Outback Adventure 2019
Day 21
Longreach - Ilfracombe - Barcaldine - Blackall - Tambo - Augathella - Morven
ANZAC Day in the Outback. I’ve never seen an ANZAC Day commemoration in the bush other than on TV. It was good to get another perspective on it rather than only from the ‘big smoke’. Most of the town of Longreach and surrounds must have turned out as well as it was packed. Great to see. The March wound along the main drag before finishing at the Memorial Park by the Cenotaph.
We farewelled Lana today after the service who is staying on tour and heading North with her Dad Kerry who we met up with yesterday at our free camp.
Following the service we hit the road and stopped outside the Qantas Musuem for a look see at the 747 and the 707 that we have seen previously. The ‘latest ‘ arrival though was 2 years ago and is a Super Constellation named Southern Spray. A truly beautiful aircraft from a distant past.
It was overcast today in Longreach and we had a bit of drizzle at the service but driving for the rest of the Day was through on and off drizzle, showers and we even got a heavy downpour at one stage.
We drove through Ilfracombe and past their museum of machinery that lines the Main Street, then through Barcaldine, and stopped for lunch at Blackall. Blackall has the black stump and since the late 1880’s it’s been used as a measuring complement- check the pics.
From Blackall we on past an echidna on his exercise regime along the A2 Landsborough Highway and then past 2 massive wedgetail eagles just hanging out on an embankment together. We drove on to Tambo and we fueled and found a lovely little park by the lake that would have been a perfect lunch spot! Oh well next time hey.
The rain picked up pace from Tambo in and off and the roads were quite bumpy and uneven. Between showers we drove past a large number of black cockatoos just off the side of the road that I mistook for a discarded truck tyre!
We had hoped to make Mungallella tonight but have stopped about 40 kms short at Morven. Our campsite tonight is in the Morven recreation ground where they have toilets and hot showers for use and so we will make use of them.
More driving tomorrow (funnily enough) - another early start and who knows where we will end up!