The 'Isa'

Our next two nights in Cloncurry were nearly as 'eventful' as the first! I did imbibe in alcohol but all it made me do was want to chat! I talked to my sister for many hours & probably kept the neighbours awake! Wednesday night John had a nasty bug & let's just say we were up at 1am washing sheets! So as much as we enjoyed our stay at Robyn's Roadhouse, we think we might have better sleeps back 'on the road'.
We stayed near a dam which was lovely & drive today to Mt Isa. On the way to 'the Isa', we stopped at an old uranium mine & ex-township called Mary Kathleen. It was amazing to think that the slabs of concrete & overgrown kerbs (that were streets), was a thriving community of 1000 people 30 years ago. The water in the old mine was an amazing colour (not sure I'd like to swim in it though)! The kids have to find out about uranium mining!
And so - we are at Mt Isa! It is a very strange town with the massive Xstrata Mine dominating the view - the city is at the foot of the mine! We looked at the lovely Moondarra Lake just out of 'Isa' & went up the lookout!
We're booked into do a 2 hour tour of an underground mine tomorrow!
I also want to wish my Mum 'happy birthday' for today & Liv & Paul 'all the best' for their half ironman in Port Douglas tomorrow! Go you good things!

Sleepless in the City!

We have spent a night in the 'big smoke' of Cloncurry - you may laugh, but it was all smoke yesterday, with a grass fire blazing & getting closer to Cloncurry! The hospital had to be evacuated! You couldn't get close to the fire but what you could see was impressive!
We are staying at my girlfriend, Robyn's, place. She moved to Cloncurry with her hubby & daughter 3 months ago. We met in Brisbane when our first child was born. About 6 of us formed a Mum's group & every year (bar this one) we go away by ourselves.
Robyn's Roadhouse (the nickname we have given her place) is full up, as there are two caravans in her backyard - one ours & the other Robyn's sister & bro-in-law (who have been on & off the road for 3 years & make us look the amateurs we are with their modest, yet practical set up!). This is a great campsite except for the fact that I have forgotten how noisy civilisation is!
Last night the neighbours had a party - it progressed in typical fashion with laughter & general merriment kicking things off, the music & voices getting louder as the evening continued, until finally it ended in a loud argument with many repeats of the same phrases! In my very uncharitable state I hoped they would 'knock each other out'! My many telepathic death stares & 'very cross' words finally seemed to have had an effect (unless they really did knock each other out!). After all, it was a Monday night - people have to work you know!
As the noise from the party abated, another started - this time a dog's 'chaotic choir' was in full singing practice! A tenor would bark - as he finished, a baritone would take up the tune & a soprano would sing loudly with occasional choruses sung by the rest of the neighbourhood choir! I am sorry but I just could not appreciate the harmonies & nuances of the 'barks' the choir made!
One more thing to add to the 'symphony of sounds' was the repeated rumblings of the road trains! Road Train drivers are nocturnal! I have now tested this on two consecutive nights as the night before last we had to camp in a spot next to the road - and yes, the Road Train driver is busiest at night - ferrying their freight from place to place, all under the cover of darkness!
Enough of my cacophonous evening & to tell of the Tidy's tours to date...
We left Long Waterhole in Winton on Sunday. I was very spoiled on Friday for my birthday - pressies, breakfast in bed, a visit to The Age of Dinosaurs (I'm not going to become a palaeontologist!), and a lovely cake & dinner at the pub! Not to mention the many birthday wishes I received by phone, text & facebook (thank you everyone!). I even had a short time to myself when John took the kids into town for 'secret bday stuff' - time to yourself & by yourself is a very rare & precious commodity!
We have had one major 'injury' to Bruce! As we arrived in Cloncurry we noticed the bike rack had cracked and needs to be re-welded! We've come to the right place by staying at Robyn's Roadhouse as her husband, Brad, manages a Cement place, so Bruce is being mended as I write!
We will spend another night or so in Cloncurry but will resort to imbibing much alcohol tonight to 'knock me out' (hopefully before I reach the argumentative stage!).
We have yet to decide which way we'll head - North to Darwin or South West to Uluru.... I'll let you know!
I do apologise that I can't put a caption on the photos (I'm using my iPad so can't do this - when I use my laptop I will be able to - hopefully!).

Longreach & Winton

Upon leaving Blackall we travelled to Barcaldine where we saw the Tree of Knowledge (a dead tree commemorating the Shearer's Strike of 1891 - it does have an impressive roof erected over it & was once a lovely live eucalypt). We also visited the Workers Heritage Centre, an impressive 'village' celebrating the Australian workforce through the ages. We stopped at Ilfracombe with it's 'machinery mile' - an amazing collection of old machinery on display along the main street. The kids enjoyed climbing into some of the machines. We arrived at Longreach late in the day & the campsite we decided we'd stay at was packed with grey nomads, so we found ourselves a place off the road tucked in behind some trees. We went to the Stockmans Hall of Fame the next day, which we really enjoyed & explored the town. We decided not to do the Qantas Museum after much deliberation as we were getting a bit 'museumed out'! We have now found a good free campsite just out of Winton, so have stayed put for a few days. It is good to have some time to chill & watch the awesome sunrises & sunsets! The kids have entertained themselves building towns & farms from sticks & stones. The days are heating up - we've even had a quick dip in the 'billabong'! Yesterday we visited the Waltzing Matilda Centre. We like Winton - although it is small, there's lots to see, the people are friendly & there are free showers at the BP! In the evening we went to an Open Air Theatre that showed old movies (Popeye, Mickey Mouse, bits of old Musicals & a play put on by kids - very amusing & yes, the movie stopped numerous times, during which we all booed & stamped our feet in good fun!). You sat in rows of canvas deck chairs & could go into the projectionists box & have a cuppa after the showing. Life was different then & it is quite different here in these outback towns! (forgive the blurry night photos).

Things we've noticed

To let you know a few things we've noticed or some 'thoughts' for when you make your outback trip:
- Watch out for Roos! Don't drive at dawn or dusk for that is when they graze at the side of the road. We had a quote for a roo bar to be put on the car -$2500, so, we're going to limit driving times to daylight!
- Watch out for road trains! And yes, you kiwis, they are like trains! Some huge trucks have 3 trailers - carrying containers or stock trailers. You definitely give them right of way - they don't stop for you!
- It really is a huge, flat, vast landscape with long straight roads stretching to the horizon (photo in last blog)! This immense country is covered with brown (buffell) grass and scrubby trees & bushes. We've seen kangaroos, emus, camels, cattle, horses, sheep & brolgas grazing and foxes & pigs dead on the side of the road - did I mention Roos? In a stretch of 80 kms or so between Roma & Mitchell we counted 61 dead Roos!
- Things are quite expensive out here! We are now paying $1.56 per litre for petrol (cheap to you kiwis!). Fresh fruit & vege is a lot more expensive & not the variety. John killed some sheep for the farmer he worked for, so we have an esky full of mutton! We also want to see as many attractions as possible!
- The outback towns of Charleville, Augathella, Tambo, Blackall & Barcaldine are really lovely towns - clean & quaint with lovely buildings. I guess tourism is a major industry for them! I'm not saying you'd want to live out here though!
- There is much work out this way! We were lucky to get out of Mitchell! We both could have stayed at our jobs indefinitely! It is so good to be travelling again but with our costs, we might be back working sooner than we think!
- Nic & Cath are enjoying themselves! There are very few children travelling thus far but they get on well with the grey nomads! They were more social than John & I sitting around the campfire in Mitchell. They would come back to Bruce to tell us of all the people they met. Our contacts list is increasing! Wherever we stay (Parks or free camping spots), they go off exploring on their bikes & make up some game! Last night they went 'pigging' (Nic's influence on that game)!
- Bruce is holding up well. We love him! He needs a few minor repairs after the rough road North from Charleville but he is proving to be a wonderful home! I especially like the lack of housework!
- Education you ask? Since attending school in Mitchell we have been busy being educated by attractions & the real world! Saying that, we do maths, games & quizzes in the car & Nic & Cath both wrote neat stories yesterday (which they will now revise, edit & publish)! C2C is not for us this year!

Cheers Charleville!

We have made it to Barcaldine! We left Charleville this morning & had numerous stops on the way - including a visit to the last remaining Wool Scour in Australia at Blackall. It was surprisingly, very interesting & the steam engine that drove the machinery was pleasantly peaceful. John would have been running very fast as a Rousie with a 20 stand shearing shed attached to the Scour!
We really enjoyed our 2 night stay in Charleville! On the first night we attended a night show at the Cosmos Observatory. Upon entering the building, the roof rolled away to reveal the night sky. Through amazing telescopes we saw Saturn (complete with it's rings) and we viewed many stars, including Alpha Centauri (our closest neighbour & the brighter of the two pointers to the Southern Cross). It was an awesome experience to see that we are just a minute part of an amazing & mind-boggling universe!
The next day we went back to the Observatory to interact with meteorites & displays. We visited the Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitor Info Centre. What an incredibly valuable service - all started with one man's vision!
In the evening we saw the Bilbies! We watched a docco that had been televised on Australian Story & then went to see the cute little creatures running around. It is an initiative to save these endangered animals and again, began with one man's dream!
It was an inspiring day & made you think - what is your dream?!

Two Weeks In Mitchell

We have come to the end of our two weeks in Mitchell, but - it's not over yet! They want us to stay! I've been offered more work and so has John! We have decided we will do TWO more days next week and THEN we will LEAVE! John will have cut out all the sheep by then so the kids & I will have another two days at school. Anyone looking for work just need go West and you will find it! We plan to go to Charleville to the Cosmos Observatory and then head North!
We have very much enjoyed our time here - I have taught a lovely class, Nic & Catherine have 'sort of enjoyed school' and poor John has been working physically hard!
It is warming up a little here, so by the time we reach Darwin, it will be HOT!
Last weekend we went to Roma & saw a light show about the Oil & Gas Industry - very interesting! John went to the sale. Roma has the largest cattle yards in the Southern Hemisphere! We watched the Chiefs beat the Sharks at the Irish Pub. We went for morning tea to a Station that the teacher I am relieving for owns - very different scenery than what we are used to!
The only thing we have missed is watching the Olympics (but Aussie TV doesn't air Kiwi prowess, so it doesn't matter anyway - jokes!). Oh, I have missed my bed!
We are looking forward to getting 'on the road again'!
Hope you are all well & happy!

First Week at Mitchell School

Nic, Catherine & I have almost had a week at school! TGInearlyF! Not really, we're enjoying ourselves! I have a lovely class of 18 Year 2 & 3s and the kids have a lovely young lady teacher, Ms Pain! They commented that they have naughty kids in their class - not like at Amamoor! I'm getting my head around C2C and Mrs Moore has left me detailed planning (there's no time for FUN - as if!). We have cycled to school as it only takes 10 mins - but is FREEZING! We have had frosts most mornings! I've borrowed a heater from the school!
What has John been up to, you ask? He is a rousie (roust a bout, to you Aussies!). He is glad he is not shearing those Merino 'wrinklies'! He came home late last night after his first day feeling rather stiff. He has opted to get a ride with one of the shearers as he had to travel very slowly at dusk because of the Roos (we don't have bull bars on the Kluger).
Nic hasn't yet caught any yabbies in his pot, but may have more luck as we got some smelly liver from the butcher today. Nic & Catherine have made damper in the camp oven - delicious with butter & Amamoor honey! We're learning how to be Aussie campers!
We trust that all is well with you!