After seeing that the Donahue Highway was closed we had to make new plans. Bel and I could risk driving to Jervois in the hope that it opened again, but there was more rain coming and we could get trapped. So we decided that the only way home was North??? A small 600km detour.
It was a very interesting drive as we headed up the Stuart a Highway. First we stopped in at Aileron for fuel and coffee. Coffee was aweful but the giant aboriginal sculptures were very impressive.
They had very clear signage as well.
Further up the road we passed through Barrow Creek, a tiny town that was the site of an old telegraph station that has been restored and taken over by DPAW.
We stopped for lunch at Wycliffe Well – the UFO capital of Australia!! It’s basically a roadhouse and campground but the whole thing is decked out with UFO theming and paraphernalia.
Next stop was the Devils Marbles. It’s another sacred aboriginal site. We had read about it in Alice because they used one of the marbles for John Flynn’s head stone, but later returned it.
By late afternoon we arrived in Tennant Creek and set up camp. It was 37 degrees and humid, such a massive contrast from the cold we left behind in Alice.
There wasn’t a lot to do in Tennant Creek, and the weather was closing in so we were back on the road the next morning heading to Mt Isa. It was 600km of the most boring roads we have been on. The land flat and scrubby so you can’t see much beyond the roadside.
First stop was Barkley Homestead – they had a pet bull grazing on the lawn😳
We stopped for lunch at a roadstop across from a Police station about halfway along the road in the middle of nowhere!
200km out we crossed the border into Queensland. Yay. We were back in the east and in the right time zone.
We finally arrived at Mt Isa late afternoon. It had been a long hard drive so we decided we would eat out and watch the footy finals – Broncos v North Queensland in a Queensland pub, it was set to go off!
A good game and awesome crumbed cutlets, a great fun night.
Saturday morning we checked out the town starting with the Riversleigh Fossil Centre. We did the tour and it was fascinating. Riversleigh isn’t far from Lawn Hill and is the site of fossils covering millions of years. The main interest is the Mega Fauna – huge Marsupials.
The tour also takes you into the processing room where you see the fossils being carefully processed and reconstructed.
A really interesting tour.
We found the mine which is right in the town itself, everything has been built around it.
It was very hot again so in the afternoon we headed back to the campground for a swim and read our books by the pool.
Overnight the rain caught up with us again – it poured all night and most of the next day. Somewhere between 60-100mm. Record September rainfall for much of Western Queensland.
We had planned to leave that morning but decided we would sit it out. Many of the roads were closed..
…it was starting to look like we would have to skip Longreach all together. The weather cleared a little in the afternoon so we packed what we could, ready for a quick getaway the next day.
We hit the road early on Monday. The forecast was for a break in the rain for a day before more came through. When we reached Cloncurry we saw that the road through to Winton and Longreach was open and we headed south.
Another long flat drive. Everything was very lush and there was a lot of standing water. A pit stop at a roadhouse..
..and then 400km later we were having lunch in Winton – the Dinosaur capital of Australia!
The town itself is quite small, and you can see the effects of the drought with a lot of store fronts closed. The whole area has been in drought for years so the rain is a great relief for the locals.
After lunch we drove the final 200km to Longreach. The road was open with caution and we wanted to get through before the next lot of rain. We finally made it late afternoon.
The caravan park in Longreach was a mud pit. The years of drought had turned it to dust and now the rain was here. Our first site was all mud and puddles so we found another one that was much drier and set up.
We decided that we would only stay one night as it would only get worse with more rain. We packed up early, had a brief panic when I couldn’t find my phone and wallet (later found packed in trailer and back of car), and then checked the attractions.
First was the Stockmans Hall of Fame.
We had a quick look around, but didn’t go to the museum. We then headed across the road to the QANTAS founders museum.
QANTAS was founded in Longreach (initially Winton) and the original hanger they operated out of is still there and National Heritage Listed. It’s a great story, two ex Air Force servicemen have an idea after the war, they meet a rich grazier and the rest is history.
We walked through the museum and hangar.
And then did the tour, an hour and half long taking you on a detailed tour of a 747 and 707, and also checking out some of their older planes including a Catalina.
It was really enjoyable – such a great Aussie success story in the bush. Well worth the extra 600km!