Monday 17th August – Sunday 22nd August
Charleville
had been very interesting, the locals very friendly and the caravan park was
very relaxing, but we got a glimpse of the “real” outback, and its not quite as
romantic as the travel documentaries would have us believe. We attended a camp
dinner complete with damper on Sunday night and while we ate we were informed
that all the proceeds from this dinner were going to be allocated to the
R.U.O.K.M8, Outback Queensland campaign.
The Drought
was taking its toll on all the farmers in this region and suicide was becoming
a growing concern.
We decided
to move on west to one of the small towns in the Longreach Shire area.
We had been
advised that the town of Isisford had a magnificent free camping site so we
headed off in search of the pretty camping site on the Barcoo River, famous for
its yellow belly fish and hospitality.
We set up
camp on the banks of the Barcoo and even though it still held water around the
camp site area due to the small weir, it too had become a victim of the
drought.
Our site was
really idyllic, small gums lined the banks and provided excellent shade as the
days became progressively warmer.
We spent
most of the day outside sitting facing the river and watched skinny kangaroos
coming warily down to drink, three local pelicans who had left it too late to
fly out, hoovered along the bank on both sides trying to scrape together a
decent meal from the few small fish left in the waterhole.
The small town of
Isisford was also the only source of food for the kangaroos and the locals watched
their hard earnt lawn disappear under the onslaught of the starving roos.
All
travellers were urged to travel by day as the sides of the roads were lined
with roos at night as they fed on the sparse grass that grew along the edges.
The thriving
industry of providing for free campers was the main source of income for the
local pub and general store. We did not quibble about prices as we could order
fresh bread and milk brought in once a week. We were welcomed into the free
camp by the shire, which for $15/week, provided us with hot showers, toilets,
clean water to top up tanks, a dump site and a free fire wood site four kms out
of town.
It was when
we left the town that we became aware of the real horror of the drought that
holds this country in its grip. Many a story was told of farms being lost as
banks foreclosed on them and sold the properties to interested internationals.
Many a farmer could not face the loss of the only life style they had known and
suicide was not uncommon. “Why isn’t the government doing more to help these
battlers?” was a common topic around the free campers campfires at night. It is
devastating to see what is happening to this magic part of our country.
To end on a
lighter note I have included a series of photos of the pelican that watched
Geordie chewing on a huge roast lamb leg bone.
The minute Geordie left it he
ducked in and snatched it and carried it off to the middle of the billabong
where he promptly dropped it.
I’m sure the yabbies’ were happy and Geordie
spent quite a bit of time looking for it. He knew where he had left it, but
because he is nearly blind he never saw the pelican move in on it.
We will be departing from this peaceful camp site tomorrow, but will always have happy memories of the most relaxing time in Isisford.
