After a rather cool night followed by a hearty breakfast we left Wullumbilla around 09.00 for Charleville again stopping briefly to refuel at a fuel distribution depot on the western outskirts of Roma with prices being on par with that in the city; Mita and I really do prefer refueling at fuel depots as they are generally geared to cater for larger vehicles.
After four nights in Charleville during which time we did our best to spoil the kids and teach them bad habits we eventually departed late Tuesday morning for Welford NP near Windorah, approximately five hundred kilometers away however due to our late departure we only made it as far as Quilpie where we decided to camp on the foreshore of Lake Houdraman. If we had continued on we probably wouldn’t have arrived at our destination until early evening, a thought we didn’t relish as the final sixty kilometers plus would be on dirt roads.
After much discussion and indecision about where we were going to camp owing to the lack of maps of the area we eventually located the Little Boomerang Water Hole camping area. Surveying the area we soon realized that there was really only three suitable camping spots all of which were occupied, while the remaining camp sites were, well, kind of rugged and being “mature” we do like to be comfortable.
Fortunately for us one of the spots had just been claimed by two couples from Sydney who were having second thoughts about staying as they had been advised there was the possibility of heavy rains which meant the roads would become impassable and they would be stranded for some days; that was news to us as we had seen the forecast the previous day and there was no mention of significant rains.
Not being one to miss an opportunity Leigh decided to embellish their fears of rain hence it didn’t take long for them to have a change of mind, pack up and leave resulting in us scoring ourselves a nice camping spot next to the Barcoo River.
Following breakfast Thursday morning it was off to explore the park via the two main self drive tourist routes, plus investigate a couple of other features. The first drive we tackled was the Mulga Drive, an approximately sixty kilometer round trip that would take us out to Sawyers Lookout and Sawyers Creek. Eventually arriving at Sawyers Creek lookout after doing a diversion en-route to inspect the Trafalgar Waterhole camping area, we enjoyed the views of the surrounds albeit they weren’t quite the view purported in the tourist brochure before moving onto Sawyers Creek, a destination that got little mention which was quite surprising as it was quite a gem in the middle of an otherwise arid landscape.
Following a cup of coffee whilst enjoying the creeks scenery we backtracked towards Little Boomerang Waterhole to join the Desert Drive, a twenty two kilometer drive that encompassed sand dunes, waterholes, old oil drillings and water bores.
Of course the highlight of our stay at Welford for Mita was that camped nearby was a person driving a Honda Jazz that was loaded to the hilt with camping equipment, a bike rack, and a kayak strapped to the roof.
Come Friday morning (and no rain) we left Welford NP and headed into Jundah to refuel before continuing to Windorah where we intended overnighting beside Cooper Creek before tackling the three hundred fifty kilometer drive out to Diamontina NP; only problem with our plan was that Jundah had been out of Diesel for over a week. After a brief look around Jundah, visiting the information centre and checking our emails, we pushed on to Windorah.
While we had intended camping on the banks of Cooper Creek at Windorah the closer we got the more evident it became that they’d receive rain the previous evening. Arriving at Cooper Creek it was pretty damned obvious that to attempt to access any of the various camping areas located along the banks of the creek via the black soil tracks would be courting disaster.
With our plans for camping squashed our only other option was the Windorah Caravan Park. Heading into town we stopped briefly at the information centre to get an update on road conditions only to learn that all dirt roads west were closed and wouldn’t be reopened until later that afternoon. With that information we made a “bee line” for the caravan park deciding to remain ensconced for two nights thus giving the roads time to dry out.
And it wasn’t too much longer before the caravan park was overflowing with campers obviously faced with the same predicament as us.
Leaving Windorah Sunday morning approximately 08.30 our next destination was Boulia via the Diamontina National Park and involved traveling five hundred thirty kilometers without access to any services. The first one hundred twenty kilometers was fairly easy driving being on sealed roads however after that it was onto the dirt. Turning off the “main road” we traveled another one hundred sixty five kilometers on reasonably good tracks eventually arriving at the Rangers Headquarters. After reading from what little paraphernalia was available about camping options, sightseeing, etc it was another fifteen kilometers to the Hunters Gorge camping area located on Mundewerra Waterhole, eventually arriving at our destination around 14.30.
Although the landscape is normally quite desolate in the outback regions the heavy summer rains has done absolute wonders for the landscape with some wonderful scenery and vast grass plains. I wonder what it will look like by the middle of next summer ?
Mundewerra Waterhole is part of the Diamantina river system. During the “Wet Season” the river is actually a vast network of channels spread out over quite a few kilometers however when the channels merge the river proper is nearly one kilometer wide.
As for Mundewerra Waterhole, well it abounds in birdlife including Hawks, Pelicans, Ducks, Ibis, and the occasional Brolga hence it’s a birdwatchers paradise; the waterhole itself is supposedly teaming with fish however not being a lover of inland fishing, I guess I’ll never know. We did have visions of dropping in the Yabby pots however that idea was squashed when others returned empty handed.
Monday morning we decided to tackle the Warracoota Circuit Drive, a one hundred fifty trek that supposedly takes in wet lands, crystal clear springs, old ruins, sand dunes, etc. Driving the fifteen kilometers to the starting point we were greeted with a “Road Closed” sign – geeze, wouldn’t you think they would have that information posted at the Rangers Headquarters.
With that little annoyance we decided to take a peek at the Gum Hole camping area on Whistling Duck Creek – wow, it was just beautiful. The entire camping area was shaded by Coolibah and Bauhinia trees with the individual sites backing onto the billabong with the added advantage of being private. Only problem was that there was only one site that could accommodate our rig.
With the disappointment of not being able to do the circuit drive we opted to visit Janet’s Leap (a short drive of thirty five kilometers) that was purported to provide wonderful views across the river and its wetlands – ok we visited that.
Returning to the campground we decided to don our hiking gear and attempt to scale one of the nearby escarpments in the hope of getting a bird’s eye view of the surrounds. Setting off on our voyage of discovery we met up with the Aboriginal ranger who we had a quick yarn to and quizzed about the possibility of hiking tracks up the escarpments “naaaa mate nutin like dat but I know some people climb ‘em anyway hey” Making a quick survey of the terrain we decided to head about a kilometer away to a section that looked like it might be relatively easy to scale. After making our way to the end of the camping area we spotted what looked like an old gate and the start of a track of sorts so opted to follow it.
Well the rest is history. Arriving at the top of the escarpment after a relatively easy climb following a well worn path we were greeted with panaromic views of the entire area. Late that afternoon happy hour was next to the open fire keeping watch on the camp oven containing our evening meal of roast beef and vegies that was slowly cooking while we imbibing in a wine.
And that evening, the rain arrived.
Next morning after hearing the weather forecast that predicted increasing rain, we skipped breakfast plus all the other niceties after deciding we didn’t want to be stranded in the National Park and headed for Boulia, one hundred eighty kilometers away on dirt roads. After four hours of slipping and sliding we eventually made it to the bitumen and shortly thereafter Boulia.
After listening to the multitude of road closures on the radio (all of which were dirt) while heading into Boulia, first stop was the Information Centre to ascertain the conditions of our intended route only to discover that the Plenty Highway (another dirt road) is closed indefinitely due to the rain.
Hi Folks, another interesting installment keep em' coming ......
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