On the Road Again

JOURNAL EXCERPT

SATURDAY, 27^th April – On the move again – Old Cork to Hughenden

Packed up and headed off for Porcupine Gorge this morning.  Didn’t quite get there!  We changed our plans and headed along  the Diamantina River Road instead of heading to Middleton.

This was a wonderful decision as the surrounding countryside continually fascinated us with the constant changes we saw.  The scenery was amazing.  Although only 168kms back to Winton it took us almost four hours  - a photographer’s paradise along this route.  After two hours we discovered a small billabong off the track where we found some wonderful water birds – which, of course, set the OGO off on another cross-country trek!

Arriving Winton mid-afternoon (much later than planned) we re-stocked our liquid beverages, disposed of our rubbish, refuelled both car and bodies, and the OGO bought a new mobile phone.  Yahoo – now have Telstra coverage – at least in the town areas.  After all that excitement we decided to push on towards Porcupine Gorge.  Only made it as far as Hughenden – oh dear – a night in a hotel room – a chance to wash some clothes, have a decent shower, and a change into some ‘not-so-dusty’ clothes for the evening.
It was also a chance to call home now we had mobile connection.  Not so comforting when we discovered our beautiful Phantom had been at the vet again with another paralysis tick.  Thank you to Tam and Helei for taking such good care of him - and for covering the $1200 bill at the vet! that was above and beyond the call of house-sitting duties.  Murphy's Law I guess - if something  will go wrong, it will be when you least expect it, need it, or want it!!

SUNDAY, 28th April - Hughenden to Porcupine Gorge NP
A restless night thinking of home (and a damn dog barking all night next to the motel unit) but having been reassured that all was under control and in very capable hands at home, we continued on our journey to our next stop at Porcupine Gorge.  A short stop at the local Info Centre, where there was a very, very helpful volunteer who plied us with all the info we needed (and more), and we were on our way.
There is self-rego at Porcupine Gorge NP with a maximum of 8 tent sites and 5 van sites. What a beautiful camp area this is - and bonus - NO FLIES  and NO DUST!!!!
After assisting to set up camp, I took a short walk to the lookout for my first glimpse of this Gorge.  What an amazing site.  After all the flat and dry country we have covered in the last 12 days this was just wonderful. Tomorrow morning we plan to walk into the Gorge before going back into Hughenden to the bank and post office.

MONDAY, 29th April - Porcupine Gorge NP, Basalt Drive and Hughenden

Well, no walk into the Gorge this morning. It was a beautiful start to the day so we headed back into Hughenden to get the banking done early and send mail to the UK. This is a very friendly outback town - much smaller but much nicer than Winton. There are some wonderful metal artworks around the town and along the Flinders river walk.

On the outskirts of town there is a tourist drive - the Basalt Way - that the lady at the Info centre had told us about.  So after the bank and post office duties were completed we headed off with our little mud map to discover more about this diverse countryside.

The total drive was about 98kms - all dirt road of course - but it was fascinating to see the changes from solid basalt rocky ground to an almost fertile valley below, albeit quite dry.  On one ridge it was completely rocky, no grass at all, yet there were a large number of cattle gathered here around a water trough - quite strange. The drive also took us across the Flinders River, which is currently very dry and sandy, but it would no doubt be raging during the wet season.

On the road from Hughenden to PG there are a few points of interest.  We stopped at some of these on our way back to the campground today - a whistling bore was interesting with no explanation for the "whistling" sound often heard emanating from this bore; the grave of a pioneer mailman whoo was speared to death by Aborigines from the ridge above where his marked grave is now found - what a hard life out here for our pioneers! 
Parts of the great Dingo Fence can be seen along this road, and the Eagle Hawk Gorge Lookout, which is the start of the Porcupine Gorge range.  We also crossed a number of dry creeks, including one named "Matchbox Creek" - so called because a wagonette of matches exploded close by in the early 1900s.

Back at camp we enjoyed an evening of entertainment with the locals - the cheeky and curious Bettongs.