Roadkill Highway

Leaving Mt Isa there's a fork in the road. You take the left to head up through Charters Towers, with the most direct route to Cairns. If you go right you'll pass through Longreach, plus the mining towns of Emerald, Sapphire & Rubyvale. I knew that once I'd hit the coast and got out of the hot desolate country I wouldn't want to go back. So I took the long way.

The thing I will always, ALWAYS remember about this drive, is the roadkill! I have never seen so much in my life. From kangaroos, to lizards, cows, wild pigs and emus. As Jean Claude (Camper Van Damn!) doesn't have very efficient air con, I generally drive with the window down, and even if couldn't see it, the stench of death certainly made its way to me. 

As you can see from my photo there's not much to look at for hundreds of kms, so for just 1 kilometre I counted. 37. That's how many different bits of roadkill I spotted. Bored? Me?

The first place I stopped on this drive was a town called Winton. It was here that Banjo Patterson wrote and first performed 'Waltzing Matilda'. This town is also where Qantas was formed, and there's also a number of visible dinosaur footprints in the area. A really nice little town, with some great history. 

Banjo Patterson statue, Winton, Qld

From here I moved on to Longreach to camp for the night. You could stay in the caravan park and pay $30, OR camp by the river just out of town where it's quiet, picturesque and peaceful, WITH toilets, and pay nothing. Not a hard choice.

Camped here overnight, just outside Longreach

Not too long after Qantas was formed in Winton, the headquarters moved just up the road to Longreach where there's a museum and a number of planes to look around and through. And of course the original hanger. Wonder how business is there this week!!!

Qantas museum, Longreach, Qld

The original Qantas hanger, Longreach, Qld

The Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, Longreach, Qld

From there I continued on to the Gemfields area with the towns Rubyvale, Sapphire and Emerald. Rubyvale is a nice little spot if you ever get a chance to visit.

The BIG Spanner, Sapphire, Qld

One of many times crossed on the Capricorn Highway

In Emerald I managed to add to my collection of BIG things, with something I'd never heard of. The BIG Easel holds Van Gogh's Sunflowers, the largest painting in the world on an easel.

The BIG Easel, Emerald, Qld 

The BIG Easel, Emerald, Qld

And just for anyone who's interested, it's around now that JC has started to backfire again, thankfully just after driving through the Great Dividing Ranges. He did it tough on that drive, but we made it!

Simple Stats

Days since departure: 184
Distance travelled: 16315km (+8701km for work)

Lizards run over: 12

Cane toads run over: 3

Snakes run over: 2

Portaloos towed: 2

Weeks worked as Runner on film: 10

Whale Sharks swum with: 2

Emergency mechanic stops: 2

Kangaroos hit: 0