Back in Oz!! The road from Darwin to Townsville.....the bumpy Barkley Highway!!!

Thank god we were back in Australia!!! Love the fact that we had had an amazing time overseas but equally loved that we missed our home country and felt it was time to get back to exploring it.  We touched down in Darwin after having to listen to Marty snore most the was from Singapore and had the girls draped over me, which left me not sleeping a hell of a lot of the way.  The checkout process was quick and we headed back to Robbie Robbins Reserve by taxi, opening the caravan door around 6:30am.  We all climbed into bed for a few more hours sleep, with Marty waking us around 11am.  The rest of the day was spent lazing in bed, doing the washing and unpacking.  The following day was much the same with Darwin heating up and being unbearable in the sun but at least the washing dried in record time.  We stocked up with groceries, a whopping $520 worth as the fridge was pretty bare!!!

Our camp at Robbie Robbins,,,,

Boo  with her belated birthday presents...

Massive shop...hate restocking the empty fridge!

It was time to hit the road and try and escape this heat.  After two and a half weeks of sweating in Singapore and Thailand, we were needing a bit more sensible weather, hence heading south.  

We were very excited to be hitting the road again for our next leg, having been in NT and WA for the last 2 years it was time to head to the east coast of QLD.  We must still be recovering from the flights as we finally pulled out on the road at 11am, one of the latest start times for us on this trip! We did a full day of uneventful driving, passing many burnt out cars on the side of the road along the way.  We pulled into Katherine for Marty to pick up a new battery, seems the Gibb River Road corrugations had ended its life.

Got to keep an eye out for the scavengers chasing the road kill...

Some outback humor....dressed up termite mounds...

Have missed seeing the burnt out scrub of Oz...

 Marty wanted to get as far south as he could and around 5pm we called it a day and pulled into Larrimah Pub.  Now if you don't know this pub, it is famous for its Pink Panther theme and zoo out the back.  Inside it is decorated with the normal outback pub memorabilia of rabbit traps, jarred snakes, old hats and stickers, etc.  At only $25 a night for a powered site, it wasn't too bad.  Dusty campground, but you wouldn't expect anything else in the outback.  We had visited this place a few years ago and had an amazing steak pie, but it was way too hot for that this time.  Marty necked a few coldies after setting up while l took the girls around the back of the pub to check out the zoo.  There were emu's, an array of exotic birds, blue tongued lizards and two crocs up the back.  Luckily it was fenced, as l was taking a photo of Meg in front of it it leaped out of the water for her!  Now l though 'freshies' weren't meant to aggressive!!! After the fright, moved over to the other caged area to the 'salty' who was much more subdued lazing in the moss covered pool.   We headed back to the van, not before the girls having a chat to the 'cockie' bird.  Back at the van and Marty had found an old man to chat with, as the girls cooled off in the van watching a movie l sat and enjoyed some peace and quiet listening to the birds having a sing, with the occasional loud toot of a horn from the passing road trains!

Everything's pink at Larrimah Pub!

Car needs to cool off!

Pink panther still flying up high!

Girls a bit weary of the emu's!

Red tail black cockatoo...

Playing hide and seek!

Common chook!

Love these plants....

Squawking parrot definitely didn't want to
be missed!

Mangy cocky wanting a scratch!

Larrimah Hotel....

Outback decorating...

Camp for the night....

Next morning we woke late again, at least getting on the road a little earlier at 9:30am......Another full day of driving, Marty was on a mission.  As we pulled into the Three Ways Roadhouse, l was getting the girls organised for a toilet run when l heard my name being called out.  I turned around to see an old work colleague from Shepparton running towards me.  Melissa and her family were on a two month trip up the center and along east coast.  After catching up we headed off, hoping to catch up with them for a night along the way.  Just down the road on the Barkley Highway, we saw the QLD border sign approaching in the distance, we were all so excited to be crossing yet another state line!! We pulled over for the usual selfies and pics of the Patrol in front of the border sign then kept going up the road.

More wedgies on the hunt for roadkill...

Unbelievable people riding this harsh outback heated country...

Meg looks shocked too!

Three-Ways Roadhouse...

Cool mural on the wall....

Infamous three-ways intersection!

The long straight bumpy Barkley Highway...

Yay.....QLD border, finally!

The Beeson's return to QLD....only looks like two of us are happy
about that! Lol..

Another few long hours and we pulled into Barkley Homestead, finding the Beatons were also there setting up.  The campgrounds were pretty good at $35 per night with power and a pool!!! The girls were quick to get changed and want a swim.  We all headed over and cooled off over a few cold ones, which lead to more coldies back at the vans.  After dinner the kids were set with movie and a pop corn in our van while we hung outside having a few laughs.  Two bottles of wine later, and that was just my share, we were getting pretty rude and rowdy that the next door neighbors asked us to settle down a bit.....whoops!  I think we ended our party around 11pm with way too much alcohol being consumed.  Was great to catch up though, and l cant believe we didn't have this much fun back in the days in Shepparton.  So funny how you run into people from where it all began in the middle of nowhere!!!

Barkley Roadhouse...

Camp for the night...

Old Barkley Homestead..

Welcoming salon doors...

The following morning l woke with a sore head and dry mouth (thankfully no photo evidence was recorded, well by me anyway), getting out of bed l looked outside to see Melissa and Hayden already nearly packed up! Although a bit seedy they were up as soon as the sun came up.  Looking at their Jayco reminded me of when we had ours and the lack of reprieve from the extremities you have.  They were off on the road even before Marty and the girls woke up!  They finally woke up after l had showered and tried to get rid of my hangover and headache with coffee and panadol.  Another pack up and off we went.  The Barkley Highway was beginning to be one of the most boring and bumpy drives we had done on this trip. The horizon was of an never ending straight road with dry and baron land.  Very few cattle within the dry paddocks, probably saw more blown up dead on the side of the road!  One thing that kept me amused was the termite mounds that had been dressed up with bras, shirts and even bikini's.  Love the outback humor, or maybe it was what the Barkley had caused, people to go koo-koo! We arrived at Camooweal where l had heard that the billabong on the right before town was a good camping area, so after heading into town for fuel and an ice cream (the best hangover cure in the world might l add) we went out to check it out.  The Beatons had already pulled in and were set up on the edge of the half empty billabong.  Marty was not impressed and voiced his eagerness to keep going.  I, on the other-hand, wanted to set up camp for the night so at least we had some company.  After much discussion, and following a feed of lunch, we decided to keep going as it was way too hot to have no air conditioner going.  As we were ready to set off Meg screamed with fright as she got her bubble gum stuck in her hair.  Off all things!  Lucky l had some adhesive remover wipes from work which worked a treat to getting it out, no scissors required.  Things were tense with Marty and l over the discussion to move on and we ended up having a full on blew as we pulled out.

Road train convoy galore..

Bloody nothing to look at out here,,,,

Love this outback humor!

Not long to go....

The drive from Camooweel to Mt Isa was in silence with uncertainty in the air over the future.  We pulled up around 4:30pm at Sunset Caravan Park, at $39 per night.  I took the girls over to the pool to cool off, not wanting to be around Marty at the moment.  After cooking dinner l decided to head off for a run, even though it was still 34oC and it was bloody 6:30pm!  I returned with a fresh head and to the girls watching tv inside, Marty and l watched the red moon eclipse, which was spectacular!  We finally broke the ice, had a chat, aired some things and the future looked bright again.  Life on the road isn't always rosie, being in each others pockets all the time comes at a cost sometimes.  But with life on the road, you cant afford to hold grudges for continue the carry on as the van is small and you don't want to waste days in one spot when you could be moving on.  The red moon had marveled our eyes and allowed us to see the brighter side to life.

Never knew how many heroes were bred in Isa!

Mt Isa camp, dusty and hot!

Girls loving the cool off in the pool...

Red moon eclipse beginning...

Red Moon begins....wow!

Yes these are my pics....pretty chuffed with them!

We had decided to stay two nights at Mt Isa thinking we could do a few sight seeing things around town.  While l did school with the girls, l sent Marty down to the info center to see what we could do.  He came back empty handed with them not letting us do the underground mine tour as Meg was too young.  Get this, they dont allow kids under the age of 7 to do the tour!  What a load of crap.  Left disappointed, in the arvo we braved the 39oC heat and headed up to the town lookout, which was impressive.  Then checked out K-Mart and headed back to the van to spend the rest of the day in the pool.  Mt Isa was just another mining town with little to offer the travelling family with young kids to do.

View of Mt Isa....

Love the stacks!

My turn to get in the shot!

Meg refused to come up to the lookout, instead
watched from the shade of the bench seat below..

Underground mine...

Love the wedgies..

Back at camp the girls feed the local ducks....

Waking at a more reasonable hour, we were on the road around 8:30am, things were getting back to normal with our travelling routine.  We planned to head to a little outback town called Richmond for a few nights.  We only just decided this the day before as prior to this we were making a left hand turn and heading up to Normanton and Karumba but after looking a the forecasted weather, the cooler ocean breeze off the east coast was calling us!  The mornings drive went quick as we pulled into a small country town Julia Creek for lunch.  A tidy and quaint town, but still bloody hot!  We reached Richmond by 1:30pm findings the Beatons were there.  I booked in and Julie the manager was really welcoming and informative about the area, at $30 per night we payed for one night with the possibility of three.  After setting up l took the girls down to the  lake where a small splash park was situated.  Can you believe it?  In the middle of outback QLD and in a town of around 100 people, there was a splash park!  I met up with Melissa and Hayden as the girls were quick to play with Lara and Kel.  Very happy having the break from the girls needs of wanting to be amused.  I had a quick splash in the lake but it was a bit weedy for my liking.  Back at camp and Marty was staying hydrated having polished off a few beers.  We all caught up under the shade while the kids amused themselves with Uno and Lego.  

Funny how its flat land then a hill appears....

So used to seeing vehicles on the side of the road...

Still a long straight road of nothingness!

Look at the heat coming off the road!

Quite unique slogan for a town,,,,

LOL..

Our shaded camp site...look no dust, theres actual grass!

Boo passing the time making a bed for her Monster High dolls...
backseat fun at its best!

A splashpark in the middle of nowhere....

Boo, Meg and Lara loving cooling off!

We were soon befriended by the managers dog "Murphy" who was the biggest and woolliest dog we had seen for a while.  The kids loved him and he didn't mind the cuddles either.  After a few nibbles, Hayden's homemade salami was a winner btw, we made our way down to the local pub for a counter meal.  Stupidly we drove down, not really thinking about the drive required home.  We enjoyed more beverages whilst waiting for our meals.  An old lady was very helpful, looking after the kids for us mostly whit showing them were the playground was at the back of the pub.  Being the 'parents of the ear' that we were, we continued our laughs and catching up not really worrying too much about the kids.  They came back a few times with red faces to have a drink so we knew they hadn't run off!  Plus they still had ice cream to come so they wouldn't go to far.  After a few more drinks, we got slightly louder if you can believe it.  Hayden was getting in form and trying his hand at joke telling, which ended u being more funnier than the joke.  The joke being "a french woman said the most important thing in life was "Happiness"".  Now he tried to say 'happiness' in a french accent so it sounded like 'a penis' but his Aussie ocker voice it just didn't have the right ring to it.  You'll just have to take my word for it that it was a total pissa.  After enjoying the classic chicken parma meal, we decided we should head home, not long before the local boys in blue decided to do a walk thru of the pub.  We should have quietened down l guess but instead we loudly joked with them.  Outside we saw them patrolling up the mains street so decided to hang out a bit before getting in the car to drive the 500m back to the van! Yes l know we should have walked.  Anyway, we saw that the cops lights were flashing having pulled someone over so we all jumped into our cars and headed off home, Hayden taking a right hand turn on the back road while we went straight past the cops on the main road.  As we drove past their lights went off , having finished with the other car, and as l got closer to the caravan park turn off we saw Hayden at the intersection.  We idled past them, Marty telling me to put my indicator on as we approached the park (as if l wouldn't remember!) with Hayden following us and the cops behind them.  As we pulled into our caravan park spots we saw the Beatons car near their van but couldn't see them.  The cops did a lap of the park, we hoped they wouldn't stop at our site! As we breathed again once they went out of the park, we looked for Hayden and Melissa but couldn't see them.  Boo knocked on their van door and we heard them yell out.  Long story short, we found out that after pulling into their site, they quickly went in the van and took the top off a cold one in case the cops stopped and asked them for a breathalyzer test!  So funny, but we were all so stupid. Anyway, we were safe for another day.

Meet Murphy...the shaggiest dog lve ever seen!

Kids table...Cal, Meg, Boo and Lara...

Melissa, Hayden, Cal, Marty, Me and Meg....fun times..

Another fun and long hot day, it was time to hit the hay as we had decided at dinner to hit the road with the Beatons tomorrow and head to Townsville.  We also wanted to get to Townsville to surprise our mates the "HardFirms' who were expecting us there on Monday arvo.  They are there doing a festival with face painting, so we cant wait to see their faces when we rock up tomorrow.  Sadly we wouldn't be able to check out Richmond, which looked like a clean little town full of history.  They have a fossil info center in town which was meant to be pretty cool, but we just couldn't stand the heat anymore.  The town is also the hosts of the World Champion Moon Rock Throwing competition every two years due to the unique round 'moon like' rocks which are found around the area.  I was also informed that the formation in the middle of the lake, which the caravan backs onto, is where a bloke was buried prior to the lake was built.  When the lake was formed the town decided to build it around the burial site and leave his final resting place as it was.  Again, these small towns are rich with history adn unique stories to tell.....

Early morning stroll nearby the Richmond Lake...

We woke with the crack of sparrows the following morning, were packed up and set off around 8am! Early l know, but we had a whopping 600km to tackle on the continuing bumpy Flinders Highway! Seems the people who made the Barkley Highway continued all the way thru.  As we bounced up and down, sometimes giving Marty a big fright, we turned right at Hughendon where the road became more respectable.  Was like driving thru memory lane with the big pub on the corner and dinosaur statue in the main drag.  We got very excited as from this very moment we, The amazing Beesons, have officially completed our first lap of Australia!!! Our lines on the map are joined!  We made it and are still going strong.  It has taken us 3 years, 3 months and 6 days (or 1198 days!) to complete, having done 103,000kms and 165 set ups of either or caravan (past and present), tent or stays with family and friends!!! I think this would have been the most excited anyone has ever been to reach Hughendon!!

Our Australian Trip Map...the lines are finally joined!!!

After celebrating with a high five all round the car between the four of us we continued on, stopping off at Charters Towers for lunch.  The Beatons caught up and joined us for a picnic in the park then it was time to head off with the short drive into Townsville.  We rocked up at Rowes Bay Caravan Park around 2pm and set up totally happy to be back in this awesome town.  What a huge 6 days we have had, over 2500kms from Darwin to Townsville and now it is time to start enjoying the east coast.  We have already noticed that the weather is more kinder, we got out of the car and didnt feel the need to race into the van and crank the air conditioner up, so thats a plus already.........

Bell Xxx