Cool Waters Caravan Park, Cairns, Qld

We’ve finally made it to Cairns and what a sensational place it is. I have to say that I really love the tropics, far more so than the outback or the cooler southern states. Cool Waters Caravan Park is a very nice park in tropical surroundings with a fresh water stream which meanders around the perimeter of the park. The dogs love it and go for a swim on a daily basis.

Windy Hill Wind Farm, Ravenshoe, Qld

This photo was taken near Ravenshoe (Qld's highest town). The Windy Hill Wind Farm, is located near Ravenshoe on the Atherton Tableland and is Queensland’s largest wind farm development.

The Lynd, Outback Qld

From Charters Towers, which is 1.5 hours inland from Townsville, we travelled up the Gregory Development Road to a ‘one horse town’ called The Lynd (population 3). We stayed overnight at the roadhouse / caravan park and made friends with the local wild life.

This is a very barren part of outback Qld. Termite mounds everywhere.

Sausage Tree, Greenvale, Qld

We found this very unusual looking 'sausage tree' [Kigelia Pinnata] in a very remote town called Greenvale, outback Qld.

According to the sign near the tree, the tree is a native of South Africa and there are only three other specimens in Australia. The fruit of the sausage tree, which are around 60cm long, is not palatable to humans, but it is popular with many African animals, as are the flowers.

Charters Towers, Qld

This is a typical outback town in Qld. A relatively large town with a gold mining history.

Lake View Caravan Park, Richmond, Qld

The Lake View Caravan Park, Richmond is to date, one of the best caravan parks we have stayed in. We had a spot that over-looked a beautiful lake, which had plenty of fish in it and also provided a great swimming spot to cool off under the hot sun. Another great feature was the close proximity to 4WD tracks to try out the vehicle.

Kronosaurus Korner, Richmond, Qld

Kronosaurus Korner is a marine fossil museum, which is located on the Australia's Dinosaur Trail. On display were the remains of many creatures that lived in the Cretaceous Inland Sea, 100 million years ago. The Kronosaurus, with teeth up to 30 cm long and a head of over 2 m long - twice as large as the skull of T-Rex was the king of the sea. I definitely wouldn't like to meet one of these babies while scuba diving.

Road trains - Outback Qld

The size of some of these road trains is extraordinary. Even the large B Double road trains (two and three trailers) are forced to pull off the road to let these big fellows, carrying mining, equipment pass.

R M Williams Rodeo, Longreach Qld

This is the first time we have attended an action packed rodeo. Plenty of thrills and spills. We even saw the 'Marlboro Man'.

The Stockmans Hall of Fame, Longreach, Qld

The Stockmans Hall of Fame...another great place to visit in Longreach. The museum has many artefacts and antiques that shows how tough it must have been for the early pioneers and stockman in outback Qld.

R M Williams Longreach Muster

We were fortunate enough to see the final stage of the R M Williams Longreach Muster and rodeo. Her Excellency Quentin Bryce, the Governor General of Australia opened the event.

The Rich & Famous

There are many different types of caravans and motor homes on the road, but this has to be the biggest and most impressive one that I have seen. Note the Toyota Prado being loaded into the garage section.

Cobb & Co stage coach ride, Longreach, Qld

One of the many interesting and touristy things to do in Longreach is to take a ride on a Cobb & Co stage coach. You get to experience what it must have been like to travel on the dusty roads (and eat plenty of dust) from town to town in outback Qld. Give me the Land Cruiser any day!

Starlights Lookout, Longreach, Qld

It is not until you can get to an elevated position that you realise how dry, flat and barren the outback is. We decided to do a 100k 4wd excursion to a place called Starlights lookout. It was a rough, hot and dry experience...but the drive was quite exciting at the same time.

Emus on the road, Longreach, Qld

This has been a very common sight. We often see several emus with their chicks on the side of the road.

Qantas Founders Museum, Longreach, Qld

We visited the Qantas Founders Museum where we viewed many different planes and memorabilia. While it was a little expensive, it was a great way to spend an afternoon.

Tree of Knowledge, Barcaldine, Qld

The ghost gum, Eucalyptus Papuana, which grew outside the Railway Station, earned its claim to fame as the founding site of the political movement we now know as the Australian Labor Party. Unfortunately this magnificent tree was poisoned in 2006 and did not recover.
The other claim to fame for this somewhat quiet outback Qld town is the number of pubs. They must have more pubs per capita than any other town in Australia. A main street full of pubs!