Mt Isa to
Quilpie
We ended up staying the night at an old WWII Airfield just
50kms west of Mt Isa we met a couple there from Mission Beach and they told us
stories of woe about cyclone Yasi, Yasi went right over Mission Beach, and
destroyed Dunk Island on its way there. These couple lived in a caravan at
Mission Beach and were evacuated just before Yasi hit. They went over the
mountains and turned right, if they had of turned left they would still have
been wiped out, so they had some good advice or good luck.
Even though we were still in the tropics the heat and
humidity had left us. When we awoke in the morning it was just 11⁰,
so on came the diesel heater.
We ended up turning left at the Isa and headed due south
towards Boulia where they have the Camel Races every year. We were there for the
Camel Races 2 years ago, and it was a good time. Boulia without the Camel Races
is a nice sleepy country town. Jayne wanted to go fishing for Yellowbelly in the
Burke river there, but it was dry, so no fishing.
Our cool temperatures continued to worsen and in the
morning at Boulia it was 4⁰.
Just amazing how quickly it cools down. Within half a day’s drive south of
Darwin we had lost the bulk of the humidity.
After a night there we headed towards Bedourie and on
towards Windorah, crossing over the Tropic of Capricorn just south of Boulia.
We’ve been in the Tropics for nearly 5 months. Jayne has promised me that we are
following spring and summer home, but with the mornings being around 5⁰
I'm starting to wonder.
We ended up camping about 100kms west of Windorah to allow
us an early arrival at the Cooper’s Creek. This is one of our all-time favourite
camping spots, we stayed here last year with Chuck and Sue as well. We got the
same spot as last year which is one of the best here.
The sunset was amazing the first night. We enjoyed a
campfire and listened to the birdlife and the constant ringing of a cow bell,
which was tied around a horse’s neck who was feeding on the other side of the
creek. All night!
We then rode our bikes to Windorah for lunch at the pub,
12kms along a “Nature Drive” which loosely followed the river. This was more
like a 4WD track in places with lots of sand, which we had to dismount and walk
the bikes through. The day before this the max temperature was 23⁰C,
just right for riding. However the day kept getting hotter and hotter, much to
Jayne's annoyance and by the time we got to the pub it was over 34⁰
and Jayne was just about dying from the heat. She wasn’t a happy chappie.
At the pub we met four young guys who were “boar hunters”,
they had dogs which had the special protective clothing and all. They were
pretty rough guys around 20yo. They explained to us that they don’t shoot the
pigs, they have their dogs chase and restrain them, they also chase them on foot
and kill the boar by stabbing it in the heart. Jayne has found a new interest
and has bought 2 magazines on boar hunting. Quite an eye opener, and it appears
to be a major sport.
We then had to ride back to our camping spot after lunch,
when of course it was even hotter.
Jayne decided to ride back along the road, as this was only
10kms and an easier ride, flatter and no sand. But we had to contend with cars
doing 100kms/hour on a single lane of tar that is loosely called a road. All the
drivers were really good, and left us with lots of room, but the rocks being
thrown up at that speed were a concern, but no problems.
We arrived back at Cooper’s Creek and Jayne's face looked
like a beetroot, so we enjoyed a cold shower to recover from our ride. Cooper’s
Creek is very brown, and even though there aren’t any crocs in it, as we are
south of the Tropic of Capricorn, you wouldn’t swim in it. It looks like soup.
Jayne threw out the yabby net and succeeded in catching 5
prawns so then she tried to catch a yellowbelly with a live prawn, but didn’t
get a bite. With all the pelicans and various other birds constantly hunting for
fish in the river I wasn’t surprised.
Today it’s onto Quilpie to have a swim in their artesian
feed hot spa.