Mt.Isa to Bowen

We never cease to be amazed by the sheer size and majesty of this great country. The more we talk to people, the more we realise just how much there is still to see. Outback Queensland could occupy years of travel all in itself.


On a long drive such as today's I spend a lot of time looking in the rear view mirror. Today, I have come to realise, that the old saying, "the difference between a good haircut and a bad one, is about two weeks", is true. My Mt.Isa hair cut is looking better. I think I can discard the hat! I should have been warned when the first two people I asked where I could get a haircut, sent me to a shop that was boarded up with a For Lease Sign in the window. The next most popular answer was, my mum, so undaunted I finally found a cavernous shop with the sounds of scissors coming from a back room. The lilting voice of the Irish Backpacker welcomed me, and pointed me to the chair. She immediately set to work, as if there was no tomorrow. I enquired if she he been doing this long, to which she replied, "about two weeks, but I did cut hair back in Ireland". I then enquired if that was the reason she left Ireland, but she let that one go through to the keeper.  When she stood back and asked "how's that", I said, that's great, and then she got out the mask and the gun and asked for $25.00!! I left with my new funky haircut, thinking all I now needed was some body piercing and a tattoo, but opted for the hat instead!!

Mine train near Cloncurry.

As we travelled across Queensland, heading east towards the coast, we passed through a number of regions and towns, all which have so much history and natural beauty to visit, that we know we have to come back and do justice to the area. This part of our journey is all a rush, as we are on a deadline to get back to Sydney, to sort out matters in regard to Carolyn's mum's estate. We have decided to spend more time on the coast on the way back to Sydney. Nonetheless, our quick trip across Queensland's "Overlander's Way", has provided some wonderful glimpses of what we can expect when next we visit.

Bougainvillea in Richmond.

The drive from Mt.Isa was lovely. We drove through some wonderful mountain ranges, which while not high, were spectacularly beautiful. We then drove through some lush grazing country, showing the benefits of the wet, mild winter, so far. First stop was Cloncurry, where the Overlander's Way meets the Matilda Hwy. The "Curry" as it is known by locals, holds a large place in Australian history. Birthplace of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and the destination  for Qantas' first ever flight, it is a true outback town, built around grazing and transport, and more recently, copper and gold mining. The Curry Merry Muster Festival held each August, celebrates the "Curry" outback heritage. We found a lovely little cafe for our late breakfast. The town was full of caravans. People who had been forced into town due to the rain up north, or simply travelling through like us. From Cloncurry, you can continue north along the Matilda Hwy up to Normanton and Karumba, and some legendary fishing in the Gulf of Carpenteria.


For us it is ever eastward. The traffic dropped off a lot as we continued east. Much of the traffic heads south, down the Matilda Hwy to Longreach and Central West Queensland. Next town of any consequence is Julia Creek. The big event here is the annual Dirt 'n Dust Festival, held in April with a major Triathlon, rich Horse Race, bull riding and my favourite, Australia's Best Butt contest. At night, the 30 metre high water tower is illuminated with blue lights and can be seen from miles away!


We continue our trek along the Overlander's way, travelling through some more cattle country. There are a lot of healthy looking cattle in the paddocks, and flying overhead are some large groups of Hawks. Sometimes there are as many as 20 to 30 in a group. They are a bit of a menace, playing chicken with the cars, as they swoop down to pick up things off the hwy. Is that why they call them Chicken Hawks??

Kronosauros at Richmond.

We arrive in Richmond for our overnight stay. We know we are in Richmond, as it is the only town in Queensland with a life size replica of a Kronosauras in the centre of town!! You guessed it, we have reached what they call the Dinosaur Way, a triangle of road that links the towns of Richmond, Winton and Hughenden. This is an area of wonderful history of the Dinosaur Age. There have been some incredible fossils found around this region. Our caravan park is already pretty full, so again, lucky we booked. We are at the Richmond Lakeview Caravan Park. It is a delightful park set on the edge of town and looking down over the man made Lake Fred Tritten. The manager, and his big dog Monty, are very friendly and helpful, and we almost feel guilty when we tell him we are only staying overnight. The town itself is small, population 800, but it is beautifully kept, with bougainvillea all down the centre median strip all the way through town.


We head off early next morning having made a stop at the award winning butcher for some of his award winning sausages and some good looking local beef. Looking at all those cows has given us a craving for beef!! It isn't long before we get into Hughenden. Not to be outdone by Richmond, they have a 7 meter high replica of a Muttaburrasaurus in the middle of town! There is also a fantastic Comet Windmill that looms over town. It is a nice little town of 1200 people.

Cloncurry's iconic cafe.

For us, the stop coincides with morning tea time, and where else to have it but the FJ Holden Cafe. Inside, this place is a shrine to all things Holden, especially the iconic FJ Holden. There is also a lot of Elvis memorabilia, as well as other music stars from the '60's. It isn't all about the memorabilia though, the cafe was voted "Best Hamburger With The Lot" venue for 2011. My eyes lit up, but Carolyn reminded me it was just morning tea time. Next time!! We enjoyed our coffee and old fashioned raisin toast, had a quick walk around town, refuelled while the train went through town holding up traffic, and then set course for Charters Towers.

The road to everywhere!

We passed through the tiny village of Prairie, with its wonderful little pub, with the old saddles and hitching rail out front, making a promise to stop in next time. We made our lunch stop, a road side picnic area at the top of the White Mountains Range. Carolyn made some lovely rolls, and we sat and looked out across the National Park. Further down the road, we start to see evidence of a lot of rain. The creeks are running and there is a lot of water beside the road, but it is a lovely sunny day. Approaching the little village of Pentland, we see signs advertising fresh fruit and vegies. We decide to stop, and find three old fellas sitting under a tree, next to an old truck, with some trestle tables loaded with white Styrofoam boxes, all with lids with large rocks on top. The three old timers probably had a full set of teeth between them, and hadn't seen a barber for quite a while. It was already happy hour. I asked where the produce was, and was directed to remove the rocks and lids as required. One of the blokes told us he had to keep the rocks on to stop Barry and Charlie stealing the fruit. I said "can't you trust your mates?" He replied that Barry was a bower Bird and Charlie was a Magpie, who lived in the tree, and proceeded to show us the damaged kiwi fruit! Another of the blokes then told me the tree was ":the tree of knowledge". When I told him it seemed to be working for the birds but not them, he replied that they hadn't been there long, and the birds had a head start!!! I wish I'd had a tape recorder. The conversation went on, from bad to worse, and Carolyn and I left with some lovely fresh fruit & vegies,which the birds hadn't seen, and with tears running down our cheeks. God I love some of the characters we meet!!


At the village of Homestead, we saw where the road had been cut and closed by the recent rains. The road had only re-opened that morning. We made it into Charters Towers and the Dalrymple Caravan Park. We stayed there last year, and it is a lovely park. We couldn't believe how full it was!! Mostly people caught by the heavy rains that had caused havoc around the district. The park was so busy that we were really crammed in. I had booked the same site we had last time, but we were moved to a much smaller site. We were lucky enough to get a site where our satellite dish worked, and Carolyn got to watch the final episode of Desperate Housewives. Thank you God!!


We went to bed under a beautiful clear, starry sky, but awoke to a real "pea souper" of a fog. Everything was soaking wet. It was a fast hook up and on the road for Townsville. It is now all familiar country, and roads we had travelled last year. A stop for fuel and late breakfast on the outskirts of Townsville, then on to Bowen.

The long, straight road.

Before we get to Bowen, there are two more stops to make. First there is a seafood place just outside Ayr. We stock up with a fresh mud crab, some fish fillets, and a small lobster from the Gulf! Yummo!!!! The last stop we have to make, is the French Bakery in Ayr! In Carolyn's book, this is home to the world's best Matchstick, and their Pavlova Roll is to die for. We park nearby and find the shop. Triumph turns to tragedy, when Carolyn learns that the Pavlova Roll is no longer made, for some technical reason, but the tears turn to cheers when she spies a whole tray of Matchsticks! So loaded with Matchsticks, some fresh bread and some new cookies, we head for Bowen.
We are booked at the Bowen Coral Coast Big4 Caravan Park, which is really nice. We have a great beachfront site, with only a lovely lawn and a few palm trees, between us and Horseshoe Bay. We are here for a week, and looking forward to a nice little break. We are surrounded by people who all know each other and have been coming here for years, most staying for 2 - 3 months. They are all good fun, and if the first happy hour is any guide, we should have a lot of fun. The weather has turned windy and quite cold. It was hot and beautiful when we arrived, so hopefully that will return real soon!