Sept. 30th
Today wasn’t much of a respite from the insane amounts of driving we’d been conquering. Poor Nathan was getting so exhausted from all the driving, all of which he had done up to this point. I finally caved in and offered to take over, to which he gladly agreed, despite my horrific first attempt back in Melbourne. Luckily, in the middle of nowhere, we probably wouldn’t have as many issues. I probably helped to drive about 300 miles total in two stints, which really isn’t much considering we drove about 8,000 miles altogether. But it helped, though I think we were both happier when he was driving. Driving on the other side of the road was an interesting experience. It definitely took a lot of getting used to, and I had to consciously think about where the car was in relation to the center line. After a while, it got easier, but things like turning onto a new street required a bit more thought. The most distracting thing was definitely the reversal of the turn signal and windshield wipers. You’d casually go to turn the signal and all heck would break loose! I’m sure it’d get better with time, but it was somewhat confusing.
We continued east along the Capricorn Highway. Pockets of civilization increased a bit the further along we went, but it was still extremely desolate for the most part. We drove near the area where the famous Aussie ballad “Waltzing Matilda” was written and first performed, but we sadly didn’t have time to stop at the Waltzing Matilda Museum in Winton, western Queensland’s self-proclaimed tidiest town.
In Longreach, the self-claimed friendliest town in Australia, we decided to stop and visit the Qantas Founders Museum. Due to our ever limited time, we didn’t really get to explore the museum, but we were able to get a tour of some of the aircraft parked outside. Although we were able to board a few smaller craft, the main attraction was the 1979 Boeing 747 christened “The City of Bunbury.” I was excited that, when they asked if anyone knew where Bunbury was (all planes are named after a city), only I and one other person (who was more brave and answered) knew the answer – Western Australia, of course! Though I never visited, having lived in that state, I was familiar with Bunbury. Too cool! We were able to explore the plane in its entirety, visiting the cargo hold, climbing up to the second story which was reserved for families during its heyday, checking out the cockpit, and seeing where the black box is located (at the rear on the left side of the craft). They position the black box (which is actually bright orange) at the perceived safest part of the plane in a crash, so take that into consideration when picking out your seat on a flight. For an upcharge, you could also walk out onto the wing, but we declined that on this visit. It was really a fascinating time, and I’m glad we did it. It was also nice to get out and break up the driving for a bit.
Continuing onward through vast tracts of grazing land, we eventually happened upon the small town of Barcaldine, QLD. Driving through, we were about ready for a break, and we needed to fill up the tank, too, when we noticed a very strange sculpture of sorts in the center of town. It looked like a gigantic tree with long dangling wooden pieces for leaves. We had to check it out. It turns out we stumbled upon the Tree of Knowledge, an historically important entity in the region. Under this once-living tree, it is said that Australia’s Labor Party was birthed. 200 years in age, the tree was starting to suffer dieback in the early 1990s, but the final nail in its coffin was due to vandalism. Someone poisoned the tree in 2006, and when it died, the tree was considered important enough that it was preserved right down to the roots and is still on display for all to see. Before it completely died, however, cuttings were taken, and parts of this tree have been planted around town so it still lives on. We marveled at the charismatic branches, and I was especially fascinated by the roots, visible through glass in the ground. It was really a neat thing to see, and another nice way to break up the drive through northern Queensland.
Pressing on, outside of Barkaldine we were subjected to something called a Speedo Check, which Nate and I found immensely amusing. Essentially it’s just a way to test your actual speed versus what your speedometer is reading based on indicators on the road. Not what we were imagining, but cool nonetheless! We were also stopped at a random checkpoint by some friendly cops who, upon seeing we were foreign, let us go without a second thought. Very cool!
Further down the road, we happened upon a father emu and a number of babies. It turns out male emus are the ones that care for the young, which we never before realized. The juveniles were too cute – about the size of large turkeys and sporting spots.
Eventually night descended upon us, and we found ourselves driving through more lush and wooded locales. At one point, one of the most exciting things happened. We’d been very watchful for animals dashing out in front of our car, mostly expecting to see roos and wallabies. Well, the thing that leaped out in front of us and bolted across the street was neither of those. It was approximately dog-sized, but as far as I could tell, it wasn’t quite dog-shaped. In fact, it was shaped a lot more like a Thylacine or Tasmanian tiger. It had a long, thick tail and fawn-colored fur. It was gone in an instant, and in the dark, there was no way I could have gotten a better look, but oh my goodness, that was a rush!! For those that don’t know, the last known Thylacine died in captivity in 1936. Since then, there have been a number of possible sightings, both in Tasmania and in Western Australia, but nothing absolutely confirmed. Considering the vast tracts of uninhabited land in Australia, it wouldn’t be surprising if a few have managed to hold on, and considering how barren much of Queensland is, that could be a possibility! I was so pumped about our sighting, even though neither of us could really confirm anything, I’m content in thinking we may have, in fact, spied one of the elusive remaining Tassie tigers.
A gemstone mining area, we’d hoped to have time to search for sapphires in the area around Emerald, but that would not come to fruition unless we were willing to stay in the area another day. (Note to self and anyone contemplating doing a crazy trip like this: you need a minimum of 4 weeks to really see as much as you might like, and even that is probably not enough!) We rolled into the town of Emerald well after dark, but we were still able to get a room at a motor inn that caters to seasonal miners in the area. Our room was small and cramped, and we had to share a bathroom with others on the floor, but at least we had a comfortable place to sleep. Hungry and anxious to not sit still any longer after that long drive, we inquired about local eating establishments and were directed to a pub across the street. It was rather nice, actually, and we enjoyed our meal of the day – I had chicken parmesan, and I forget what Nate had, but we both enjoyed some Queensland beers, particularly a brand called XXXX. We’d been wondering how you’d pronounce that. Turns out, it’s just “Four Ex.” Thanks, local pub, for increasing our beer knowledge!
From there, I’d been pretty internet deprived, so we attempted to drive around and find a signal, particularly trying the local library, to no avail. Our little adventure was not for naught, though! While sitting in the parking lot of the library, we noticed some drunk guys causing a ruckus by the trees just behind us. Observing them, we realized they were harassing strange flying creatures living in the canopy. Could it be? Could it really be?? After our disappointment at not seeing any flying foxes in the Darwin area, lo and behold, there was a treeful of them right here in Emerald! So we waited in the car until the drunks moved on and descended upon the trees ourselves.
Located on some medians on a relatively quiet street, these trees were asquawk with noise! Dozens of gigantic bats were causing quite a commotion in the leaves. On occasion, you would see one fly off, leathery wings aflap. We moved from point to point under the canopy, trying in vain to take pictures of something, though it was so dark, we had to blindly point and click, hoping for the best. Even the ones we did see, we only managed to glimpse. Cars would occasionally drive by, no doubt wondering what was up with the two nutters who were desperately trying to photograph what was assuredly the equivalent to a squirrel or pest of some sort. We did wind up getting a few relatively good shots, however, so it was well worth it. Another Australian creature was checked off our list!
We returned to the motel, happy, but exhausted. We ended our night watching an Australian movie called “Charlie and Boots,” which featured Paul Hogan, better known as Crocodile Dundee. We were both watching, trying to figure out where we knew him from. He’s really aged!! The movie featured an epic road trip involving a father and son, and we were excited to see some of the places we’d visited featured, including that giant koala back near the Grampians. Good times!
No comments:
Post a Comment