After our very cold morning at Nuga Nuga the warmth of the tropics is calling. We gave ourselves two days to get home. From Nuga Nuga we turned back on to the Arcadia Valley Road. We stopped and took photos of the thousands of acres of some sort of crop that had been planted. We have to find out what it is. We arrived back on the Dawson Highway and then headed north on the Rolleston-Blackwater road. We hadn't travelled this one before and Hema maps showed that it was a gravel road but fortunately for us the road was in the process of being sealed so it was a good run for us. The road ran parallel to one of the large coal mines south of Blackwater. Huge mountains of man-made dirt lined the road for many kilometres. We watched the massive dump trucks being loaded by a drag line.....just one bucket filled the truck!
Our camp tonight was the same place that we had stayed at before (rest stop between the Belyando and Charters Towers). The rest area is well kept and clean and we had a very peaceful sleep. It was still quite cool the next morning and we were looking forward to home. We had decided to take the Hervey Range Road the time. We turned off the Lynd Highway north of Charters Towers and started down the road that would bring us out just north of Townsville. The road is a magnificent highway that runs slap bang through the Army Training base. Signs every 100m warned the public that it is a private area and "to keep out"!
We stopped for smoko at a small park that had some very good information about Hervey Range Road. It was, in fact, the main road west from Townsville to Charters Towers for many years.
As we forged our way north we stopped at Cardwell Range lookout for lunch. The lookout had a re-vamp when the new road was made and I must say they did a great job on it.
Well our road trip has come to an end and we are once again home and pleased to be. We just love love love our little slide-on camper and are already planning our next trip away. Blencoe Falls here we come!
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| Thousands and thousands of acres of ploughed and planted country through the Arcadia Valley |
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| The coal mines are really changing the landscape around the Blackall area. |
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| Smoko stop |
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| A very good interpretive centre explaining the development of Hervey Range Road |
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| Hervey Range Road looking east from the lookout |
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| Lunch stop at the Cardwell Range lookout |
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