We left Lawn Hill behind and after traveling along 90 klms of dirt road we also left our dirt road travels behind, from that point on it is all black top. (unless we take any side trips along the way). We stopped for lunch at Burke and Wills Roadhouse then drove through to Cloncurry. We did a quick dash through Woolies to pick up some fresh fruit for us and Sas and he did some washing. We then went out for a quick meal and had an early night.
Next morning Sas left very early as he had a lot further than us to travel that day and we set off hoping to get to Winton to catch some of the camel racing. The roads in the area had been affected by the floods during March and April and there was roadworks along the way and we needed to drive with caution. We passed the Walkabout Creek Hotel that was used in Crocodile Dundee and further on there was a turn off to Combo Waterhole Conservation Park 8 klms down a dirt road. Just by coincidence I had read all about this in the latest copy of Explore Australia ( we happened to have a copy with us)
This waterhole was the inspiration for Waltzing Matilda. We drove into the Conservation Park and walked to the billabong. It was fascinating as it was also part of the track that Cobb and Co used. The Diamantina River on Dagworth Station dried up just a few months after summer rain before stone overshoots ( like weirs) were built to help both wildlife, drovers, travellers, swagmen and locals alike. Cobb and Co coaches followed the Diamantina from 1899 until 1915, watering their horses at the Combo Waterhole.
From there we made our way into Winton and then continued the theme of Waltzing Matilda by visiting the Waltzing Matilda Museum, which was very interesting and gave us a little more background into the song and the surrounding countryside. We'd think the owner of the caravan park in Winton had a sense of humor as she allocated three sites beside each other to Ultimates. When we arrived we thought the other two Ultimates were traveling together but later found out that we were all traveling separately but were able to exchange stories and ideas.

From Winton we set off yesterday for a short trip down to Longreach. We had booked in to do a tour, in the early afternoon, of the Qantas Museum. This tour was very well done and extremely interesting. We had a meal out at a local little restaurant in Longreach last night which was very enjoyable and real country hospitality.
This morning we wandered through the main street of Longreach before visiting The Stockman's Hall of Fame. We went to the Outback Stockman's Show, which was entertaining and also informative with a team of working bullocks, horses, camels and dogs. There is also a Cattleman's Bar and Grill and we had lunch here then spent a couple of hours wandering through the Museum. The Hall of Fame and the Outback Heritage Centre certainly give you a wonderful background to Australian pioneers and outback life.
As we ran out of time yesterday at the Qantas Founders Museum we returned late this afternoon to look through the museum and the original 1922 Qantas Hangar.
We have certainly enjoyed our time in Longreach and there are still quite a few attractions that we haven't had time to visit but will certainly be on our list for our next visit.
Tomorrow morning will be an early start as we are hoping to travel down to Mitchell then onto Narrabri the next day and then back home. These are all long days for us but with Slim Dusty, the Seekers, The Rock Box among many other artists on the iPod we should be fine.