Childers

 The rest of our trip back home now is visiting friends and family.  In Childers, we caught up with friends we had met on our last trip.  We had a great couple of days catching up with them and now look forward to them visiting us at Yeoval early in the new year.

 It was a beautiful day so we spent the morning at Woodgate Beach.  It was so sunny and warm and the kids were even keen for a swim!  It was a huge contrast to the freezing, misty day back home at Yeoval.

 The lovely Thomas family minus Ben.

Chris proudly displaying his latest Op Shop bargain.  He has scored some pretty good bargains with all his op shopping.

Carnarvon Gorge- Qld

 Carnarvon Gorge was a place we had tried to get into last time we travelled.  It was too wet then and closed.  This time on our way back home through Queensland we stopped in.  We booked in for two nights.  We knew our time there would be busy as there were quite a few big walks to do.

 Our first afternoon there we did a 4km walk down Mickey Creek Gorge.  It was a great intro to our time at Carnarvon Gorge.

 Down one track we came to this chasm.  We could walk through a long way until the track was stopped due to a rock pool we couldn't cross. It was really cool.

 The next morning we were ready for the big walk - 14kms!!  We packed up plenty of food and water, had our walking shoes on and were ready to go.  It was a chilly start in the early morning but warmed up as the day went on.

 Numerous times during the walk we crossed the river.  It was beautiful!

 Our first stop was to see some Aboriginal art work.

 There was one main track through the gorge as well as a few tracks shooting off to the sides such as the Moss Garden, Ward's Canyon and the Ampitheatre.  The main track was mainly flat and the side tracks had some steeper sections.

 Chris and the girls entering the ampitheatre.

 The huge sandstone cliffs were spectacular!

 The girls did really well.  We all did the 14km walk- no problems!!

 After the big 14km walk we stopped in to do the short walk to Rock Pool.

 Back at the campground the girls were busy doing a bit of finger knitting.  They had this tree to raise awareness towards child abuse and people would knit something and add it to the tree.  It was a great campground.  Very pricey, but you don't mind so much when the facilities are great and you're in a beautiful place.  Of an evening we would go down to the creek to see platypus.  The first evening we were able to see a few playing around, but the second night we didn't see any.

 The next morning we followed up our big walk with another walk.  This time it was 7kms and we climbed the gorge right up to Boolimba Bluff.  It towers 200m above Carnavon Creek.  It was a steep climb.

 It was a great view from the top and it's the only walk where you can get up on top and look down over the gorge.

The steep walk was no problem for Lucy!!  After a few busy days and lots of walking, we were ready for a rest and a few days driving in the car.

Longreach

 Our wikicamps app led us to this great camp spot.  We were able to set up right by the river and enjoy a bonfire.  It was only 10 minutes out of Longreach.

 The girls loved this tree and spent all afternoon and some of the next morning there.

 Bridget making felt for her technology prac work.  It turned out really well!

100kms out of Longreach we stayed on a station.  We knew the parents of the governess and she thought we might like to visit them and the girls could see how school of the air worked.  They were a lovely family and we had a great time there.  Lucy and Summer got on really well.  Chris was bitten by a snake one morning and ended up being rushed to hospital in an ambulance.  Thankfully, with a lot of people praying, no poison was in his blood.  He stayed in hospital overnight having tests and being monitored and was released the next morning.  It was very scary at the time, but we are thankful it was all over with so quickly.

Australian Age of Dinosaurs

 Just out of Winton we dropped into the Age of Dinosaurs to do a tour.  It was fascinating and we really enjoyed learning all about the dinosaurs and what's been found in the area.

 A farmer in the area first found a dinosaur bone on his property and now they have 60 sites in the area where they are digging for dinosaur bones. They are only allowed to dig for three weeks of the year.   It was interesting to see how they dig up the bones and preserve them in plaster until they're ready to slowly and painstakingly remove the dirt from the fossil.  It was such a long, slow process that took many, many years.

Where the dirt is removed from the bone using drills (like a dentist)

They are slowly finding all the bones from these two dinosaurs.  They are both a new species, never been found before.

Winton

 Next stop through Central Queensland was Winton.  We had stopped here before on our last trip and liked the town.  We decided to stay for two nights and catch up on some washing and I got my haircut which felt soooo good after 6 months!!!

 While I had my haircut, Chris and the girls went out to the musical fence and made a joyful noise!!

This is the camp spot where we stayed just out of Winton.  We were told there were yabbies in the creek so the girls tried catching some.  No luck!
Just out of Winton we saw this paddock full of camels!

Outback Queensland

 First stop over the border is Camooweal.  There was a cold wind blowing and we were happy to be in the car travelling and out of the wind!!  About an hour out of Camooweal we gave what extra fuel we had to another traveller.  The head wind was fierce along the Barkley Highway and he didn't have enough to get to Camooweal.  We met up with them again in Camooweal and he shouted the girls an ice block.  Not the right weather for one, but they weren't going to say no!!

 Our camp spot along the road that night was a good one with plenty of room and was off the road and away from the roadtrains. It was a perfect night for a campfire and we enjoyed cooking damper over it and keeping warm.

 Lake Moondarra - Mt Isa

 We stayed in a caravan park in Mt Isa.  After booking in, Bridget saw her chance to ride in this golf buggy and asked if she could get a lift while he showed us to our camp site.  The guy not only said yes, but told her she could drive!  The other girls jumped out of the car and jumped in for a ride too.

 The view at sunset over Mt Isa.  Definitely a mining town.

 Early one morning we went out to the Bureau of Meteorology.  We were able see how they check all different aspects of weather including evaporation, dew point etc.  It was very interesting and great for Bridget who has studied it as part of her geography course and could now see it in action.

 This is the weather balloon being released

In McKinlay,  we dropped into Walk About Creek Hotel from Crocodile Dundee.