From outback Longreach to the dinosaur country

Headed north through Charleville to Augathello, where we stayed overnight, then on to Longreach. There were lots of huge road trains in this area.
We passed the “wild dog fence”. At Blackall, we had lunch by the river and spotted an azure kingfisher. The roads are narrow and very lumpy.
The weather is warmer but still very cold at night.

We have arrived at Longreach having passed over the tropic of Capricorn. The weather is warming up and the nights are mild. We’re gonna breack out the shorts.
It was a long hard drive today and we are going to stay here for a while to recuperate. There is lots to see here. Ray says ‘Banjo Paterson sneezed twice here’.
We visited the Qantas Museum, where Qantas is reported to have originated and they had their first airport.
We also visited the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and Outback Centre. All beautifully set up for the many visitors.
We went for a walk by the Thompson River just north of Longreach – a bit of a non event.
Where we are staying they have a couple of beautiful Brolgas that visit each evening
Getting along with my ‘Drunkards Path’ block.

Leaving Longreach at 9am heading for Winton.
Overcast, slight showers, what’s happened to our good weather?
The Bogonvillea is beautiful, we passed a herd of wild camels and we spotted some little zebra finches on a wire fence coming into Winton.

Winton is in dinosaur country. The fossils and dinosaur bones are fascinating. We have to come back here to checkout some of the archaeological digs.
There are some really important finds in the area between Winton, Richmond and Hughenden.
Also in Winton is the Waltzing Matilda Centre. Banjo Paterson wrote Waltzing Matilda at nearby Dagworth station and it was first played at the North Gregory Pub in Winton.

At Hughenden we did the eco river walk along the Flinders River (the longest river in Queensland). There are lots of dinosaur attractions around town.
We visited the Coolabah tree with blazes put there by Frederick Walker when he was exploring north in 1871 and William Landsborough whilst he was searching for the missing Bourke and Wills in 1872.

Stopped overnight at Kimburra on the Campaspe river (no facilities) – lots of wildflowers in the area and many apostle birds at the campsite. Ray to checkout name of little black & white bird.

More photos of Eulo

Photos:

1. The famous Lizard Race Track

2. The smallest patchwork shop ever in Eulo
3. The Artesian Mud Baths

4. The Paroo River at Eulo

EULO

Places of interest:

· The Eulo Queen Hotel
· Lizard race track
· Paroo Patch
· Date winery
· Artesian mud baths
· Air-raid shelter WWII

Spoke to some of the locals about Uncle Les. They know him has Puddy or Puddy Nose (don’t know where it comes from)
The guy at the Date winery remembered him fondly and said he ran a good pub.

We stayed at the pub and had one of their famous pub meals – pretty good T-bone steaks. There were 5 dinner guests that night, including us.
I’ve started drinking shandies – very outback.
Attended the Pub campfire (damper and golden syrup is all the go out here)
A surprising number of people passing through and staying at the camping ground behind the pub (at least 15 vans last night).

The Lizard race track is in good condition, but the races are not held anymore because of Greeny objections and some of the locals are not happy about it.
The earth Eulo is very outback red.

Even found a patchwork shop in Eulo. The Paroo Patch would have to be the smallest patchwork shop ever and it’s shared with the saddler.
The lady (Helen) had attended the Kaffe workshop when he visited outback Qld earlier this year. Left my card.

Bought some wine and Eulo honey at the Date winery and had a guided tour of the artesian mud baths. They even have a WWII air-raid shelter here.

No wonder Uncle Les liked the place. Everyone seems to have the same sense of humour as him.

Heading out of town, a bird hit the top of our windscreen. He met his end at the hands of the great white box.
The many emus and kangaroos by the side of the road can be a problem as they are very unpredictable and can run in any direction. Approach with caution.

Eulo and the Pub

Photos:

1. The main street of Eulo

2. Inside the Eulo pub

3. The Eulo Queen Hotel

4. Entering Eulo

Even more of Bourke

Photos:

1. J.V. Jandra on the Darling

2. Emus on the roadside

3. The Darling at Bourke

Still at Bourke, waiting for the tyre repairers to return from their weekend away.

Did some walking.
Went down to the P.V. Jandra paddleboat to watch it come in. Seems to be the only paddleboat on this part of the river.
After lunch we walked along the Darling river near town – very rustic.

Monday – up early to get tyre fixed – ready to leave at 9.25 am (pretty good for us)
Crossed the Qld border at Barringun at 11 am.
Lots of emus and kangaroos and a wild pig sighting
Stopped off at Cunnamulla for lunch on the way through to Eulo.

More of Bourke

To complete the day we visited the grave of Fred Hollows and the old Bourke wharf.

Brewarrina

This afternoon, after a quiet morning, we visited Brewarrina to see the 40,000 year old aboriginal fish traps. These structures are intriguing and we just happened to spot a couple of young boys making the most of the good fishing spot. A great way to spend their school holidays.