Barkly Homestead, NT

Extracted ourselves from the sardine tin they call a caravan park and legged it out of Isa, heading toward Barkly Homestead in the Territory. Mt Isa is in a rugged hilly part of the country and you soon find yourself back on wide open plains that vanish into the mirage lined horizons on every side.  These plains extend some 300 kilometres though Camooweal and out into the territory. Then they change to low scrub on all sides and after a break at Avon Downs you find yourself driving along the mostly straight and flat Barkly Highway toward Barkly Homestead, basically the only thing between Camooweal and Three ways, about 400k.

Not having stopped for lunch, we arrived about 130pm and had our choice of campsites out the back. I slept all afternoon, trying to shake the cold that JB has generously passed over to me.

Out the back of the park is a bunch of old cars, trucks and 4x4s that ended their days here. Out the front, as the sun drops, the road train drivers pull in for a feed before pushing on toward the East. Nobody drives after dark, except the road trains.

We had a great feed in the bistro bar and a yarn with some other wanderers before retiring for the night. Judy put a video on and was asleep before the titles finished! 

Oh, I forgot to mention the bloke on the push bike and the 3 other blokes on postie bikes riding from Deniliquin to Darwin. Crazy. 

Road Train. Barkly Homestead, NT