Thargomindah – who knows it?
I must admit that until we started planning our trip I had no idea that such a place existed. And yet, it played a significant role not only in Australian, but in the world history. It was in 1898 when Thargomindah became the third town in the world to switch on street lights using hydro-electric power. It was only a day after London and Paris!
It was using water pressure from artesian basin to power the turbine. This method of power generation was used until 1951 when it was replaced by diesel generators. They ran continuously for 37 years without a breakdown. The only time that there was any type of failure was when the local operator got drunk on Saturdays and failed to turn it on!
After many very hot days, temperatures in high thirties – up to 39 degrees, today we woke up to a very windy day, cloudy sky and temperature “only” around thirty! But it feels very humid, there were even few drops of rain overnight. Due to the strong wind we had to keep the roof down. It looked as if we were going to have a big storm, but as we approached Thargomindah, the sky started to clear up. Finally, after a long time being cut from the rest of the world, we have arrived at Caravan Park with wireless internet, so I can use my laptop for communication. And what is good news, they are not set up to charge for the use of internet, it is free. And someone will tell you that there is no free lunch! It is a new park with modern facilities but being new the trees are still small so not much protection from the sun. Our mobile works as well so we expect from now on to keep in touch more regularly.
Everything is green in the town, having plenty of water from the artesian basin as well as from Bulloo River. Thargomindah is an aboriginal word meaning “Cloud of Dust.” It is appropriate name as soon as you leave the town. The population is 250 so we are not talking about a big town, but it has all you need including Roadhouse with a shop and Takeaways, another general Store, Post Office, Police Station, School, Hospital and an Airport.
Annual rainfall is 10 inches and summer temperatures 25 – 48.7 deg C. So at 35 deg at this moment we are lucky!
Later in the afternoon we were very surprised to see arriving Anne and Don, a very friendly couple we met twice before. The first time it was at Lyndhurst, where we all had to wait all day during a storm which closed the Strzelecki Track. Next time we met them at Innamincka and now, third time at Thargomindah! And we had another big storm all around us! I think when we get together we must generate so much energy that it creates the storms! It was nice to meet them again, we had the feeling as if we had known them for ages.
The storm produced very spectacular lightening and some rain overnight, but we are on the bitumen so the only concern was about possible flooding, but luckily it was not heavy enough to cause the river to spill over the road.
Morning was beautiful, light wind and blue sky when we left at 7 am. After 7 kilometers I noticed a cyclist behind me and was very pleasantly surprised when found out, that it was the principal of Thargomindah School, Mike Castrisos I met the previous day. He decided to catch up with me and accompany me for few kilometers. I love this occasions, it proves that some people care about what we are doing. We had a good conversation before he had to turn around and ride back.
The countryside is changing now, it is greener and there is a lot of trees around. I even came across a little running creek with crystal clear water. I could not resist washing my face in it; it was wonderful. It tasted nice and sweet when I licked my lips but I did not drink it, though I was very tempted. Later on I came across a group of Emus and was able to get close to them. At one moment one of them, most likely the male, started making threatening sound with his neck blowing up and when started to turn towards me I was wondering if I should start running! But eventually he stopped scaring me and the whole group started to walk away. I got some great shots of them. Then suddenly the sky was full of clouds and the temperature dropped to 31 degrees. At 12.15 pm, just as I was getting close to the campervan for a lunch break, it started to rain. The few drops on me felt very refreshing but by then I was in the van. The rain lasted only few minutes. There were still some thunders around till evening but now, we are camped about 50 meters from the road, and it looks OK. But we still have to be on alert, it could get very muddy in heavy rain and even 50 meters to the road could be a challenge.
But we have mobile reception! We must be getting close to civilization.
The storm hit at the middle of the night. The rain was very heavy. We did not wait, pulled down the roof and drove the campervan onto the road. We knew that there would be no traffic and considered it much safer to be on the bitumen rather than stuck in the mud. By morning, it stopped but with overcast the temperature was down to 22 deg C, very comfortable for running so I was making a very good progress, especially since the wind was pushing me forward. We saw more emus, plenty of wild goats and many lizards. By midday the clouds disappeared and it started to get warmer again. But it stayed below 30 deg, very comfortable.
After some stony area past Thargomindah it became green again. With Red sand and many larger trees, both Desert Oaks and Gums, it looks like typical Australian bush when we reach Eulo. A large river Paroo is flowing past this town. Like many other rivers here it looks like white coffee but it is still good enough to dip in though I haven’t done it. The sign says: “Population about 50 people, 1,500 lizards” while the tourist brochure states that the population is 40. Whichever is correct does not matter. When we are saying that we are getting into civilization, it has to be considered, that the whole Paroo Shire covers area of 43,000 kilometers – more than half of Tasmania, with population 2,600 including Cunnamulla and Eulo. So we are not out of the woods yet. There are still big gaps between clusters of population.
We did not miss the opportunity to drop into local State School to talk to the students about our mission and about Tasmania. We settled in a very pleasant site behind the pub. We had mobile reception most of the day so we expected to be even better in Eulo. To our disappointment we have no reception at all. Tomorrow it will be OK for sure.
We have completed day 79, only three weeks left to Byron Bay. We both are starting to look forward to it. It has been a long journey, very enjoyable, but it will be nice to be back at home again.
At last the cool change arrived. Overnight temperature dropped to 9 deg C so finally we could get a good sleep. We woke up early and after six we were on the way. I could feel the difference, making exceptionally good progress. The maximum for the day was 25 degrees with light breeze, a very pleasant running condition. We made it to Cunnamulla to visit the school. The countryside has been all green, large trees, very peaceful setting. Perhaps too peaceful! I already miss the dramatic ever changing views of the desert with brown stones and red dunes, open endless plains and mainly the rich history of the struggle to penetrate and to settle the centre of Australia. But I must say that this is much easier, though not so rewarding.
We have seen again some Emus, lizards and very many Wedge Tail Eagles. One of them seemed to be more interested than the others to find out more about me. He kept circling over me, flew away, only to return again. This gave me the chance to take some nice pictures of him. The road is still not very busy. It is mostly tourists and road trains for livestock.
Just before Cunnamulla we cross the bridge over Warrego River. It is so full, there must have been some very heavy rainfalls up the stream recently. The name Cunnamulla comes from aboriginal term meaning “Long stretch of the river”. The centerpiece of the town is a recently commissioned statue of the “Cunnamulla Fella” in the Slim Dusty song. In the town centre you will find one of the best Information Centers with a very friendly and helpful staff I have seen. Apart from lots of information about the town and surroundings there is an art gallery, museum and Artesian Time Tunnel which takes you back in time to discover the Artesian Basin as it was 100 million years ago. There is so much more I could say about Cunnamulla but more information can be found on www.paroo.info . One more thing I would like to mention is the generosity of the locals. I went to an electrical shop to buy a fluorescent tube for our van and the owners Mr. & Mrs. Thompson not only refused to accept any payment but also donated $50 to CanTeen.
One interesting point is that Cunnamulla has population of about 1,400 people and yet it is the biggest town we got to since we left Geraldton 71 days ago! And we also started to buy some cheap petrol, only $1,575/litre.
Another cool night spent in the caravan park – temperature in the morning only 7 degrees. We love this. Even during the day the maximum was 24 degrees, very light wind. It is perfect conditions for making a very good progress. As we are discovering, it is still a long way to more populated districts. We are now on Balonne Highway heading towards St George. It is almost 300 kilometers with only one little town in between – Bollon. It means several nights spending nights on roadside and again no mobile reception. We are now running through Balonne Shire, which has 4,600 populations and covers an area of more than 31,000 square kilometers and incorporates the towns of St George, Dirranbandi, Hebel, Nindigully, Thallon, Bollon and Mungindi. I guess most of you would be very familiar with these names!
The conditions are becoming much more suitable for agriculture and we could see many cattle on and around the road. We also saw many more emus, kangaroos and thousands of birds, talking in their different languages. I wish I could understand them, they sure must have some interesting stories telling each other. The unfortunate aspect of so many animals around is the number of them killed on the road. It is mainly kangaroos and emus, but also wild goats and cattle. The traffic is still not very heavy, there is bush all around so finding a good spot hidden from the road for overnight stay is no big problem.
The cooler weather is most welcome for other reasons too; we do not have to drink so much and our fridge, which could not cope well with the heat is cooling well again. We can have a nice cold beer when we finish the day and butter can be spread on bread instead of being poured over it!
It got even cooler overnight, we had only 5 degrees in the van in the morning. We spent the night in a well hidden spot so even Jo felt comfortable. The road became a little more undulating making it more interesting. The hills are neither too long not too steep. It is to my liking. Each top of the hill is another reference point I am running to and the kilometers are ticking away more quickly. It is all bush around and I thought it will be a bit boring from now on but it is not so. Bits of red soil amongst the “forty shades of green” makes it look very pretty. I come across lots of flowers on the roadside, some grow only in a small area not to be seen again. Butterflies dancing on the flowers keep entertaining me. Another first when running on a bridge across a creek I noticed several wild pigs drinking from a waterhole. Unfortunately they saw me first and before I could grab my camera they disappeared in high grass. I tried to follow them to get some pictures hoping that they would stop soon and I could sneak at them hidden in the bushes. There was no sigh of them. I think they are still running! Eventually I got the opportunity to take a picture of one, unfortunately killed on the road. There was also the first snake I have seen. He was only small and dead on the road as well. There is a lot of grass around so it is unlikely to spot one though I would love to. I am used to snakes from my bushwalking days in Tasmania.
We have the most snakes per square kilometer in the world and all are poisoness. I came across many but if you leave them alone, they will not bother you either, but I had a bad experience when my dog Asta was running beside me through Romaine Park just behind our house and must have jumped on one and got bitten. Luckily our vet Roger Topping managed to save her life with two doses of anti-venom.
When crossing Mungallala Creek I was amazed to see the number of swallows filling the air. Obviously there are plenty of insects for them to chase.
When we finally made it to Bollon we were pleased to have still an opportunity to visit the school and talk to the students. There was already a message waiting for us to call Forestry Tasmania to discuss plans for our arrival at Byron Bay. It is now only 18 days away! We have mobile reception again which is most welcome. After filling our tank with petrol we settled down at camping spot near Wallam Creek. It is large creek full of water looking again like white coffee and lined up with beautiful gums where koalas are supposed to laze. Unfortunately I haven’t seen any and with our time restrain we cannot explore the creek for too long.
The temperature today reached 27 deg, still comfortable.
After good sleep we were on the road again very early. It was getting warm very early. We expected a very hot again, but around midday the sky started to get covered with threatening clouds and we expected storm at any time. The temperature dropped to a very comfortable low twenties and the storm did not eventuate. But Jo heard on radio that there were some nasty storms all around. Our good luck with weather is continuing – cross fingers.
There are some pastures amongst the bush with lots of cattle as well as kangaroos. We haven’t seen so many since we started. I have seen many beautiful parrots but they keep their distance. I still managed to take some pictures. I am crazy with my camera, taking pictures of everything I like. I have almost two thousand of them and it is not the end yet! Another surprise was to suddenly see many tree size cacti in relatively small area. And only one of them just started to flower. With only few flowers but hundreds of buds I could imagine how beautiful it will look when all of them burst into flowers.
We spent the night on a roadside and again early continued to St George. I can assure you that this time the name does not originate from an aboriginal word! Sir Thomas Mitchell during his forth expedition in search of route from Sydney to Gulf of Carpentaria made crossing of the Ballone River on St George day 23rd April 1846. And that is the origin of this name.
St George is a beautiful little town. We were amazed by the beauty of yellow and purple colored flowering trees. The yellow are jacarandas and the purple are bauhinias. I have never seen anything like this before. There are some vineyards around as well as grain fields. It is a thriving little town, full of shops and we could be easily lured to believe that we are back in populated area. That is until we look at the map and realize that from here it is about 300 km to Dalby and very little in between.
I have people asking me often if I am running to set up some sort of record. My answer is “definitely not!” We had looked at it before we started but rejected this idea very quickly. With only two of us, we had to set up the priorities. Going for record would mean documenting every step, gathering evidence and that would take the focus from what we really want to achieve. Our priorities from have been:
- Fundraising for and promotion of CanTeen to help young Australians living with cancer. That includes visiting communities and schools and talk to as many people as we can. This is not the scenario for breaking records.
We prefer to do something for others rather than to chase personal glory.
- Promoting Tasmania, our beautiful, well managed forests, as well as promoting all our sponsors.
-To demonstrate that age should be no limit to doing something really challenging. The age is actually an advantage since we have the time to do it!
And there is additional benefit I did not really think about. Learning about Australian history, early explorers and settlers and about real people still living in very inhospitable parts of our country. They are providing necessary services whether it is for the tourists or other functions like for example manning weather stations in remote areas or building roads.
While in St George we had the pleasure of meeting with Raelene McVinish, a journalist from local newspaper “Balonne Beacon”. She is a very nice lady, interested in reporting on our run and promoting CanTeen. The interest from any media and their support is always much welcome and appreciated.
After a mild night with cloudy sky and a chance of storm, the sky cleared up and the temperature claimed to 28 degrees, but with continuous light wind and level road it was not very exhausting. We filled our tank with petrol – unbelievable cheap comparing with what we had been paying – only $1.449/litre. For the first 5 kilometers I was running past lovely properties surrounded by lush lawns with sprinkles running, obviously here is not shortage of water in spite of the district suffering drought last few years. After 9 km we turned off easterly direction towards Dalby. The road became more narrow and much less traffic. Mainly bush on both sides but some fields planted with wheat and even corn appeared from time to time. The road on both sides was littered with cotton until a turn off to some industrial complex where it stopped. There was obviously some plant for processing cotton. Many of the vehicles were road trains carrying live stock indicating large part of the agriculture is cattle production.
In the evening we stopped at a pleasant campsite. There was a lot of firewood around and I lit our first campfire since we started the run. It was such a pleasant evening, I wanted to make it even better. A young man arrived shortly after for a chat. He was from a nearby cattle property, size of 70,000 acres. He told us, that the cotton production ceased to exist last few years due to the drought but this year some farmers started to plant cotton again. The weather pattern looks much more promising. I asked him about the cacti as there were many around, if they are a nuisance. He surprised me saying, that when it is dry and the feed gets scarce, the cattle would eat them. And also I learnt that if one has no water it is possible to peel off the skin from the cacti and eat the inner part, which contains a lot of moisture and tastes OK. Of course I had to try it. It tastes like green bananas so I would not call it the tastier thing I have ever tried but would eat it if there was nothing else.
Since our van is covered with signs promoting our sponsors, inevitably we get into discussion with many people about Tasmanian forests. I like to talk about it, since there is so much misinformation spread around by some groups. As an example, one day we met a couple of elder sisters who proudly proclaimed that they were members of the Wilderness Society and asked me “whether I was for or against”. Obviously this is the attitude promoted by the WS. I told them, that it is not “black or white”, but much more complex. I told them that I am for responsible and sustainable harvesting of our forests and that is what is happening in Tasmania. I gave them much information about what is really happening in our forest as in contrast to what some groups trying to make them believe. They promised to have a good look at it and hope they will. And I always ask one question: ”Would you prefer to stop harvesting trees in Tasmania in spite of the fact, that the logging is sustainable and the forests well managed, and replace the needed timber with imports from countries like Papua-New Guinea, where they clear their rain forests without re growing them?” I hope that most people will use their brains at the end, but have to listen to arguments from both sides rather than to emotional lies from one side only.
After good night sleep we continue today to Westmar. We have again blue sky, light wind and temperature almost 30 degrees. I saw on a turn off to a property a couple of little girls, waiting for a school bus at 7.30 to take them to St George about 60 kilometers. Nothing is too easy for people living in these remote areas. Today is Day 86, more than 5,000 kilometers behind us and only two weeks left to Byron Bay. And today, finally, I saw a Goanna. There is supposed to be many of them, but they seem to be very elusive. We made it today to Westmar, a junction of Moonie Highway and Meandarra-Talwood Road. We have camped behind the pub – that’s all what is here, but there is a rest area with toilets and shower. And above all, a good mobile reception and even TV reception so Jo will be able to watch Home and Away!
In the morning I woke up with my head spinning around and not feeling very well. I knew straight away what happened. The previous day I realized, that since I have been running with a hat and sunglasses on, the top of my head never saw the sun. When I take my hat off, the bold patch on the top shines like full moon in the dark sky, since the rest of my body is all brown. So in my wisdom I decided to let the sunshine in and ran most of the day without the hat and sunglasses. One would expect this sort of thinking from a teenager but not from someone, who has been around long enough to know better. So serve me right. The head got sun burnt and when the skin started to peel off, Jo could not stop laughing and promptly took a picture to show me, what it looks like. Well, I am including the picture to find out, if someone else finds it funny too. With my head spinning and feeling like having hangover I started slowly. It was nice cool morning, good breeze made me feel much better and soon I was again old myself. Thanks God that it did not get any worse, but from now on I will be wearing my hat and sunglasses and will take them off only for short periods to get the top of my head to match the rest of the body.
Moonie Highway has relatively short history so there is not much I can write about. Moonie itself is a small settlement created in 1961 when the first commercial oil operation in Australia was established, producing 1,500 – 2,500 barrels of oil per day.
There are more and more pastures and wheat fields along the road. The traffic is increasing, but I still would not call it a busy road. The road is lined with trees with almost as many cacti, some of them up to 8 – 10 meters high and many of them starting to flower.
Temperature claimed again to 28 degrees. We made it to Moonie early enough to visit local school and talk to the students. In the Caravan Park we discovered wireless internet so I could check my emails and send few as well. We checked the weather forecast – there was severe storm warning for areas we went through recently, including St George. We missed it again, though we had a heavy rain over night. But as always so far, by morning it was all clear and we were on the way shortly after 6 am. There are few clouds around which helps to cover the sun from time to time. I am making a very good progress. We want to get to Dalby early enough to get to the bank, visit a school if possible, contact local newspaper and post the latest report on my google pages. It was very helpful that by midday we have covered over 40 kilometers. The temperature at midday reached 31 degrees so the progress will be slower, but we need only about another 20 kilometers before we start looking for a suitable spot to spend the night.
The time is flying. Jo is counting days using the method we used in the army. All young men in Czechoslovakia had to spend two years of compulsory national service. 150 days from the end of it we all purchased a fabric measuring tape 150 cm long and at the end of each we cut off one centimeter. It was a very ceremonial thing and we all celebrated the passing of another day with a great joy.
I am still wearing the same pair of Asics Nimbus since the start of the run. First I thought I will keep wearing it on the unsealed road and use a new pair once we are on the bitumen. But they still felt comfortable so I kept going in that pair. Then I decided to find out how far it will get me. Now I am confident, that I can keep wearing it till Byron Bay – a great compliment to the quality and durability of Asics Nimbus.
We found a good spot but with a lot of lightening around and forecast for severe storm in many areas around we could only hope that it miss us again. And it did! Weather in the morning was very favorable with overcast and cool wind not too strong to bother me. But the signs that we are now approaching populated world are unmistakable. The traffic is becoming heavy and with a narrow road and no shoulders I have to be on alert all the time. Jo is finding it more difficult too to find suitable spots to stop and wait for me. Empty beer bottles and containers from other drinks as well as empty boxes from McDonalds, KFS, Red Roosters etc laying alongside the road – this is the ugly face of our “civilization”. I wish we were back away from this. I always knew that it will be a shock to come back to populated areas and this is it! It is all a bit scary! Maybe that now I will start looking forward to the end of our journey. But more likely we will get used to it again soon.
But there are good sights too. Tidy and well kept properties surrounded by huge fields producing grain, looking very healthy. All is lovely green, obviously they had plenty of rain in this district. I have even seen cotton plants growing on the side of the road from some stray seeds so obviously cotton is grown here too. Dalby is a relatively large town with population about 10,000 but more about it in my next report. We have now only 11 days left. I can only add that soon after we settled in the caravan Park the forecasted storm hit Dalby. It is pouring now but we are comfortable in the campervan and with wireless internet available I could not be happier. The forecast for tomorrow is fine, so we hope it is correct.
Our plans for the last week:
21st October – arriving and staying at Tenterfield – our 47th Anniversary
22nd - “ Crooked Creek Rest Area
23rd “ West of the Range Rest Area
24th “ Casino Caravan Park (which ?)
25th “ Lismore “ “
26th “ Bangalow North Rest Area
27th Byron Bay
