Bulldust, bullshit (and cow shit) vistas which went forever, AND a FIVE STAR SPA!!

Well yesterday was a:
>
> 5 car day (only one in the morning)
> Amazing jumpups (mesas or ranges)
> Diamantina Channels (some with waterholes)
> Wedge tailed eagles
> brolgas
> 12 Emus
> Quite a few large red kangaroos
>
>
> Bulldust like we have never seen
>
> Cattle everywhere, as we were also driving through cattle stations:  every cow in QLD wanted a trip out of here-  am sure they had their hooves up wanting to hitchhike - they came to the road and followed us as much as they could!!  Brahmins really are nice cattle :)
>
> We have not had a boring road so far until yesterday and had about 100 K of it - nothing to see anywhere - right to the horizon.
>
> I said to Ian, look out there - bet our camp will be like that?
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> Well, hands up who knows where BEDOURIE is?  :)
> Population of 120 - great town, lovely camping park by the council for $5 each per night, with toilets, showers, free washing machines AND
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> A FREE FIVE STAR SPA - very nice hot water from the Artesian bore - we are off to swim again soon.  Lovely swimming pool.  Wonder if we can stay a month :)
>
> WE left Mt Isa - travelling south to McKinlay (Paul Hogan and Croc Dundee Hotel) then camping at the Blue Heeler Hotel at Kynunan, then down the Diamantina - first glympse of it was at Waltzing Matilda Water Hole - very well signposted - interesting pictograms.
>
> Old Cork Homestead out of Winton was our next stay on the Diamantina (not flowing, but 12 kms long.)  Great camping, good night fires.
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> AT the Diamantina National Park we stayed at Gum Hole Campground - lovely .
>
> WE stayed for three nights and then travelled to Bedourie - am amazed that nearly every little town in outback QLD has a lovely info centre with internet and a library.  Great.

Mt Isa, Kynuna, Old Cork Homestead (via Winton), Diamantina (Channel Country)

Great to meet up with Trish and Owen - phew how amazingly busy you are!  Fun to get into work for a day or two.

Camping in Trish and Owen's backyard in Mt Isa - wonderful facilities - great fun.

Bourke and Mac - aka Scooby Doo

Mt Isa water supply, very pretty picnic area.

Brolgas - very friendly

Paul Hogan filmed here for Crocodile Dundee. 

Parked next to the Hema Maps Men on Safari, at Crocodile Dundee Pub.

Banjo Patterson could have been part of this family picnic, on the Diamantina Combo Waterhole which was the inspiration for Waltzing Matilda.

Signage for the Combo Waterhole (Waltzing Matilda)

Beginning of the Diamantina River System

Combo Waterhole - where the Swaggy died with the stolen lamb.(Waltzing Matilda)

Our first glimpse of the mighty Diamantina.  Only waterholes this year with the lack of rain this season.

For Nerrine (well not spelt correctly is it!)

Camping on the Diamantina - Old Cork Homestead - great camp here.

Between Winton and Old Cork Homestead camping area.

Love this photo, Ian looking through the Old Cork Homestead to a working windmill.

Old Cork Homestead.  Amazing that they were building such structures way out here before 1900.

Painted Desert - well it may as well be - every colour you can think of in the sand and rock.

These jumpups were everywhere.

From Old Cork right down to Ceduna in SA we found so many wonderful flowers.  It had rained quite heavily the two weeks before we travelled and it made a spectacular display.

Ian's Photos of Lawn Hill

Ian took these great photos, hope you enjoy them.

Amazing walks around Lawn Hill

Robyn and friends enjoying the sunset - got back just on dark.

Fresh Water Crocodile sunny himself on a log - we wanted to see one before we left.

Look at that colour!  Great swimming, we swam every afternoon.

Big Varmit Pig wandering around.

BUCKET LIST - Lawn Hill

If you are adding to your Bucket List for places to travel in Australia

Add these three:
Carnarvon Gorge
Porcupine Gorge
Lawn Hill Gorge

All the words we applied to Carnarvon apply to Lawn Hill - so hard to imagine, when you are bumping along the gravel roads (not too bad) and this OASIS is out here.

Such a great place to bring the kids for a camping holiday.  (All the grey haired kids love it too).

These photos taken on my little camera - didn't want to take the good camera on the canoe, but could have done that.  Will upload Ian's photos on next post.

Corella Farm Stay ( drive from Hughendon, almost to Julia Creek)

Decided that we didn't want to compete with the hundreds on the river at Julia Creek (near Highway and the Road Trains all night, so popped into Corella Farm Stay for two nights.

Here we competed with every farm animal imaginable and trains all night!!  Pretty good though, we had lots of fun.

Animals at Corella Farm
Sebastian the Goat (who ate some of our camp 7 book - only a corner or two and our moroccan seasoning - a real character, not the usual pesky billy goat.)
Geese
Turkeys
Peacocks and hens
Chooks
Ducks
guinea Fowl
Cows and Calves
Donkey and Horses - next door.

Nice hot showers from an artesian bore - no cold needed.

Eric the owner lit a campfire for the two or three campers each night.

Two Japanese girls - WOOFERS -  Willing Workers on Organic Farms were staying for a month and working on the Organic egg production.  They were nurses!!  What a change for them from very sterile nursing wards.

Porcupine National Park and the Betton

Just loved this great National Park - the little Bettons were really gorgous - I think they may also be known as kangaroo rats - they have a little bark and will bark at you if you touch them!!  Glad they are assertive :)

Betton - Kangaroo Rat, very cute and quite tame

How would you like to camp on these volcanic Rocks?  We didn't, they are on a lookout on the drive to Porcupine Gorge

Swimming hole here but very cold