Judy & Brian Tour Oz

  Barcaldine Qld July 13th 2024 Parkrunned this morning in the Graham Andrews Parkland park in town. Three laps of a sort of figure eight course, dead flat and nice enough scenery around the park. Back at the van by 8am, a quick breakfast and out onto the highway for our first ‘big’ day of 400+ kms to Barcaldine. Road was mostly ok interspersed with lots of rough patches, but altogether not a bad run. Stopped at Tambo, a handy 200km up the road for a cuppa and cake at Fanny Mae's cafe, then back to it to finish up in Barky, as they call it, by mid afternoon. Horse Head sculpture. Fanny Mae's cafe, Tambo Qld This town, on a Saturday afternoon is a dead as it is possible to be without having the last rites read over its inert body. Once a bustling place and famous in its own lunch-time as being the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party. It is now totally moribund. We found one hotel and one shop open. If it wasn’t for the five or so caravan parks, it would have been procl...

Blackall Qld June 2, 2016 Heading north toward Blackall today and the road is hard work. It’s one of those roads that looks ok but the surface is uneven giving a bumpy, thump ride. You feel like you've been in the Wild Mouse ride at Luna Park for two hours. At Tambo (20km) we just had to stop and walk around a bit. I have to say though, those Tamboeans know how to have fun:   Nope, not much happening here.. Tambo Qld An unexpectedly nice little park in downtown Tambo, Qld I said there wasn't much happening! Teddy Bears in Tambo Qld A hundred km further up you reach Blackall, home to the amazing wool scour which we toured last time, and as it turns out, also home to a full sized thermal pool and spa run by the council. The pool is 36C and the spa 32C. Seeing as the local water supply comes out of the Artesian Basin at 40+, their biggest problem, and for the whole town, is how to get the cold water to actually be cold. After a few laps and a bit of splashing about...