23º 33’ 13.2” S 145º 17’ 03.8” E
Another long day and I’m now resting at Barcaldine (pronounced bar-col-don) for the night. It is the home of the famous Tree of Knowledge, where unionism in Australia began.The road from St George to Mitchell this morning was very, very quiet. My GPS told me to continue for 205kms, and in that time I passed three cars and a tractor. Yep, pretty lonely. Then from Mitchell I was travelling along the major highway through the Central West. I guess I passed a car every five minutes or so.
I’m getting pretty good at over taking road trains! It turns out that the back few trailers can wobble around a fair bit, which is a bit scary. You’ve just gotta make sure you’ve got a big, long, straight stretch of road. But that’s not a problem, as this photo shows.
It’s still very green up here, and very different to what I was expecting. I’m not sure if I’ll get the red Outback experience, as I think it’s rained all over.
The good news is that I’m now past halfway there! This sign was the first time I saw Mt Isa on the board, from Barcaldine I think it’s around 740kms. I managed to get on the road by 7am, and got here around 3.30pm, so I’ll try to do that again. I was considering going a bit further, but I was feeling a bit tired and I can drive the same distance again tomorrow.
I also went through the dingo fence (not sure if I’m now in or out!), which was interesting. In case you can’t make it out, the sign says it is 6,500kms long!And Blackall, where I stopped for lunch, is the home of the famed Black Stump. This is not the Black Stump, but some petrified wood that’s a memorial. The original Black Stump was used to help first survey Queensland as a reference point.
Speaking of lunch, I discovered that asking for a garden salad in the fish and chips shop is yet another way to show that one is not from these here parts.So I guess at this point I’m officially beyond the Black Stump…
I'm going to take three days to drive to Mount Isa, around 700-750kms a day.
This is the way I'm gonna go:
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I'm leaving Newcastle on the 10th of January, and aiming to make it to St George, hometown of Barnaby Joyce, on the first night. That'll be 750kms.
The second night I'm going to aim for Barcaldine (I'm not sure how to pronounce this town, can anyone help?), which will be 723kms.
The last day will be 742 kms, and take me all the way to Mount Isa.
That's a total of 2215kms over three days! A long, long way...
This is the Tree of Knowledge.
A few years ago the Tree was poisoned (Joh Bjelke-Peterson’s ghost lives on in Queensland – it’s not a reflection on the decline in union membership) and so the local council has constructed a huge monument.
I remember seeing a news story about how the locals were outraged because it was so big and out of character. It is a bit weird and it doesn't really fit the rest of the town, but I like it.
