Darwin to The Queensland Coast 2016.

For us, the drive from Darwin to the Queensland Coast, across the vast open spaces of the Northern Territory and Outback Queensland, is as long and monotonous as the more famous Nullabor Plain drive. This time, we have added the searing summer heat of interior northern Australia! With this in mind, we have had to do a little more planning, as free camping at the many good free campsites along the route, will be out of the question, due to the heat! No power, no air conditioner!

The Drover's Monument in Katherine.

The first day was a relatively short 300km drive back to

Termite mound dress up!

Katherine, where we again booked into the lovely Boab Caravan Park, just for the night. To avoid unpacking everything for just one night, we headed down to the Black Russian Caravan for a late brunch, and based on the advice of a fellow traveller Carolyn had spoken to in Darwin, we headed out to the Katherine Country Club for dinner. It was very hot and humid, with thunderclouds all around, and at 5.00pm with a huge gust of wind, the heavens opened! Within minutes, the caravan park was a lake! As quickly as it came, it was gone, and at around 6.00pm we headed down the street a short distance to the club. With WA being pokie free, we hadn't seen a poker machine for months, so decided to have a little flutter, and with luck on our side, we paid for dinner and drinks, and a little bit of tomorrow's fuel!! The meals were typical club style food, delicious, and enormous. We both had crumbed steak(schnitzel), and it was so big it fell off both ends of the plate! We had both asked for no chips and salad, as we had seen the free salad and veggie bar, but they had loaded us up anyway! After 30 minutes we surrendered, and offered our leftovers to feed the homeless for the following week!!!

That night, the storms continued to hammer away. In the morning, we were on the road early, in the rain, and on the way to Tennant Creek, some 650kms south. At Adelaide River, we took a detour off the highway, along a tourist drive which ventured out into the Daly River Region. It was still raining spasmodically, but it was a lovely drive. The country was so green, and we have never seen so many wallabies!! They were everywhere, so it was a slow drive, but we really enjoyed it. More country to visit some other time!! We hardly saw another soul on the entire drive.

Fran's Café at Larrimah.

We trundled into the small highway town of Larrimah in

Fran's Collectibles.

search of morning tea. We had remembered Fran's Café from an earlier trip, but expected it to be closed after the tourist season. But there were Fran and Maurie, sitting under an umbrella, waiting for customers! Fran is a quintessential Aussie Outback girl. What you see is what you get! Her language is colourful, bordering on psychedelic!! You're open Fran, we said. "Cause I'm F.....g open! I'm F.....g here, so I may as well be F.....g open!!" Can't argue with that kind of logic!! She showed us to a table, and with cloth that left more than it removed, wiped it off. She asked us what we'd like, but didn't have any of the first five things we asked for, so we asked what she had. When the reply came back as "anything you want", I could see us being here for weeks, so suggested she surprise us! She did!! We both got a party plate of cakes and biscuits, arranged around a centre piece comprising home made jam, and cream that looked like it had been carved from a loaf!! Carolyn had wisely ordered a ginger beer, but I had ordered a coffee. My coffee arrived in a very large mug with lots of small white things floating on top. Fran told me that she had trouble keeping fresh milk so used long life milk, to which she added cream, cut from that same loaf! I must have looked a little pale, because Fran proclaimed that it didn't look great, but it had tasted OK when she tried it!!! If I had been pale before, I was now ghost like!! Still I survived, and we headed down the road, anticipating a seizure at any moment!!

Fran, Francois & Carolyn.

By the time we left Fran was our best friend. Maurie, who

Francois is right at home!

we had found out was the latest boyfriend, was more aloof, and kept to himself. A young Sri Lankan couple had now arrived. I can still see the whites of their eyes as they surveyed the scene and survived Fran's welcome. Bravely they joined us at our table, encouraged by Fran and fearful for their fate if left alone! They were a lovely young couple from Darwin, she training to be doctor and he an engineer. Clearly this was an experience like no other they had had! She saw my coffee and changed her order to Ginger Beer, and the young guys mystery toastie looked good, but by now he was wishing his major was pathology!! As we got up to leave, Fran asked us to wait, as she wanted to give us a gift, since she thought we were F....g lovely. She returned with a teddy bear and some photos. She told us the bear was a Travel Bear, and we had to take it on our travels and take photos, and one day bring them back to show her. She had photos of two other bears she had given to a bikie, and a couple of English Tourists, and she was obviously very proud of her photos. We promised to look after the bear, and take lots of photos, so he was given the name of Francois, and now travels with us in pride of place.

Our Tennant Creek stop.

By now the rain had stopped, but thankfully it remained

Not sure how golden!!

overcast and we avoided the real heat for the rest of the day. We played our music and watched the miles fly by. A stop for fuel at Dunmarra Roadhouse, where the guy behind the counter told me I was his second customer of the morning, and on and on we went, finally pulling into the Outback Caravan park at Tennant Creek, mid afternoon. There is quite a bit of mining around Tennant Creek, so there were plenty of people around, but it is foremost an Aboriginal town, which means that everything is security grilled, barred or shuttered. These kinds of towns are so uninviting! We again just stayed overnight, then refueled in town, pleasantly surprised that fuel in town was 20 cents a litre cheaper than at the Threeways Roadhouse just up the road. At the Threeways Roadhouse we turned east, and we were on our way to Queensland.

It is about 450kms from Threeways to Camooweal, just on

The old look!

the Queensland side of the border. It is almost a flat, straight line of treeless plain. I think we saw about 10 other vehicles over that entire distance! It was much greener than when we passed through in June. You can see for miles, and when you do spot a road train in the distance, it takes a minute or two to figure out which way it is headed! There are millions of termite mounds. If termites ever get their act together to conquer the world, we are doomed!! There seems to be a great sport in dressing termite mounds! God knows why, but some are quite innovative! Apart from that there is only an occasional cow, an occasional tree, an occasional emu, and an ever present Whistling Kite or three, soaring above

Thousands of termite mounds.

The new look.

the road or joining the crows in a feast of roadkill, though thankfully there wasn't too much of that! They all wait until the last minute as you approach, then scatter into the air with a screech and a squawk, indignant at the interruption. After 190kms you reach Barkly Homestead, the only stop on this section of road. It has undergone a paint job and re branding since we last passed by! Gone is the mural with the quirky cactus and camel, replaced by a dark blue wall and the new Barkly Homestead logo! There are still backpackers manning the counter, and a few road trains parked out front. It is a good roadhouse, with good food, and even good coffee and cake!! We took Francois on a tour, enjoyed our coffee and cake, and were back on the road. Fuel was $1.68 per litre, so I did a 20 litre top up, and was glad I only topped up, because fuel in Camooweal was 22 cents a litre cheaper!!

The only other place of note along this road is Avon Downs

Refuelling road trains.

Police Station. At least this time we didn't get stopped for a breath test. The Police Station and adjoining residences are beautifully kept, with green lawns and lovely gardens, and there is now a nice roadside stop just across the road. There is a large Aboriginal Community nearby, which is the reason for the police presence. Otherwise they would be making a regular 400km trip from Tennant Creek!! We made our lunch stop at Camooweal, where Carolyn made sandwiches in the caravan, and then it was on to Mt.Isa, where we planned to stop for 4 nights.

Discovery Park Argylla, Mt Isa.

This time we decided to stay at a new caravan park, The

Mt Isa Mines.

Discovery Park at Argylla, just on the eastern outskirts of town. It was as quiet as we expected. The two people in reception were quite excited to see us and have someone to talk to!! We were allowed to choose any site we wanted, and joined the one other casual. We chose a huge, green grassy site and settled in. A few days affords us enough time to justify setting up home, and doing a full unpack. It also allows us time to catch up on washing and other domestics! This was the nicest park we have stayed at in Mt.Isa.

Francois taking in the sights.

We quite like the Isa. It is a mining town, and the mining

Chilling out at happy hour.

downturn has hit the town. A recent mine closure saw another 300 jobs lost. It is a big country town with a population in excess of 20,000 people. Despite Jac and Shaz winning My Kitchen Rules, the town is a gastronomic disaster. Not sure who they cook for, but they sure haven't opened a restaurant or cafe!! When you look on Trip Advisor for the Top 10 restaurants in Mt Isa, it includes Maccas, KFC, Dominos Pizza and Pizza Hut!!! The Coffee Club is the pick. We find them consistently good all over Australia. It was blisteringly hot during the day, with the old mercury hitting 40 plus every day. The pool at the caravan offers little relief, as the water temperature must be around 30!! We notice the little things too, like the water quality. It comes from a dam not a bore, so there is no smell and you can actually get a lather up in the shower, and the towels are soft again!!

Once a Jolly Swagman.....

Saturday morning we saddled up early again to head for Longreach, our next overnight stop. This was another long day of nearly 700kms. We stopped in Winton for lunch to give Francois a look around. He really like Banjo Patterson, and all that dinosaur stuff! But if I hear "Once a jolly swagman........." one more time, he's travelling in the caravan!! We arrived late afternoon, and town was deserted. At check in Carolyn came up against a poor lady learning the ropes. In the end she just let us go wherever we liked!! This time it was getting crowded. Must have been ten caravans spread around the 500 sites!!! Somehow, after hours in the car, my girl whipped up a delicious baked dinner. She always amazes me with her resourcefulness!!

Lots of pubs in Barcy.

Sunday our destination was Emerald, to visit our nephew

Shearer's monument Barcy.

Darren and his family, and have an early Christmas with them. En route, we stopped in Barcaldine for a coffee and cake. We were surprised to find a little café open. Barcy is a favourite stop of ours. We showed Francois the highlights of town. This the birthplace of The Australian Labour Party, following the great shearer's strike. They have a new walk of remembrance for the shearers who led the strike, and the old dead stump that was the Tree of Knowledge, is still the biggest thing in the centre of town. There is just something about Barcy, with all its old pubs and history. To me, it is an icon of the Aussie past, and we always enjoy passing through.

We were almost on the golf course!

We arrived in Emerald late afternoon on a hot steamy day

Some lovely holes on the golf course.

with storms threatening. We checked into the Emerald Cabin & Caravan Village, which was almost deserted. Checking in was a nightmare. The officious guy in the office had told me we could have any site we wanted, and to come back and tell him the site number. So I did just that, to be told that it was only for large motor homes, and I would have to move. So, having asked if there were any other special sites, and being assured there were not, I moved and headed back to the office to tell him our site number. The furrowed brow told me there was another problem!! I looked him in the eye and said "mate, you have 200 sites and only 3 caravans. If you can't manage that around me for the 3 days we are here, seek help!!" He followed us around on his golf cart, to tell us we were facing the wrong way!! But thankfully common sense prevailed and he drove off shaking his head!

Darren,Erin Kynan & Jersey.

Darren, Erin and their two kids, Kynan and Jersey, had been away

Kynan & Jersey.

at Daydream Island for a short break, and were due back the next day. Darren works for Ensham Coal, and each year the company takes all the staff to a resort on the coast for their Christmas party. This year the venue was Daydream Island, and Darren had added a couple of extra days. They had a ball, as we found out when we caught up with them on Monday afternoon and Tuesday, checking out all the photos. It was only a short catchup, as Darren started night shift on the Tuesday, but it was great seeing them all again. Kynan and Jersey are growing so fast, and were full of news about school, holidays and their various activities. Tuesday night, we took Erin and the kids to a local tavern for dinner, where we had a great meal. Darren and Erin are doing really well in their respective jobs, and life for them is pretty good. They told us of their plans, and we genuinely hope everything turns out for them, the way they hope.  

Great town signs in this shire!

We had a little free time in Emerald, and with our caravan site looking out over the golf course, the temptation to play was just too great. It is a typical country course, with watering around the tees and greens, but not the fairways. They were sparse and hard in many places, so it is a challenge!! But we had an enjoyable round. We also sought out a lovely little restaurant we discovered on earlier trips, called Le Porte Rosse. It is open all day, serving breakfast, great coffee and cakes, lunch and dinner. The quality of food is first rate, and the service exceptional. It is the best place in town to eat and have coffee, and we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast there on the morning before we left.

Xmas decorations Mining town style!

After Emerald we were on our way to Yeppoon, last visited

From mining to beef.

5 years ago!! It is an interesting drive alongside the railway with its never ending lines of coal trains. The towns along the way are more at home in a Clint Eastwood wild west movie! Comet, Dingo, Blackwater, Duaringa, all sitting above mountains of Black gold! In fact Blackwater now has a new centre focused on the Coal industry, which has been pretty resilient to the mining bust! Darren had told us that there hadn't been much of a downturn around Emerald, and that his company was increasing output all through the so called bust. On the outskirts of Rockhampton, we passed through Gracemere, home to the largest cattle sale yard in the southern hemisphere. Such has been the expansion in Rockhampton, Gracemere is now almost a suburb! Rockhampton is the beef capital of Australia, and proud of it! Driving through town we could not believe just how much it has grown in 5 years! Situated on the banks of the Fitzroy river, it now boasts a population in excess of 80,000.

New Yeppoon waterfront.

Yeppoon is around 40 kms from Rockhampton, right on the

Looking out to Great Keppel Island.

coast. Again, we were amazed at the growth that had taken place. New waterfront development, and lots of new apartments on the beach, and new housing estates in all directions. We will enjoy a week or so, re acquainting ourselves with the Yeppoon region. We are staying at the Beachside Caravan Park, which true to name, is right on the beach, protected from the nor easterly breeze by the dunes, and only a short 10 minute walk into town.