The Queensland Gemfields nearly gain four residents!

We left Longreach early in the morning and started heading east.  We were basically following the Tropic of Capricorn towards the coast, but there are some interesting things to see on the way.

We stopped at Barcarldine at the famous 'Tree of Knowledge'.  Under the branches of this tree in the 1890's, shearers gathered to protest the poor pay and conditions offered pastoralists.  There were many shearers camps in this area from the Great Shearers Strikes, however it is believed that it was here that the genesis for what was to become the Australian Labor Party was formed.

Move forward a hundred years and it is rumoured that in 2006 someone poisoned the tree - and the resultant sculpture around the dead tree trunk (opened in 2008) is stunning.  Regardless of your political pursuasion, this is an interesting place.

Tree of Knowledge at Barcarldine

We continued on our way east and made our way to a small community called Sapphire.  In the heart of the Queensland Gemfields, this area is famous for its sapphires funnily enough.  To be honest we weren't sure what you could fossick here, as down the road is Rubyvale and Emerald is about 50km further east. 

Longreach - the heart of the Outback

We pulled into Longreach Tourist Park rather exhausted after the previous two days of travelling.  Not only had we driven nearly 900km, but we had also visited all of the main attractions on the Dinosaur Trail from Hughenden to Richmond and Winton.  So why had we driven like madmen?  It was all to do with another part of Australia's history, but this time much more modern than our hundred million year old dinosaur friends.  We were moving forward into the 19th century at a gallop.

Friends had recommended to us a ride on a Cobb & Co Coach - and we had found out that the last run of the season was on Friday - hence our haste to get here.  We had booked on the last coach of the season - and considered ourselves extremely fortunate to gain a seat.  The coaches are run by Kinnon and Co, a family run business that diversified into tourism after a drought in around 2006 nearly sent them to the wall.  Richard Kinnon has expanded the business into so much more than a Coach Ride.  Part history lesson, part adrenaline ride, we signed up for the full deal.

The Cobb and Co coaching empire at its peak had a network of runs across the eastern part of Australia, from Normanton in the gulf to Victoria.  With some 60 000 horses travelling some 45 000km per week, it was an incredible network, that was started by a young man (he was 19) who came to the Goldfields to make his fortune and realised that digging for gold was a pretty hit and miss way to achieve it.  He did recognise however that there was a desperate need for transportation.  His business model is now called franchising, and it made young Mr Cobb extremely rich, however he lost all his money gambling on river boats in the United States - and the business slowly folded in the early 20th century due in no small part to another enterprise that started just down the road - as we shall come to later.

The boys check out our fine steeds for the morning's ride.

Australia's own amazing Dinosaur Trail

We left Charters Towers behind us and started heading west.  We knew we were heading the right direction as the roads were straight, and the soil dry and dusty.  We were planning to spend the next week or so touring Australia's very own Dinosaur Trail, encompassing the towns of Hughenden, Richmond and Winton.  Little did we know we would be journeying back in time to different landscapes, from ancient sea beds, to rainforests and muddy shorelines, and we would be meeting some of the creatures that ruled these environments.

We had been denied our Australian Arms lunch with Mash Potato (Kangaroo and Emu) at the Prairie Hotel Parachilna as it was closed when we passed through the Flinders Ranges, so we couldn't pass the Prairie Hotel Prairie without passing in.  We had a good poke around the old memorabilia in the pub, and the publican (not a backpacker!) on hearing we were off on the Dinosaur Trail, showed the boys some fossils and coprolite (dinosaur poo) from his own collection.  We enjoyed our paddle pops in the 42 degree heat, and continued on.

Prairie Hotel - Prairie!

Long straight to Hughenden

Townsville and Charters Towers

From Airlie Beach we backtracked north on the Bruce Highway to Townsville.  We had given ourselves all day to travel the 280km journey - so it gave us time to explore some of the sights on the way.

Our first stop was Bowen.  We had never pulled into Bowen on previous trips north and south, so we decided to head to Flagstaff Hill and check out the signposted Interpretive Centre.  The Interpretive Centre consisted of a couple of information billboards in a café.  It might have been a stretch to call it an Interpretive Centre, but the view from the top was very pleasing.

Towards Gloucester Island from Flagstaff Hill

Bowen - from Flagstaff Hill

Airlie Beach and the magical Whitsunday Islands

After arriving late the previous day, we were up early and keen to check out Airlie Beach.  Once a sleepy town you passed through on your way to the Whitsunday Islands, it has grown into a destination in its own right.

We enjoyed a relaxing morning around camp, catching up on school work. After lunch we headed into town to check out the Main Street and the Lagoon.  The Main Street is full of the usual tourist shops, aimed squarely at the backpacker market.  There is also a good selection of pubs claiming to be the number one party place in town.  In a way nothing much has changed here since my first visit here back in 1999 - except this time we fit into a very different demographic!  

Main St, Backpacker Central

The most significant change, the Lagoon has turned the waterfront area from a quiet grassy park and uninviting beach into a delightful safe swimming area.  Unlike the Cairns Lagoon, this one has deep water (2.0 metres at its deepest).  Just like Cairns, this one is often surrounded by young people worshiping the sun.

Enjoying the Lagoon!