Day 222 / 2014 - Barcaldine to Charleville

Leaving Barcaldine we headed on our next leg where we will ultimately end up in Bourke but little did we know en-route that a little incident involving a bridge and truck loaded with 50 tonnes of ANFO would change our plans.

From Barcaldine we turned South which will take us down the inland road called the Lansborough Highway, also known as the Matilda Way, towards Bourke, Dubbo, Shepparton finishing up in Melbourne at Christmas. We decided against taking the coastal route this time as we plan to do the coast route next year and wanted to have a look at some of what the outback towns of Queensland and New South Wales have to offer.

The next stop for us was Blackall a town about 100km from Barcaldine. Traditionally tourist have just driven through these small towns without stopping but the towns are now starting to offer tourist a reason to stop. One of the big drawcards for stopping for anybody who has a self contained caravan or motorhome is a place to camp overnight close to or in town which is free or low cost. In turn this hopefully gets people to spend some of their money around their town. Some places only offer a piece of ground where others are offering water, dump points, shower and toilets. They may also offer local tourist attractions as in Blackalls case the steam driven wool scourer or hot water swimming pool and spa.

Blackall has a nice camp area next to the Barcoo River and although it wasn't free it was only $8.00 per night per van. This included access to a dump point, toilet, hot showers and a drinking water tap to fill water tanks. The only downside is the soil is a clay base which when wet can be very slippery and sticky.

While in town we visited the Wool scourer which thay say has the only operating steam driven engine in Australia. The scourer itself also operates but for demonstration purposes only. The knowledgable guide takes you through all levels. There is also a memorial in the main street to Jack Howe who in October 1892 sheared 321 sheep in 7 hours 40 minutes using hand shears a record which still stands today.

Blackall also has an Artesian fed public swimming pool which you can spend as much time as you like for only $2.00 per person per day. There is an olympic size pool which was 31 degrees and a spa pool which was 37 degrees. There was plenty of room for everyone and we spent a couple of hours there to sooth our aching bodies. The tourist centre itself is part of a set of heritage buildings such as old homesteads, rail station and school which you can walk though as part of a self guided tour. 

In the evening at our campsite A local who we called Old Mate setup a small area with a fire. With us all sitting in a large circle he gave us some horse handling demonstrations as well as a talk on the local history of the Blackall area an some of its colourful characters. I think he is the towns Minister for Tourism you get the impression he is very passionate about the survival of small towns like Blackall and see's getting travellers to stop and not just pass through as a means to help keep these towns alive. With coastal towns being over subscribed with travellers driving costs up they are only catering to travellers with larger funds. I think it is a geat opportunity for travellers to save some money and see another side of the Australian life.  

We planned only to stay 2 nights but we heard there was rain coming with the possibility of a storm so decided to stay another night to let it pass. We also shifted from next to the river bank to an area up the top near the sealed road. We wern't so much worried about the river flooding but the ground would become slippery and if we had tried to move from our original position after it had rained could possibly see us slip down the riverbank.

The second night saw a few sprinkles of rain but nothing to wet the ground seriously we wondered if we had worried about nothing as others were still parked by the river with even some parked in areas where you could see the water had once flowed. During the third day you could see the dark clouds building then down it came. A number of caravans decided then it was time to move just making it out. One motorhome had managed to get out only to bog right where they thought they would be safe next to the sealed road. The lightning started to crack right over our heads with the boom coming imediately after the flash. The rain got so heavy it started to run under our van and even we were starting to wonder if we should have moved thinking we might start sliding down the hill.

After about 15 minutes the rain finally started to ease but the black crust had now turned to mud. We had seen mud building up on vehicle tyres like a snowball does rolling down a hill some nearly filling their mudguards as well as rutting the ground they were driving over. We didn't want to do the same so after talking to old mate who lives in the town we decided to stay put as no more rain was forecast and he expected the ground to dry out enough next morning to get out without damaging the ground.

While in Blackall we heard on the news a truck full of explosives had tipped over on the Mitchell Highway on a bridge about 30Km south of Charleville. The diesel fuel mixed with the amonium nitrate and kaboom no more bridge. This bridge is part of the main highway leading south to Bourke which has now effectively cut off the Mitchell Highway. Those on the North side weren't so bad off as they only had a 30km trip back to Charleville but those on the southside faced a 180km drive back to Cunamulla and if they didn't have enough fuel this would leave them stranded. This will also change our plans we could either still go to Bourke but would add another 450Km to get there via a loop road or go via St George and take the direct route to Dubbo leaving Bourke to another time. We decided to leave the decision untill we are ready to leave Charleville as another option may present itself but it did re-enforce that you need to fill up often and not let your fuel tank get to low as you never know when you are going to be cut off from your next re-fuel source.   

Next day the ground at the Blackall campsite was dry enough for us to drive out. We thanked our lucky stars as by staying put we track very little mud from our shoes into our van. What I had seen of others who had got out while it was raining had plenty of mud inside from when they had to hurrily pack up.

Next town was Tambo smaller than Blackall we only briefly stopped there to have a look at the Teddy Bear shop and buy a loaf of bread. Charleville was still 200km way so we decided to find a rest stop for the night. There was one about 130Km from Charleville called Augathella North Rest Area. When we arrived there were already a number of vans parked for the night but we managed to find a spot not too close to others. 

Next morning we left the rest area and drove the last 130km into Charleville. We booked into the Bailey Bar Caravan Park on King Rd. The staff were really friendly, gave us a list of recommended attractions to see and help put he van on the site. We had planned to do washing but found out after we booked in they did not allow use of private washing machine only their machines. After setting up we headed off to the Cosmos centre to have a look. They offer 4 types of experiences. A night of looking through the telescope at the night sky, A look at the sun during the day A night of talking about the stars and a look around their interpretive centre and interactive displays.

Anne didn't have a good nights sleep last night her throat was sore and made it difficuilt to breathe. Next morning we went into the local doctors which happens to be the RFDS clinic (you know your in the outback) and found out she has tonsilitis. Off to the Chemist for antibiotics then back to the van for bed rest for the remainder of the day.