Berri to Birchip - 29 Sept. 2016

It had stopped raining when I woke up at Berri's very own Fawlty Towers. I showered and set off as quickly as I could, figuring there wouldn't be much on offer for breakfast anywhere in Berri, as everyone started to recover from the blackout. (Little did I know then that the blackout was to last for several days.) I also hoped to get to Birchip, the day's destination, as quickly as possible so as to avoid the worst of the forecast weather. Ho hum.

Rain had started to spit by the time I got into my car and it kept on raining. I was thinking: get across the border where at least they wouldn't have been affected by the blackout. Just as well the petrol pumps were operating. I fill up each morning having all but emptied the tank the day before.

It turned out to be a pretty awful day's driving, again missing some of the towns I'd planned to stop at. The road from Renmark, not far on from Berri, to Mildura is relatively flat and relatively straight but … that's a bit deceptive. There are enough slight rises and enough curves to considerably reduce the chances to overtake slow-moving vehicles. There is not one overtaking lane in that whole 140 km stretch of road. There are a few rest areas that slow-moving vehicles could pull into to let long tailbacks past but none of the drivers concerned took the opportunity. In fact, they appeared oblivious to the effects of their driving.

Suffice to say, being caught behind several caravans and other slow movers, the leader of which was doing 80 in a 110 zone, then with a tanker catching up directly, too closely for comfort, behind me, then more vehicles catching up behind that, did not make for relaxed driving. This went on well over halfway to Mildura. The single car in front of me was finally able to make a move. Before I got the chance, the tanker behind me pulled out, overtaking several vehicles at once. I was waiting for a head-on crash. Finally, I too was able to move. The driver of the lead caravan appeared totally relaxed and oblivious of other road users. Grrrr! It took until after brunch in Mildura for my adrenalin levels to settle.

The other negative of the day was discovering the poor design, and I suspect lack of maintenance in some cases, that made driving more difficult and in one case potentially lethal. Mud flaps! Those on 4WD vehicles were invariably bad – as, sadly, is my little 2WD. Caravans, often pretty bad. Trucks – surprisingly, better than 4WDs in the majority of cases. Others were pretty bad. And in one case, one truck threw up so much muck it covered my windscreen completely rendering visibility to zero. This was on a slight bend not long after crossing the opening bridge (across the Murray) at Paringa, just out of Renmark. Thank goodness the wipers did their job quickly and the car maintained the correct curve on the road. If I'd crashed, would any evidence of that blinding experience have remained?

What a difference a line on a map can make. Driving to Mildura, I was surprised to see more pasture than grapevines. On crossing the border back into Victorian it was … scrub!

I stopped at Hopetoun for lunch, a much smaller town than I thought it was. Poor service at the cafe. If ever there's a next time, I'll try the bakery. I got just a little bit drowned dashing from my car to the local loo facilities!

Main Street, Hopetoun, from 'inside' my car!

After brunch I stopped only long enough to get wet again taking a photo of the Speed sign – a tiny township!

The Mallee-Wimmera part of my holiday was originally planned as a “B seeing Victoria” road trip, much as my “C New South Wales” was back over New year 2012-13. This was to be Birchip, Brim, Beulah, Boort, finishing at the Stick Shed in ... Murtoa!

The first B, Beulah, was also very small.

Next, Brim. 

Brim ... also through the windscreen!

The site here was the main reason for the whole NW Victoria visit. The painted silos at Brim were as brilliant as anticipated. But with rain bucketing down, my vision and enjoyment were somewhat limited. At least there was no sun in the wrong position to make my photos a washout! Silver lining to all those clouds :-)

Brilliant! ... even in the rain

The (normal-sized) door at centre bottom of the left-hand silo
gives an idea of the size of this project

My car parked in a sea of mud and water - most unusual for the region

I then planned to cut across country to Birchip but decided, given the weather (constant rain), that going the long way and sticking to main B roads might be safer than changing to C roads. Didn't read the map too closely, did I?! From Warracknabeal it was a C road to Birchip! But … that worked rather well. The edges and the shoulders of the road were in worse condition than the B roads but, being used less often, they hadn't developed the indentations that greater use caused in the B roads – which the rain filled with water in elongated puddles that were less than pleasant to drive through. About halfway to Birchip though, the road surface became quite rough. Aah yes, change of shire and responsibility.

Finally, Birchip. Aaaaarghhh!!!! The bakery had sold out of their famous award-winning vanilla slices! Disaster! I asked if they would have more in the morning – no guarantees, being on restricted hours for the football grand final public holiday - only in Oz! Just as well I'd got one on my way through at the start of my trip :-)

At last, to my hotel. An exceedingly popular local pub! Thank goodness I discovered the dining room – the main evening eating area was full, and the noise deafening with feral kids, one of whom kept blasting a klaxon horn just to add to the mayhem. In comparison, the soap opera on the TV in the dining room was bliss. When I was the only one left, by which time a footy show was on, I turned it to the ABC. It didn't take long for a staff member passing through to change it back to commercial rubbish, without a by your leave. The food was OK. And in spite of all the noise in the bar, I've managed to get my blog drafts up to date.

Late afternoon sunshine at the Birchip Hotel

My room is small but adequate and I will have the oil heater on all night. Letting the place down is the lack of cleanliness. The bathroom down the hall hasn't had a clean for … some time. I won't be showering in the morning!

Ouyen to Burra - 22 Sept. 2016

Next morning, I had a quick 'slow drive around town'. Ouyen looked a nicer place than the pub had led me to expect. The mobile library was in town – parked in its own parking space. I still haven't been inside one but this truck was partly 'unpacked' so I could see through the locked glass door. Quite ingenious.

Next stop was Pinnaroo, just the other side of the Victoria / South Australia border. But there was something I was watching out for – just as well I spotted it when there was little traffic about – I wasn't doing my most appropriate driving! - and there was a safe place to stop to take the photos. My little Mazda2, 2005 model, clicked over 100,000km. It's been a trusty vehicle in spite of a challenge or two I've given it. Hopefully it will see me through another 100,000.

Once into South Australia, almost immediately I started to spot the beautiful stone houses that abound in the state. A pity so many, in the country at least, are now in ruins.

Ruins - one of so many

Pinnaroo was nothing to write home about, just a chance to walk about a bit until driving on to Loxton, a really lovely town, bustling and looking prosperous. A very helpful lady at the tourist info centre gave me a bundle of information for the following day and pointed me in the right direction to get out of town. I was heading for a lavender farm where I planned to have lunch and buy some lavender soap. Ho hum. The pizzas did look delicious but there was a busload of tourists plus others so I wasn't inspired to wait. The lavender goods on sale looked tired and as though they had come from elsewhere. Very disappointing. I did indulge my mug fetish though and bought one decorated with stalks of lavender. I need another mug like I need a hole in my head!!!

Before leaving Loxton I took a drive down by the river, another suggestion of the tourist info lady. A lovely spot for caravanners and houseboat holiday makers. But it's not always that beautiful. The river floods from time to time!

The Murray at Loxton

The Tree of Knowledge by the Murray - showing flood levels
Note 1956!

Giving the tree and the flood levels a broader perspective

So what to do for lunch? Try the winery that the lovely tourist lady at Loxton had been recommending strongly. (I did wonder if she had shares! But she was spot on in suggesting this.) 

I'm not a wine drinker but did enjoy a mini yum cha lunch on the verandah overlooking stunning wetlands at Banrock Station. You can walk about the wetlands but alas, I didn't have time for that. But I did have time to shop! Although not a wine drinker, I did buy myself some prunes in port. I'm partial to a drop of port … and tokay and muscat :-)

Vines and wetlands at Banrock Station

Shortly afterwards I crossed the Murray by ferry and not terribly long after that (well, about 170km!), I arrived at Burra, the day's destination.

Waiting for the ferry at Kingston-on-Murray

Accommodation here – Paxton Cottages, three rows of stone miners cottages, about 35 in all, now let out for holiday makers like me. I loved it! 

Paxton Cottages - one of the three rows

Inside my cottage

The cottages are basic but have all you need. Really, all that's missing are the things that various accommodation providers tizz their places up with. I wished I'd been staying there longer. Mind you, the one bedroom cottage I had was ideal for me or a couple. Back in the day I doubt it would have been a lot of fun for a miner with a wife and a horde of children!

The Great Queensland Train Ride

First posted on May 14, 2013

It was raining a bit, still!, for my last breakfast on the balcony. But it was dry for my 8 minute walk to the train station.

This is the 60th year of the Sunlander. Next year it goes out of service, so I was lucky to do this trip now. When you’re on a train, there are times when slower is better, and this journey is one of them.

The train left Cairns on time, 9.15 on Saturday morning.

Trusty iron horse - for the Cairns to Townsville leg

I’d decided that for 32 hours I could do without a sleeper, particularly as the price for one was astronomical. I had an empty seat beside me. Would it last? Sadly no. A young girl got on at Mackay at about 10pm and went through to the second last stop. She was an attractive young thing with a good figure – and stank to high heaven of cigarettes. Why do they do it?! I didn’t have much choice but to bear it as I tried to sleep. But once dawn broke I spent the rest of the trip in the Club Car. That’s the better place to travel anyway – better windows for scenery watching. I’d already spent quite a bit of time there on the Saturday.

Sunset

Sunrise

The scenery – lovely without being spectacular. Lots of sugar cane, bananas and, to a lesser extent, cattle. I made sure to book a seat to get the best sea views. There was one of those! Ha ha!! There were many hints of the sea but always just beyond view.

The one sea view of the journey - near Cardwell

Low clouds and sugar cane

Bags of bananas!

Cattle country

The food – lunch on both days was good, a roast beef and gravy roll on Saturday and a chicken burger on Sunday, both freshly made. Dinner on Saturday night was less exciting – the barramundi was definitely of inferior quality. There were plenty of options, that was what I chose. No dessert though!

The shower – for 32 hours amongst strangers …. I didn’t bother!! Most didn’t but a few did, much to my surprise.
The stops – there were quite a few, the longest at Townsville where the engine was changed for some reason. The other at Rockhampton in the middle of the night. I got off the train twice – at Townsville and one of the first five minute stops.

My train curves into Townsville

At Townsville there was enough time to move away from the smokers. At the shorts stops, as one experience was enough to teach me, the smokers simply ignored the “no smoking on the platform” rule (announced prior to every stop) and there was no escaping the foul air so I stayed on board.

I chatted occasionally with another woman travelling alone. She pointed out a power point for re-charging my phone, which was handy. You notice the lack of them in older trains! Other than that it was an extremely pleasant, uneventful trip. The train got into Roma Street, Brisbane’s country rail terminal, only 15 minutes late, not bad considering the need to go slow in some spots where cyclone damage is still in the throes of being repaired.

It was an easy connection to the airport train where I was joined by my friend Joseph for a catch-up over coffee before my flight on to Melbourne. I should catch up with Joseph more often …. for a bit of star spotting! Last time, it was Wayne Swan at the next table at a Chinese restaurant in The Valley in Brisbane. On this occasion it was Colin Friels at a café at Brisbane airport. There is a link between Joseph and Colin Friels: CF starred in a mini-series (The Farm) which was partly shot on Joseph’s family farm outside Yass. We let CF be though and didn’t remind him of the acquaintance :-)
The flight to Melbourne was very quick – two instead of two-and-a-half hours. I wasn’t complaining about getting home that little bit earlier on a late night!

Truckin' 2

There's swimming, flying, sailing and the towns .... and there's Terra Firma, where most time was spent. So much of that time was spent travelling, mostly on unmade roads. Yes, we bounced around a bit with the occasional jolt here and there. But really it was very comfortable. Never once did I think “Aren't we there yet?” or “Let me off!!” I even dozed a bit, sad to say as I missed the scenery.

People will say, “Oh, but the scenery doesn't change much.” In fact, it does. Slowly and subtly, but change it does. Wide, flat, open; hills, trees, scrub, palms; water crossings, with and without water; termite mounds, big and small; the very rare building of some sort; roadhouses, fences, no fences; passing traffic, every hour or so.

The first major trek was across the Tanami Desert. Next was the drive into Purnululu NP, just on 60km off the Great Northern Highway but it took 2½hrs to do it, such were the twists and turns.

The second major trek was the iconic Gibb River Road. I expected this to be really bad, but it wasn't, well not from the point of view of this passenger! Mind you, I wouldn't have wanted to drive it!! The wear and tear on the truck was enough to make you realise you'd have to be prepared to write off a vehicle if you drove a 4WD across. It wouldn't necessarily happen – although it did to a woman trying to hitch to anywhere from Mt Barnett Roadhouse! It would definitely take years off the life of a 4WD though and only a fool would attempt it in a regular car. That said, the road was in pretty good nick, reasonably graded. But you can see why you don't travel the Gibb in the wet. Seeing the height that water reaches by the debris caught high in tree branches – you'd need your floaties, and then some!!

The third, though shorter, major trek was on the rugged Kalumburu Road, off the Gibb, then off that again up to Mitchell Plateau on the most rugged stretch of all.

Pretty much all the rest was on sealed roads. The romantic factor took a steep dive! Anyone wanting to experience the romance of the Gibb needs to get on with it. It's sealed from the Great Northern Highway to Emma Gorge Resort and major roadworks are under way to seal from there to the El Questro Homestead turn-off. Once that's complete it's not hard to imagine that the rest will follow, not quickly perhaps, but the days of the unsealed road look to be numbered.

I've not read any words nor seen any photos anywhere that do this trip justice or give a real appreciation of the majesty of Kimberley country. But I'll try to give a little of the flavour with these photos.

Start of the Gibb River Road, near Derby,WA
More photos -
Gibb River Road - Part 1
Gibb River Road - Part 2
After the Gibb - Part 1
After the Gibb - Part 2

Truckin'

Yes, the tour vehicle is a Mercedes truck, plus trailer, not a bus at all. A pretty glam truck, the “passenger pod” is really comfortable, surviving the 1,000km Tanami Track. The road was mostly unmade although we were pretty lucky because in several stretches the graders had been through. There were still plenty of corrugations though to shake you up, with a real bone-cruncher every so often. Just warming up for getting into the Bungle Bungles we were warned. As it turned out, that was pretty much rock-n-roll but not too many crunches.

The brilliant driver (Brendan) and the great cook and everything else (Les) are both extra good value. They'll see us through 5,800km as well as anyone could. Les is one of those frantically busy types (and he does have heaps to do each day) who remains calm at all times. Brendan is the loveliest of gentle men, would do anything for you, not at all someone you'd pick as a truckie.



Setting off across the Tanami