13 Jul, 2010 - Qantas Museum Longreach

Kevin.... or was it Peter, take every opportunity to play little jokes on us all. I have had my thongs tied together and Max somehow was in the firing line of a champagne cork....but their turn will come. This morning we enjoyed another superb breakfast, it just tastes better when cooked outside, then off to the Qantas Museum. Max was off to the dentist as he suddenly has a troublesome crown but will have to wait until Darwin to have it fixed. The Museum was well worth the visit and like everything out here, depends on the tourist. I must say most of the towns are teaming with all types of caravans, poptops, campers and 4WD vehicles so the "Baby Boomer" is contributing to the economy. Dinner was by candlelight under our awning with Peter excelling himself cooking Roast Lamb/veges in his weber, assisted by Karen with more veges and I cooked Baked Pears with crumble and Vanilla Bean Icecream....very civilized camping. Tomorrow we are travelling to Boulia via Winton.

Max Cooking - That deserves a photo!!!!!

Hooray!!! I have remembered to add more than one photo at a time.

12 Jul 2010 - Stockman Hall of Fame

This morning we had the luxury of a sleep in and a champagne breakfast....what better way could you start a day in Longreach. Kevin excelled himself with his signature dish "scrambled eggs with chives", Max cooked the bacon and tomatoes and Peter chimed in with the toast. Three brolgas visited the park just as we started to cook...the brekkie was so good I think we plan another tomorrow. The Stockman Hall of Fame was next and lunch with a performance of whip cracking by 4 sisters, the daughters of the whip maker at the Hall of Fame. We ended a very enjoyable day with a sunset dinner cruise on the Thompson River.

11 Jul, 2010 - Blackall, Barcaldine, Longreach

Kevin had a very early rise 4.30am to be exact, to meet the daily bus from Toowoomba arriving in Tambo to get the parts ordered the previous day....great service. We were under way by 8.00am and had our first stop in Blackall to visit the historic Woolscour shed. Fantastic to learn about our history....it is the only working display left in Australia and is a credit to the dedicated people responsible for keeping it going. We also had a photo opportunity at the "Black Stump" and then onto Barcaldine for lunch.....the pies looked that good at the bakery, we just had to sample the cheese & bacon, delicious. The "Tree of Knowledge" was next on our agenda and a walk along the street, so many hotels for a small town but of course the population has long gone from inland Australia....such a shame! We arrived in Longreach early afternoon and are planning a 3 day stopover as there is a lot to see.

10 Jul 2010 - Tambo

We experienced the hospitality of Julian & Wendy at the Bailey Bar Caravan Park enjoying the Camp Oven and this morning headed for Longreach. But due to mechanical mishap we finished in Tambo where Scott from Tambo Tyre Service went out of his way to assist. On the way we called into Augathella where Max dreamed he was a cowboy. Before that Peter & Kev took off in Peters car....we were wondering if they were planning to elope!!!!!! (for you Wus) We have experienced a heatwave today, the temperature reached 21 deg. Our group consists of 1x 100 Series Landcruiser and 2x 200 Series Landcruisers (diesel) and 3x 24 ft. Jayco Sterling caravans and I must say they are a great combination. All vans have shower/toilets, washing machines which makes our life very comfortable.

9 Jul 2010 - Charleville

Today we have had a day to catch up on some 'housekeeping' which I must say is very mimimal when it takes about half an hour to have the caravan ship shape. The girls are having a day off cooking also as we had lunch in downtown Charleville. The Hotel Charleville was not where we had lunch however as the only place serving lunch was the RSL Club. Tonight we are booked into the Camp Oven night organised by the park The menu is Beef & Burgundy casserole with damper followed by Apple Crumble & cream.....sounds yummy! Tomorrow we hit the road to Longreach for a 3 day stay.

8 Jul 2010 - Charleville

This morning our journey took us in a northerly direction along the Matilda Highway to Charleville. There was not as much road kill today....the drive is interesting to us as the countryside always has subtle changes and the birdlife is everywhere. We arrived again just before lunch which was a good time to arrive as our chosen park was already close to full. The economy out here must be benefitting from the caravanners as they are everywhere but it is evident that there have been some hard times in rural Australia as there are many empty shops and houses. We visited the Historic House (ex National Bank and residence) built in 1888 then back to our camp for happy hour.