Winton

We left Ilfracombe before 8am and travelled with our friends so we could get sites next to each other. Two other couples we know from Aussie Road Crew tours arrived in time to park directly behind us. We chose to stay at the showgrounds as we would have access to power - so far no power. There are electricians working hard trying to get the power on, but it will not be on until tomorrow. Fortunately it is not seriously hot and the breeze helped keep the temperature bearable once we put up our awnings.


The area has been flattened and covered with coarse gravel. If it rains we will be surrounded by mud. This goanna was about 30m from our Bushtacker. It is about 600mm long.

Blue wanted to meet a small dog walking by so I obliged and chatted with Milly's owner, who told me the dog is a Lowchen, a breed I have not previously heard of. Apparently they are not common in Australia but would be a good alternative to a poodle as they don't shed fur. These much larger animals are also nearby. 

Tomorrow the Winton Way Out West festival starts in town. We had planned to leave Blue and Tilly in air conditioned comfort, but that is not likely to be available until the power is connected.

Our friends drove from Barcaldine across a couple of flooded causeways the result of rain last night. Today we could see rain falling to the south of Winton for much of the afternoon. BOM radar indicated it was in the Bladensburg National Park. The clouds made an interesting sunset.




Popular posts from this blog

Aussie Road Crew - Finished

Image
After our final dinner and concert some Roadies were continuing their celebrations near our Bushtracker. We could hear the noise even though all windows were shut and the van is normally soundproof. As it was after 10pm I ventured out to negotiate with them. While one person accused me of being the fun police, other Roadies supported my suggestion they turn off the amplified music and keep the noise down. The general expectation in caravan parks is noise stops after 10pm. There were non Roadies trying to sleep in tents, and I suggested their activities would reflect badly on Aussie Road Crew and Beccy who might not be able to return to this park on future tours. Fortunately there was very little noise after my visit. We drove out of the Crows Nest Tourist Park just after 7am looking for a MacDonald's in Toowoomba for coffee and brekkie. Instead we spotted Valetta Cafe in time to park the van across the road. I bought a take away brioche egg and bacon roll and coffees. The cafe is i...
Read more

Around Chinchilla

Image
The Condamine River is flowing over the Chinchilla Weir 5kms out of town. It has reached the 6m mark on the gauge and is an impressive sight. It is forecast to reach 8m by Tuesday in two days time. Chinchilla has suffered several floods when Charley's Creek rises. This is the post office in the 2010-2011 flood and as it was today. On 28 December 2010 the water level at Chinchilla Weir topped 15m. Despite this history of repeated flooding Chinchilla appears to be a prosperous town with many community facilities such as a water park, 700 seat cultural centre, and major road improvements. Many of the out of town workers are employed by QCG, a Shell company "producing" natural gas in the Surat Basin - presumably this means collecting the gas by fracking. Just down the road there is accommodation for 1,000 workers in Stayover so the town is benefiting from the presence of this large workforce. Tilly finally slept through the night. Today I kept her outside as much as possible ...
Read more

Broken Hill to Burra

Image
We left Broken Hill about 8am for our drive to Burra. Our first stop was at Mannahill. We followed this load of sheep as we dawdled through roadworks. On a recommendation from friends we explored Terowie, an historic town that is almost abandoned. The town grew late in the nineteenth century as a transhipment point from broad gauge rail to narrow gauge. In the 1970s the line to Peterborough was converted to broad gauge and Terowie became a near ghost town. Several abandoned shops are now owned by the South Australian Government. Unfortunately there is a risk associated with asbestos being blown around the town. The population fell from about 2000 to 130. In 1942 General Macarthur passed through Terowie on his way to Adelaide and Melbourne. He made a public speech at the railway station famously asserting "I came out of Bataan [in the Phillipines] and I shall return". A plaque marks the location at the rem...
Read more