Yaraka to Isisford

All bitumen, much of it dual lane & new.

The turn off to Idalia NP took us onto dirt road of varying quality, some good, some requiring high clearance. The first ‘real’ (other than corrugations) test of the Tvan’s off road capabilities, which it managed without even breaking a sweat. We engaged 4wd more for control & to do less damage to the road rather than because we needed to. Our friends Peter & Margaret, veteran 4wd travellers maintain that both are good reasons to use 4wd whenever off sealed roads & so we do.

It was approximately 70kms into the Park’s campground where we set up for a couple of nights & did all of the walks & drives the park offered. Whilst good to be out there in the silence of the bush, & enjoying some walks & views we felt the park offered far less ‘wow factor’ than Welford had, but enjoyed the slightly more (but still mild) 4wd’ing on the park’s tracks.

Back at the junction with the Blackall road we met an elderly couple who had just pulled of the bitumen to visit the park. They were pulling a huge dual axle caravan which I’d guess would have had to have weighed at least 4 tonnes loaded & I’d estimate at around 24’ to 27’. It had lots of checker plate around it & large lettering advertising that it was an ‘off road’ model. I tactfully expressed my concern about the viability of taking this behemoth onto the park’s often tight & twisty tracks with a few deep dips in which I’m certain the van’s rear overhang would become caught. The old fella wasn’t about to be put off reaching his dreamed of destination (despite his wife’s uncertainty) so I advised he take the van no further than the info board  just past the park boundary where there was a large turning circle, unhitch & drive in to see for himself first. I hope he did……. I haven’t heard anything on the ABC’s Western Queensland news about him getting stuck & preventing anyone else getting in or out. Seriously how some caravan manufacturers manage to convince folks who are old enough to know better about the off road capabilities of their products is beyond me. I have no doubt that this chap, who would have been pushing 80, intended to just drive in because he had a van he could take anywhere.

We bid the couple farewell & drove on to Blackall, our first ‘big’ town in a while, in order to restock our dwindling fresh food supplies. Actually Blackall is not a big ‘big town’, but it does have all the main services, courtesy of being on the the main north/south Landsborough Highway, a route favoured by Grey Nomads who were much in evidence at the town’s camp spot. A dusty & somewhat barren car park on the edge of town, with a number of potable water taps but only a single toilet. There would have been at least 70 or 80 caravans, campervans & motorhomes set up on the $8 per night site. Would hate to see it when busy! I’m sure it is more attractive when the river has water flowing, but we felt $8 per night for a dustbowl & one single toilet was poor value. Nevertheless it was cheaper than the $30 per night caravan park, which by all accounts had plenty of customers. The aesthetics of our camp spot aside, Blackall provided what we had visited for, & gave us the added bonus of the best swimming pool I have been to in my 60 years. The pool is an artesian pool, with a spa & an olympic size pool. The temperature of the water is determined by how many folk in town are watering their lawns at a given time. Water comes out of the ground at 60 deg.C, & generally cools before use. The more folk using it at once the less chance it has to cool. On our visit the spa was at a lovely 37 degrees & the main pool at a comfy 32 degrees. Apparently they cap the spa temperature at 44 degrees by turning off the supply to allow cooling on occasions. The pool, it’s kiosk, & open changing rooms were reminiscent of yesteryear, whilst the outdoor pool facilities were modern. This gave a very pleasant & laid back ambience, very different to the large echo-ridden modern indoor pools. At $2 entry per person & no time restriction it was great value. We left relaxed & wrinkled & left town to drive the 120 odd kms to the small village of Isisford – once again heading west taking a round about route to Winton, avoiding the highway & Longreach.
Isisford was to be an overnighter before continuing to the Lochern NP, Opalton, Lark Quarry & then Winton to once again restock before going south to the Diamantina NP, & thence on to Birdsville & Innamincka. However we found ourselves such a pleasant sheltered, sunny & private little camp spot on the Barcoo River, just outside of Isisford, about 30 minute walk to town we are currently on our 3rd day here & will likely stay a fourth. Best of all, last night the fish started biting & I’ve landed 3 Yellowbelly, 2 small ones which went back & one cooked in foil on our camp fire. Yum. I think the reason for this success is a) the freshwater shrimps I’ve caught for bait & b) the method I’ve used to put them on the hook which I changed from previous attempts. Guesswork really, but it keeps me happy. Also found a freshwater turtle in my bait net this morning, whom I said G’day to before releasing. Birdlife is prolific & we have been visited during the hottest part of each day, by small but very bright butterflies, almost ultra violet in colour.

BTW. I still have no idea about the sirens at cattle grids, but a friend did write to tell me he had experienced similar somewhere in WA, where a feral extermination targeting particularly foxes, programme had been taking place. However instead of movement sensors triggering sirens, they triggered loud recordings of barking dogs! 🙂

We are expecting to be offline for the next week to 10 days until we reach Winton