had some old photos of the place from ’73 and it was interesting to try to identify the same locations now.

My understanding is that one is not supposed to camp there, but there are no signs anywhere saying so, so I’m going to plead ignorance and stay for a few days. The old hardstanding surfaces make an ideal van site and there is plenty of shade. There are another couple of semi-nomads already here, so we can plead ignorance together.

Day 131 – 22 Apr 09

I’ve walked for miles today. There’s a hill just to the east of the townsite and you can get a wonderful view over the whole area from there. It’s a bit of a scramble getting up and wouldn’t you know it – after stumbling and scrambling through the Spinifex to get up to the top, there are the remains of an old dirt access road which I could have walked up. The deterioration shows here too. The bottom part of the road, where it runs down the hill has become badly eroded by rain running down the track and has turned into a mini-gorge all of its own.

There is a bitumen ring-road which runs around the whole townsite and it was a good 5 or 6 kms right around. Great for a bit of exploring and trying to work out what the various locations were. The road extends through into “Private Property – Trespassers will be burned alive” sort of thing, but I couldn’t resist having a stickybeak. Again, not all that much to see, but I suppose the property owners are entitled to their privacy.

Day 132 – 23 Apr 09

Took a side-trip today, just in the Kia, down to what is fancifully named Clem Walton Park, more properly Corella Dam. It’s only a few kms from Mary K and only 4 or 5 kms off the main road, but it is a fairly rough track in. It is obviously accessible because there was a standard 18 foot van at the campsite, but I reckon you would want to take it r-e-a-l easy going in, in anything but an off-roader. It was quite pleasant at the camp, lots of shade, room for 10 or 12 sites, toilets, but not much else. The campsite is on the over-flow from the dam and I bet there would be lots of mozzies. Took a walk up to the dam wall. Nice walk – dozens of dead turtles everywhere for some reason. More hawks around – could be connected. Site would probably be worth a stop for a few days, but I don’t feel like packing up just to move a few kms, maybe next time I’m through this way?

Day 133 – 24 Apr 09

Packed up this morning, but before I hitched up, took a run out to the actual Mary K mine site. I’m glad I did, the view is spectacular. The mine is a semi-open-cut. They terraced the hill and then continued down into a pit. They mined for uranium, but it is obvious that there is a lot of copper in the ground. The water has been coloured by the copper sulphate leaching out of the ground and is the most vibrant blue colour (looks like those high school chemistry classes weren’t a complete waste after all – thanks Mr. Tindale). I wouldn’t have ever thought I would see anything bluer than the Blue Lake in Mt. Gambier, but I have now.

The couple at Mary K have said that Wal’s Camp at Cloncurry is worth a visit, $10 a night, hot showers, but no power. Sounds like a good deal to me, think I’ll stop there for a couple of nights.

Day 134 – 25 Apr 09

They were right, it’s not bad for what you pay for. Not a lot of shade, so pick the direction you park to make the best use of your awnings and the shade provided by the body of your vehicle. There’s an on-site refrigerated trailer just outside the camp and the sound of the bloody thing kicking in and out all night is a pain in the bum.

Went into town this morning for the ANZAC service, wasn’t too bad for a little town this size. I still can’t get used to troops using these Steyr rifles. They look like the plastic toys kids used to play with, and when they present arms with them it looks ridiculous. I think there’s a case to be made for continuing to use the SLR for ceremonial purposes like this. The troopies simply stood with the weapons slung during the service because it’s obviously impossible to perform “Rest on your arms reversed” with this weapon. Takes something away from the solemnity of a memorial service somehow.

In the afternoon , I went out to Chinaman Creek Dam. It's a very lovely spot, only 5 or 6 kms out of town and a great spot for a picnic or a day out with the ankle-biters.

Due to the recent rains through the area, the dam is chokkas, right up to the top of the wall and the movement of the boats on the dam were sending the water over the top of the spillway.

There is a (pretty rough) track leading from the back of the spillway and out along the retaining wall, that leads to some very picturesque spots on the upper reaches of the lake. Don't know about camping, couldn't see any signs and nobody seemed to know one way or the other - might come under that "30 kms from town" blanket restriction.

Took a spin up to the Ernest Henry minesite north of town in the afternoon to have a look at the big pit. Waste of bloody time, there’s no public access, and nowhere that you can get a view of the pit. Oh, well, more experience.

Took a deviation to Fort Constantine on the way back, thought it sounded interesting. Evidently whoever named it was reminded of the forts in Constantinople. Couldn’t see anything that was faintly reminiscent of a fort. There is a very picturesque crossing at the Cloncurry River, – More hawks, and a very flash set of station buildings, but no fort that I could see.

Day 136 – 27 Apr 09

The road from Cloncurry to Charters Towers has certainly changed over the years. I first travelled this route in 1969. There was 30 kms of bitumen east of Cloncurry and about 1 km each side of Julia Creek, Richmond and Hughenden, then it started again at Torrens Creek. The rest was dirt and washaways. Still very green everywhere with knee high grass as far as the eye can see.

I had a wander around Richmond and all I can say about these outback Queenslanders is that they seem a bit careless to me. On the historical walk, there are several signs stating what used to be there, including in many cases photographs of the original buildings. If there were any which hadn’t been destroyed by one fire or another, I couldn’t find them. Either somebody was very careless with matches or there were some great insurance scams going on.

Camped tonight at Marathon, just a roadside rest area but quite nice.

Catching Up (4)

Day 105 – 27 Mar 09

I’ve spent the past week just doodling around the local sights like Flynn's Grave and catching upon my reading. I should have taken the opportunity to get this blog up-to-date, but to tell the truth, it just seemed like too much trouble at the time. This relaxing really takes it out of you let me tell you. Awake at the crack of 9:00, out of bed by 10:00 at the latest, walking all the way to the outside of the van to sit down, reading till lunch-time and then having to climb all the way back into the van to make a sandwich, eating the sandwich, reading for a couple of hours and by then I’m so exhausted I have to have a nap to recover. What will I have for tea? Decisions, decisions. Cheese and bickies and a drop of the good stuff at 17:30 and by that time it’s time to make dinner. Watch a video and it’s 9:00pm already and I fall into bed exhausted. It’s a hard life, but I guess somebody has to do it.

Day 106 – 28 Mar 09

Well, enough of this sitting around, it’s time to get on the road again. Today it’s the East MacDonnell Ranges. Out from Alice to Emily Gap.You would not believe the bloody flies! I usually have a quiet chuckle when I see the tourists with their fly-veils, but I tell you what, I’m seriously thinking of getting one myself. I know that if you go bush, you get flies, but these are beyond a joke. On to Jessie Gap,

Then on to Corroborree Rock,

what is supposedly the world’s largest Ghost Gum,

and to Trephina Gorge. There is a great walk along the rim of the gorge with some spectacular views,

but the walk back through the gorge itself is a killer. The sand is deep and really soft and is really hard going. One thing that is very noticeable about all of these tourist attractions in the area is the number of signs, do this... don't do that... go here.... don't go there, (especiallythe No Camping signs) but the best example of stating the blindingly obvious would have to be,On to Ross River Resort which sounds very posh, but is just a collection of dilapidated shacks and doesn’t look very salubrious at all.

Back through the Alice and out to the West MacDonnells.

First stop: Simpson's GapLook, these gaps, chasms, gorges, what-have-you are very picturesque and peaceful, but after a while they all look the bloody same. My advice is pick one, spend the day there and move on. The really annoying thing is, they are such beautiful locations, but you’re not allowed to camp there. I would think that waking up early (ish) in the morning at one of these spots would be delightful, but no, no, no says Parks and Wildlife.

Stopped at Standley Chasm. Now that really is spectacular, even if you do have to pay to look at it. Again, stopping there for a day would be great, the differences in the chasm in the early morning, at noon with the sun shining straight down in the cleft, and sunset would be very interesting, but what would you do in the intervening hours?

I spent that night at a roadside rest area about halfway between Standley Chasm and the Ellery Big Hole, high up on top of a hill about 500 metres off the road. What a great little stop. Just the usual – a couple of shaded picnic tables and a water tank, but what views. The local cops pulled in just before sunset, watched the sun set and took off again on their patrol.

Day 107 – 29 Mar 09

Ellery Big Hole was quite impressive because of the amount of water in it. Seems to be quite a popular spot for swimming, seemed to be a lot of families with kids there, although admittedly it was a Sunday. I stopped at the Ochre pits and it was interesting to see the different colours of ochre all in the same location. The site had an absolutely enormous parking area, but not a soul in sight. Must have been in-between tour buses. A bit different to Kata-Tjuta, there was a different bus full of Japs every 15 minutes. I gave Serpentine Gorge a miss. First it was about 15 kms each way of pretty rough track and secondly, I’m about gorged-out.

OK, one more. Went into Ormiston Gorge. Yep, It's a gorge alright.Headed on to Glen Helen. Now that’s impressive. Worth the whole trip by itself. Suggested itinerary for travellers to the West MacDonnells – Leave the Alice at such a time as to get to Standley Chasm just before midday, so that you can see the sun shine into the chasm at noon. Then on to Glen Helen, watch the sunset and back to Alice in the morning. Give the rest of them a quick squiz on the way back.

I hot-footed it back to Alice, fuelled up and headed north along the Stuart Highway. Passed Aileron and Ti-Tree and pulled up for the night at a Rest Area opposite Central Mt. Stuart.

Day 108 – 30 Mar 09

Diesel was 1.29 a litre in Alice. I stopped at Barrow Creek for a coffee and happened to glance at their pumps. $1.48 a litre. Good Luck to ‘em I say, hope they get it.

Stopped for a break at Wycliffe Well, supposedly the “UFO capital of Australia” The roadhouse seems to have taken the title to heart.

Pulled into Tennant Creek to do the bread and milk thing and ran into a couple of motor-homer's that I’d met in the Flinders, so called around to the caravan park and shared a couple of coldies. Pretty ratty-looking park to tell the truth. The town has got that look that is common to a lot of towns with large aboriginal populations. Bars or security mesh on every window in sight. I was surprised when I first saw this sort of thing in Wilcannia about 5 years ago but it seems to be becoming more common.

Back down to Three-ways and across the Barkley tableland. I was planning to camp at the first rest area, about 60 kms from Three-ways, but there was an old falcon there with a couple of indigs, so I kept moving to the next rest area at TW bore a further 70 kms on. Got there just before full dark. The first time I have travelled this late the whole trip so far. Good little spot, lots of shade and plenty of water from the bore – can’t drink it but.

Day 109 – 31 Mar 09

And so to Mount Isa. I must have travelled the Barkley 7 or 8 times over the years and I have never seen it looking like it is. It is bright green from one end to the other. The grass was about 500-600mm high. I stopped for a break at Avon Downs and not only was there plenty of water in the creek, the creek was full of water lilies. I tell you what, if beef prices don’t come down in Queensland in a year or so, there’s something funny going on. I reckon you could graze 10 million cattle out there at the moment.

One good thing, that stinking one-lane road from Camooweal to Isa has finally been upgraded to two lanes all the way. I can remember being absolutely terrified driving that section. The road is very undulating and you could only usually see as far as the next rise 500 metres ahead. You would come over a rise and there would be a road-train doing 100 kmh bearing down on you 100 metres ahead. These guys are pretty fair, they only use 50% of the road, but the trouble is, they take their 50% out of the middle.

Standard Operating Procedure was: 1. Come over rise, 2. See Road-Train, 3. Head for bush, 4. Sit for a while until heart-rate returns to normal.

I’ve been to the Isa a few times since the late ‘60’s and it never seems to change. It never gets any bigger and everything looks exactly the same as it did in the 60’s except I think there is an extra chimney at the mine spewing out sulphur dioxide.

I’m having a little trouble with the Kia. Every now and again I turn the key and nothing happens. I can hear the starter motor turning, but the engine doesn’t turn over. This happened just after I bought the vehicle, and got to the point where the vehicle wouldn’t start at all, so I’m going to put it in before it gets any worse. I was planning on spending a week in Isa anyway.

Booked in to the Top Tourist caravan park. Wonderfully shady sites. Every site has got lovely shade trees all around. Got to be the world’s smallest swimming pool however and there are no rubbish bins!!! Everybody has to walk all the way to the front of the park to use the skips.

Day 110 – 01 Apr 09

Down to the Kia dealers this morning and they are looking at the vehicle. Took a wander around town and did some rubber-necking and shopping and went back in the afternoon. They confirm that there is a problem with the starter motor, but report that the ring gear on the flywheel needs replacing as well. All under warranty luckily. The bad news is it will take ten days to get the parts from Sydney to Brisbane, to Townsville, to Mt. Isa. Oh, well I’m ahead of schedule anyway so I’ll book into the park for another week. It will give me time to catch up on my afternoon naps which I have been seriously neglecting lately.