Morayfield, Wollogorang, and Back (part 1 and 2)
Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2007 8:12 pm
Sorry for the delay, I was leaving it up to Brett.
Trippers...
Brett, Megan & Jake Liberty wagon towing Camper
Dave Liberty wagon towing trailer
Wilber Hi-Lux packed to the top
Will, Barry(father) and Mick L-Series packed fully inside and out-roof racks
We left on Saturday nice and early and headed up and out to Emerald. We should have sensed something when the car had a problem getting out of the street. Brett had knocked the cam sensor the day before when he was doing the spark plugs. The only mishap on the day was a very polite Kangaroo that stood on the side of the road, looked for traffic and then proceeded to cross right in front of our car.
We headed to Longreach, via Ilfracombe. We stopped to have a look at the street of machinery, and Will's L Series didn't want to re-start. Made it to Longreach, and he had a better look. A bolt had come loose on the torque converter. This is where Will's dad Barry, started the trip with us. We took a look at the QANTAS Museum (great) and the Hall of Fame.(wouldn't waste my time)(my opinion). We were going to see the Dinosaur foot prints outside Winton, but we decided to stay on the main track and get to Stuarts. We camped at the Combo Water Hole, the boys had a look around. Brett was amazed at the man made dam walls. As we arrived at most places on dusk and left early, we didn't do a lot of sight seeing when we pulled up to rest.
Stopped at Cloncurry to stock up on supplies of food, and parts and bourbon. We had two CV Boots ripped, and needed the grease to pack it. Will started to have a few more problems. He thought he was getting an egg in the tyre. Changed that, but the shudder didn't go away. Made it to Gregory Downs. As this was the last of the bitumen, we decided to call it a day and start the dirt trip in the morning. We were told, from the pub/garage owner (that is all the town has) that "we could camp down the back, nice spot".
Got down the back to find the place PACKED with grey nomads. These people are obsessed with white vans, and white cars. We took the 4wd track to get away from them. Found a great spot in the creek bed. The peace and tranquility was amazing, until the boys went to bed. Out of 8 people, 3 were very good snorers. They also snore in harmony.
Will's car had given up completely. He organized RACQ to get the car, and his wonderful mother to bring a car from Townsville. Keep in mind she had just returned to Ayr after dropping Barry off to Longreach to join us. William is a very lucky boy to have his mum do this. We proceeded on to Stuarts while Will, Barry, and Mick ( who loved being stranded at a pub) kept the locals financially secure. We arrived at Stuarts that arvo about 5 hrs after doing about 220 k's. All dust.
We were fed like Kings, and Queens. Wow can Mary-Anne cook. Stuart gave us the tour. We got in the road while he tried to work. We watched and learned how the place was worked. I got to feed day old calves. I was smiling like a kid at Christmas. They are the most adorable animals.
We watched the road train unload. Wilber stirred up a very angry cow. She wanted a piece of him. The boys played with the race car. Stuart took Brett and Dave for a plane trip around the property. Gave them some hints on where to camp and fish. As Stuarts was once a road house, he still gets people stopping in asking for help. A couple that were travelling with friends crashed into each other. (hire vehicle)Didn't see the other stop in the dust. As a truck was comming out the next day with supplies for the farm, they organiseed for the truck to freight thebroken van back to town. Lucky he had a loading bay for car to be loaded onto trucks.
We headed to the beach to camp for the first few days. Will met us at the beach, in the Hi-Lux. Not as much "people" room but heaps of space for the stuff with the canopy on the back. We made home near the entrance to Tully Inlet. It's amazing how far the tide moves between high and low tide. It was a long walk to the waters edge on Low tide. The boys got some good fish, Queenie, salmon, and sharks. We had 20k's of beach between Tully Inlet and Massacre Inlet. One bull made this his Kingdom. He was not moving for anyone, went around him, and we were happy with that, he was to big to argue with.
to be continued with pics............
Trippers...
Brett, Megan & Jake Liberty wagon towing Camper
Dave Liberty wagon towing trailer
Wilber Hi-Lux packed to the top
Will, Barry(father) and Mick L-Series packed fully inside and out-roof racks
We left on Saturday nice and early and headed up and out to Emerald. We should have sensed something when the car had a problem getting out of the street. Brett had knocked the cam sensor the day before when he was doing the spark plugs. The only mishap on the day was a very polite Kangaroo that stood on the side of the road, looked for traffic and then proceeded to cross right in front of our car.
We headed to Longreach, via Ilfracombe. We stopped to have a look at the street of machinery, and Will's L Series didn't want to re-start. Made it to Longreach, and he had a better look. A bolt had come loose on the torque converter. This is where Will's dad Barry, started the trip with us. We took a look at the QANTAS Museum (great) and the Hall of Fame.(wouldn't waste my time)(my opinion). We were going to see the Dinosaur foot prints outside Winton, but we decided to stay on the main track and get to Stuarts. We camped at the Combo Water Hole, the boys had a look around. Brett was amazed at the man made dam walls. As we arrived at most places on dusk and left early, we didn't do a lot of sight seeing when we pulled up to rest.
Stopped at Cloncurry to stock up on supplies of food, and parts and bourbon. We had two CV Boots ripped, and needed the grease to pack it. Will started to have a few more problems. He thought he was getting an egg in the tyre. Changed that, but the shudder didn't go away. Made it to Gregory Downs. As this was the last of the bitumen, we decided to call it a day and start the dirt trip in the morning. We were told, from the pub/garage owner (that is all the town has) that "we could camp down the back, nice spot".
Got down the back to find the place PACKED with grey nomads. These people are obsessed with white vans, and white cars. We took the 4wd track to get away from them. Found a great spot in the creek bed. The peace and tranquility was amazing, until the boys went to bed. Out of 8 people, 3 were very good snorers. They also snore in harmony.
Will's car had given up completely. He organized RACQ to get the car, and his wonderful mother to bring a car from Townsville. Keep in mind she had just returned to Ayr after dropping Barry off to Longreach to join us. William is a very lucky boy to have his mum do this. We proceeded on to Stuarts while Will, Barry, and Mick ( who loved being stranded at a pub) kept the locals financially secure. We arrived at Stuarts that arvo about 5 hrs after doing about 220 k's. All dust.
We were fed like Kings, and Queens. Wow can Mary-Anne cook. Stuart gave us the tour. We got in the road while he tried to work. We watched and learned how the place was worked. I got to feed day old calves. I was smiling like a kid at Christmas. They are the most adorable animals.
We watched the road train unload. Wilber stirred up a very angry cow. She wanted a piece of him. The boys played with the race car. Stuart took Brett and Dave for a plane trip around the property. Gave them some hints on where to camp and fish. As Stuarts was once a road house, he still gets people stopping in asking for help. A couple that were travelling with friends crashed into each other. (hire vehicle)Didn't see the other stop in the dust. As a truck was comming out the next day with supplies for the farm, they organiseed for the truck to freight thebroken van back to town. Lucky he had a loading bay for car to be loaded onto trucks.
We headed to the beach to camp for the first few days. Will met us at the beach, in the Hi-Lux. Not as much "people" room but heaps of space for the stuff with the canopy on the back. We made home near the entrance to Tully Inlet. It's amazing how far the tide moves between high and low tide. It was a long walk to the waters edge on Low tide. The boys got some good fish, Queenie, salmon, and sharks. We had 20k's of beach between Tully Inlet and Massacre Inlet. One bull made this his Kingdom. He was not moving for anyone, went around him, and we were happy with that, he was to big to argue with.
to be continued with pics............