Jericho, Barcaldine and Lara Wetlands

Kookaburra

  I am rather behind with my blog posts because quite a lot has been going on. I was involved with campaigning ahead of the council elections and I opened my garden for the Tilligerry Peninsula Garden Ramble, however, the letterboxing and panic gardening are now over so I can go back to reporting on our winter trip back in July and August. 

Sapphire had been a most enjoyable stop on our trip and we were a bit sad to be moving on. We stocked up with supplies at the excellent grocery store in Rubyvale and had a final coffee and strudel in Muggacinos before heading on our way. We knew which general direction we wanted to travel but had not decided on our next destination (nothing new there) so, when we came across a little place called Jericho, we decided to investigate. There were a couple of camping options but our preference was Redbank Park, a beautiful riverside spot $8 donation per night, 48 hour limit with toilets. 

Spotted Bowerbird

There was plenty of space right on the riverbank and as we set up a Spotted Bowerbird came to visit, another new one for the list. I apologise now, there are a lot of bird photos in this post as we had reached an extremely birdy part of our trip. 

Jericho was a small place with a Post Office at the railway station selling coffee where passengers could catch a train to Longreach but no return train for two days. There was also a very run down pub selling a limited selection of meals in the evenings. There were signs up saying 'I have to make a 120km round trip to buy vegetables so if you don't want them say so, don't just leave them on your plate!' 

The town is named Jericho because it sits on the banks of the Jordan River. The place was a very odd mix because it claimed to be home of the Crystal Trumpets and there was a sculpture commemorating biblical wars and then all the roads were named after scientists, we could not find a satisfactory explanation from anyone for this peculiar dichotomy. An open air theatre sat halfway along the main street and there was a film shown there on the third Saturday of every month for $15 but major sporting events were shown for free. 

Red Browed Pardelote

 The camping area got quite busy as the afternoon wore on and everyone sat around their little camp fires but, by the time we got up the next morning, almost all the other campers had left. The bird life was amazing and I was happy just to sit watching the Crows, Apostle Birds, Kookaburras, Peaceful Doves, Double Barred Finches, Spotted Bowerbirds and the ever present Willy Wagtails. There was an interesting walk along the river too but we left Harvey in the van because 1080 bait warning signs were everywhere and we did not want to take any risks. 

Apostle Birds

 After a second night we packed up and set off for Barcaldine, pronounced B-call-din, the road was long and straight so we played the roadside trivia put in place by the council to keep drivers awake. We expected Barcaldine to be an industrial hub for the surrounding area but it was a really pleasant, interesting town. The Tree of Knowledge was in the centre, this was where, after the Great Shearers Strike of 1891, a movement was formed which became the Australian Labor Party. The Workers Heritage Museum was also in Barcaldine $19 for a 7 day pass (not open Sundays) and dogs welcome. It was a very interesting place with plenty of information about the shearers strike, the formation of the Labor party and the roots of Australian democracy. 

 There were four caravan parks in Barcaldine but the showground looked nicer and was walking distance from everything in town so we stayed there, $36 power or not with brand spanking new toilets and showers. It was a very short walk across the road to the Witches Kitchen attached to the Union Hotel for dinner. What a surprise that was, it had been run by the same family for 67 years and was absolutely packed. The food was good and people seemed to be coming from far and wide for takeaways too, 67 years experience obviously paid off because they were incredibly quick and efficient too. 

Brown Tree Creeper

One night was enough to do the things we wanted in Barcaldine so we decided to check out a place we kept hearing other travellers mentioning, Lara Wetlands 30km south of Barcaldine. After 13km of dirt track off the road we arrived on the cattle farm that is Lara. 

Black Tailed Native Hen

The camping is all around a lake with waterbirds nesting along the banks and free to use kayaks and bikes, very rustic toilets and showers heated by fires, Lara sits on the artesian basin and there was a natural hot pool. $30 a night and a choice of two tours - the homestead $30, homestead and property $60. 

Darter

We chose to visit the homestead and really enjoyed it, the house was beautiful and the owner gave an interesting talk about the history of Lara and her reasons for buying it. The only downside was the place was absolutely heaving with campers and we discovered we had timed our trip to coincide with thousands of people travelling to the Birdsville Bash. Even then, Lara was big so we were not on top of each other and we would definitely stay there again at a quieter time. 

 There were various events while we were there, a billy tea and damper night, a dinner which was cooked entirely over fire in dozens of cast iron pots with entertainment by a truly awful singing couple who had a stage attached to the side of their caravan, they treated us to a 3 hour performance which was mainly Elvis and Johnny Cash but also contained a smattering of their own compositions. We are not too keen on organised events when camping so did not attend and Ian made his own billy tea at our camp, including the traditional swinging it over his head (what could possibly go wrong?) Unfortunately there was no getting away from the singers, they could still be heard from our camp on the other side of the lake.