Next stop Quilpie – along the Diamantina Developmental Road (Australia’s longest road which runs from Charleville to Mt Isa – approx 1350kms/850 miles – according to a sign we passed). It’s odd how something as ’simple’ as a black bitumen road can change one’s perception of the dry red land through which it passes. It is but a tiny black man made ribbon in a seemingly never ending & ancient landscape, but somehow the road becomes the dominant feature. This perception was reinforced when the colour of the road changed to a reddish/beige more like the country it was taking us though. It felt more natural, not as natuaral as an unfenced dirt road of course, but still with the smoother, quieter benefit of no corrugations. We think that we like to have the choice, but that often taking ‘the dirt’ is our preference.
Quilpie appeared very clean & tidy, with green grass & sheet metal sihouettes of cattle down the centre divide of the main street giving a hint as to what is important to this rail town, but arriving after the shops shut at midday on a Saturday, combined with the fact that most of the town’s population were 80kms away for the annual ‘knees up’ at Toompine, at the polocrosse finals, the town was deserted, bar the motley collection of grey nomads scattered along, what we thought fairly uninviting banks of the Bulloo River. Little shade, low water levels & very steep banks resulted in our decision to pay to stay somewhere for just the second time since leaving home. At $15 per night for two, on the banks of a lake, under shady trees & with hot showers available at the station’s main compound, it wasn’t a hard decision. Sitting eating breakfast this morning we watched cattle & sheep join Emus, Brolgas & Ibis at the water’s edge to drink. Pelicans glided past whilst Little Friarbids called insistently from the branches of our shade trees & the impressively luminous colours of Red Backed parrots added brief moments of excitement. The usual Apostle Birds remind us of a crowd of the grumpy old men from the Muppet show. We’ll be here for a couple of days & then on to Windorah.
