We are now travelling through lands where dinosaurs once roamed, moon rocks are found and part of an inland sea once was. The countryside is very open and vast.

Richmond is situated on the banks of the Flinders River but the area, which Richmond now stands once, was part of an inland sea, with the water being estimated at 40 metres deep. Commonly found around the Richmond area are these spherical 'moon rocks' which come in a variety of sizes from golf ball size to boulders.

Onto Hughenden, were long, long ago, prehistoric dinosaurs once roamed. As we had explored Hughenden several years ago, we continued our journey onto Prairie. We camped the night behind the Prairie Pub and here we enjoyed the night with fellow travellers. Dinner was crumbled steak, chips and salad, we believe this is the menu on offer, every night. A tab is run for all guests and a head count for dinner is finalised at 6.30pm. Dinner is then placed on the communal dinning table, under the grand chandelier and enjoyed chatting to travellers from Langwarrin and four elderly push bike riders and their support guy. A great night was had and $90 lighter, we enjoyed our free camp, behind the pub with a friendly buffalo in the paddock next door.

The following day we travelled towards Charters Towers, at Torrens Creek the scenery changed from open plains to mountains and then we were driving through large plateaus. The flora we were seeing was eucalyptus, wattles, bottlebrushes and quite a few wildflowers. Once in Charters Towers, where supplies, fuel and lunch was sought out, before heading south down the Gregory Development Road. On this road there are many campsites but quite close to the road. So after checking out a few, we finally stopped for the night, some 250km south at a wayside stop called Frankfield Rest Area. We were joined throughout the night with a truck driver pulling in for a sleep, so from 4am the humming of his refrigerated unit running could be heard.

The journey southward towards Clermont was uneventful; we listened to a couple of podcasts. After fuelling up at Clermont we headed out to Theresa Creek Dam. At Theresa Creek Dam we were fortunate to gain access to a water front site. The view was stunning over looking the water, watching the pelicans and other birdlife. Alan got the fire going in the afternoon and cooked up his big pot of bolognaise sauce.

Fathers Day arrives and normally we would have a big cooked breakie but we decided to hit the road early, driving the day through Rubyvale, Sapphire and Emerald. Heading south from Emerald, our stopover for the night was at Springsure, here at nighttime the 'Virgin Rock' and another rock formation are light up with lights. The belief is if you look at the 'Virgin Rock' the Virgin Mary appears. No matter how much we had to drink, squint our eyes or stand on one leg, the Virgin Mary did not appear for us.

The following day we went to Rolleston before driving down to Carnarvon Gorge. We didn't arrive until after lunch but still did a 10km hike through the base of the Gorge and onto the Moss Garden. We left the gorge at 4.30pm and drove back to Rolleston and didn't arrive at camp for the night until 6pm, so an easy dinner of spaghetti was on the menu.

On leaving Rolleston we travelled through Moura, Theodore, Cracow and onto Eidsvold. We stopped the night at the R.M. Williams and the information Centre; here we enjoyed a great light show, which plays four times throughout the night and all for $10 the night.

From Eidsvold we travelled across to Mount Perry, onto Gin Gin. Prior to Gin Gin we detoured to explore the Boolboonda Tunnel. This 192 metre tunnel was constructed in 1884 as part of the railway line from Bundaberg to Mount Perry. It is unlined and unsupported and houses micro bats. We did a drive through and returned back through the tunnel; stopping to get a photo, just in time to get out of the way of a local ready to zip through the tunnel. After Gin Gin we followed directions to Laurie's place at Goodnight. Our stay at Laurie's, we enjoyed the fabulous view overlooking the Burnett River, had a tour of his farm, Alan went out to feed the potty calves; that had recently been separated from their mothers and got our doggie fix with Gypsy.

Our next stop was to visit Fay (Lorelle's mother-in-law) at Biggenden. We caught up on what we have all be doing since our last visit, which was several years ago. The town use to have two pubs but recently on has closed down, so we dined at the pub in the centre of town and enjoyed a great dinner. After saying our goodbyes the following day, we decided to hit roads that we haven't travelled on. There was dust in the air, all day as we travelled, giving the scenery and eerie look. The wind is so strong, so hence our fuel consumption isn't to great. From Ban Ban Springs we travelled through Murgon, Nanago and stopped the afternoon at Cooyar Free camp, where we enjoyed happy hour with a couple from Gisborne.

The following morning the dust had cleared, we travelled south, into a strong headwind. Driving through Kulpi, Oakey, Millmerran, Inglewood and onto Texas, the countryside is extremely dry and barren. There are currently over 50 fires burning in Queensland, so we are keeping an eye out on the news and avoiding any areas affected.