Vikings in Australia - Víkingar í Ástralíu

13^th – 16^th October

From Alice Springs to the East Coast of Queensland.

We have mostly been out of internet range for the duration of the trip to Queensland. Despite tall promises by Telstra, their coverage is very patchy and trying to upload images is almost useless. Anyway, the journey across half of Australia went pretty well.

We left Alice Springs on the morning of 13^th of October. After having shifted all our stuff and the fridge into the car we checked out of the motel. We then proceeded to fill up our diesel tanks for the long journey. After that we headed north out of Alice on the Stuart highway, because the turn off for the Plenty highway is 69km north of Alice. The first 100km of the Plenty Highway is bitumen. However it’s only single car wide bitumen strip. Thus if you meet another oncoming vehicle, you have to slow down and drive on the gravel shoulder with one pair of wheels with the other on half the bitumen strip! If you encounter a Road Train, you quickly dive off the road altogether as they have the right of way!

We stopped at Gemtree, which is a station that has camping, fuel and a small shop. They also have a gemstone gallery as this area is known for pretty gemstones. Anyone can go and fossick for the gemstones out in the fields. We weren't that interested, so we decided not to drive the extra kms out to the fossicking fields and spend time on fossicking. The likelihood of finding something of value is pretty low, unless you spend a lot of time there.

Once we hit the gravel on the Plenty, we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. It was easy to maintain 70-80km speed without any issues. The road is pretty wide and also has some very short bitumen sections along the way. The traffic on the Plenty was pretty scarce. There were road works going on with a road crew along the way but other than that plus the two or three cars that came the opposite way it was pretty devoid of traffic. It was almost 30 degrees hot and this heat creates this strange haze that can be seen on the horizon. The haze also creates this mirror images and whiteouts. I was surprised to see on occasion that the mirror haze was showing something like a big bitumen section coming up. When we got there, of course it was just continuous gravel and more dust!. Perhaps this is consistent with thirsty people in the desert seeing pools of water!

We had expected to see the usual termite mounds along the roadside, however to our surprise they were very few in numbers. However, they made up for it in size! Some of them are simply like a small house. This is quite different from the small ones that are scattered all over the desert in other places.

We also saw a few dust devils twirl around. One came across the road behind the car while we were changing drivers. They form suddenly and then run about until they fizzle out after a short time.

The landscape along the Plenty is not that flat. You are passing through the Hart range, so there are a few hills around.

We had decided to drive as far as we could, preferable to the NT/Queensland border and then look for a place to camp overnight. Just a few kilometers from the state border is Tobemorey station. None of our guide books and/or maps showed that camping should be available there, but when we came to the turn off to the station it had a sign for camping. So, we headed there as it was late in the afternoon. When we got to the office/reception it simply had a sign indicating that we should go and camp in the camping ground and someone would come later on. The whole station seemed to be empty of any people. Thus we headed into the camping ground and set up the tent. It’s a nice grassy area with good facilities. We saw two other campers, although one of them weren't there. I chatted to the ones that were there and they were as clueless as us! Later on the other campers arrived, so we went over to check if they knew anything. It then turned out that they managed the camp ground on behalf of the station. So we paid them. They told us they were retired and spent their time travelling. They had been passing through earlier in the year and stayed at Tobermorey. The station managers had asked them if they were willing to manage the camp ground for them. They couldn’t do it then and left. A few months later they got a call and then agreed to come and stay for three months. They told us that Tobermorey was a big property. It is 6,000 square kilometers in size and they run around 16,000 cattle. This was reflected in the equipment one could see around the station; two graders, three cattle truck road trains, a helicopter and various other earth mowing equipment!. We initially thought this must be a shire council depot, but it all belonged to the station. There was around 15 staff managing the station, so it’s a pretty big business. This day they were all away in a small community playing cricket with the other stations!

The only drawback with the campground is the fact that the station ran its own power generator. Thus the diesel generator droned on all the time! I suppose once you get used to it your brain filters it out, but for us it meant little sleep! At least Kylie made a friend here. One of the station dogs came over and then decided he wouldn't leave. He took over Sibbas chair and wouldn't go. When he fell asleep, I had to wake him up so Sibba could sit down!

Approaching Road Train on the bitumen section of the Plenty Highway

We simply drive off and give way to the Road Trains.

Mirror image in heat haze. Is it a bitumen stretch ahead!

The Plenty highway was pretty good.

Dust devil on the Plenty Highway.

Some of the hills on the Plenty Highway.

Massive termite mound on the Plenty Highway.

Some of the creeks flood a lot!

Tobermorey station.

Kylie with her new found friend at Tobermorey station.

The following morning we had our brekkie and had another chat to the camp ground managers! They were quite happy to show us their set up, which was pretty impressive. They have a big Ford pickup and on the back of that is a camper. They can just stop and camp wherever, or for longer stays it’s easy to offload the camper.

Then we headed back to the Plenty and on-wards to the NT/Queensland state border. This is where the Plenty highway officially ends and the Donohue Highway starts. There is a lot of signage on the state border on both sides. More so on the Queensland side. One sign was from the Boulia Shire council. It was saying that the maintenance of the Donohue highway was its responsibility. It had meager funds and therefore we shouldn't expect miracles. The shire had been lobbying the state government to take it over to no avail! The Plenty is maintained by the NT state government, not the local shire council. Upon reading this we weren't expecting a good road at all. To our surprise the state of the Donohue was even better than the Plenty. Most of the time I could maintain 90km speed, almost like a bitumen road. So it was pretty good.

We noticed that once we crossed the border into Queensland, most of the gracing land was cleared of trees. Along the Plenty that wasn't the case. Not sure why, but at times the landscape reminded us of some of the pastures in Iceland. Pretty flat and no trees in sight, just low yellowish grass.

When you drive these gravel roads, you pass through a lot of dry creeks. All of them have an indicator to show the depth of the water when it’s flooding. Some of them were pretty deep. In one place they labelled on a stick the levels for the height of floods in various years. When you pass through this in the dry, it’s hard to believe how wet it can get during the summer rains!

Surprisingly there wasn't much road kill along the Plenty or Donohue. It was rare to see dead Kangaroos. We came across two cattle that had been hit on either side of the road, so something had been going on there! However, we saw an Eagle and a large Lizard on the road that hadn't been quick enough. We didn't see any big Lizards cross the road, but a fair few smaller ones. They seem to like the road, especially the bitumen sections!

Once we got near Boulia we got off the gravel and it was bitumen all the way. We stopped at a petrol station in Boulia for some snacks and I used the opportunity to increase the air pressure in the tires. We then drove all the way to Winton. The road to Winton is a single bitumen lane almost all the way. On that stretch of the road we came across a road train with a big L on it. Thus it was a learner driver at the wheel. It showed as the road train only drove at around 50km speed. We were stuck behind it for some time, until an “Overtaking Opportunity” came along. This meant that the single bitumen lane became double wide in a kilometer long section. Thus these are the places you can overtake. It’s not your usual overtaking lane! We did overtake some other road trains later on and I must say it’s always a scary thing to do. These road trains can be up to 56 meters in length, so you need a bit of runway to gain enough speed to pass them!

At the NT/Queensland state border checking out the forest of signs!

The Donohue highway. Look, no trees.

Feels like home in Iceland, no trees.

A very lonely tree!

This stick had the levels of various floods over the years.

The flood waters can get pretty high sometimes.

The lizards love the bitumen sections!

On the way to Winton. Single bitumen lane.

The heat haze created these mirages!

From a lookout on the way to Winton.

The lookout has suffered a graffiti attack!

Behind a road train with a learner driver.

Upon arrival in Winton we camped at a caravan park we have visited before on our travels. We thought we would have a quiet night and a good sleep; however the caravan park is close to a place where road trains park overnight. All the road trains are carrying live cattle. Thus overnight we could constantly hear the cattle shuffling on the back of the road trains. Sometimes it would go quiet and then flare up with noise. Another restless night!

In the morning we grabbed some more fuel and then headed on wards. After Winton we headed via Longreach to Barcaldine and then along the Capricorn highway towards Rockhampton. After Winton all the bitumen roads are two lanes, so it’s like a highway.

Just past Blackwater we found a caravan park in a small place called Dingo, so we camped there overnight. Blackwater and surrounding areas have big coal mines. There is a railway track along the Capricorn highway that runs to the coast into Gladstone. Gladstone is a major port where the coal is loaded onto large tankers and shipped away to China and other places. The railway line was pretty busy with trains going towards the coast with 100 (Yes we counted them!) carriages full of coal and empty ones coming back. Based on the information on the gross and tare weight, stamped on the carriages, a single train carries around 86 thousand tons of coals, just in case you were wondering!

The train line wasn't the only busy track heading for the coast. The Capricorn highway was also very busy. I've never seen so many trucks and mining vehicles before. Every second truck had a big sign “Oversize Vehicle”. Most of them didn't have an escort, but some did. Thus we got used to giving just a little bit of the road, just in case! We did encounter a real “Oversize Vehicle” along the road. It was preceded by a convoy of police vehicles with blinking lights. They forced everyone off the road completely. When the truck came along, it was clear why. The load was just over 5 meters wide and practically took both lanes! And the load, was it a house? No it was simply a shovel for one of the coal digging monsters!

Oddly enough we also encountered one of these rare species I've spoken about before, the “Grader”. We overtook it on the bitumen. What it was doing there is of course a big mystery as it’s supposed to be on gravel roads. Perhaps it’s like the lizards, loves the bitumen!

If you think you can cruise along the Capricorn highway at a 100km an hour and be at your destination in a flash, you are in for a surprise. The Capricorn Highway is being completely refurbished! I’ve never seen so many sections of road being worked on in my life. Just about every 20km or so there were road works. This requires you to slow down to 40km if you are lucky, because in places they had one way traffic and the dreaded lollipop man with the STOP sign facing us. So it was pretty slow going! During this time we had discussed what resort we wanted to go to. After checking the map, Sibba suggested we look at a resort in Fraser Island. The Island is between Rockhampton and Brisbane, so it was on our way. I thought that was a brilliant idea. Fraser Island is a mecca for 4wd enthusiasts. I quickly agreed and decided to check out the place via the internet, the next time Sibba was the driver.

Closer to Rockhampton we saw our first McDonalds sign. Then we knew for sure civilization was nearby!

Just short of Rockhampton we turned south onto the Bruce Highway. This time hoping to make good time down to Hervey Bay where the ferry is located that takes you to Fraser Island. As soon as we got onto the Bruce and headed south, Sibba took over the driving and I hit the Internet to check resorts on Fraser. I eventually booked a villa house in the Kingfisher Bay Resort for 6 nights. I then booked our ferry return trip with the car and also booked a motel in Hervey Bay for the night as we wanted to head over to Fraser the following day.

We certainly didn't make fast tracks on the Bruce either. The Bruce Highway north of Brisbane is being refurbished, just like the Capricorn highway!. For very long stretches there were road works underway with the dreaded lollipop STOP signs everywhere! I think overall we lost around two hours travel time to all these road work stoppages. Thus in the afternoon on the 16^th we finally arrived in Hervey Bay and checked into a motel for the night. Tomorrow around lunch time we catch the ferry (It’s actually called a barge!) from River Heads to Fraser Island, so we can check into the Kingfisher Bay Resort.