On the road again

[Justinf]

It’s not a great sign when everything gets shuttered up at night.
EDIT: I have since found out that Bourke has quite a crime problem particularly with health-care workers being abused and assaulted. it had a population of 1824 at the 2016 census.

 

[Justinf]

Went to the Port of Bourke Hotel for two schooners and then asked for takeaway food but the bar staff misunderstood me and thought I was asking for takeaway booze.
“We have very strict laws regarding that here,” he said.
I just wanted a takeaway schnitzel for myself and my daughter so once that was cleared up I was good to go back to the room.
A shorter drive tomorrow. About four and a half hours to Charleville and into Queensland.

 

[tgh]

Travels with our cat.. love it Justin !!
We need more cat pics pls , cat in the pub , cat in the restaurant, cat cat cat …..

 

[Justinf]

Travels with our cat.. love it Justin !!
We need more cat pics pls , cat in the pub , cat in the restaurant, cat cat cat …..

 

[Justinf]

Can’t even use the amenities in peace. I think I’m gonna miss this one more than my own daughter

 

[Justinf]

Glad to see the back of Bourke (See what I did there?)
relatively short 4.5 hour drive today to Charleville.
The scenery changed once we were out of Bourke but not dramatically so, more flat, but the floods of last year were certainly still around.
we stopped two hours in for the bakery at Cunnamulla.
and we saw some silo art.

 

[Justinf]

The remaining two and a half hours were pretty uneventful.
we came across some roadworks and we were waiting 15 minutes for the pilot vehicle to escort us.

 

[Justinf]

We were well over the border into Queensland by now.
The Outback was not what I expected it to be.
certainly not like the Red Centre. Vegetation was aplentry and we saw some emus.

 

[Justinf]

 

[Justinf]

We rolled into Charleville around 3pm and tonight we are staying at the Bailey Bar Caravan Park in a cabin.

 

[Justinf]

We both had a nap and then conveniently I woke at 5pm and we all know what time that is.
say it with me: beer o’clock
i jumped in the car and the plan was to get takeaway Thai for dinner at the Lucky Elephant.
popped into the Hotel Corones where it was happy hour. $10 a pint or $5 a pot (or middie depending on where you are).
this pub oozes history.

 

[Justinf]

After a pint and a pot of xx_X Gold, it was time to order takeaway.
it was quite busy. There is a motorcycle ride going on and all accommodation is booked out.
was told my order would be 40 minutes at the Lucky Elephant.
well this elephant wasn’t very lucky because it took 90 minutes.
people were really pissed off.
i take the view that there’s nothing I can do about it so why bother being angry.
anyway I waited 90 minutes for this.

and a cat pic to finish off day three.

tomorrow it’s the shortest drive of the trip, 400km to Barcaldine.

 

[Justinf]

26 degrees today in Charleville with an overnight low of 11.
first impressions are that’s it’s a great little town.
the only thing I knew about Charleville was that is in the lyrics of one of my favourite Midnight Oil songs.

Older than Kosciuszko
Dry white seasons years ago
Darkness over Charleville
The fires begin to grow

 

[Cessna 180]

Great trip Justin. Not boring at all. I drove up through there a lot during Covid. Townsville and Cairns from Barham.
I love that area.

I am sure you are all over your route planning, and my intention is not to be a “know it all”. however if you are planning to go through Aramac to Torrens Creek the road can be cut off quite randomly. It was also very narrow in parts with large drop offs.
So you may need to go via Emerald or Winton.

 

[AIRwin]

first impressions are that’s it’s a great little town.

I have fond memories of Charleville:

Road trip to Outback Queensland

Yesterday I had a look around Emerald, which was a nice, friendly town, although there didn't seem to be a lot for tourists in the town itself. Other than the botanical gardens, the main attraction seemed to be the "Big Easel". It turns out that @craven morehead lives in a nearby town, and...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Justinf]

Great trip Justin. Not boring at all. I drove up through there a lot during Covid. Townsville and Cairns from Barham.
I love that area.

I am sure you are all over your route planning, and my intention is not to be a “know it all”. however if you are planning to go through Aramac to Torrens Creek the road can be cut off quite randomly. It was also very narrow in parts with large drop offs.
So you may need to go via Emerald or Winton.

I saw that road was cut off last year during the floods.
Gee I hope it’s open now.

 

[Cessna 180]

You will be right, just take plenty of water and a few snacks in case. I would however check at Barcaldine prior to proceeding. They only finished bituminising the last bit into Torrens Creek last year. The new bridge over Torrens Creek can still flood but it appears to be good at the moment. Last time I went on it was January 22 and it was still dirt then. Most of the time I would go via Emerald or Winton because of this.

If you see a road train on the narrow bit, just get right off and let them stay on the tar.
God Speed, and I am somewhat jealous!

 

[Scash]

Great trip report. I worked in Charleville for a couple of years in the early eighties and had a number of beers at Corones (plus most other pubs and clubs in town!). It's a magnificent building with lots of history.

 

[Scash]

If you see a road train on the narrow bit, just get right off and let them stay on the tar.
God Speed, and I am somewhat jealous!

Yep it's best to let them stay on the bitumen as it's safer for the big rigs but also you hopefully won't get stones flicked at you!

 

[Justinf]

A short drive today to Barcaldine. About 400km.
we set off around 9.30am and the landscape started to get vastly different.
the dams were full, again the result of the recent rains.