Turning South

Unfortunately the time comes when you have to make the decision to start to head south. Today is that day. Although there is a lot more we would like to see up this end of Australia, time limits us. So today we leave Chillagoe and head toward Mt Surprise down the Ootan Track, then down towards Einasleigh and Copperfield Gorge. Once we leave the main road, within the first few kilometres there are a series of road signs and then they continue sporadically as we continue down the road. To some travellers they would be quite off putting but the road is good and we have a good radio for communication with other travellers and truck drivers. It’s quite a pretty area with numerous (P- Understatement!!!) dry creek crossings and many changes of vegetation along the way. Quite a bit of this road follows the Savanahlander rail line from Almaden to Forsayth, crossing the track in several spots.

When we reach Mt Surprise we stop for a wander. Not much of a town, a fuel stop, General Store, caravan park and large parking area. That’s about it. We have a chat with the store keeper while we purchase our ice creams, before continuing down to Einasleigh. Again the road signs continue, but not as prolifically as in the first section. By mid afternoon we reach The town of Einasleigh. (Again not very big but smaller and more remote than Mt Surprise). We had thought we might stop here overnight but there was really nowhere to stop. We drove past the pub and noticed the sign that it had new owners. Now if we were the owners of the pub we would have a big sign out welcoming caravaners and letting them stay in their yard. It would bring in a bit more income for them! “Eat at our Pub and stay free in our campground”, (P- really not hard to be a little entrepreneurial if you stop and think), Especially as just across the road is the Copperfield Gorge. This Gorge would be pretty spectacular if there was some water in it, which there isn’t. Anyway we continue down the road towards Kidston where we find a nice area just off the road to stay the night. The evenings out here are gorgeous, with the sun setting behind the line of trees and the sky turning orange.

Mornings are not bad either as the sun rises over the hills and the birds stir in the surrounding trees. Today’s first stop is Kidston Mine (abandoned) and the remains of Kidston Town the old town that served the Mine.

(P- the old Kidston Mine site was a diversion for Peter and I on our recent flying trip, we decided to fly over it for a look. When we did fly over we couldn’t work out what all the straight lines were in the old settling ponds. That evening I googled the history of the old gold mine and discovered that the “straight lines” we saw were a huge, yep, massive Solar Panel farm capable of generating approx 300mw of electricity. BUT ,WAIT there is more to this old abandoned Mine site! They have two old mine open cut pits -one at a higher elevation than the other, with these 2 pits they are creating a Pumped Hydro Scheme with the pumps powered by the Solar Farm, supplying peak demand electricity when needed. Amazing technology in such a remote place! Have a look at these links if it interests you. https://youtu.be/egBJHR6xmiw and https://youtu.be/mlcae3UvF5Q ).

Once we leave the Kidston we continue the loop round through Welfern, Bagsure, Glenmore, Oakpark and Lyndhurst and back to the Oasis Roadhouse on the Gregory Development Road. This is a great drive, good scenery, three mobs of cattle being mustered, a bit of History at Oakpark and then sealed roads once we hit the Development Road.

Oakpark was purchased in 1888 by James Russel Nimmo and remained in his family for 96 years, until it was sold in 1984. The Oakpark picnic races are held here annually. What an event that would be to attend. (P- another “bucket list agenda item”).

During the afternoon we drove through the town of Greenvale. For Slim Dusty fans you may remember the song, “Three Rivers Hotel”. Well here it is. A very unassuming place. The song goes as follows (for those who don’t know it).

“From Townsville to Greenvale their Building a line,

Through the ranges and the gorges to the Great Nickel Mine,

the long days are dusty and hotter than hell,

That’s why we all worship Three Rivers Hotel.”

Unfortunately the Mine closed in 1984 and the town, while still tidy is only very small compared to what it used to be.

From here we continued in the direction of Charters Towers, stopping by the side of the road in a small gravel pit for the night. Again a beautiful evening and with road train drivers giving us a toot and a wave as they passed by.

24th August.

Today has been a long driving day, about 500 k. But we are now on the coast at a lovely park at Hideaway Bay, just north of Airlie Beach. We stopped for a while in Charters Towers for a wander around. There are some magnificent old buildings there as this was a very rich gold mining area. The town boasted one of the few Stock Exchanges outside a Capital City and at one stage there were 92 Pubs in town. Many of the old buildings remain and this certainly adds character to the lovely Main Street. We need some more time to fully explore this rural centre.

Several more stops along the way plus a Siesta time and we reached our destination just before 5pm. That’s late for us but it’s good to be here and set up for a couple of days. (P-In Charters Towers I found an old fashioned family owned Butchers Shop and invested in some protein. The 30mm (for Judith) and 50mm (mine) Rib Fillet Steaks wrapped in Bacon and topped with Blue Cheese and Bacon rounded out another great but tiring day!)