So began the long drive home. Our seasoned car travellers, Oliver and Sienna took the 400kms plus days in their stride and played, chatted and enjoyed a DVD or two (great investment for a driving holiday like this!).
For those of you interested in the distances we travelled this is for you!!
July 12 - Katherine to Banka Banka = 684 Free camped off the main drag near a nice water hole.
July 13 - Banka Banka to Mt Isa = 546 Ripped off at a Mt Isa caravan park where we were charged $28.00 to camp on a small grassy patch which was the front "garden" of a unit. The other side was the driveway into the park!! After dinner we hooned around the streets of Isa and bought icecreams and more Chinese fans for Sienna's collection.
July 14 - Mt Isa to Winton = 467 Treated ourselves to a night in the iconic North Gregory Hotel in Winton. Apparently this was where our other national anthem Waltzing Matilda was first recited in public and Winton is considered the birthplace of the song. Winton is a great little town full of character and quaint shops and curios. We enjoyed visiting Arnos Wall where a slightly eccentric local has made his concrete fence into a montage filled with everything from china plates to old cash registers and the kitchen sink, apparently he is still adding... We also enjoyed a great movie nostalgia night at the Royal Theatre, an open air cinema which was established in 1918 and still operates with its original projection equipment. Despite the chilly night, Ol and Si loved watching old favs such as Popeye, Esther Williams swimming her gorgeous lungs out and various other golden oldies. They even enjoyed a tour in the projection room and learnt how the projector works. Put Winton on your list to visit.
July 15 - Lark Quarry - Only 110 kms out of Winton, this is an amazing site where you can view the world's only known site of a dinosaur stampede. Thousands of footprints are captured in rock formed from mud that once bordered a prehistoric lake. It has been dated to 95 million years ago - fascinating!!
July 15 - Lark Quarry to Barcaldine = 396 Relatively short day as we spent the morning at Lark Quarry. Our stopover tonight was free camping 10 kms from the Barcaldine township down a pretty road which led to a Botanical walk. Only notable event was our first flat tyre for the trip which Paul changed at 1.00am in the morning when he noticed it whilst up needing to relieve himself.
July 16 - (5.30am start - ughhhh) Barcaldine to Kingaroy = 910 kms Our longest leg for the trip!! The kids were great - what amazing little troupers!! After this epic drive we enjoyed a night of warmth and hospitality with Pauls rellies Uncle Neville and Auntie Audrey. Beautiful roast dinner, hot showers and comfy beds - bliss!!
July 17 Last Day!!! Kingaroy to Brisbane via Crows Nest = 367 In the morning the kids enjoyed running around Neville and Audrey's beautiful property making friends with Elle and Socks the horses, and Midge the dog. We did the rellie run and also visited Paul's Uncle Loyld who lives just out of Kingaroy and then onto Crows Nest to visit Paul's grandparents (Ol and Si's great grand parents). It was lovely to catch up with everyone before the final drive home arriving in Sandgate at around 8.00pm.
What an amazing, enlightening and thoroughly enjoyable adventure which we would all do again at the drop of a hat. We have seen so many memorable places and we can truly appreciate that Australia is a magnificent part of the world with a rich culture and astounding scenary, flora and fauna.
Thanks for sharing with us - happy to bore you with all our pics should you feel so inclined!!
Love and hugs and cheerio from Francesca, Oliver, Paul & Sienna
