The alarm woke us at 6.00am and we were quickly out of bed to perform the usual morning functions. Today we needed to get way smartly as the intention was to be in Longreach at 9.00am when the Stockman’s Hall of Fame opened.
We departed at 7.45am and had a quick look around Barcaldine specifically for the “Tree of Knowledge”. We discovered an excellent free camping ground on the edge of town that was being used by about 6 RV’er. Barcaldine is an RV Friendly Town.
We eventually found where “The Tree of Knowledge” had stood but there was a sign indicating that the tree had been poisoned and an attempt was being made to restore it by the Queensland University.
We finally departed Barcaldine at 8.00am and set cruise control at 100 (legal limit was 110). We arrived at The Stockman’s Hall of Fame at 8.59am after travelling west on a road that was virtually straight. During the trip we actually encountered 2 kangaroos standing in the middle of the road but they departed when we were on brakes and about 300 meters away from them. We have actually seen more wildlife in the first week of our holiday than what we did during the entire trip last year.
It is amazing to see the tail of a Boeing 747 as you approach Longreach and then the tail of a QANTAS 707. Both of these items indicate you have arrived at the QANTAS Founders Outback Museum. But before visiting QANTAS, we visited the Stockman’s Hall of Fame.
This is a truly magnificent attraction which is devoted to the history of Australia with focus on the exploration of the bush and the characters involved. There were 5 galleries to inspect and these also include some artefacts. We also attended an outdoor show where we heard how it would have been 40 years ago as a drover. We saw a demonstration of how sheep dogs work and this took us through until midday.
Next call, QANTAS Founders Outback Museum. QANTAS (Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service) actually came about in the town of Winton but the first base was established in Longreach as it was the end of the rail line. We had an escorted tour over a Boeing 747 (City of Bunbury) and the over what was the first Boeing 707 operated by QANTAS (City of Canberra). We also had a good look around the museum and the original hangar operated by QANTAS. Photography was banned in the 707 under an agreement with the vendor of the aircraft who apparently was middle eastern royalty.
We also had the pleasure of looking in an old QANTAS DC3.
We arrived at the Gunnadoo Caravan Park at 4.30pm. “She” was happy as the site booked had an ensuite attached. Steak for tea with an early night planned after the transfer of photographs from the cameras to the computer. Cost for the ensuite sites was a little expensive but this is said to be the place to stay at. We did receive a small discount. Due to water problems, there is not a single blade of grass in the camping area and the owners intend to develop the park in this manner.
Tomorrow will be a big day as we have 520 kilometres to travel with stops planned at Winton (where Banjo was said to have penned Waltzing Matilda), the Blue Heeler Pub and the Walkabout Hotel at McKinley where they shot scenes from Crocodile Dundee.
We also managed to setup the satellite dish without any problems. We heard on the news that fuel prices were up again. BUGGER!!!