13 May 2002 This morning we hired two canoes and paddled downstream to Mataranka Falls. We had to lug the canoes through a short stretch of forest. The falls were exquisite. I saw a freshwater croc as soon as we arrived. I didn’t tell the kids so they wouldn’t worry. We enjoyed the spas around…
Tag: road trip
Tennant Ck to Mataranka
11 May—12 May 2002 As we left Tenant Creek we re-fuelled, bought some more ice, and headed north on the Stuart Highway, stopping at the Old Telegraph Station north of town. We were hoping to reach Mataranka by nightfall, but this proved to be too ambitious so we pulled in for the night at Daly…
Into the Northern Territory
10 May—11 May 2002 The journey from Mount Isa to Tennant Creek is over 650 km. This was the longest drive we planned to complete in one stretch. Susie and I swapped the driver role every two hours, and this made it manageable. We checked out both caravan parks at Tennant Creek, and settled for…
McKinlay day 2
7 May 2002 On our second day at Strathfield station, I went out with Heather to check a bore, whilst Susan dealt with some bureaucratic tasks on the internet. We then checked out the old farmhouse and worker’s quarters. Heather then took us for a drive around the perimeter of the property. This took some…
Winton to McKinlay
4 May—6 May 2002 We packed up and left Winton, somewhat wearily due to the noisy celebrations keeping us awake. We stopped on the way out to buy some wine and beer to offer our hosts at Strathfield Station beyond McKinlay, which was our next stop. Petrol was horribly expensive in Winton. We refuelled at…
Carnarvon Gorge to Winton
2 May—3 May 2002 We packed up and left Carnarvon Gorge, and drove two hours north to Rolleston, and then on to Emerald, where we stopped at a big, well-stocked supermarket to replenish the esky. We then headed west for two hours until we reached Alpha, where we stopped overnight in a very ordinary caravan…
Carnarvon Gorge day 3
1 May 2002 Today I walked back to the Amphitheatre and the Moss Garden to take some video footage, while Susie conducted lessons back at the camp. In the afternoon we went on the short 2km walk to the rock pool. Clare, Ruby and I had a swim while Susie took some video footage. The…
Carnarvon Gorge day 2
30 April 2002 Today we went on a long bush walk. I packed the lunches last night and made the morning coffee. It’s hard to wake up the crew here. I’ve got some assistance this morning from a chorus of currawongs. The animals here are precocious, although they do not pester us directly for food. …
Carnarvon Gorge day 1
29 April 2002 Carnarvon Gorge is located in a national park about 150 km north and west of Injune. When we arrived, we set up camp and went on an afternoon walk. Susie and Ruby spotted a freshwater turtle, and Clare and I spotted several catfish grazing on the muddy creek bed. We scoured the…
Toowoomba to Injune
25-28 April 2002 On Friday morning we packed up and drove to Injune via Dalby, Chinchilla and Miles. We stopped to change drivers and check out the tourist information centre at Chinchilla. We had an awful café meal for lunch in Miles. We stopped in Roma to do some shopping and bought beer and scotch…
North-west through Qld
21-25 April 2002 We packed up at Broken Head Caravan Park and went for our last swim in the Pacific until we complete our round trip. The weather was gorgeous as usual. The waves were great for body surfing, but treacherous. There was a rip sweeping north along the beach and out to sea. I…
Wundercliffe 