We left Longreach & split into 2 groups. Keith & Bryan definitely didnt want to do recently flooded tracks (we had heard some stories & were a bit apprehensive as well) also needed to be in Melbourne by 29th. Ian, Brenton & I wanted to give some of the back roads a go & also decided to go South to Barrington Tops then back North to Brisbane & fly home from there. Vague plan is to do Tasmania next, so Ian & I will probably have another ride Brisbane to Melbourne before that happens.
54kms out of Longreach on a single track sealed road we turned off onto a back country gravel/dirt road that soon became more like a farm track.
Lots of water damage everywhere, not only on the track but still large flooded areas beside the track. This was very similar to our ride into Longreach 2 days ago. We saw 4 or 5 Emus keeping pace with us for a while & the start of this track was lousy with Kangaroos all thinking it was great sport to dart/bounce across in front of you. Saw flocks of small bright green finch looking birds darting
& turning at high speed - weve seen them before - any bird experts reading who can tell us what they are? Along with ruts, soft sand, some water crossings on fords kept us on high alert. Ian saw a blue lizard today - & previously a Goanna type of Lizard over a metre long. One ford caught me out exiting too cautiously, through deep sticky mud & I lost the front. 2m plus deep water has been through here & it was quagmire. (See the ford exit photo) If I had attacked it aggressively I would have been fine but wimped out & came off the ford cautiously & then paid the price. The mud took control of my front wheel & it was like landing on a mattress but dirtier. No damage done luckily, but as I continued down the track the bike was throwing lumps of mud everywhere from the tyres. We stopped for morning coffee at a tiny country town called Isisford.Very neat & tidy with a nice cafe, and in the main street had a Clancy of the Overflow pub. Anyone who knows the man from Snowy River Poem will recognise this but,
Continuing out of town we were soon back on a grassy plain with a semblance of track. This area reminded us of riding in Mongolia - big green grassy plains with a choice of track across it. This was a public road as a few places washouts had markers & warnings & vehicles had already been through & flattened an alternative track through the grass. Many holes etc were marked with signs, cones & barriers so road crews have already been working on repairs. After travelling on this track (a public road but more like a farm track) for over 250kms we were then back onto the main road into another rural town, Blackall for lunch. The last 80kms after leaving Blackall was on a narrow gravel road, again with ruts, soft sand & gnarly washouts - enjoyable, challenging riding. Into Tambo, yet another tidy rural town to stay in the Royal Garrangarra Hotel. This they claim was the first licensed premises in Central Western Outback Queensland, built in 1863 but has burnt down 3 times since. The last rebuild was in 1954
& probably had seen better days not long after that. However & suits us as worries re motorcycle gear being worn into the premises. Check the photo of the mens shower - bore water stains everything in these old pubs for some reason.
Just checked Bryans Spot and they have got to Charleville so they have had a big day, around 515kms weve worked out. Spoke to Bryan tonight & we are going to try & meet up with Bryan, Keith & Geoff Udy somewhere near Glen Innes.
The pub we are in has a very entrepreneurial young licensee who has fantastic live music playing in the main bar, good food but the highlight was every night of the week he runs Chicken racing, The birds are various colours, chase a remote controlled car carrying chicken feed all against a by Ben the Licensee. Best nights entertainment we have had on the whole trip & we only wasted $35 on buying a couple of birds, who may still be running for all we know.
