Longreach and beyond

Time to leave Longreach, we have contributed a few hundred dollars to the town with no carrots and no bananas! Yes, there are none left in this town with a population of 3100. We spent 3 nights at the caravan park at $30 per night. There is plenty do here, but the entrance fees are pretty steep – Qantas Museum $32-concession, Stockman Hall of Fame - $64.00 concession for 2 of us.

We enjoyed the Stockman Hall of Fame and Murray enjoyed the Qantas Museum. The show at the Hall of Fame was a bit weak, but we did get so see bullocks yoked and pull a log. The hall is divided into the history of farming, explorers, the flying doctor service. The displays were well done especially the camp fire with the animated faces portrayed on the static displays.



Inside the Hall of Fame



From Longreach we travelled to Winton. Winton is renowned for the only museum dedicated to a song – Waltzing Maltida. Advertised as a 3d show and interactive museum-this was very disappointing. The 3d was a screen set in the floor showing the history of the song and the interactive – taking billy lids off gave you a short commentary on the history of swagmen.

The museum did have some interesting displays of shoes, medical equipment. At $18 each concession, I would not recommend this.



quilt

That night we stayed at campsite on the side of the road-our worst so far-great during the afternoon waving to everyone, but come the night, we shared with the cattle road trains. Imagine listening to 4 trailers of cattle moving, rattling around from 1-4 am, and the smell-road train, after road train came in. Earlier in the evening the army boys stopped off to check their gear. Superman was keen for a photo shoot, but alas not to be – he was refused!

The army trucks were in a convoy of 30 carrying hospital vehicles, bulldozers - container city were driving from Sydney to Broome-expecting to take 7 days.

Today – Mother’s Day we drove to Cloncurry-the landscape changing constantly from lush brown/green feed to termites mounds, stony ground that resembled the moon’s surface, spinifex blown onto the fences-we came across a willy willy full of spinifex coming towards us.

Today we spotted more road kill and a bus towing a wee van.