Sapphire and Charters Towers

Sunday 27 July

We woke at about 6am again and waited till dawn to get up.

After breakfast we drove to Armfest sapphire fossicking centre where we washed and searched a bucket of scrapings. This provided us with a great learning opportunity about gems of the area and we found some of our own in the process.

Back to the cabin to find maps and have coffee then off to Rubyvale to visit the Miners' Heritage walk-in mine. We had plenty of time to browse the shop first. The mine tour was another chance to learn a lot about mining gems – sapphires and zircons – in this area both in the past and now.

We followed this with lunch at the Rubyvale Gallery then drove back to Sapphire visiting M&M Sapphires and Pat's Gems (where I bought two matching star sapphire for earrings to match my ring). Surrey and I bought the stone for the ring back in the 1970s when we were here and had it mounted at The Rocks in Sydney.

Back home to pack away the tent which is now dry and all the big things so we can have a smoother pack in the morning. I also had time to update the blog. I did dinner duties then we both had an easy evening watching TV.

Monday 28 July

Kathy and I were out on the road before 8am and took the direct road to Clermont where we had morning tea and bought some sandwiches for our lunch later. On the road again and somewhere between Clermont and Belyando Crossing we stopped to watch a huge flock of brolga on a property dam. There were over 500. Across the road there was a stubble field and there were lots feeding on the dropped seeds. There was another car stopped as well and we chatted to them for a bit then leap-frogged along the road with them as we saw brolga closer to the road. A little further along we also saw an emu.

At Belyando Crossing we ate our lunch and met the couple again so another chat ensued. We had to top up with fuel but at 200.9/L we decided we did not need to completely fill the tank!

On again north where we passed a large mob of cattle feeding on the long paddock and in really poor condition.

By 4pm we arrived at Ernest and Robbie's home at Charters Towers. Unfortunately Robbie is away. Our guided tour of the garden was fantastic with so many new tree and shrub plantings and a great vege patch.

After a chat and cheese and biscuits we enjoyed pumpkin and sweet potato soup followed by Weiss Sorbet.

As both Kathy and I were rather tired we were off to our beds soon after 8pm in two beautifully appointed huge bedrooms.

Robbie and Ernest's fridge magnets of note:

“Old ain't dead”

“Blessed are the cracked for they let in the light”

Tuesday 29 July

Ernest alerted us to the news that the Charters Towers Agricultural Show was on so after we breakfasted together he left to judge the horses and then we left to spend time wandering before the heat and crowds arrived. We watched a bit of the horse judging and were pleased that the horse I loved most actually won.

We bought strawberries to eat whilst there and also some to take with us and some to give to Ernest. Kathy bought a hat and a scarf. I bought a 3-in-1 handbag that even fits my wallet in it.

We then headed to the Venus Battery – a gold mining site that is now a museum. We were just too late for a tour so decided to fill with fuel and do some shopping at Foodworks then returned for the 11am tour. It was amazing to hear about the gruesome conditions for the workers and the legacy of pollution left by the processes that used mercury, cyanide and arsenic. It is very lucky that the once very full creek has now silted up as the water would have been quite toxic.

Back home to get lunch and soon after Ernest arrived home. During the heat of the day I was able to catch up on emails and photo downloading ready to update the blog tonight.

As we drove out for our afternoon activity we noticed a large crack in the windscreen. As nowhere is open to even think about fixing it, Ernest says it will be easier to fix it on the Tablelands so we'll be trying to find something when we get there.

Out to town to find the museum closed and most other things closed as it was show day. The Information Centre was open so we collected a few leaflets for the next part of our journey. We then drove up to the Tower Hill Lookout to the fantastic views.

Home to browse through the leaflets to organise the next few days then some diary typing before dinner.

Cania Gorge NP to Sapphire

Thursday 24 July 2014

After a few visits to the loo in the early night I had a good long warm sleep until first bird calls woke me to a pale, misty morning.

We were up, breakfasted and packed then reluctantly on the road again before 9am wishing we could stay longer. I started the driving today again as Kathy had done the second leg yesterday.

We continued north on the A3 to Biloela where we did a little shopping (but forgot the bread) and topped up the fuel. On again to find a morning tea pull off but all we found was a bit of dry gravel near the rail bridge. A freight train driver gave us a toot so we waved back.

By the time we got to Duaringa (via the A5 then west on the A4) it was time to stop again again for fuel, a hamburger lunch and the forgotten bread. On again through Dingo by which time Kathy was driving. Headed into Blackdown Tablelands National Park along the narrow, steep and winding road, and found our allocated camp site (Site 11). We had pitched camp by about 4pm then enjoyed our nibbles and coffee with the sound of birds and other campers settling in.

The currawongs were keen to sample our food and we were equally keen for them not to do so. They even recognised a loaf of bread in plastic.

We had another one pot wonder dinner of stir fried steak and veges then followed with a custard apple from Kathy's tree.

A few minutes spent watching the stars then decided to retire. Kathy and I both decided that as we had had two very cold nights and tonight we'd be over 600m that we'd wear our longjohns to bed.

Friday 25 July 2014

I had quite a warm night and actually had to throw off blankets. We got up after dawn and pottered over breakfast and coffee, eventually leaving camp to drive 8km to the start of the Rainbow Waters walk. We stopped many times along the road to photograph the wildflowers that were glowing in the early morning sunlight through the trees.

At the start of the walk we grabbed our water and some nibbles and again stopped often to look at birds and plants. We took a lot longer than the recommended 45 minutes to get to the lookout which gave us somewhere to sit and eat our nibbles and a beautiful view down the valley. However, our walk back to the car (mostly uphill) took us less than the 45 minutes.

The most significant plant we saw was masses of Hardenbergia violacea. It was just magnificent in the early sunlight.

Back to camp for lunch and had to fend off 2 very dirty kookaburras and a crowd of currawongs. One kookaburra swooped on Kathy and stole her sandwich, “injuring” her finger! We had to eat our custard apple dessert in the car.

Some of the afternoon was spent on diaries and accounts whilst sitting peacefully in the shade. After a sit and a rest we did the Goon Goon Dina walk. Along the way we saw more lovely wildflowers and some waterplants and Drosera in the South Mimosa Creek. Onward we came to some magnificent rocks then the rock art gallery with many small ochre hand prints.

Back again to salmon stir fry for dinner, fending off the birds again.

I was really tired so fell into bd at about 7pm. Unfortunately sleep alluded me until around midnight when our noisy neighbours fell asleep.

Saturday 26 July 2014

We both woke at about 6am in the pitch dark but wide awake. Not long after we heard the patter of light rain on the tent so decided to speed up our packing and leaving.

On the way out we stopped at the Horseshoe Lookout. What a magnificent view of the tablelands falling away into the flats below.

Down the scarp again and on Blackwater where we had our breakfast-morning tea coffee and checked phones and emails quickly at McDonalds. Luckily we did so because there were emergency calls from John about our stay in Mareeba.

On to Emerald to do a little shopping and then rang Robbie and Ernest in Charters Towers to find that we'll miss Robbie when we get there as she has grandmother duties in Townsville.

We then continued on to Sapphire and found the Sapphire Caravan Park. It was the same place Surrey and I had stayed in 2001 (although renamed) and the lady even showed us the same cabin. But we chose the self-contained cabin, Cockatoo Lodge, for a bit of luxury and space to dry out things after 4 days of tenting – no long walk to the toilet in the middle of the night, a sink and two burners for cooking, and even running water. We spent the afternoon sorting and washing then enjoyed wine and chips on our verandah.

Then it was wildlife feeding time – Pretty-faced Wallabies and Rainbow Lorrikeets – just like last time I was here.

Tonight I cooked dinner of steak and veges, then we enjoyed Saturday night TV on ABC till 10:30pm with a phone call from John as well.

On our way north

Monday 21 July 2014

It was very pleasant watching the dawn over the wetlands while I dressed and packed.

Once we had finished breakfast Bryan and Pam drove3 me to Oxley Station where I caught the train back to Banyo.

Kathy arrived not long after me and then Kelly and Hamish arrived for lunch. We enjoyed some time picking tomatoes with Hamish.

After lunch Kathy and I left to drive to Kilcoy where we spent the afternoon and evening sorting out gear and wondering how on earth we would fit it all in the car. Tomorrow we will test it out.

Tuesday 22 July 2014

We enjoyed breakfast on the verandah watching the cold mist rising and wetting my washing. We then set the drier to complete the drying of my clothes before they were packed.

We spent some hours packing and yes, it all did fit except the generator. We left Kilcoy at about 10:30am. We enjoyed our late morning tea at Blackbutt. This gave us an opportunity to test out our food system and all was OK for morning tea anyway. By now the day had warmed up enough to take our jumpers off. I had already changed from a wooly singlet to a cotton one. In the street there was a magnificent Flindersia tree and a very fresh fruit underneath it.

Onwards to Goomeri for lunch at about 12:30 then on again. At about 2:30, out of Gayndah, we saw two emu. We arrived at Mundubarra by about 3:30pm and checked into the Three Rivers Tourist Park. Kathy's tent is really easy to put up and absolutely palacial. We had our beds all set up by about 4:30pm.

We had time to enjoy wine and nuts looking over the wetland watching the kangaroos, cormorant, plover and cattle before we went down to the camp kitchen to make our first dinner. Tomorrow when we pack the car we now have a better idea of the things we need to access during the day to make our stops quicker and easier.

After dinner I spent a while in the kitchen typing up diary then we both retired to the tent to enjoy our first night out.

Wednesday 23 July 2014

We had a reasonable sleep after we'd got warm. It was a beautifully clear cold night and probably got down to about 5 degrees. Thank goodness for Kathy's sheepskin seat cover.

It was a steady but efficient pack up and breakfast leaving Mundubarra by about 8:45am. I started the driving today and only took a short while to get used to Kathy's car.

At Monto we stopped at the Duck In takeaway shop and bought roast pork and salad sanwiches for lunch. Kathy and Barbara had been there before so Kathy knew the sandwiches were excellent. We found a park in Monto for morning tea. Just as we pulled out of town we remembered we needed fuel so went back in before we then headed for Cania Gorge National Park.

We booked into the caravan park for one night soon after 11am and had set up camp and were enjoying our sandwiches around noon. We are getting efficient!

For our afternoon activity we did a walk to Dripping Rock. It was a slow walk because we both kept finding plants (including sandpaper fig, Cupaniopsis anarcardioides), birds (including a Brown Cuckoo Dove), and even a rock wallaby we have yet to identify. We are keeping a bird list for the trip and so far have 18. Near the Big Foot rock there were dozens of butterflies but unfortunately I could not get any photos. There were grass blues, grass yellows, two different wanderer types, a black one with white spots (probably Australian Crow) and a white one with black body and wing edges, there was also a beautiful pale blue one.

By the time we got back to camp we'd done 15000 steps for the day. Not bad for two grey nomads. Lots of water, tea, and nibbles to rehydrate while I wrote up the diary.

We then prepared another stir fry for dinner and enjoyed it while it was still light. Unfortunately this meant that we were all done and dusted by about 6:30pm so Kathy had a shower and I typed up the diary in the camp kitchen where there was a bit of light.