Longreach School of Air

A short ride from Winton to Longreach - just 184kms - yeah - more road kill on the long boring, flat road, the countryside is boring too so the only distraction is - roadkill roos. 

Neverthe less, we are based at the Longreach Tourist c/van park, a small intimate park, very busy, still lot of travellers on the road, but the mgr/owner here Shane is so friendly and that seems to attract like.  Every morning at 10 and again at 4 the bell goes for communal coffee and tea with biscuits for anyone who wants to join him.  Of course he has the 'gift of the gab' and will natter non-stop.  Weds evening, our first night, there was a lovely campfire and a couple of the travellers had their guitars so out they came and we had a good campfire sing song, all Aussies songs of the outback.

David and I went to the LDSOE (Long Distance School of Education) - School of Air, here in Longreach.  This is one of 7 in Qld and covers an area of 402,712 sq kms - 3 times the size of England, twice the size of Victoria and 2 1/2 times the size of NZ.   Imagne a classroom thaT SIZE AND A PLAYGROUND AS BIG AS YOU WANT IT TO BE.

 We were treated to a lesson air with one of the teachers in the studio - of which there are 7.  She was teaching a prep. class (4-6) of which there are 6 in her class.  Since the intro. of computers and cameras the area covered has increased and every home in the long distance prog. has a hire comp. from the school. There are 24 teachers in the school based in Longreach, on a 3 yr. contract and a teacher's classroom could well be larger than 1000km across.

We  were then taken around the school where diff. projects were displayed - they do a curriculum the same as a land school but have a lot more hands on projects relating to their surroundings.  The materials required for the year are delivered to each family at the beg. of the year and that will last them through.  The school is so bright and has access to facilities and materials that any land school would be envious of.  They have constant access to an IT guy to keep the comps. up to scratch.  Each teacher will visit their students at least once a year as well,obviously travelling hundreds of kms. in many cases to spend two days.

The shool goes through to Yr 12 but Yrs. 10,11,12 usually are off to boarding school and those still in the prog. total 16 only  for this year - imagine.  Each yr. group from prep thru comes into the school here at Longreach for a week at lesast once in the year and there are sleeping facs. for 50 because the siblings all come as well.

I think out of everything I have seen this is by far the thing that has impressed me the most.

Winton

Dana and an inquisitive friendly visitor

 We arrived in Winton on Monday and it was 28 degrees,  we free camped in the carpark of the Winton Hotel - Jo the landlady, was very generous in allowing us to do so and we had free access to showers and toilets.  We spent a very pleasant evening with her, her husband Kevin and staff having a meal there.

Our outlook was over farmland as you can see and the neighbours were pretty friendly as well.  The dogs are certainly geting some experiences and seem to be settling into their side well - as it is now hot and dusty there is no water for swimming. We had a 250km drive to Winton along a very straight boring road and the only interruptions was the constant roadkill - every few metres was a 'roo carcas or a fresh one - rather depressing really.

Misty and Jake with their friends

Footprints in the street

We are also still in the heart of dinosaur country and they have a novel way of keeping their bins in one place, most businesses have these bin covers and their are huge footprints all over.  It is also the home of Banjo Patterson and Australia's best export - Waltzing Matilda.

Banjo Patterson and the words to Waltzing matilda.

The Matilda Centre is a wonderful museum a testament to a song and its writer.Not only that it is a testament to life in the Winton Shire from the pioneers, especially the women who worked trying to keep the stations going and raise a family often of 7-10 children - and we moan today.....

There are also many other things to look at including Arno's wall which was built by Arno, a German immigrant and instead of having a museum he has put everything into concrete in a long wall arund his old house - a hoarder, I think.  There is literally everything from machinery, toilets, kitchen sinks, old motor bikes, you think of it is there.

Tuesday evening we went to the caravan park and listened to two lady bush poets, 'friends' they were but boy were they good, theyn told bush stories, sang songs and recited poetry, some of which was very risque,  but we 'g.n's' loved it - a laugh a minute.

So Weds morning we bade farewell to Jo and her team from the Winton and headed 184kms s/west to Longreach.

Hughenden

Arrived in Hughenden at the c/van park about 1pm but even then it was hot 28 degrees - and it is winter.  Not used to this dry heat anymore.  Hughenden has a pop of 2191 and has the unique position of being in the heart of dinosaur country.  History for this area goes back hundreds of years with ;prehistoric history of over 100mil. years.  It is situated on the edge of a vast pre historic inland sea, once home to many terrestrial dinosaurs as well as martine reptiles making ths area well known as "Dinosaur Country" The first fossil ever to be found was in  1865 on a property west of Hughenden and so the discovery of a greater past was made.

Being an outback town, everywhere closes Sat. lunchtime until Mon morning, except the 2 pubs owned by the same family and the local food store. We are 250 km from Charters and 219km from Winton the s/west.  Why the hell anyone wants to live here I don't know, it gets so hot.  However, the streets are wide, the grass brown, plenty of parks and things for the kids.

The water, a life saver in the dry river

Sunday afternoon in Hughenden

Friends who joined us for lunch at the c/van park



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Jake and his mate "Mutt"  (the muttasaurus)

Federation Rotunda



The river is a dry river but we were lucky because it had rained here in the last month which gave access to a water flow on one side of the river - the dogs went mad when they saw the water especially as it was clear - and he kites (like hawks) hovered as they saw Misty running around and they got closer and lower.  We put her back on her lead and David picked her up and put under his shirt.  They would have had her in minutes.

The Federation Rotunda is made frm 20' windmills brought in from a local property dated 1912 and 1916 The windmills were originally used to pump water for stock.

There is a very good dinosaur museum with interactive talks and explanations regarding the dinosaurs fossils found in this area.

Porcupine Goge Nat. P:ark is termed Austeralia's little Grand Canyon and is aprox. 1 hr drive from Hughenden.  This is one of 3 nat parks in the Flinders Shire



Just as the sun was going down

 This was taken at sunset on top of Mt. Walker just out of Hughenden, lastr night, where there are viewing points at six different lookout points giving 360 degree views..  It is 478m above sea level, and 152m above Hughenden.  Named by the explorer William Landsborough.

The lights of the township light up in a sea of black wilderness.

Mutt and his mates



Brekkie in the carpark

Colombia Poppet Head mine shaft reconstruction

Fri night saw us just 3km out of town on a free site which was a huge carpark for c/vans and campers but there were only three of us rigs there, it only had cold water but had wonderful big grass area for the dogs looking over paddocks.  Thought it would be busy with truck noise and the railway but have to say that 'the silence was deafening', was wonderful.

This was the shaft (reconstruction) which let the miners go down the shaft to mine the ore.  This was the other end of the c/van park where we were.

We also witnessed the wonderful rising of the full moon from the horizon up into the sky,  just as we set our table on the asphalt with a cloth and had bangrs andmash for tea with beer - great. The moon was just like a huge red ball and then in the morning we had brekkie on the park balcony sitting watching the sun rise. The dogs had the freedom to run as well -and then the drive - 250km through to Hughenden in the outback in central Qld.

Charters Towers

Magnificent Post office

City Hall

Standing inside the ornate entrance to the old city hall

Mt Alma hospital (original) now private house, beautiful lace work around the balconies

Left Fletcher Creek Fri am and drove only 40km into Charters Towers an old gold mining town which saw its wealth and population soar in the gold rush years of the late 1800's. Its wealth was based on the discovery of underground reef of gold in 1871.  At its height the pop. of Towers was 29,500 with 67 pubs and 29 crushing mills - the pop. today is 13,500 and of course most of the pubs have gone along with the mills but  the beautifully renovated heritage buildings remain and its a pretty country Aust. town . Have also a wonderful 600 theatre which has been completely overhauled and has the most amazing acoustics.

C.T stands on an interesting junction in the Aust. landscape.  Here the Gt. Dividing range is the headwatersof some ofthe country's biggest river systems.  Waterways originating here drain sth. west to Lake Eyre; north to theGulf or east along the Burdekin river system to the Gt. Barrier Reef. 

Home to the Gudjal and Gudjala tribes. It is on the Overlanders Trail running from Townsville to Tenant Creek in the N Territory.

Fletcher Creek

Ok we'll drink more - give us time

this is the pyrotecxhnic maniac, Val had to havce her campfire was a good one though

Weds am headed to Charters Towers and ended up at a wonderful free site 40km north of Towers (local speak) called Fletcher Creek which is at the edge of the Dalrymple nat. Park and right down by the creek which runs into the Burdekin river ( one of the largest river systems in Qld).  There were rigs of all shapes and sizes right along the side of the creek and in the central area - all grassed. Weren't that many there , probably about 40 rigs altogether, at the start of the winter when the Victorians head north there can be as many as 200 rigs placed along the river and also going way into the bushland towards the park, so we got off light.  Only toilets, cold showers, tap water lots of mitchell grass and nothing else - but it is wonderful.  Had cold shower Friday morning, although the water is not really cold, more lukewarm.
 The sunsets were superb, the weather hot and the dogs loved the freedom and the swims in the creek.  We had no power but our own gas (stoves) so wonderful to have a cooked brekkie of egg, bacon, toms. and mushrooms the next morning and then we just walked, read and relaxed along with all the other 'greys' and at 4pm out came the wine and beer. Fletcher Creek and the nat. park is all open woodland and is the spiritual home of the Gudjal and Gudjala tribes (although we didn't see any).....  however, we did wonder why this sign was erected and were we in line of fire if we didn't get the wine out on time.......

Oh dear, this couple were too late and that is all that is left of them, 2 chairs and their wine bottle - no dingoes here.....

amazing sunsets while still with sun

as the sun was going down

 The sunsets were fantastic and as there was a new moon this week its rising through the trees was superb, we had great views for the two nights, it created almost full daylight even at 3am.

Val had to go an scrounge wood for her fire the two nights, and people are very reluctant to let you near their wood pile - it is like gold in these parts.  She would have cut down a tree if we had had an axe........ and when they leave camp they take the wood with them much to her dismay.  There are little campfires everywhere all contained within their brick surrounds.  Could get used to living that life for a few weeks, we were settling into it even after 2 days - you can stay there for up to 30 days in one hit and a lot of the longtime stayers have their own solar panels and are completely self-contained with everything that moves and squeaks. Towers is only 30 mins down the road for your supplies.

T/ville rock pool

lunchtime at T'ville c/van park

Ann, Dave and Val (David taking pix)

The rock pool at one end of the 2.5km walkway - The Strand

Looking towards Magnetic Island from bbq area at rock pools

The rock pool is on the 2.5km -The Strand.  It is a natural sea rock-pool built because the water is too cold to go into in the winter (26 degrees) and in the summer it is impossible because of the stingers in the sea -  so you can't win.......  However this area is magnificent with free bbq's and grassed areas.