Day 303 / 2015 - Heading South Walkamin to Roma

It has been a while since we have written so we had better put something in down before this year ends. We turned our nose back to the South and bid farewell to the tropical North. The weather here is starting to change to a summer pattern and the rain is once again starting to build up. 

We thank Greg and Margaret for allowing us to stay on there property in Walkamin it was very central to most of the best that the tablelands have to offer. It was aslo good to catch up with Frank and Alice a fair few times over the number of months we were there introducing us to some of the hidden gems of the area only locals know. On the job front we didn't hear a peep out of the Cairns council not even a thanks but no thanks but we did get a response from Atherton Table lands letting me know there was a large selection of candidates and that mine was unsuccessful oh well time to move on then.

Leaving Walkamin we head out via Ravenshoe following the B train route which we though would be the easiest roads to travel. This took us through Malanda and past Millaa Millaa where we joind up with the Kennedy Hwy. Some parts of the Tableland area are quite hilly so this seem to be the best developed and least twisting of the roads.

Our first stop for the night was Innot Springs. There is not much here but the caravan park had a number of hot spring fed pools making iy difficuilt to drive past. We spent a number of hours soaking in pools with temperature's ranging from Mildly warm to "Are You with HBF!".

Next day we continue along the Kennedy Development Rd towards our next stop the Undara Lava Tubes. Now they call it a Development Rd for a reason this is where they test various road seals for building future roads. We are fortunate now a days as most of the Kennedy is now a proper two lane Hwy but there are parts which are still single lanes making it interesting when a road train comes the other way or from behind. Standard protocol calls for you to get right off the road and allow the truck to pass on the Bitumen. This of course is not law but if you want to save being showered in stones and gravel then it is the best option.

Turning right onto the Gulf Development Rd and travelling a further 15 Kilometres brings you to the entrance of the Undara Experience. Here we book a tour to the Lava Tubes as well as a stay in the campgrounds overnight. The Undara Experience also has Cabin accomodation for those travelling in cars only and a fully serviced Resturaunt. After setting up we took in some of the walk trails which meander around the area fininshing up in the cafe for a free cup of coffee. We opted to cook our own meal in the van but in the evening the guides gave a fireside talk on the life of the local termite which was kinda interesting at least it filled in the evening as here there is no TV reception and limited Mobile Phone Access.

Next morning we took the tour bus to what we had come to see the Undara Lava Tubes. These tubes are some of the largest in the world and stretch for many miles underground. Lava tubes are formed when hot lava moves under harden layers of lava rock. The rock cools around the flow to form a crust in the shape of a tube keeping the rest of the lava hot allowing it to keep flowing. These tubes drain the lava from the volcano and once the lava ceases to flow the tubes are left as a hollow cave.

Leaving Undara Experience we then headed east back along the Gulf Development Rd then turned right onto the Kennedy to head south. We travelled untill we reach The Lynd which is basically a Roadhouse and the worlds smallest bar about the size of your average toilet. We fuelled here as it was the cheapest for this leg and headed south again. At this point the road changes from the Kennedy Development Rd to the Gregory Development Rd which will take us to our next destination Charters Towers. Along the way we called into the town of Greenvale for Lunch. Here is the Three Rivers Hotel which is sung about by Slim Dusty in the song of the same name. About 30 Km from Charters Towers we reached a free camp spot called Fletchers Creek a nice big flat area with a creek running beside it. There was a couple of spots which conrete slabs which we took advantage of. There wasn't any flowing water in the creek and a regular told us this was unusual as it normally flowed all year round just another casualty of the ongoing drought. Don't worry we said we are here it will rain soon.

Next day we completed the last 30 Km into Charters Towers and set up at the Big 4 Caravan Park. There were a number of Tourist activities we wanted to do one being the Texas Longhorn Experience. This is where we found the upside of travelling late in the season there are less tourist to compete with. The downside is a lot of the attractions close at the end of the tourist season which for here was at the end of September. We did get to do one attraction which was the Ghost Tour of the town. This was a fun way of getting a look at some of the historic buildings around town after dark. Our tour guide was enthusiastic and full of knowledge of the shenanigans during the gold rush era. We found the locals of Charters Towers quite friendly and would recommend it as a stop just pick the more traditional tourist period to go.

After spending 3 Days in Charters Towers we then left and headed off towards Emerald. Again continuing along the Gregory Development Rd this where the roads of Queendsland start to show real signs of wear and in bad need of some maintenance. That night we pulled up just outside the town of Clermont a free camp located at the BP station. Clermont is home base to one of the Glencore coal mines.

Next day we travelled the final 100km into Emerald which is located on the Capricorn Hwy which runs between Cloncurry in the west and Rockhampton in the east. Stopping here for a few days we visited Lake Maraboon which is developed irrigation dam. It was a little dry due to the lack of rain in the area. From here we travelled west to the Gem Field region and the towns of Sapphire and Rubyvale. Here we tried our hand at gem fossicking paning for Sapphires for $10.00 a bucket of dirt. Emerald also has the tallest Van Gogh painting in the world.

Emerald is also were we discovered our caravan had developed a leak. In Undara we had a tree branch dropped and hit the roof of the van. We had taken a quick look but could not see any damage except for a scratch on the back. When a short heavy shower fell the water poured out through one of the screw holes in the toilet vent. Climbing onto the roof I eventually found the tree branch had pierced the silicone on the edge of the roof and pushed down the edge of the panel where the roof meets the wall allowing water to enter the roof cavity. We fortunately had a tube of silicone and was able to seal it up before the next rain shower.

Leaving Emerald we headed south along the last leg of the Gregory Development Rd towards Roma. The roads continued to degrade with us down to speeds of 70 Km per hour. The only reason I knew were weren't on a gravel road was there was no dust these roads are badly corregated. Pulling up for the night we stopped in an old Gravel pit about 20 Km north of Roma for the night.