Charters Towers Qld July 18th 2023

 Charters Towers Qld July 18th 2023

I was idly looking through old blog entries and came across some les than flattering references to the Gregory Development Road, on which we are about to embark for three-hundred and seventy kilometres today. So, expecting the worst, we set of early just after eight, heading for the Belyano Crossing roadhouse, in between it and us there is nothing in the way of civilisation.

Thankfully, we didn’t come across any snailvans or slow moving road trains or anything much. The road surface was, and still is, not real great, being rough and patch at best. But a bit of sensible driving, hanging back behind the one road train and the horse float we caught up to made the drive fairly tolerable.Maybe 50km out of the crossing we started hearing Road Pilot calls regarding “two by four point five” wide loads. As the radio was getting louder we knew we were catching up to them, albeit slowly. Fortunately, and quite unexpectedly, we heard the pilot call the convoy over and off the side of the road. Naturally, we put the hammer down not wanting to lose this opportunity!

Finally we arrived at the Crossing and ordered coffee and took a toilet stop. Usually we would stop and set awhile, but I was keen to get back out on the road, and as luck would have it, the lead Pilot hove into view as we got into our car. Yes, I kicked that pig as hard as it would go! Talk about your stroke of luck. Its not that they were going too slow, but I knew that the road opened up from here to Charters Towers and I'd rather be in front than behind.

Rest stop. Belyano Crossing Qld

The one good thing about all this is that no one else could get by the convoy, so we pretty much had a clear shot at CT. Not. Ran into some roadworks about 100km out of town and spent about twenty minutes sitting at three sets of lights. All the while we could hear that convoy getting closer and closer and we wondered how they would negotiate the narrow one lane tri-part stop-go roadworks. As it turns out, the Traffic Controllers on the lights weren’t asleep after all, and we could hear the “super’ taking charge and setting all the lights to manual control and they just “...let those truckers roll. 10-4”

The only incident on an otherwise fairly pleasant journey was when the large truck that had zoomed by us and was disappearing into the distance, suddenly started to break and the driver commented, rather tersely, about a stray cow that had decided to stand right in the middle of the road! Thankfully it got the hint and ambled off to the verge, but we kept a close eye on it until we were past it. I'm sure it wandered straight back out again.

You know you’ve been to a place a few time when you know exactly where to turn and how to follow the bypass through the back-blocks to pop out again on the Townsville road just a few hundred metres from the van park.

It’s always nice to come here to the Big 4 Aussie Outback oasis, so clean and green and shady and nicely spaced and situated sites. You feel right at home straight away. Shame the pool is frigid, but don't get me started.