The road out of Townsville and heading west was exciting for its newness (to us) and the promise of a whole new adventure stretching out before us. It rained a bit here and there on the 123km drive to Charters Towers but not enough to dampen our spirits and of course the driving means Jude sleeps for a little while which generally means a happier Jude and a happier mum.

I noticed a real pull to the left on the trip so the first thing we did when we drove into town was find a tyre place and fork out $80 for a wheel alignment and to have the front 2 tyres changed over. A bummer having to spend money we can so ill afford but better than leaving it and having to buy new tyres and the best part was they could fit us in pretty much straight away. (There was a Beaurepaires and a Bridgestone tyre place both in this town of only 12,000 plus a couple of independent guys with signs out as I went into town so either they go through a lot of tyres in the area or someone is going to go bust!)

Checked into one of the caravan parks and had our mandatory afternoon swim in the pool before enjoying (oh joy of joys) a nice cool evening of sleep.

Next morning we (well me!) walked into town with the lowering clouds and sporadic drizzle (Jude was in his stroller with an umbrella over him) but every time the sun peaked out its face the temperature immediately rose and with 2.5km to walk each way I was certainly feeling it, especially on the way home when the rain had one last and terrific downpour (which we hid out in the toy store during) and then out came the sun and naughty Pauli did NOT reapply the sunscreen and is just now starting to see a bit of peeling on her upper arms as penance.

Man, you have never seen someone change into their bathers as quickly as I did when we reached the caravan park (with Jude well-covered and asleep in the pram) and jump into the swimming pool. (I was then greeted by a big, fat cane toad when I turned on the spa pump and the sprightliness seen earlier in my ability to change outfits was once more witnessed in my springing out of the pool and away from the nasty thing.)

We spent our time in town wandering in and out of some of the historic buildings that Charters Towers is known for and picnicking in one of its many parks.

I really liked the feel of Charters Towers (or The World as it used to be referred to) and was especially impressed with the cool nights no matter how hot the day. I had a quick look at real estate prices when I wandered the streets and you could get a 1-bedroom house for $95,000 and rent it for $150 pw - anyone looking for a good investment??

Off to Hughenden on the Friday and wouldn't you know it, the one section of road that hadn't been under water for the last week had a big red CLOSED next to it as I head out of town. How can this be? I only checked with the Tourist centre an hour ago and it hasn't been raining that much! Well further investigation reveals that water is not the problem this time but a car and a truck crossing one of the rather narrow bridges you find in these parts and unfortunately coming in contact with each other. I started out slowly and stopped at the first tiny town I came to for some playground time for Jude and to use up some time and as luck would have it they reopened one lane just before I got there and with only a little wait we got past and continued on.

I highly recommend Hughenden's Tourist Info centre and its dinosaur exhibit. Yes we are back on the dinosaur trail. Tho' we left it cold when we headed North-west from Winton we have redeemed ourselves and Jude once again saw his beloved Muttaburrasaurus. In fact Hughenden has 'Mutt' that greets you in the main street and then a full size skeleton in the tourist centre plus some other fossils and many sculptures of dinosaurs spread around town. Jude was in dinosaur heaven.

Before we left Hughenden we drove out to the lookouts on Mount Walker and apart from the thrill of driving along the flat top of one of the 'mesas' like those I had loved so much around Winton, I stood at each of the 6 lookouts at the top and wondered where else in the Western world could you stand on top of a 'mountain' (150m above the town of Hughenden) that is only 8km from a major highway that crosses a third of the country and see nothing but trees and grass in every direction but the one that town is in? I just absolutely love Australia in fact:

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror

The wide brown land for me!

D MacKellar

Okay, now I've gone all poetic on you its time to get back to the Dinosaurs. We left Hughenden for Richmond, our 3rd point on the Dinosaur Trail and with the absolute knowledge that the road beyond was flooded and closed to all traffic. We arrived mid-afternoon to see the Flinders River in full flood and looking not so much like a river (you couldn't tell where the banks were) but rather a large flood plain sitting just on the outskirts of town. The road we had come in on was the only road out as well. (2 days later you couldn't even see the water in the river at all!)

Never mind, there is a man-made lake right next to the caravan park and it has a ……..WATER PLAYGROUND!!! Off we went that first afternoon and it had it to ourselves and we ran circles around the mushroom and fired water cannons at each other and had a truly wonderful time that more than made up for any missed water parks in our past.

And the twilights out this way - amazing. They just go on and on and on and the light is so mesmerising and magical. And as you will see from the photo I will post, the sunsets aren't half bad either.

Sunday morning began with church at the neighbouring Catholic church and a warm welcome to town by the friendly congregation along with the usual morning tea and chat afterwards and then Jude and I wandered down the road to Kronosaurus Korner which is really an amazing fossil facility that showcases many of the fossils, particularly of marine creatures, found in the vicinity. More dinosaurs, more happy Jude and with a great kid's corner I actually got to wander around and look at EVERY SINGLE exhibit and then tell Jude it was time to go!

An afternoon swim at the local pool handily situated across the road (which became a daily ritual) and then more cool nights to ensure a good sleep (until it got so cool I had to find a blanket to put over us!)

Sunday: the road was still closed but this didn't matter cos we weren't going anywhere anyway.

Monday: road still closed, 400mm over road.

Tuesday: road closed and somehow water has risen to 600mm over road.

Tuesday arvo: road opened to trucks, 4wds and high clearance vehicles. Water 200mm over road for 150m long section.

Wednesday: no update available by 10.30am but trucks have been going both ways all night and all morning so we pack up ready to go and when we see a couple of campervans come into town from that direction we bite the bullet and head out of town.

Gonna take a moment here to say hello! to our new friends Joanie and Ann and the rest of the lovely people we met from Richmond who helped make our 4-day stay enjoyable and in no way a drag. A huge big pat to Murphy the Irish Wolfhound, who did the rounds with his master every day at the caravan park and whom Jude and I fell madly in love with. One day………

And now we are in Mt Isa. I hadn't planned to come this far today but unfortunately Julia Creek was a bit of an anti-climax after all the excitement of would we or wouldn't we get past the creek (oh, we did by the way. Water still about 200mm in some parts but longest stretch about 50m and could see the white lines in the middle of the road which has always proven to be a good indicator when the road floods near dad's house and Felix took it all in his stride. Jude unfortunately had fallen asleep and was un-wakeable so missed all the fun).

Anyway we just drove straight through with Jude still asleep and on to Cloncurry which we had visited in September last year and we could think of nothing there that was worth over-nighting for so the last 110km to Isa just seemed the sensible thing to do.

What next? Well maybe a big mine to visit if 2 year-olds are allowed and then ever Westwards - but just remember, only 5 more days til Jude's birthday! Hip hip hooray!