Monday, October 12, 2015

OUTBACK QLD TRIP - DAY 3 - BARCALDINE TO LONGREACH...



We didn't have far to go today so we were in no hurry to be on the road early this morning. In fact we planned to spend a little time in Barcaldine before we headed off to Longreach.  We were keen to see Barcaldine by day... check out the "Tree of Knowledge" again in daylight. 

We had a leisurely breakfast where we watched the birds feeding, before hitching up and leaving the park just after 9.30am. 

These birds were feeding just beside our van...
 We couldn't resist photographing these beautiful flowers.  They actually grew on quite a large tree, and they hang down at the end of a bit of a vine.  Would love to know what they are called,  they are really quite beautiful and and the colours were rich. 
We were parked under this tree at our Caravan Park. 
Really beautiful. 
 We headed into the main area of Barcaldine,  it really is a very pretty town and we wish that we could actually spend more time there.  We will definitely be back for a few days when we do our big trip in a couple of years time.  There really is quite a lot to see in Barcaldine..

The town was pretty green but one of the things that really amazed us where the number of hotels in Barcaldine.  I think we counted seven in three blocks.   We also spotted this car and caravan that had been done up and restored.  It looked really cool so of course we took photos...
Restored Car and matching caravan....
 We caught a glimpse of it a couple of times during the short time we were there.  It did a few laps up and down the street...
Heading back down the street...
 There is a lovely parkland in front of the Railway Station where the "Tree of Knowledge" is situated.  We found more musical instruments today. 
Steve giving us a tune...
We all had to have a go as well. 
 There are some lovely murals on the walls here depicting some of the stories of the district...
 
Murals in the parkland. 
Water features
The hotels were really lovely old buildings, something we don't see in the cities the same these days. 
One of the lovely old Hotels in Barcaldines...
Railway Hotel
Commercial Hotel
Another one of the many hotels within a couple of blocks of each other...
Seeing all these old hotels reminded me of some of the old Western Movies we used to watch when we were kids.
One of the other things that interested us here was the large windmill which is situated in the parkland there. 
Standing under the large Comet Windmill
A little about the windmill
 It was time to check out the Tree of Knowledge in the daylight.  It is totally different to see it in the light of day.  You certainly don't see the roots the same,  and during the day the chimes play  in the gentle breeze.  It is a little worrying to stand under there and look up and see these dagger like logs that are just strung up there.  Would hate to think of what would happen if one fell..
t
Tree of Knowledge in the light of day..
Panoramic view of "The tree of Knowledge" and the street behind...


The huge structure that houses the Tree of Knowledge...
 Of course we had to have our photos taken in front of the "Tree of Knowledge" almost as if we did we would be imparted with great knowledge...
In front of "The Tree of Knowledge"
My turn to have my photo taken in front of "The Tree of Knowledge"
Steve and I
Ian and Kathy

 Barcaldine is quite an historic town, as it was where the Australian Labor Party was first formed. 
Historic moment in Australian history
It was interesting for us to see one of these in Barcaldine... These are a thing of the past in cities these days.  In fact I can't think of anywhere in Rocky where I would find one...
Public telephone - it has been a long time since I have seen one of these....
Could resist taking a photo of these beautiful flowers in the park...
We wandered around for town for possibly an hour before heading off on the next haul of our journey.  Longreach was our destination for today...

I could not believe how dry it was out west.  The drought has just about broken them... It was just fields and fields of dust with a few tuffs of dead grass.  The animal kill on the side of the road was really quite distressing.  I think at one stage I couldn't over 30 dead animals (mainly kangaroos) on my side of the highway in the space of 30-40 metres....  They were all in various stages of decay, but it was very sad...
Dry dusty highway with very little to see
Barren and dead...
Road kill
 The road kill was horrendous and I found it hard to look at it.  It was really quite distressing...  From the above photo you can see that the highways are just littered with dead or decaying animals. 
There were just dead animals everywhere...
You really don't see a lot of traffic on these roads..
 The roads are really good out west, but you don't see too many cars,  mostly these roads are used by the grey nomads and the truckies...
If there is any green it is by the side of the road...
 You can see why there is such a huge amount of road kill on the highway out there.  The only feed is that by the side of the road if there is any still there, and you can be sure that if you see green grass on the side of the road,  you also see a lot of road kill. 
We did see a Kangaroo sheltering under this tree to keep out of the heat.
 Literally the ground is just a dust bowl... So sad to see.
Welcome to Longreach - we have arrived...
We arrived in Longreach around lunch time  and this is what greeted us as we drove in.  There is no way you could miss it..
The big 747 Airbus at the Qantas Founder's Museum.
 We headed straight to our Caravan Park and booked in. 
Our home in Longreach...
It was a huge park and well looked after but there was not a blade of green grass anywhere.  It was all gravel and dirt. It didn't take us too long to settle in, and we then headed over to the camp kitchen where we had some lunch.  We met some interesting travellers here who had just spent four weeks going through the Simpson Desert.  They had some interesting stories to share with us. 

We cleaned up after lunch and decided to go and and check out "The Stockman's Hall of Fame". 
Arriving at the Stockman's Hall of Fame...
The Stockman's Hall of Fame...
Up close and personal..
Fortunately,  the admission cost entitles you to come back again the following day.  We only had a few hours before closing time, but it was good, it wasn't too busy so we could take our time and linger over the displays we were interested in.  The time went so quickly..
Impressed with this horse made totally of changes and spockets.
Steve checking out the shearer and his sheep
Fascinated by the horse....
 There are six different areas of the Hall of Fame to explore,  we managed to get through half of it.  Fortunately we had the ticket to return again the following day where we also paid to go see the Outback Show...
There was so much to see here,  so many photos...  I am glad we had the time to seat and read and listen to lots of the stories...  It certainly gave us a new appreciation of life out west...
Steve listening to one of the many stories...
We watched lots of movies about life out west...
Checking out the peddler's wagon.
The old slab hut...
 It was interesting to see this, as Steve's grandmother started her married life in a hut just like this.  We have come a long way in the last hundred years...
We found this chimney interesting...
Checking out their water cartage...
The old large wool press
Part of the roof line of the Hall of Fame

 There were lots of stories about the wool industry.  It is sad to think that it is almost non existent in Australia to day.  It is such a huge part of our early settlement and history.  Loved these couple of  murals made out of dyed wool. 
Loved the texture of these wall hangings...
 We quickly ran out of afternoon, there is so much to see and I understand now why your entry ticket entitles you to come back again the next day.  It didn't take long for closing time to come around. 

When we first arrived at the Hall of Fame, we watched a few of the workers polishing this statue, so when it came time to photograph it, Steve decided that he was going give it a polish also.  
Giving him a good polish
With "The Stockman's Hall of Fame" in the background..
Steve and I with the Big Stockman
Ian and Kathy with the Stockman...
 As we only had a couple of days in Longreach, we decided to head out and check out the Thomson River.   There is quite a large free camping area out there and we were keen to check it out before we did out big trip.  There were possibly 50 caravans or more there,  and appartently that was only quite a small number of campers there compared to what usually camps out there.  It is almost the end of the southern visitors camping time in Qld. 
There were lots of kangaroos around out here...
Steve amd Kathy checking out the river...
The Thomson river on Dusk...
Views along the banks of the Thomson River
 Steve bought his binoculars along so that he could check out the bird life...

Checking the upper reaches of the river
 It was a lovely time to be there just on sunset.  The evening lighting was just right to take photos. 

Very pretty this time in the afternoon. 
Pelicans on the river...
Kathy went for a little walk to check out what was on the other side of the river...
 It was nice to be out here to see the sun set....

Sunset on the Thomson River
Sun setting on the Thomson River- Longreach.
 As we headed back to the car we saw this sign.  We found it quite interesting to see that these two rivers actually turn into a creek.  Normally it is the other way around where Creeks turn into rivers...
Interesting information...
 Checking out the free camping area on the Thomson River

Lots of vans free camping at the Thomson River
 It seems just like a caravan park out here.  Still no grass but no different to the caravan park we are staying in at the moment. 
It was a pretty full day, and it was dark by the time we headed back to the van.  We stopped off in Longreach to pick up some supplies so that we could cook dinner...

We had a lovely dinner together and retired to our own vans around 9.30pm.

Each day I am trying to note some of the things that have either been a highlight for me today or that I am thankful for. 

Today's highlights for me are
1.  I am thankful that we were not kangaroos.  The road kill was distressing.
2.  Listening to the stories of old - our Australian heritage at "The Stockman's Hall of Fame"
3.  Great friends to enjoy this adventure with. 
4.  Sunset over the Thomson River
5. Wonderful meals with good company.

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