Soon after leaving Tobermory the next morning we cross the Queensland Border. The Donoghue Highway has been closed due to flooding until recently. The repair contractors seem to be still working, but the road is in good condition; some tarmac and some well-graded dirt. We up the tyre pressures to 40 and 45 psi, front and rear, again and head for Boulia.
A few curiosities cause some interest along the road, but, aside from the shock wave from the occasional passing road train, the driving is much like any other. The emergency airstrip gives a bit of a thrill, but it doesn’t make us take off and there no attempted landing. We cross the Georgina River, still showing evidence of the floods of the previous month.
In Boulia, our campsite for two nights is by the Burke River, bringing flies and mosquitos in equal measure. It’s still hot.
Kites fly overhead and two miniature ponies wreck our camp set up in our absence.
A modern day swagman – shirtless – shows us yabbies he’s caught in a bucket. We almost make him an offer.
Boulia has a shop, the Min Min experience and a Heritage Museum and we visit all three. Not heard of the Min Min lights? Google it! There’s far too much to tell here, and it’s still a mystery. The lady who sells us tickets tells us, matter-of-factly, of her experience, and ushers us in to the darkened halls of talking mannequins; in a pub, a farmhouse, by a camp fire and in a truck. Built through grant funding 25 years ago, it’s both a throwback to an earlier age of technology and an interesting insight into this unexplained phenomenon.
The Heritage Museum is a collection of everything that Boulia doesn’t need anymore, and that might be interesting to someone. We find evidence of both dinosaurs and a satellite that’s been eaten by one.
On then to Winton. We pause at the Cawnpore Lookout. Curiosity propels me up the short slope to the bluff and then to another; further, higher. My trusty expedition does not follow. But the views over this strangely green landscape are worth the climb.
Another break, for Mornos, at the Middleton pub. Once a Cobb and Co. horse-changing station, some of its facilities are now rudimentary. But it’s now run by foreign backpackers and serves coffee, cake and ice-cream. We have all three.
And while it is the middle town between Boulia and Winton, its name is nothing to do with that. Mr Middleton was on the John McKinlay expedition in search of Burke and Wills and one of the the first white men to come into the Winton area.
Bureau of Meteorology rain radar
At Winton the Queensland rain gods notice that Shapland is back.
In an event that a local describes as ‘extraordinary; we never have rain here’, a small persistent rain cloud settles over the town during our first night, and stays.
There is no other rain, literally for hundreds of kilometres.
On our wet day off, after a hearty breakfast we split up to sample the various attractions.
John, James and Guy loiter in Winton and go to the Waltzing Matilda centre.
I head off to the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum.
There are real dinosaurs there. There must be; there’s a really good film of them.
There are some bones, of course. But all over the park there are the real ones.
Some of them stand pretty still. But they are real, I’m sure.
And as you didn’t go there, you can’t say I’m wrong.
Loitering in Winton reveals a whole encyclopedia of little known facts. Our interest is, of course, drawn to the military. In the First World War, over 700 Winton residents enlisted to fight. Ninety-nine died – a tremendous cost for a small town. In the Second World War, President Lyndon B Johnson spent a few days at Winton after his plane crashed nearby. Wouldn’t want that to happen to AirForce One nowadays!
Winton didn’t start life as Winton. Its first name was Pelican Hole as the big coastal birds came here to breed.
But the postmaster wasn’t having any of that, so called it after the suburb of Bournemouth where he was born.
Banjo Patterson wrote the words to ‘Waltzing Matilda’ – words describing an itinerant worker’s bedroll – in a station nearby.
The song has now been recorded by over 500 artists and, in the 1950’s, nine out of 10 Australian’s thought it should be the national anthem.
The other attraction coinciding with our time in Winton is the visit of Opera Queensland. A ticketed show at the theatre our first night. And a free show, along with a bit of country music next to our campground, on the second.
All afternoon the roadies set up, and sound test. Then the rain comes, and they all go away.
But it’s my birthday, and the Winton loitering team have exceled themselves with dips and presents – a newspaper specially catering to my new age group; The Senior, and an attractive set of dinosaur LED Christmas lights. Thanks, friends!
The next morning we pack damp swags for the first time and top up with food at the Winton Roadhouse. A real truckies’ breakfast. Three sausages, two eggs, a pile of bacon, a hash brown, toast and tomato; it might even take me past mornos!
The road to Longreach is exactly that – a long reach across a distant flat horizon. The cattle are mostly behind fences now. ‘No fuel for 177 kilometres’ said a sign as we left Winton.
With our jerrycans Peter could have a theoretical range on these roads of 1550 kilometres – so no real problem for us.
What is a real problem, though, is the need to fund support services for those in need. On this journey we’ve focussed on four organisations that help children and veterans in a darker place. The Smith Family and Onside, and Mates4Mates and Combat Stress, have similar aims for their sectors in Australian and the UK. So please help spread the message about them by sharing the link or our gofundme page and encourage others to contribute.
Happy birthday, Mike! 🎂
From a other honorary dinosaur…
I’ve been to the dinosaur museum. It was so nice to be the youngest entity in the room.
A belated Happy Birthday Mike.
I’ve also driven along the routes you’re doing in my trusty Series 2A Land Rover. Enjoy the trip and I hope you raise the funds for those worthwhile charities.