CHARTERS TOWERS/HUGHENDEN

Dear all,

Left Charters Towers yesterday and drove the 280 kms to Hughenden. It got drier and dustier with every kilometer. It's been surprising in that we haven't seen any live animals other than feral cats so far on our trip. The cats are all tabbies and very lean in appearance. We've seen lots and lots of dead kangaroos and dead pigs, and the further west we go, the road trains are getting bigger.





We arrived Hughenden about 2pm, set up camp and went off to explore. Well, we were back before we knew it .... you could shoot a gun down the main street and not hit anyone. This morning, did some washing (only 3 machines in this caravan park so it was a bit of a wait ... it's $3 to use a machine. Fuel here is $1.40 a litre.




Hughenden is world famous for its dinosaurs and fossils (take a look at the litter bin at the top!) It started in the mid-1800s as sheep country but over the years with the drought, it is more cattle now, although a lot have left their properties due to the drought. There is a gorge that is popular to visit called Porcupine Gorge, but it's 63 kms from town - not for us.



The Flinders Visitors Centre is excellent and we spent quite some time there. There is a dinosaur skeleton found on a property here and lots of fossils of fish, bivalves, etc. where the inland sea was millions of years ago. Of course, we had to see the Coolabah Tree which was marked by the Lansborough party in their quest to find the ill-fated Burke and Wills party. Here's a photo:



So ... tomorrow we leave for Julia Creek, about 260 kms from Hughenden.



Today it was really hot - 29 degrees - and really windy, from the west. The locals say that at this time of year, they would normally wear 2 jumpers and a jacket with their ugg boots. It gets cold at night but that's ok ... we don't go anywhere!

PS. There is a dog in the back of the ute ... double click on the photo to make it larger.

Love to all xxoo