Charters Towers

So next destination was Charters Towers.  Aussie Outback Oasis Caravan Park was probably one of the nicest parks we have stayed out.  Huge grassed sites, wonderful pool and delightful new owners who were very proud of it, continuously working to keep it spotlessly clean.  It was here we saw the worst of the overseas backpacker behaviour.  After dark the first night five car loads, which was eight tents, arrived.  The owner told us later he thought they were actually trying to sneak in and hide up a back corner, but he spotted them.  So they ended up camping near the camp kitchen, which also happened to be near us, so it was then party time.  They were only staying one night, so we didn’t worry too much.  But we overheard a conversation where they were asked where they were heading.  Cairns was the reply.  What about the cyclone they were asked.  What’s a cyclone?? they replied.  So by the next day, they had obviously found out what a cyclone was as they extended their stay.  We had talked to the owner quite a bit off and on since our arrival, and Jim mentioned to him that as they were now staying, they had been pretty noisy.  He said he’d have a word, but the poor man was absolutely mortified when he went to their site and discovered they had turned it into a rubbish tip.  They had just dropped all their rubbish, empty bottles, shopping bags, wrappers, wherever they had finished with them, despite bins being not far away.  They were ordered to pick it all up.  The next morning he moved them to a site at the very back of the park and put a rubbish bin right at their site.  We left to go shopping about 10 am as they were moving camp, and were surprised to come back about 12.30 to see them packing up.  In that short time they had again trashed the site, and pretty much dropped their rubbish right next to the bin.  This was too much for the owner, who promptly told them to pack up and get out.  After they left, a park worker had to go down and pick up all the rubbish they had left strewn around.  We wondered if they did that when bins are supplied, what do they do in the roadside areas where bins aren’t provided.  But we know, because we have seen these sites.

The weir out of Charters Towers

Charters Towers was quite interesting – an old gold mining town.  Still a lot of lovely old buildings, and we did the tour of the gold stamp.  Woolworths supermarket there too, so time to stock up.

We headed to Hughenden, in dinosaur country.  First stop was the beautiful lookout at White Mountain.

White Mountain Lookout

 I’d heard Porcupine Gorge was nice and a good place to camp.  I didn’t check things too well, and what I thought was only about 40 k’s out was over 70.  But the camp spot was nice and not many people there despite being school holidays.  We did the walk to the gorge early the next morning.  It was only 1.2 k’s down, but coming back was a steep climb, and we were glad we hadn’t attempted it in the heat of the previous day.  The bottom of the gorge is all sandstone with many rock pools.  However, the best view of the gorge is from the lookout about 7 k’s before the campsite. 

Pyramid Rock at the bottom of the gorge

The view in both directions at the gorge lookout

We headed to Richmond, had a look at the free RV camp in the town, but it looked a bit bare and ugly.  We went into the information centre where they have a dinosaur display but decided it was a bit pricy at $20, so didn’t bother with it.  So it was on to Julia Creek, who were having the final day of their Dirt and Dust Festival.  Fortunately by the time we got there, it was all over, and the town was again quiet.  We stopped at their free RV site which is on the creek on the edge of the town.  Not a bad spot, but no toilets so you must be self contained.  The only down side was the number of flies around, something we seemed to have mostly avoided up until then. They could rename their festival the Dirt Dust and Flies.

Looking across from our campsite at Julia Creek - after the flies left

The day before our fridge seemed to be struggling, and by the next morning we had a puddle where the freezer was starting to thaw.  We had planned on a couple of days in Julia Creek and at least one other stop before Mt Isa but when we rang and they said they could look at it at 1 that afternoon, we opted to head straight there.  So we headed off immediately, with a brunch stop in Cloncurry at their yummy bakery.