As we drove, camels popped up beside the road where they twirled their blubbery lips as they munched bushes.
After a visit to the hotel and museum at Dajarra, once the largest cattle trucking hub in the world, now a tiny community, we bushcamped on the Donohue Highway turnoff near Boulia.
Between Boulia and Middleton, we came across a sad memorial. Pioneering life in the Outback often proved to be harsh and in some cases deadly. Unfortunately for young Ernest Charles Hasted (1891-1898), his life was cut short at the age of seven years and nine months when he passed away from sunstroke on 2nd February, 1898.
For a daytrip, we headed past dramatic mesa landscapes to the Middleton Hotel, an old, quintessential bush pub, slowly disintegrating in the quiet heat and gentle breeze of the outback.
The region is famed for the Min Min Lights legend, such as this sighting between Boulia and Middleton.
A stockman arrived at Boulia Police station in a funk and almost incoherent. His horse was covered in sweat and both could hardly stand. The stockman told of how, whilst riding at night from Lucknow Station heading for Boulia, he passed close by the Min Min Hotel graveyard. It was late and there was little moonlight. Suddenly, he saw a strange glow, right in the middle of the little cemetery. It was an eerie radiance that grew before his eyes to the size of a small watermelon, hovered over the graveyard and then moved off in the same direction in which he was travelling. All alone, it was too much for his nerves. He dug his spurs into his horse and galopped furiously towards Boulia.
Occasionally, glancing fearfully back over his shoulder, he saw the light was following him. Fleeing in front of it, the stockman almost reached Boulia before the light simply disappeared. With his horse in a lather and sweat and himself worse for the terrifying journey, he stumbled into the local Police station to recount his experience. The Police made light of the stockman's story and the whole town ribbed the unfortunate man about what he had seen. Then, in rapid succession, came more reports to substantiate the stockman's story and sightings of the light have been a regular occurrence ever since. The unexplained, mysterious Min Min light still lurks in the Boulia district.
The Middleton Hotel building dates back as a staging post to change the horse teams for the Cobb & Co transport company one of whose wonderful coaches stands outside. Lester the owner, well into his seventies, was having a nap on the bench at the front, but woke for a chat. He's not having much luck selling the pub in the time of Covid.
Antique petrol bowsers stand next to the pub.
Across the road is the Hilton Hotel, a ramshackle shed notable for its shade. It is open to the elements as well as campers.
Just a few kms down the road, stands a classic bush hut in splendid isolation on the bare land with a stunning mesa hill behind. It is a prop for the film, Goldstone, shot in 2015 about a rogue outback policeman.
We stopped at the servo in Boulia and when the bowser started ejecting clouds of smoke, rushed to tell the manager who said it was quite normal because the pump was on its last dregs of diesel. We were assured we wouldn't get dirty fuel, but should come back in the morning when the diesel delivery truck would have been. Next morning, we weren't told the truck had failed to show. So we filled more dregs only to be told by another manager that sometimes the dregs cause dirty fuel. We weren't happy bunnies and are wondering when the dreaded dreg dirt will strike our engine whose injector and fuel filter we had replaced just days before.
We revisited Carcory Bore. Sitting have our happy hour drink, we see a massive shadow advancing behind the bus. We pop our heads round the side of the bus to see a huge bull looking at us. He wanders close, crops some grass, then starts sniffing and pawing the ground, sending up great spurts of dust.
Waking early, we witnessed the most amazing sunrise.
Our return to Birdsville sees no further mishaps.
This time we had a good look in town. Now awaiting new owners, the Bakery was famed for its curried camel pies and great sense of humour. The pub is opposite the airstrip from where someone drove his wingless plane to the pub.
We drive to Little Red and Big Red sand dunes, opting to walk up rather than drive up in the myriad tracks left by small creatures during the cool of the night.
Outside Birdsville, we drove to the Burke and Wills tree that is said to have marked one of the famous expedition's campsites.
On August 20, 1860, Robert O’Hara Burke and William John Wills set out from Melbourne to chart a course to the Gulf of Carpentaria, which was the first south-north crossing of Australia. The team of 13 men and 20 camels carried over 20 tonnes of provisions. Though successful in their quest, both Burke and Wills perished on their return journey. Seeds from a Waddi Tree found in the diary of Wills verify their passage through the Birdsville region.
Next, we head towards Windorah via the creative Dreamtime Betoota Serpent, made from local stone and gibber, resplendent on a hill, shining in the sunlight.
En route, we drop in to the Betoota Hotel, another bush pub in the back of beyond, complete with classic cars, a cheery barmaid and Robbo (an ex smash repair specialist) and Roach, two blokes from Brisbane who decided the once defunct pub would be their renovation project. The previous owner, a Polish recluse, left the pub to friends on his death on the understanding that it would not be sold. A lot of cajoling later, and Robbo scored the derelict building for a song.
Windorah is a quirky bush town with some lovely old structures on the main street, a very creative art garden walk with sculptures, and a set of unusual solar power dishes.
Further East, another small town, Quilpie, boasted a fulsome display of ornate, big bras, outside the Country Women's Association.
Charleville was our first taste in weeks of a large town. We stayed at the Evening Star bushcamp where we hunkered down for a windy night.
We found an excellent free campsite at Bowenville Reserve near Dalby where a supercell storm gave us a drenching and a thunder and lightning show.
We stopped at the showground campsite in Marburg, a delightful village full of old queenslander houses. Next to us at the campsite was a huge bus towing a Ford Transit. We had a fun, happy hour with the couple living in the bus who were travelling to car shows selling quirky stickers and patches. The husband had been a truckie driving road trains for 34 years and still did the occasional trip from Brisbane to Perth in 4-1/2 days, although before tighter regulations he would do the journey in half that time.
Keeping our distance from Brisbane CBD, we stayed on the Western fringe at the showgrounds in Ipswich where another spectacular storm broke.
Our trip into Brisbane for repairs, medical appointments, and supplies, soon sated our lust for city life. We just escaped massive storms to go upcountry to Toogoolawah where the outlying supercells caught up with us and we sat out the tempest in the bush with a ringside seat for hail, lightning, double-rainbow and a deluge.
Dajarra, Boulia, Middleton, Carcory Bore, Birdsville, Big Red, Betoota, Windorah, Quilpie, Charleville, Bowenville, Marburg, Ipswich, Toogoolawah,
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