Outback Queensland

I know that Australia is a big country but I never realised the vastness of the land until we left Broken Hill and travelled further north. The distances between towns is daunting at times although having our friends accompany us takes away any feeling of being truly isolated.

Relying on technology for immediate communication is not something taken for granted. I "get" the tryanny of distance often talked about by people in the country. Having access to mobile phones and email is something we city folk don't really think too much about. I wonder how adolescents would cope without their mobile phones!!!!!

We can now say that we've been to "Back O' Bourke". The recent floods have receded but evidence of their pathway is quite clear with green paddocks, high weeds along the roads (some have been mowed) and a freshness that a mass of water brings to the land and rivers.

Taking a trip up the Darling River on a replica paddle steamer, PV Jandra, was very informative with the captain pointing out the level of the flood a few weeks ago. A short distance from the boat was the car park and it was under water not that long ago. It was at least 10 metres higher than the boat deck. Debris made desperate grabs for trees with a remnant of a tent or annexe snatched by the branches of a River Red Gum.

We're definitely not alone on our trip north. Talk about grey nomads - we must be helping out the economy in many of the towns that we pass through. Some wouldn't exist if not for the mass migration from the south. The further north we travel, the harder it is to secure a caravan park site (and I'm not too keen on free camping just yet - might be OK once we reach the east coast). We travelled from Longreach to Kynuna yesterday - a very small "place" with an ever-decreasing population - I think the sign recorded 12.