5. ENTERING THE CHANNEL COUNTRY. QUEENSLAND.

Since leaving on this trip, our diet has changed considerably due to road kill and now boasts Radiatored Roo, Expired Emu, Wasted Wombat and Levelled Lizard.  Moths and locusts form great entrees.
Crows manage to avoid being hit when scavenging on the road, by having a lookout crow on a fence post giving warning alarms of our approach by calling "Car, Car!"
They don't have warning calls for trucks or buses though.

Fuel is cheap out west, still on 2 shillings a gallon

An early morning start from our camp at Tambo to get us to church on time 105km away for a welcoming service at Blackall where we increased the congregation by 20%; a look through the town, and a tour of the only original Wool Scourer still in existence. Most of the gear is over 100 years old and is steam powered.  The restoration is impeccable.  Before that we saw something interesting on the medium strip.

Petrified tree stump grazing on medium strip in Blackall

Wool scourer. 1920s technology 

Cogs and chain gang

OH&S?  Safety comes second. 

We entered fly territory, and had never seen flies as bad.  Nor has anyone else we have spoken to. Keeping still to take photos allows them to land and crawl up noses, into ears and behind glasses. Not a pleasant experience, resulting in the majority of the folk, apart from the tough locals, wearing fly nets. Something we didn't think we would ever wear, but have found them to be a necessary accessory. The word is that the flies are even worse beyond Winton.
Our friend Brad raves about fly fishing.  We don't see how he firstly baits the hooks to catch the flies, nor how he guts them once he catches the flies.  Brad needs to be out here to catch a few and reduce the quantities.
In summary, fly nets are great except when the nose is blown, or a drink is taken when it is forgotten that the net is being worn. Not a pretty sight!! 

Dunraven is a property of 25,000 hectares near Barcaldine, which we had the pleasure of a morning tour of part. The owners, Peter and Roberta, along with son Paul, take small groups on a tag along tour to explain life on the land.  The property has been in Roberta's family for about 110 years. This is their 6th year of drought, only having had about 100mm of rain in the last year.  The knowledge they shared of grasses, trees, cattle, sheep and life on the land was staggering.  We were also surprised by the number of kangaroos on the property, vying with the cattle and sheep for food.  Kangaroos must have out numbered other livestock by 20 times.
We mentioned that we felt at home due to the amount of dags, as so many of our friends act as dags. A pommie who happened to be with us, couldn't possilbly see how this could be a word of endearment, and that it is occasionally good to be a dag.  (Occasionally, but not all the time!!)

Our hosts Peter and Roberta 

The front drive

Meteor over Dunraven.  We  were saved by the windscreen

6 years without any substantial rain

Artesian bores make a difference to plant growth

Out on the plains, the brolgas are going to a dance

View from shearers shed.  A shearing song by the (Sheep) Seekers comes to mind. "Ï'll never find another ewe"

The Tree of Knowledge at Barcaldine, is quite an architectural marvel.  It symbolises the original tree which was silent witness to the struggle between the shearers and the pastoralists way back in 1891. This was a crucial time in the formation of the Australian Labor Party.
A labour party can often consist of a mid-wife, obstetrician, expectant husband, nurse and the guest of honour; the expectant mother who happens to be in labour. She doesn't always view it as a party though.
The actual birth can be called a labour movement.
Once born, the babe is often struck on the bottom to encourage breathing. This act is called a strike.
The welts from the fingers of the hand on the tender skin, look like, and are called picket lines.
Hoping this helps with an understanding of terminology often used.   

Evergreen by night

ANZAC day saw us in Charleville for the dawn service.  We were so impressed with a young girl who led without accompaniment the national anthems of New Zealand and Australia, with the kiwi version also being sung in Maori.

Lest we forget

Longreach is just like the Gold Coast without the sand, sea, crowds and tall buildings.  Similar to the Gold Coast, multi passes are available for so many activities, such as Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, QANTAS Founders Museum, Cobb and Co Stage Coach Experience and many more.
Not only the is Longreach the centre of the universe, but also the centre of Queensland.

Stockman's Hall of Fame and Man from Iron Bark

This is not the only Furphy in this blog

RFDS plane in suspenders

A brilliant building 

Impressive staging 

The Aussie humour is very much alive out west as evident in a dusk cruise on the Thomson River. The night was so full of wit, without concern for what might be called political correctness; and all without maliciousness or swearing.  It was so much appreciated by all who attended.
The river which flows through Longreach is very much unpolluted as their is no P in Thomson.
Longreach owes it's name to the stretch of river, which is a long reach 14.5km long with an average depth of 9m.  Quite astounding as there is not much of a sign of water anywhere else approaching the river.  (We originally thought the name came from being far away from the long reach of the law.  We were wrong.)

There is no p in Thomson River

World cruise on the Thomson 

Chook chariot 

The QANTAS Founders Museum  featured the tallest structure in Longreach.  A 747 aircraft, which stands out like the proverbial large plane on a large plain.
We note that the use of Founders in the name is extremely clever name as if the future QANTAS goes into receivership, a simple letter "L" could be added to the name to form the QANTAS Flounders Museum.

A plane on a plain

Start it up Boris!

Early Avro biplane in the early arvo

Pilot practicing aerial maneuvers.  Passenger in awe of skill

Piston broke.  Preparing for repairs

No trip to the outback would be complete without a gallop in a Cobb and Co stage coach behind 5 horses.  This is supposedly the only stage coach gallop in the world.  Dusty but exhilarating.

Riding shotgun

2nd Class passengers

Tight turn

Foot view of full gallop.  Bumpy ride and no seat belts.

A longreach from front to back. 53m overall, 620 horse power, 150 cows, 80 tyres, 100ltrs/100km

We have moved out of the metropolis and are camped by the Crawford River in the rain shadow of the mighty Mount Landsborough, which stands almost twice as high as Charlestown, NSW.
Our day's travel was a mere 90 minutes, with the intention of simply chilling and getting the breath back.  By nightfall we had 5 other vans within cooee of us.
Our next stop is Winton where we enter Dinosaur territory.

Hoping all is going well with all and sundry.
Happy travelling in everything you do!!
Cheers, Don and Carrol.