Emerald, Qld

Ouch! After a full day on the road in the drizzly rain, including a 10k run with one wheel of the rig in the deep cloying Mitchell mud over the roadworks section followed by a 35k diversion to a dead end and then another 25k via the alternative route to the van park, not to mention only a light snack at 11 o'clock, I jammed my fingers trying to put one of the van legs down. Back into town and found a quack to drill holes in the nails and let the blood out, we have come to Maccas to use their internet as there is bad connectivity from the van park. Judy is in mourning - no TV!

Rats!, as they say,

Our outback odyssey is now finished, we ran out of outback back around Winton and are now in the bush of the Great Dividing Range, Queensland style.

Anyhow, we are here for 2 nights and then back down to the coast. On our way here we stopped at Barcaldine in the rain to have a squizz at the tree of knowledge. [I must stick me two bob's worth in here - this is the third Tree of Knowledge we've seen, so just what is the significance of a TOK? In Barcaldine, we had parked a little way down the street and this big hideous box-like structure stood out halfway into the main road. When you get there its a huge timber structure built over this dead stump, which is more concrete that tree, and there's all these 4x4 (inches - 100mmx100mm) lumps of timber hanging from the glassed in roof. Lord only knows how many other trees had to die so that they could enshrine this stump that's, let's face it, only has a claim as having been witness to the goings on during the great shearer's strike. It's positively weird. Not to mention ugly, an eyesore and a blight upon the land.] It's supposedly where the first meeting of the ALP was held. Is it prophetic that it is as dead as a dodo! but they do have a clone growing as we speak at the Labor museum. Next stop a lovely little town called Alpha where we stopped for a pre lunch snack of a decadent pie and sausage roll. $3.50 and $2 respectively.

Anyway about to head back to the van park and snuggle down with the hope that it will be sunny on the morrow so we can see the Lake where we are staying.

Snap of the day 

Shrine to a dead tree. Barcaldine, Qld