We woke at a slightly more civilised hour this morning. The sun was already up and the Lazy Jacks and Peewees had already taken up residence under the shade of our awning.
I had
ventured out last night into the dark to see the wildlife on the walls of the
amenities which Chris had reported the night before. Sure enough, there on the
outside of the building were green tree frogs galore in the company of several
pale geckos, pale in an attempt to blend with the white paint on the wall. More
green frogs were enjoying a corroboree on the doorstep of the ladies’ facilities
however inside it was relatively peaceful, just a few more gecko catching the
evening mozzies in the loo cubicle. This morning that private place proved more
exciting; a small light coloured frog emerging from the pan lip when I flushed
and scampering up from the bowl back into his hiding place. I am just glad he
did not make his presence known a little earlier.
After
breakfast Chris paid up for another couple of days. I am glad the decision has
been made so that we can enjoy these wonderful museums at our leisure before
heading back on to the long stretches of highway. I was even more glad when I
saw photos of storm activity over Mt Isa on the television this morning;
hopefully it will be long gone by the time we arrive.
We have
been a little disappointed wth the effectiveness of the fridge lately. Before
we went to New Zealand, Chris picked up a couple of thermometres in Aldi on
special; one for the oven and another for the fridge. The readings have been
concerning enough to consider leaving the fridge on 12 volt while we travel these longer
stretches of road. This morning Chris pulled the outside vent off the fridge
and found the “chimney” had become dislodged and was pumping the “exhaust” back
down into the fridge. This of course would only occur the fridge is running on
gas which is only when we stop for lunch or to take in the sights or of course,
when we are free camping. He has now taped the outlet pipe back into place and
hopefully it will not vibrate free again although I am sure we have many more
bad road surfaces ahead, so it is inevitable. Knowledge is power, so they say, so
in future we can keep an eye on it.
We were
still about camp when the 10 am bell went for morning tea. It seems that when
one patronises these outback caravan parks, one should also patronise the
complimentary gatherings. So we did and as with each of the others we have
joined here in Longreach, we heard more amazing personal stories and histories
of those either travelling through or currently in residence. Such stories put
one’s own life in perspective and reminds one how lucky they are if they had
perchance forgotten.
After
lunch we headed back to the Qantas Founder’s Museum and explored the historic
hangar which cost the conservators a cool $8 million. Neither Chris nor I could
begin to understand how restoration could possibly cost that much, but then nor
could we understand how the tree canopy sculpture in Barcaldine cost the same.
The
hangar was established as the operational base for Qantas from 1921 through to
1930. Six aircraft were built here and during World War II the hangar was used
by the US as a base for their operations in the Pacific. It compliments the
rest of the museum well, holding some of the samller aircraft and showing
replicas of working areas of the time. There is also a theatre showing a rather
antiquated black and white movie narrated by one of the Founders, Sir Hudson
Fysh, who died in 1974. I am not quite sure what date the film was made however
reference is made to the fact that “airline pilots” now get the grand income of
$25,000”. And the rest! The context of this comment relates to the Great
Depression when all employees of Qantas had to take significant cuts in their
salaries. At that time pilots were earning $5,000 per annum.
There
are several large aircraft within the airport complex but a more up close
and personal look requires a further fee; this allows for a guided tour, including
a walk on the wing of the Boeing 747. The Boeing 707, also on display, was
brought out from England after a team of keen enthusiasts volunteered untold
hours back in 2009.
Before
we returned to camp, we drove west to beyond the town boundary and checked out
the Thomson River. After having seen the Barcoo at such negligible levels, I
was expecting little from the Thomson. How wrong I was! The river is quite
substantial as it flows southwards here near Longreach, and one could easily
believe that the Cooper must also be substantial and that there must be
something left to go on into Lake Eyre, although these comments do not factor in
evaporation and I am not sure how matters stand this year. When we travelled
down through the centre eighteen months ago or so, the lake level was already
diminishing after a couple of excellent wet years.
I have
already referred to the Barcoo which we camped beside several days ago. That river
rises on the northern slopes of the Warrego Range and converges with the
Thomson. The Thomson – Barcoo – Cooper catchment drains an area of
approximately 237,000 square kilometres and is the largest river basin in
Queensland. And then frequently comes to nothing! Such are the wonders of this
continent!
The area around the river here is mainly swamp
lands and those that are not, put aside for recreational purposes. There is a
small area set aside for camping however the mosquitoes are apparently rampant.
The young woman in the Information Centre told us yesterday that she had taken
a bottle of calamine lotion down to some Frenchmen camping beside the river who
had been attacked and were suffering terribly. Such is the kindness and
friendliness of the people of Longreach.
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| Routes travelled to date. |
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