Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, Longreach

Monday 8 July 2019 – 267 666

This morning we headed to the Australian Stockman’s Hall of Fame. https://outbackheritage.com.au/ This covered many areas of outback life, from pioneering through to current times.  There was information on the RFDS and stockwork, including how some sports like campdrafting came into being. We had the opportunity to watch a stockwhip being made, and then demonstrated.

We watched the “Outback Stockman’s Show”.  This was a mix of information, demonstration, humour and singing.  Hayden absolutely loved playing with the five dogs after the show.

Some interesting things I learnt today were:

•       Sidney Kidman owned/controlled more sheep and cattle stations than I thought was possible
•         The record for a single prime mover is 79 cattle wagons, moved 8km at Kalgoorlie
•         Morse code was invented in America at the time of railways developing
•         Kelpie’s can be red, black, tan or yellow.  There was a completely yellow one in the show, called “Ding”, who looked like a Dingo
•   The measurement for the stock whip is for the plaited part only

A very full day!

Clermont

Sunday 7 July 2019 – 267 059

This morning we decided to head for Longreach and allow the Gemfields a bit of time to dry out before we head there to dig.  We stopped off in Clermont to look at the “piano in the tree” and the flood height marker in the tree.  This must have been a truly terrifying experience given the height of the flood and its sudden onset in the middle of the night.

The rest of the day was spent driving.  All the caravan parks in Longreach are full, so we are staying at the showgrounds.

Eungella National Park and Change of Plans

Saturday 6 July 2019 – 266 568

This morning began with Bowen Parkrun.  A very welcoming group. https://www.parkrun.com.au/bowen/

After packing down, we headed toward Eungella National Park.

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/eungella/ On the way we stopped in Marian at the Visitor Information Centre, which had previously been the home of Dame Nelly Melba. https://www.mackayregion.com/melba-house  Broken River looks like a beautiful campground in an amazing national park; unfortunately, though today it was covered in cloud and raining solidly with massive amounts of water pouring off the mountainside.  We decided to buy lunch at a café to avoid sitting in the pouring rain. https://www.eungellachalet.com.au/ Over lunch we did some rethinking of our holiday plans and decided to forfeit our national park camping fees and head towards Emerald in an attempt to escape the rain.

We have camped for the night at Winchester Rest Area near Morambah on the Peak Downs Highway.  I will need to do some research tonight.

Queens Beach and Kings Beach, Bowen

Friday 5 July 2019 – 266 554

As it was cold, wet and windy; we had a sleep in, followed by a tidy up in preparation for tomorrow’s departure.

We went for a windy walk along Queens Beach.  It was interesting to watch the way the sand was blown around; the black sand is obviously heavier than the lightly coloured sand.  I saw some beautiful pieces of driftwood, some complete with barnacles.  The end of the stormwater drain to the ocean had a thick (one inch) rubber tube that narrowed to a slit and turned a corner, so that water could flow out but the ocean could not get in (and nor could crocodiles).

This afternoon we went for a windy exploration of the northern end of Kings Beach and the mouth of Sand Hills Creek. The rest of the afternoon was spent playing and reading, and generally relaxing.

Mullers Lagoon and Bowen Foreshore

Thursday 4 July 2019 – 266 514

The wind picked up significantly overnight, so we decided to try Murray Bay for snorkelling this morning as it is well protected.  This was quite different to Rose and Horseshoe Bays – rockier, less coral, but still interesting.  Both Hayden and I are improving as snorkellers.

After hot showers to warm up, we headed out to investigate the jetty.  Walking out was tough as the wind was so strong.  There were several kite surfers out enjoying the wind.  On the foreshore was an exhibit regarding the filming of “Australia” in which Bowen foreshore was transformed into Darwin of the 1940’s.

Next up was Muller’s Lagoon, a large man-made lake in the centre of Bowen which is home to thousands of birds.  We saw pelicans, darters, little pied cormorant, little black cormorant, plumed whistling duck, dusky moorhen, purple swamphen, black-winged stilt, whistling kite and black kite; as well as others.

After lunch we went to the Bowen Aerodrome to see the Coral Sea Museum.  This is small but has been lovingly done.  There is a model of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington which sank in the Coral Sea; dioramas of the Bowen Catalina Flying Boat Base and also of the sites where Catalinas had crashed near Bowen.

We then had a short walk around Grays Bay, however it was cold and rainy so we headed back to the van to read our books.

Views around Bowen and the Catalina Flying Boats

Wednesday 3 July 2019 – 266 475

This morning I explored the general Bowen area by going for a run.  I met the boys at Horseshoe Bay and had another snorkel. 

https://www.queensland.com/en-au/attraction/horseshoe-bay-bowen

This time I treated the inside of my snorkel mask with baby shampoo and it didn’t fog.  I was able to see so much more of the coral and heaps of fish.  I saw Pacific Blue Eyes, fish with black and white stripes; white, yellow and blue fish.

In the afternoon we went exploring and looking at views – Yasso Point (mouth of Don River), Mt Nutt lookout (great views, including over the mango orchards) and then the top of Bowen Hill to look at the fantastic murals on the water tanks.  We the explored the business district and looked at the many, well done, murals.

COOL FENCE

On the waterfront at Port Denison there is a display regarding the Catalina Flying Boats that were stationed here during WW2.  The hardstand remains, and the stencils of two aircraft are painted on it, giving their size.  They had a bigger wingspan than I had realised and had a flying range of over 4000km.  The information display is cleverly done so that you can look through it to the water and hardstand beyond, giving the illusion that the aircraft are actually present.

Last stop for the day was Flagstaff Hill – this again gives great views, including North Head Lighthouse and its low tide path from the mainland, Gloucester Island and Gloucester Point, as well as out across the ocean.