Rubyvale to Longreach Qld: Thurs 12 July12

A misty moisty morning in Rubyvale, and we rode out of town in light rain. I was a bit spooked stopping for fuel at the little village of Sapphire, because of a lot of water-filled potholes in the gravel entrance to the petrol bowser there. Never mind; fuel up, continue onwards and keep an eye out for cattle looming out of the fog on the edge of the road down to the Capricorn Highway.

It was a very pleasant surprise riding along this highway towards Longreach. A beautiful bendy road with lovely scenery and the misty fog made it appear magical. Because Queensland is experiencing unusual record rainfalls, the inland countryside is green and lush. We stopped for fuel and a drink at the little town of Alpha, then on through Jericho (with biblical names) and on to lunch at Barcaldine. By now the mist and light rain had stopped and it was really hot in Barcaldine. We stripped off our wet weather gear and I found a little hairdresser shop with a lady happy to do a haircut for me. We had a great chat sharing our life histories….she was born in Burnie Tasmania near where I used to live back in the 1970s.

We also enjoyed looking at the "Tree of Knowledge" in the main street of Barcaldine. This is a historical site of the 1891 shearers' strike; where shearers met under an old ghost gum tree and this was the start of the Australian Union movement and the Labor Party. In 2006 a low life person poisoned the huge old tree but the locals have raised money to build a stunning monument to it, with the ghostly old trunk preserved, and an overhanging sculpture of wooden pieces is representing the extent of the tree's canopy back in the old days. A few grey nomads were stopping to take photos of this monument, with us also doing the grey nomad thing.

Our ride on from here to Longreach was a bit tricky; even though the road was straight it was full of potholes and lumpy bits of road. The recent rains were creating problems for all the roads around here. Never mind, we got to Longreach safely, taking note of all the poor dead kangaroos on the roadside all the way.

We took a cabin for the next 3 nights, thinking of more rain coming. More luxury for us! A sunset walk into the town of Longreach to buy some food and essential alcohol, admiring all the birds flying around and the lovely interpretive walkway with signs about plants and soil types.

On a happy note, Helen is getting better gradually. Hopefully I can stop worrying now!