The drive from the coast inland to Carnarvon Gorge took us about 6 hours. We arrived when it was almost dark and with only a quarter of a tank of fuel remaining. Problem is, we will be in this area for 3 nights and the closest fuel is 105 km away. This will be interesting, but I do have a 20 litre jerrycan of diesel on the back of the van. (Sooz: We were travelling on a public holiday and the last petrol station was closed when we arrived at 4:30pm!)
Carnarvon is a 200-million-year-old large and impressive gorge with ferns and palms and a pretty stream that carved the gorge leaving swimming holes with platypus and lots of walks to some amazing aboriginal rock art and spectacular views – quite a place. (Sooz: The rock art was surprisingly extensive and well preserved. It is estimated to be 3,000 to 10,000 years old, which is amazing!) We took a walk to the main swimming hole and were pleased to find it deserted. It was quite large and inviting so one of us decided that it would be a good idea to go in naked. (Sooz: who doesn’t love a good skinny dip???) Well, do I even have to finish the story? Five minutes later, voices were heard and ‘someone’ of small stature thus found herself treading water in the middle of the pond, wondering what to do next while three people stood at the edge working out how best to get in. Only a couple of minutes later another group of five arrived and we now had a crowd of spectators. So Leeroy to the rescue – I had to make a public announcement that my wife was naked and wanted to get out. No-one cared and everyone shared a laugh and politely averted their eyes during the exit from the water.
The campground we stayed at (Sandstone) has no power or water or wi-fi so we were ‘off grid’ for the first time and thus had full tanks of water (which we sanitised and flushed while at Emu Park) and relied on battery power with solar re-charge and gas from our twin bottles. This meant no electric jug, no microwave, no blenders etc and much to our chagrin we discovered that we either have a faulty gas hot water system (that works fine when connected to the normal power grid) or we have no idea on how to correctly switch it over from 240 volt to gas. There are all sorts of switches and things. Whatever, it now means boiling water on the gas cooktop and cold showers for 3 days and then a visit to a caravan service centre, somewhere. (Sooz: of course we can always go skinny dipping again. LOL!) Regardless, it doesn’t get much better than this. I am sitting here in my camp chair while typing away, remote, not many other humans around, high on a flat-top hill with the sun going down over the spectacular gorge in front of me with a campfire going and a beer next to me. Retirement is pretty agreeable thus far! (Sooz: The National Park is absolutely stunning, well worth the long drive, and being off-grid is the perfect way to enjoy it.)
Roadtrains. Seeing lots of them. Some can be over 50 metres in length. They are big, scary monsters as the air they push around does impact the stability of the caravan. On single lane roads is where they impact the most. (Sooz: and some drivers seem better than others.) By law we have to drive with extended side-mirrors. I purchased ones before we left Sydney that clamp onto the normal side-mirrors to provide a second mirror that start about 10 cm further out. When a road train goes roaring past in the opposite direction, not only does the caravan get buffeted, but the drivers side mirrors can get blown into a ‘closed’ position, like they would be when you park in tight spots. I really do try to squeeze as far left as I can safely be when I see them approaching. (Sooz: I must commend Leigh on handling the driving around these HUGE road trains. They really are intimidating AND dangerous if not cautious.)
We spent 3 days in the Gemfields area of central Queensland, in a small town called Rubyvale. (Sooz: Towns here include Rubyvale, Emerald and Sapphire, but the gems you can find include Sapphires and Zircons. No emeralds or rubies at all.) It’s a similar setup to White Cliffs and probably Lightning Ridge but we haven’t been to LR. Its rough & tumble with some genuine characters that can be seen in the local pub which is a ripper! Some of the patrons are miners who have their own 30mtr x 30mtr plot and there is a hotch-potch of long beards, trousers that look like they have not been washed for a year, colourful language, women that you would not want to be in trouble with and beaten up hats on heads etc. (Sooz: And don’t forget the cattle – the mining leases allow a certain number of cattle per lease, but no one fences their leasehold. Hence there are cows wandering all through the streets and parks.)
We did a tour down what was a recently working, privately owned underground mine and it was very interesting. Certainly a bit different to an air-conditioned office in Sydney insofar as a workplace environment is concerned. The things people do!
Naturally, while in such a place you have to give fossicking a go so you can purchase a big bucket of ‘wash’ which consists of freshly dug-up dry brown dirt and stones. You start by tipping some of the ‘wash’ from the bucket into a sieve and then shake the loose dirt out. Then you wash & rinse the remaining stones in a trough of water while they are still in the sieve and then tip them onto a table for sorting. You get a bit of guidance from a local as to what to look for because naturally, to the untrained eye, they just look like an assortment of wet stones of various sizes. Soon you get to notice some different looking ones that are ‘smooth’ to feel and a bit glassy in appearance. They need to be set aside for further examination. It took us a good couple of hours to closely pick over our pebbles and stones with fear that we would sweep aside a pebble that was a gem. In the end, we did find a 14.3 carat green star sapphire and you will see in the pics below what it looked like after it had been sifted and washed, and then what it looked like with light behind it. Sooz is going to look at getting it polished up. We do not know what it is worth nor whether is good quality or not, but its value is moot – we had a good day! (Sooz: In addition, we now have 40-50 tiny sapphires and zircons – too small to cut and polish, but fun to keep. I can see how small “finds” make some people get addicted. It really feels like the area is not fully mined, and stories of recent good finds abound.)
LONGREACH is a true outback town in the sense of remoteness and climate. Hot & dry but what I heard from some people a few weeks ago was confirmed – the outback is as green as it ever gets. There is little evidence of the usual red dirt, rather the flatness is a sea of green grass & scrub (Sooz: and plenty of wildflowers). It’s good times for the cattle grazers that dominate the region, on their massive stations. Interestingly, every street in Longreach is named after a bird. I dunno who decided that or why. ‘I live on Galah street, mate’. The QANTAS Founders Museum on the edge of town is a really good exhibition of how the airline started and the odds that were against it succeeding. All credit to the grit, determination and foresight of a couple of blokes with an idea in 1920 of joining up some outback towns with an air service rather than relying on the unreliable nightmare of horse & carriage travel across forbidding terrain, or a rail trip via Brisbane or Townsville that added 2000 km and several days to the trip. Plus, these guys had the government of the day against them because they ran the railway! We paid a bit more to do the special tour that includes climbing on board the DC23, Constellation, Boeing 707 and Jumbo that are stationed there. It was great and I learned of three Aussie inventions to do with aviation : the built-in sliding rafts that pop out in emergency exits, the ‘black’ recording boxes (that are actually orange or green in colour) and, believe it or not, the vehicles that transport the stairway to get you on or off a plane at some airports. An Aussie invention! Who knew?
Longreach sits above the Great Artesian Basin which has always been a fascination of mine. The enormous underground freshwater sea that so many rely on out here that lies below a lot of Queensland and parts of northern NSW, SA and the NT. We swam in a public pool that pumps its water from there and I have never swum in such clear water. When underwater in the 25 meter pool, you could EASILY see the other end despite dirty human bodies and a multitude of kids that go in it……… (Sooz: Of course, Leigh has forgotten to add that we sat in an artesian spa as well. HEAVEN! The water is usually 50+ degrees C, so many households in the area have to have water coolers, instead of water heaters in order to take a shower! )
Longreach is the base for one of the Long Distance Learning Centres (School of the Air) and when Sooz discovered that you can tour it, I was all over it especially given I remember learning about kids my age being taught lessons over two-way radios when I was at school. Fascinating and inspiring! Of course, it’s all done like a video conference nowadays where each teacher can see their 6 or so pupils and vice versa. There was a couple of good videos to watch about it all that showed the kids lives on remote stations and how their home-based classroom was set up and how lessons are constructed etc and a tour of the school itself including the dozen or so small ‘studios’ where lessons were underway. (Sooz: For those unfamiliar with the concept – the Dept of Education runs a remote school (ie learn from home) for kids who live too remotely to attend the local school. This started in 1950 via two way radio and has progressed to modern day internet. The students do get together at the actual Learning Centres several times a year for various “camps” ie sports carnivals, performance arts and other special programs. It was way ahead of its time when it started.)
But probably the best attraction of all at Longreach is the Stockmans Hall of Fame – an excellent tribute to the cattlemen and drovers and station hands of the outback. We spent most of the day there as there is so much to see and interact with and there is a ‘show’ that simply cannot be missed! A ripping demonstration of horsemanship, working dogs and yarns with a singing cowboy thrown in. A bit cheesy? Perhaps, but gee it was entertaining. (Sooz: The stories of the true pioneers of this vast landscape would make great material for movies or best selling books. The determination, ingenuity and strength of the men and women of the times are truly inspirational.)
Finally – With reference to the issue of our hot water system not working when on our bottled gas supply at Carnarvon Gorge, we got it fixed by a local guy here at Longreach – Paulie the Plumber. No more cold showers when we are off-grid! 
From this great outback town, we start to work our way south for our pre-booked dates at Wilsons Prom and Tassie at the end of the year.
Carnarvon Gorge : Sandstone Park camp area : 8/10; Sooz: 8/10
Rubyvale caravan park : 6.5/10; Sooz: 6/10
Longreach Tourist park : 4.5/10 (a bit barren); Sooz: 4/10
Hi Suzy and Botto,
Following with avid interest and envy!
Loving the blog.
Markets….farrrkkkk!
Wal and Sarah xxx
Hey Wal. Welcome back from your Euro jaunt! We need to talk soon to compare notes. Will call you soon. Cheers
Great to see how much you’re exploring & enjoying yourselves!
Wonderful commentary .. what a time you’re having! Love the ‘skinny dip’ story 😂
Hey Sooz,
You would feel very much at home at the the textile free spas in Germany! Longreach sounds and looks amazing. Would love to explore one day.
Enjoying reading about your adventures!
Chrissy xx
Great to see you are having an amazing adventure ! Love the skinny dipping story !!!
That Road Train looks like the Truck from “Duel” on steroids guys …… scary indeed ……. particularly at the speed I imagine they sit on.
Think I posted this one twice. Oops
What a blast you two.
Great pics and commentaries.
Thanks and keep enlightening us..
Well all I can say is that I’m glad it wasn’t you doing the skinny dipping as they would have had to call in air ambulances to rescue and evacuate the poor people who came along and had the unfortunate experience of witnessing it. It would also have scared off every crocodile for 100 miles. 😁
Where oh where have you disappeared too now ???🧐🧐🧐🧐