31 October – 3 November

On leaving we turned to Mc Kinlay to have get a Crocodiles Dundee Burger. The pub was open but we couldn't see any staff around so we couldn't check if they offer such a burger or not. We had our lunch at the roadhouse next door – I call this burger now “Crocodile Dundee Burger”. Unfortunately we spent around an hour at the roadhouse, suddenly there were three of four trucks turning up, so we didn't reach our planned first stop. But this is not a big problem so we were just staying in Julia Creek. At the moment a new rush of German tourist must have arrived – our fellow campers in Mt. Isa and Julia Creek are German...

The next stop was in Richmond to get the tyre checked again as it was still losing air during the night. The guy fixed it from the inside. We thought that there was another hole but apparently not. Richmond has an artificial lake. You can actually swim in the lake but it was already covered by several kids so we didn't go for a swim and drove to Hughenden instead. We decided to stay at the caravan park as it offered a 33m swimming pool – it's the local pool but we had 24/7 access. We visited the local museum, drove to Mt. Walker, did the 4WD Basalt by Way and headed to the Porcupine Gorge National Park. Mt. Walker is the closest local mountain which offers 6 different lookouts so you have nearly a 360degree view – we enjoyed the views twice – during the day and for the sunset. The 4WD Basalt by Way is a dirt road created for tourist so they can see a lot of the surrounding. We were lucky that the road was open as the map indicated it should have been closed – but just two gates were closed. We left them as we found them – closed of course after we had passed. Originally we planned to stay in the National Park as camping and swimming was allowed but were happy not to as you had to walk a long way to the swimming hole. The swimming area was in the gorge which was around 1km downhill and no shower facilities. The gorge itself was good – you could see several layers of stones, different fishes swimming around. The gorge should drop around 150m but it was not visible at the camp-site much better to see at the lookout probably 10km away. T he road was interesting as well as it was marked with some historical and curious sites like graves of a mailman and unknown persons, bottle trees, whistling bore, matchbox creek [a wagon-load of matches exploded at the creek].

Then it was time to leave Hughenden and travelling in direction Cairns via the Undarra Volcanic National Park which is around 300km away from Hughenden (mainly dirt road). The most challenging part was the road-works on the sealed section. We booked one Lava Tubes tour as you can't visit the National Park on your own – only by guided tours. The Lava Tubes were formed million years ago when the Undarra Volcano erupted. There have to the right circumstances that Lava Tubes can be formed; falling altitude, existing Basalt rocks, constant flow of Lava. It's believed that the Undarra Volcano erupted for around 25 years – just spewing Lava at such a grade that it could flow “downstream”, cool down on the surface and kept the Lava inside flowing so the Tubes could be formed. You say Tubes although it's just one long tube but separated by several roof-collapses. In these roof-collapses you find habitat islands/ refugees like a special kind of rainforest which can only survive as the Basalt stones create a border against the bush-fires necessary for the survival of the other trees. The Tubes themselves are a refugee for micro-bats which was our dilemma. We booked a 4 tubes tour but could only access three as one was closed due to breeding bats. But nobody told us – otherwise we would have just booked the tour of 2 Lava Tubes. Then we walked on volcano rim and headed to the Atherton Tablelands. We stopped at the Millstream Falls, the widest waterfall in QLD. Then we drove to Cairns where we stayed two nights and returned into the Tablelands to escape the heavy rain forecasted for Cairns.

20-23 October

We left Mt. Isa for the round trip – Camooweal, Lawn Hill National Park, Normanton, Karumba, Mt. Isa.

In Camooweal we wanted to have a look at the caves but forgot the  abseiling equipment so no chance of getting close. So we didn't waste any time and headed the 200km dirt road to come to Lawn Hill National Park. On the way we passed through a road-work [upgrading the highway – I hope they're building some shady rest-area.

On this trip we had to cross some rivers. It's really interesting – suddenly you see a bit more green and different trees (quite often some kind of palms) and then the water is there... At the first crossing we didn't test the depth as we could still the ground but stopped after to have a little walk. I walked back through the water. It was unbelievable how strong the current was and how slippery the road was. I really had to  ensure a stable food before the next step. Then we stopped at the area called “Riversleigh site D”. At this site they found some fossils and erected an information shelter and a discovery walk. It was informative but not a must-see. Shortly after this stop we stopped again; this time I had to test the depth of the river-crossing. I was just halfway through (already noticing we had to cross on the right side) when I ran back out of the water... there was a truck coming from the other side and I assumed it had travelled the crossing before. Suddenly the water was murky but I hadn't to test the depth any more but had to cross it on foot anyway as Tom was waiting on the other side.

Then we arrived in Adel's Grove and decided to stay at that (expansive) place instead of camping in the National Park as there should be less shade. We picked a nice shady camp site and went for a swim. They even offered tubes to relax in the water and had a platform in the middle of the river. Adel's Grove had also a restaurant with a really expansive set course dinner but reasonable lunch menu [Aussi Burger with Chips for $12].

The next day we explored the Lawn Hill National Park also called  Buddjamilla National Park. The park offers 6 walks and lots of swimming. We just did the 3 eastern walks; on top of a cliff (Island stack) offering good surrounding views of the gorge and bushland, along the cascades where no water was running and to an Aborigine site called Barking Dog. It should be possible to see a freshwater crocodile in this area but the only wildlife we saw were grasshoppers and fishes. After the walks we relaxed in the shade close to the creek and I had a quick swim. We came back in the evening to see the sunset but as with most sunsets it was not that amazing.

The next day we did the walks on the western side: to the waterfalls and to the Upper Gorge. Of course we had to start early to avoid the burning sun. We walked to the waterfalls first but they were occupied by backpackers so we decided to keep on walking. We already took some pictures from the waterfalls as they looked like an oasis when you climbed down the cliff – several palm trees, the waterfalls, just beautiful. The walk to the Upper Gorge led between the cliff and the water so we kept looking for freshwater crocodiles but saw none even not at the creek-bank. We just saw several turtles. The next lookout (on top of the cliff) gave good views of the gorge but you couldn't really see where it started, most likely off a spring. Then we walked back to the waterfalls to have our swim and it was amazing. We had to glide slowly in to avoid direct contact with the fishes which kept looking at us. The waterfalls were strong although they just fall about 100cm. It was hard to reach them, you could hardly hold you position so the massage just lasted about 30 seconds.

In the afternoon a bus-load of seniors arrived at Adel's Grove – I guess the managers were caught off guard as they were running around to prepare more rooms.

15-19 October

Mt. Isa is a city with over 20.000 habitants most due to the mining companies... it is a big mining area for copper, zinc and lead. We visited the Hard Mine which is a museum in an old mine shaft so the visitor could get the hands-on feeling being under the earth. They had several of the big machines on display all in working order as we experienced – we drove in with the “rail carriage”, could use one of the drills and the guide operated several other machines which filled the hole walkway and made so much noises we had to have earmuffs on. Before we could even enter the mine we we dressed as miners – orange complete suit or coat, gum boots and had to wear the battery for the helmet torch.

The Mt. Isa Mine is still working and they are blasting twice a day at around eight. You can feel the shock-waves (I guess it's similar to an earthquake). The other day we drove out to Lake Moondarra – the recreation area close to town. With good luck you can even swim in the lake and of course you can fish (the next competition will be on 25^th October) – maybe we could do some wild camping here as the caravan  park is getting expansive. We just hope not to see to many Aborigines in the park. The Aborigines in the city are like a ‘pest’ (at least to us) most likely just sitting around doing nothing and so many look weird (swollen lips, deformed legs...) as long as we can avoid them. 

We had luck no Aborigines in the park but a lot of peacocks. They were really doing a big show for us – showing their wheels a lot – i'm not sure if they wanted to impress us or the female peacocks. We've spent the whole afternoon at Lake Moondarra but didn't go for a swim as there were too many algae and the water edge was green. 

The other day we opted for the Surface Mine Tour – all into a big bus and driving onto the mine grounds. First we drove around the mine and had a look at the staff parking and the big elevator. Then we went onto the ground where they're transforming one part to an open cut mine. They are still working on the  transformation – getting a deep hole (should be around 700m deep) into the ground. They're using really big trucks for it – the tyres are probably as tall as I'm – but they just looked liked match-box trucks from our spot... 

Mt. Isa mine has some connections to a mine probably 60km away. In the other mine they just get the ore off and transport it to Mt. Isa. They're using really big trucks for it: 5 carriages with an additional engine and carrying around 500t per load. These road-trains are not allowed on public roads – I'm not sure if I'll see one up close. Then the tour went on to the copper smelter passing some big crushing wheels before hand. We were even in luck – they did some new pouring...  we could see a really hot fire (it glowed green) and a big bowl pouring something into the fire... Luckily we were just 10 people so we could take pictures without moving heads in front of the camera. The other day we used for cleaning and servicing the car, stock up on some groceries and then we started our round-trip as we had to come back to Mt. Isa to collect our mail.

12-14 October

We left Winton in direction Boulia maybe the Min Min light will find us... but we made a detour via the Diamantina National Park where we were invaded by flies. They were so many we could only sit under the mosquito net and they were still annoying and trying to get into our ears. They didn't follow the rules to disappear when the sun is down and just appear when the sun is up for  two hours of so. In Boulia we camped near the riverbank and had a swim in the aquatic centre (which offered a gym, squash...). As the Min Min light didn't find us we visited the museum which was great. It reflected several stories about the light and how it appeared to the peoples (45 minutes well spent). Our next stop was Mt. Isa.

9-11 October

We stayed three days in Winton – thanks to the free camp ground and the swimming pool. Winton is famous for the dinosaur bones so we drove to Lake Quarry to have a look at the Dinosaur track ways. This area must have been a lake 95 million years ago and a stampede has happened. They suppose that several (3 different kinds) were having a drink at the lake when a predator arrived who chased them – their footprints were clearly visible. Our guide even demonstrated how the dinos must have walked.

Before returning to Winton we drove the tourist drive “River Gum” which went through the bushland and the Bladensville National Park. This area is known for the massacre of Aborigines which happened at the “Skull Hole” and several clay pans (areas where no grass is growing and water runs to the nearest waterhole within seconds).

Back in Winton we looked at the Waltzing Matilda Museum (yes the song Waltzing Matilda was written in this area). It displayed a light show around an artificial billabong to showcase the lines in the song apart from this the museum was dedicated how the song has influenced the live in Winton and other rural things. The other museum is dedicated to the Opals which are found in this area (Boulder Opal) and the curiosity of the largest deckchair in the world. We didn't look closely at the “Dinosaur bone preparation and preservation centre” as we arrived to late for the tour which meant we relaxed the whole afternoon in the pool as we did every afternoon... 

7-8 October

Next stop is Longreach to visit the QANTAS founder museum, the Stockmen Hall of Fame and a School of Air. On the way we stopped in Ifracombe to relax in the spa which is free of charge. Arriving in

Longreach we noticed that we've internet again so we can contact our friends again... then we had a look at the free camp site (trying to save money whenever we can) but unfortunately it is not suitable for a tent – no shade and the ground is so hard you wouldn't get any pegs in so we had to find something else – a  real expansive caravan park ($28) - most likely we have to cut our stay short and we did. We just had a look at the School of Air (Longreach School Of Distance Education) which was ok. We stepped into a room and then the speakers were switched on and we listened to a lesson. I didn't had any clue what the lesson was about of anything else – we just saw two teachers and a boy. 5 minutes later the speaker was switched off and the guide spoke two words before turning a DVD (the advertising DVD) on. After the DVD (probably 15 minutes) we walked into the building where we could touch everything and even take pictures excluding thea kids on the ground – if anyone would check. The only thing I remember is “you've to be Australian Citizen to get enrolled”.

We had a look at the admission fees for the Stockmen Hall of Fame and decided to have a look from the outside. The same thing happened at the Qantas Museum – so we just took pictures of the Boing 747 and 707 from the outside. If you wanted to see the planes directly you had to book a tour and were rushed around with 20 or more others. We took our seats in the car and drove to Winton and stayed at a free camp spot close to a waterhole which was man-build to have a fishing place.

4-6 October

Arriving in Isisford we had lunch/afternoon tea at the museum and went on to the camp ground Oma's Waterhole as we thought this would be less expensive than the one in the city and we decided not to watch the NRL final in the local pub. The camp ground was good – had flushing toilets and hot and cold showers. The camp ground looked a bit like the newly planned cities – one main street and several dead ends on either side with the houses at the end...

Next morning we drove into the town to pay for the camp site (cost just $2 per night) and discovered that the camp ground in the city costs the same – we could have watched the final... anyway we drove to our goal for the day – the Idalia National Park where you could see a wave shaped cliff – maybe similar to the Wave Rock in WA. It should even be possible to see Koalas in this park we were out of luck.

The other day we drove to Blackall to relax in the Artesian Spa and have a look at the Woolscour where someone shared over 300 sheep's within one day with blades – the record stood for over 50 years until it was beaten by a shearer using the shearers comb. In this area we saw the first wild pigs, several eagles and emus – all with young ones. Some emus even had four chicks – they must be thriving.