Charter's Towers, Qld.

We have never been this far north of Australia. The inland city of Emerald lies on the Tropic of Capricorn, as does Rockhampton on the coast. The city gets its name from the sapphire gemstones that are dug from the ground in this area, much like opals around Lightning Ridge. During our Emerald stay we drove out to Rubyvale to explore the gemstone fields, and we went down a mine that had been dug with a jack-hammer by a guy called Jason. These are people of resilience and determination, and obviously do not suffer from claustrophobia.

We moved on further north to Charters Towers – yet another town founded on mining from more than a hundred years ago, this time gold. On the way we free-camped beside the highway overnight, that was thankfully not too busy so as to give us a good night’s sleep. We shared the spot, and a campfire, with a couple from Sydney who were also traveling north. We’ve met so many of these like-minded people and it’s been a highlight of the trip.

Since leaving Sydney, we’d driven through scenery so different to what we’re used to in Tasmania. Flat, sparse, hot and dry. “I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains” is certainly most appropriate. The occasional hill appears on the horizon, although the locals would probably call them mountains. They strangely stick out of the landscape like goose bumps. Hawks and eagles are regular sights in the sky, grandly soaring on thermals over roadkill, ready for that roadside feast. At the roadside we see emu and kangaroo, cows and buffalo, and the occasional fox will run across the road in front of us.  Each town has an interesting aspect, while in between are straight roads flanked by the Australian bush.

Main street of Gulgong.

However, after a few weeks of this fascinating landscape, we are beginning to feel drawn to the east and the ocean. We’ve decided that Townsville will be our next destination, instead of continuing north through the Queensland outback. Daily temperatures are in the mid-30s, we haven’t seen rain for months, and the sea is calling.