Kimberley trip 2015 - Ponto Falls to home

We crossed into NSW and watched the landscape get greener and more colourful. We stopped fort lunch at Nyngen under the helicopter and then pushed on to our destination.

We made it to Ponto Falls! And what a gorgeous spot it was. We were right on the banks of the river listening to the cockatoo screeches to signal the end of the day and then again in the morning for our wake up call.

We made spaghetti Bolognese for our last night camping and drank red wine and port next to the campfire where we burnt all of the wood we had been carrying.

It was beautiful to wake up to the Sinn breaking through the morning mist and being able to slowly get up and have a leisurely pack up after a nice cooked breakfast.

On the home stretch now. Should be home by mid afternoon.

Perfect way to end a fabulous trip.

Kimberley trip 2015 - Blackall to Cunnamulla

With plans to reach the border of NSW we headed in the direction of Barringun.  We made our first stop at Tambo. We have stopped here on every trip as it had always been an oasis in the dry desert. We normally pull up alongside the lake and have a cuppa and something to eat. But this time the lake was no more! Absolutely no water and speaking with workers nearby there hasn't been any water in our for about 3 years. The grass is still very green as they had sprinklers on it keeping the area around the toilets looking good.

Next stop was Charleville, again what a bizarre place. We could not find a bottle shop or pub open, a number of shops appeared gutted and closed down. We looked around for a while then gave up. We pulled up next to the vortex rain gun and made some lunch, chicken sandwiches and a coffee. We did the calculations and realised we weren't going to get yup Barringun until after 5pm and the only reason we were going there was to have a drink at the pub with the oldest publican, Mary, 91 years old! I had checked in wiki camps and found she was still alive but the pub closes at 5pm. So no point for us to head there.

We ended up stopping about 30km south of Cunnamulla. That was after stopping to get fuel and finding a bottle shop. This town had a lot more going for it than Charleville!

The rest area was quite open to the road but we camped right at the back near the fence. There isn't much road noise after about 9pm and before 8am. A nice spot, much cooler now. I got my blanket out for extra comfort around the camp fire.

We are going to try for Ponto Falls today. To make a full circle and actually get to the right campsite for our final camp. Will take about 6 and a half hours driving, approx 600km from where we camped. Let's see how we go!

Kimberley trip 2015 - Winton to Longreach to just before Blackall

We left Winton fairly early and proceeded to Longreach, approximately 200km away.  We were going to stay in the caravan park near the Qantas museum so we could have a bit of a relax and take out time at the museum but when we pulled up at 10.15am to find they wanted to charge is $34 for an un  powered site we decided to just keep going.

We stopped at the museum and found the next tour was at 11am. It cost $60 per adult and $40 pet child. I decided to let Gaz and Sam do the tour whilst I went for a walk into town.

Sam loved his visit to the museum, he remembered parts from his last visit when he was almost 3. We bought him a 747 to remember this trip.

I walked into town along the botanical Walkway, it was a nice walk. I got to the clock tower where there were hundreds of white cockatoo on the trees. I remember Longreach for this last time. I just wandered around town window shopping and waited for the boys to finish their tour.

We left Longreach around 2pm and made the decision to look for a camp spot from 4.30pm. About 10km north of Blackall w e pulled off the road, drove across a paddock to a clump of trees and set up camp. There were no fences and we drove across what could have been a dried up river bed or dam. We found a nice clear flat area in the middle of the trees, it was lovely.

A fire was lit, sausages potatoes and salad for dinner and a bottle of red. The stars were out and bright so we did a bit of star gazing and went to bed.

Had a bit of a home truth discussion so it put a bit of a downer on the night for me. But it was a good campsite.

Woke up this morning with a red wine headache still feeling a little down. Made poached eggs for breakfast, packed up nice and efficiently. Its colder now. We have broken out the cold weather gear. Now wearing socks and boots, long pants and the jackets are out for after dark and first thing in the morning. Logged in to Facebook this morning and saw it had snowed again in Oberon. Brrrrrrr. Not sure if we have any firewood left at home for when we get back!

Kimberley trip 2015 - Mount Isa to Winton

After a quick pack upw got into Mount Isa and had a McDonald's breakfast while Gaz changed the oil in the car park at supercheap auto. He then did another quick fix of the trailer spring and then just after midday we headed off towards Longreach.

I had changed the destination by this time to a town called Winton.

Gaz was battling a head wind most of the journey so it was a long tiring trip. We passed the walkabout hotel at McKinlay, Crocodile Dundee's hotel. We drove through some very desolate dry country which felt quite depressing. I could see the occasional group out animals trying to find a blade of dry grass in amongst the dusty dirt paddocks and I couldn't see any water troughs or dams for miles.

We drove through many landscapes but these ones made me realize the extent of the drought Australian farmers are going through at the moment. Very sad.

We got into Winton around 6pm and the van parks attached to the pub and close to town were all full. We found a campground on the outskirts and start there. It was a nice campground with large sites and good showers plus friendly hosts. We set up and then drive back into town to have a pub dinner. The town was a lot bigger than I expected and the pub was pumping with all of the tables full. We found a table just as people left and day down and ordered.

The pub owner was lovely and full of information about Winton. He was disappointed we were only driving through as he said there is so much to see. Winton is known for opals as well as dinosaurs. It is the dinosaur capital of Australia and home of Waltzing Matilda.

I think we will have to come back to explore Winton some more.