TOD Tour 2.0 Day 20 - Porcupine Gorge

Winton to Hughenden: 430 kms (trip 2745 kms)

Porcupine Gorge lies approximately 70kms to the north of Hughenden and on our original planning - such as it was - it was one spot we had intended camping in. However, overnight temperatures have taken a dive in the last few days owing to the big cold front which is affecting southern states so strongly. We don't camp in temps under five or six degrees, so our day trip today was a make up.

The Tourist Information people in Hughenden are pretty practical mob and along with a NP information sheet, they also provide an sheet with eleven points of interest to see on the way to Porcupine Gorge. We didn't stop at all of them but we might have otherwise missed some interesting ones.

The drive starts by crossing the Flinders River. Its the longest river in Queensland exits the state in the Gulf on Carpentaria, a journey of a tick over 1000km. The section of it on show in Hughenden isn't mostly sand, its all sand and despite the wide gap between banks - perhaps 300m - its a dry and dusty argument. Hughenden is well served by a bore which provides plenty of reliable water. Further on, we crossed Matchbox Creek, so named because a small wagon loaded with matches exploded there. An old and dilapidated section of the infamous dingo fence is divided by the Kennedy Development Road, at this point called the Hann Highway, a rather grand description for a country road.

52km from Hughenden is Eaglehawk Lookout, which is located Devils Elbow. It wasn't clear if the elbow was in the road or the gorge beyond. This is near the start of the Porcupine Gorge system which extends for 25kms along Porcupine Creek. The gorge at this point is perhaps twenty metres deep and ill-defined and only the top layer - the basalt capstone - has been cut through. Everywhere was deep, rich brown rock in this basalt environment. Nearby, a pile of painted white stones is an unmarked grave, variously thought to be the resting place of a Chinese man run over by a wagon wheel or an aboriginal girl called Minnie Waite who was either murdered or died from exposure as she walked from a nearby station to Hughenden.

They like to keep their option open up here.

Bottle Tree Ridge Lookout was next. The lookout was at the top of a small jump-up and only I made the rocky climb to the top, where the local name of the lookout, Bottle Tree Lookout, becomes obvious. The tree that stands there isn't a bottle tree but it has the same distinctive look. Views were expansive to the east and south. The basalt rocks made climbing an ankle testing exercise. A local mailman, on his pack horse was attacked by a group of aboriginal men here in 1886 and his grave is at the base of the lookout.

Finally, we reached Porcupine Gorge Lookout. It was jaw dropping. Located 120m above the
Porcupine Creek, it is a narrow, steep drop which extends several kilometres in view. The 280 million years it took to develop are on show in the steep sides of the gorge, from sandstones in several different layers, to conglomerates and finally the basalt cap which flowed from a volcano ten thousand years ago. It is sometimes called the Little Grand Canyon and its not hard to see why. This is one of those places where nature is just showing off and you are left feeling small by comparison.

From there it was just a few kms to the camping area. Here the gorge has widened considerably and the sides are less wall and more slope. The prominent feature on the far wall is The Pyramid, a triangular shaped section of wall which creates the illusion of being a square pyramid. In truth, we didn't think this anywhere as spectacular as the previous lookout but it features a walking track to the base of the pyramid which attracts all comers. We started by declined. Sue's back and my knee would not have stood the rigours of the decent, let alone the burden of the climb back. Nothing lost. My word we are becoming adult.

On the way back to Hughenden, we spent about twenty minutes passing through a mob of 1500 cattle straggling along in the long paddock and not many of them looking in good condition. The drovers, most of them young women in their early twenties, had cheery waves to offer from their quad bikes and horses. I've been through road mobs before but nothing like this. It was quite and experience.

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What a magic day and one which filled us with the excitement of why we love to be on the road. Eating lunch back at Porcupine Gorge, with out cheese sandwiches and black tea, we couldn't stop smiling.

TOD Tour 2.0 Day 19 - Cafes and Sunsets

Sunset on the plains at Hughenden

The FJ Holden Cafe in the main street of Hughenden is a colourful place.

Belonging to the Holden family for ever, it hasn't just served people fast food in the way it used to be - on a plate, not in a box - it has also allowed a fetish for all things Holden to not only be expressed but massively indulged. There are matchbox and dinky cars, there are cars in racing livery, including the famous 05 car of Peter Brock. There are helmets and clothing and ... well everything. There are also collectibles of Elvis - dolls being a feature. Flags, the old 45's and two fabulous juke boxes.

All of it in mint condition, this is a loved collection and why not. Such a unique place.

Around the corner at the Tourist Information Centre, a very informative museum has videos which will tell you all about Porcupine Gorge, to the north. There is also a walk through recreation of station life in the yards, lots of rocks - lots and lots of rocks - and a whole long wall devoted to information about dinosaurs in Australia. Central to this display is the museum's centrepiece, a skeletal recreation of a muttabuttasaurus: one of the former locals from 95 million years ago.

I was back to the GP - the third one in less than three weeks - to try and sort out this sinus or respiratory infection. I had thought I was past the hump but since the last antibiotics ended, the snot has crept insidiously back into its home in my sinus channels. More drugs; more reassurance. As a result, we have had to miss out on staying at Porcupine Gorge because it would be just too cold.

Late this afternoon we took the drive out to Mt Walker. About 8kms to the south, its another mesa or jump up, which provides nice views of the surrounding plains. The local council has installed eight lookout points, including Sunset Lookout, which is a mecca for photographers and those who like to drink champagne as it gets dark. It wasn't much of a sunset - no clouds for colour - but the crowds went ooh and aah. I wandered off and took photos in the other direction. The best shots were back down on the plain after the sunset, where the few trees we stunning silhouettes against the black, orange and blue backgrounds.

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Hoping to travel the 70kms out to Porcupine Gorge tomorrow for a day trip. It promises to be spectacular. 

TOD Tour 2.0 Day 18 - Winton to Hughenden

Kennedy Development Road: 216km (2531km)

The Kennedy Development Road

Often the best days on tour are the ones with unexpected treats and more often, they happen when we detour from the Grey Nomad formula of driving without break between major centres or at least the nightly stops. For us, what's the point of being our here if you don't stop and chat with folks.

We left Winton for the two hundred odd kms north east track to Hughenden about half nine. Road signs warned us of soft edges and suggested we drive in the middle of the road where ever safe to do so. My immediate thought was to hope we didn't meet too many trucks because as the black top narrowed, it was obvious we would have to get right off the road into those soft edges if one of those triple trailers came toward us.

It was a chilly morning, with a lazy breeze magnifying that chill. A couple of nuisance stops, on the roadway, to secure the back window of the van when the roughness of the road surface bounced it open, exposed us to the temperature and the flat, poorly grassed, vast paddocks around us.

About morning tea time, we arrived at Corfield. I'm not calling it a town; in fact, calling it a village would be a massive exaggeration. With a population of seven, which Gail, to co-manager of the Corfield Club says was an inflated figure, Corfield has one building. It started life as the School of Arts but when the Manuka Pub (the Corfield Pub) burnt down, it was re-purposed. Horrified that the owner of the pub didn't intend to rebuild, the locals started having a few stubbies across the road at the School of Arts and it was during the discussions which ensued that the idea was launched to form a community co-operative and form a "club". This tin shed, with bar and kitchen, is now the hub of the smallest of communities which has members who come in for a beer from 60kms away. Gail and her Husband had earlier been managers and have returned for a couple of years until someone in the community wants to step into the role.

Fabulous but that's not all. Corfield also hosts a horse race meeting every August which draws more
than 600 people for the five race event whose premier race is - you guessed it - the Corfield Cup!

Beside the Club is a free camping area which included showers and behind that is a tennis court in very good nick.

Had we done the "usual thing", we would have missed such a great story. Loving the road.

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After reaching Hughenden, we went for a drive around town. The highlight was the massive Flinders River, the longest in Queensland. Unfortunately, the only thing filling it was sand. There was no water in sight.