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Right at the moment, we're all really happy...
The boys are happy, because we've landed in a park (BIG4 Charters Towers) that has a jumping pillow. Jo is happy, because their amenities block is immaculate, and the nicest we've seen since we left (that's the next best thing to an ensuite in her eyes). And I'm happy, because there's lots and lots of palm trees, and it feels more like home than anywhere else we've been. But it wasn't always like this... The day started very differently...
Richmond, where we stayed last night, is a beautiful little country town, which has lots going for it. It has a lively main street with small shopping precinct, cafe, supermarket etc, and lots of parking. It caters particularly well for caravans. It also has a major tourist attraction in the dinosaur museum and fossil fields, which are of international significance. We had a lovely day there, and a really good sleep last night. When we woke this morning, we didn't depart straight away, we drove out to the fossil fields for a muck about, and to see if we could discover the next major dinosaur skeleton, and get our names up in lights... That wasn't to happen, and all we got, was dirty... So, we took that as our cue to leave town and head to Hughendon, which also has a dinosaur museum and exhibit.
Hughendon is only 110km from Richmond, and we knew we'd be there for morning tea. Charters Towers is only 250km beyond that, meaning it wasn't going to be such a big day in the car today, and we could take our time at the museum, and not have to rush on the road. Just as well! The Flinders Highway between Richmond and Hughendon is the worst piece of tarmac we've ever put wheels on. The undulations and bumps grew bigger and more frequent, and at times, we felt like stunt drivers trying to launch the car and caravan over a canyon. The council had obviously taken steps to address the problem though, because every so often they'd put road signs up saying "ROUGH SURFACE NEXT 11KM" or "ROUGH SURFACE NEXT 34KM". Honestly, they should have put a sign as you left Richmond that said "THE ROAD BETWEEN HERE AND HUGHENDON IS s***!! DRIVE ACCORDINGLY!!" Changing speed didn't fix the issue either. The bumps and hills were so steep, and so sudden, you couldn't see them on the length of highway in front of you. At times, they became dangerous. I fixed it by placing myself behind another caravan, and waiting until he got airborne, so I could slow down for the dip or bump. He tried to signal me past a couple of times, but I wasn't moving, and he gave up... Towards the end of the day, we noticed a blue sign beside the road that said "FLINDERS HIGHWAY. REPORT TRAFFIC HAZARDS TO 13...." I was very tempted to ring the number and report the entire 400km piece of road from Cloncurry to Hughendon as a piece of crap and a traffic hazard...
We did indeed arrive in Hughendon for morning tea, and found a small cafe that hadn't made it out of the 1970's. Nanna served us our coffee and cake, and it was just like being back in the olden days, before they had electricity, or running water... Hughendon is also a lovely town, and like Richmond, has the same sort of stuff going for it. Nice wide streets, with lots of gardens and furniture, lots of touristy activity going on, and the dinosaur museum... This one wasn't as new or as fancy as Kronosaurus Korner, but entry was half price, and the main attraction was just as exciting. A full scale, life size, complete skeleton of the Muttabuttasaurus (named because it was discovered in Muttabutta), assembled and brought to life in glorious detail for us to see. Ok, it mightn't sound like much, but when you're there, in person, it is exciting! It get's the imagination working, and makes you realize just how insignificant our petty lives are... (when I say 'our', I mean yours, not mine!) It was good value, and the boys are just at the right age to appreciate and 'wonder'.
Fortunately, the road beyond Hughendon was totally different. It improved out of sight. The closer we came to Charters Towers, which is the heart of the Dalrymple Shire, the better the highway got. It's like the budget stretched as far as Hughendon, but couldn't reach any further? It widened out again, but more importantly, it flattened out. Our trip became comfortable once more, and we were able to make decent time...
Unfortunately, the towns between Hughendon and Charters Towers didn't improve, they got worse. Richmond and Hughendon are shining beacons of light along the Overlanders Way between Charters Towers and Mt Isa. Cloncurry and Julia Creek are ok, and what you'd expect from small, outback, country towns, but the ones we saw today, were just drab... We wanted somewhere for lunch, and we were hoping to find places like we found in western NSW, when we were so surprised at the quality of the towns out there. Places like 'Prairie', 'Torrens Creek', 'Pentland', 'Homestead', we went through them all, and none of them had anything remotely like a coffee shop or takeaway. Unless we wanted a six year old pie or sausage roll from a warming oven, or a fried pub meal, we were out of luck!
So, we kept driving, and found ourselves on the doorstep of Charters Towers, and salvation... A McCafe, right there, on the main street!! We normally avoid McDonalds, but we dived inside like our lives depended on it. Charters Towers looks like a really nice regional town, with plenty to see and do, which we'll explore more fully tomorrow. We headed to the park, which is absolutely stunning, and immaculately presented and maintained, and set ourselves up. It's a major relief. The park is beautiful, and we've stopped for two nights. We don't need to pack up and rush off in the morning, we can take our time and go at a slower pace. We can do some washing again, but I must remember to avoid the dryer, all our clothes are shrinking...
The weather is meant to be raining tomorrow, and it was very grey and overcast today, but it's still warm, and so long as there's stuff we can do, and we're not stuck inside the caravan, we won't mind...
If either of the boys' teachers happen to be reading this, please accept our apologies. Neither of the boys have gone anywhere near their school work, and they are both well behind on their journals. We have been surprised at the lack of 'spare' time we have, that isn't taken up by travelling or sight seeing or doing things as a family... School work has become a consequence of the low priority it was given on our trip, and we can only hope they are able to play 'catch up' next term. On the flip side, most, if not all, of our sight seeing and travelling is educational in one way or another, and we think you'll agree that this time as a family is far more beneficial than the school term in a classroom.
Wow, look at that palm tree. It has seeds...
- comments
Aunty Min Ummm what's a palm tree?? Don't think we have them round ere!! Say hi to the guys there for us. We'll get there one day. Hmmm clothes shrinking huh, darn those maytag dryers ;-P. just get Jo to vacuum the wardrobes & draws, just in case some coffee shop calories have stowed away in there. Roflmao.