monroe3004 - Winter 2022 - Longreach to Bowen

Winter 2022 to Bourke, Longreach, Bowen, Whitsunday Islands & Toowomba

Part 2 - Longreach to Bowen

Monday 13 June 2022

We packed up on quite a nice morning. Our journey today was to take us from Longreach back through Barcaldine and eastward to stop at the showgrounds of the little town of Jericho. We stopped in Barcaldine for morning coffee and filled up with diesel before heading the ninety odd kilometres to Jericho.

We were very pleasantly surprised with the showgrounds at Jericho. We found a slab and connected up power.

We stopped to talk to a couple from Taree way who have been on the road for over three years. They had two nice dogs with them.

In the evening I flew the drone to get some shots and chatted with a German guy who had a Mavic. Very pleasant evening, and actually the first time we by have been able to sit outside on this trip.

Jericho, QLD - great camping ground at the showground.

Tuesday 14 June 2022

Today we were heading on to Emerald, about 220km away from Jericho. If we hadn't already booked in there we might have stayed at Jericho few a few days. The road was good until we reached Alpha and there it climbed and twisted its way up the Dividing Range. Eventually we reached the plateau and duly arrived at Emerald. Chatted to our neighbours from Tumut and joined them for happy hour. Bought fish and chips for dinner from the little kiosk in the park. Pretty fresh for being so far from the coast.

Thursday 16 June 2022

Drove out to Fairbairn Dam (Lake Maraboon) and thought about having a paddle. Had a drive around town and Botanical Gardens.Emerald, QLD - Fairbairn Dam.

Emerald, QLD - Fairbairn Dam.

Emerald, QLD - nice walk near the Information Centre has a series of mosiacs depicting the history of the area.

Emerald, QLD - a big van Gough painting at the end of the walk at the Information Centre.

Emerald, QLD - pretty lake in the Botanical Gardens.

Emerald, QLD - we loved this sculpture of emus in the Botanical Gardens.

Friday 17 June 2022

We drove south for 60km to Springsure, a small town next to Minerva Hills NP. After grabbing some coffee in town, we drove a few kilometres to the Old Rainworth Stone Store. This was also known as a Fort by some who escaped a massacre nearby, because of its thick stone walls. We had a long chat with the 94 year old lady who owned the site and then spent some time looking around. After that we drove along the 4WD track to the top of Minerva Hills NP and finally arrived back close to 4pm.

Springsure, QLD - the Old Rainworth Stone Store.

Springsure, QLD - the old school house at the Old Rainsworth Store museum.

Minerva Hills NP, QLD - great views.

Monday 20 June 2022

Cool but pleasant morning for packing up. We had a 110km drive north to Clermont, so arrived at the caravan park early. The sites were really good and much better than I had been expecting. In the afternoon we drove to look at the old town of Copperfield and to the smelter chimney and followed that up with a drive out to the Theresa Creek Dam. Lots of nice camping spots. Called in to the local cemetery as well. One of the service stations in town were out of fuel, but got filled up at the other one.

Clermont, QLD - the only building left of the old mining town of Copperfield.

Clermont, QLD - Copperfield, there was the chimney from the smelter.

Clermont, QLD - next to the railway station were some murals painted on old railway wagons.

Clermont, QLD - another of the murals depicting life in the area.

Tuesday 21 June 2022

Packed up early for the drive to Nebo. Some interesting scenery with volcanic plugs, but a lot of the area is big open cut coal mines and with that comes lots of trucks and Ute's - all in a hurry and apparently for them, speed limits are purely advisory. Got pushed off the road by police and held up with some super big mine trucks being transported and lots of roadworks. In Nebo the caravan parks leave a lot to be desired, but I guess their price reflects that! Thankfully I had a shower before we left Clermont. We took a drive around, but the only thing we found was the old Nebo Hotel.

Wednesday 22 June 2022

Another day, another packup. Today we leave the Dividing Range and drop down to the coast. Our stop for the next two nights is a small caravan park at Calen (near St Helens) on the Bruce Highway. Dropping down out of the mountains there is an interesting few kilometres where the road zig-zags its way down. 40km limit. Once on the Plains there is sugar cane growing everywhere and steam rising from the refineries. With 30 kilometres to go we hit the Bruce Highway, that is the main coastal road running the length of Queensland, north to south. Really nice caravan park, and once we settled in and had some coffee, we drove to look around Seaforth (similar to home really, but a bit warmer) and Cape Hillsborough. Loved the scenery.

Nebo, QLD - you know you're in mining country!

Marian, QLD - from mining to suger country.

Thursday 23 June 2022

Decided to drive to the Eungella NP, about 60km inland. We found the road that leads to Finch Hatton Gorge. Here's a really nice 1.5km track that leads into the waterfalls. Really loved it. We then drove up to Eungella itself along a really steep, tight and twisty road until we got to Places Lookout that gave splendid views back towards the coast.

Finch Hatton Gorge, QLD - nice pools.

Eungella, QLD - great view back to the coast from Places Lookout.

Friday 24 June 2022

Another beautiful morning and packed up and left at our usual time, about five to ten. Today we were heading north along the Bruce Highway up to Bowen, and the most northerly point on this trip. The highway was pretty good until 30km from Bowen we hit roadworks the whole way in. We got set up in the caravan park, although the sites were tight to get into!

Later in the afternoon we took a walk along the breakwater.

Saturday 25 June - Sunday 10 July 2022

We had booked into the caravan park for the two weeks of the school holidays, but we also had some very bad weather, including 8 inches of rain in two days!

We did a walk along the foreshore regularly. We also walked into Horseshoe bay (lovely spot with a great café).

Bowen, QLD - the jetty is no longer used coal handling, but is home for the tugs and also great for people fishing off it.

Bowen, QLD - during WWII Bowen was one of the Catalina Flying Boat bases. (If you look at Google Maps you can see the outline painted on the ground of a couple of aircraft.)

Bowen, QLD - the town has something like 27 wall murals. Well worth the walk around town.

BOWEN, QLD - Horseshoe Bay is a really nice beach.

Bowen, QLD - Murray Bay is a nice unspoilt beach between Roase Bay and Horseshoe Bay.

We visited the museum for an afternoon and also did the circuit walk around Rose Bay, Murray Bay, Horseshoe Bay and back round along the road and finally a shortcut through the scrub.

Each time we walked along the foreshore we would stop and get a coffee and cake. (We were not alone!)

Bowen, QLD - enterprising ladies run a mobile coffee shop out of a horse float down by the foreshore, and they do great business.

Bowen, QLD - Horseshoe Bay is a beautiful spot and we walked there a couple of times for lunch.

Bowen, QLD - the museum was well worth the visit.

Go to "Part 3 - Bowen to Home"

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