	Article Directory		Article Submission Service		Article Marketing Blog		Publishers		Member Log In

Article Directory :: Travel & Leisure Articles

Motoring from Mount Isa to Barkly Homestead NT

By Patricia Lilly

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 09Feb2009
Word count: 895
Viewed: 353 time(s)

Get Free Content For Your Site

Brushing away the bush flies, wiping the sweat from your hot face and drinking litres of water are the consequences of driving during summer from Mount Isa, Queensland to Barkly Homestead, Northern Territory. We are struggling in 43 degree heat (110F) in our Mazda T3500 which tows our 18ft caravan.

Red soil country surrounds the hot bitumen road, and is dotted with termite mounds and black and white gnarled shrubs, which sprout light green leaf. White rock reflects off red hillsides and an old bitumen road runs beside the new road for several klms. A cow carcuss lies amongst the patches of spinifex grass and we pass a few old abandoned cars and a rusty windmill.

Yesterday, we drove 75klms from Mt Isa and parked the night in a rest stop. We were rewarded with a bonus of a spectacular sky. Not only trillions of bright twinkling stars, but a wonderful show of flash lightening. A strange black cloud floated overhead, which we thought could be a plague of locusts. The lightening was low on the horizon, so it was not coming from our cloud. But we did notice several locusts dropping in.

We have been traveling Australia and housesitting randomly for 6 months, but are still getting the gliches sorted with our bus and caravan. Fortunately, my hubby, Larry, is able to fix anything that needs fixing or building - be it a small table in the front to set my laptop on, and to fasten a fan on it to cool me down. He also fit 12 volt accessory plugs, which run to the battery in the bus, to allow the fridge, fan and my laptop to operate.

This he did after refitting the bus and caravan, placing an exhaust fan in the bus roof to draw out the hot air, lining all the interior, making the bus and van dustproof etc.

We belong to a house-sitting site and can choose any area. We have house-sat in Townsville and Mount Isa and now are heading to Alice Springs NT for a two month housesit. How good is that? And no rent to pay!

We have just stopped at Camooweal for a cold drink at the hotel. We would stay for lunch but it is only 11am and lunch isn't on until 12.30pm. Since we have a 12 volt fridge to keep cold, we had better keep going.

I click away with my camera and get some great shots of a few brolgas in the wet paddocks and a wedge tailed eagle that is swooping on roadkill. Hold on, the 12 volt power just cut out. Oh well, Larry will have to go back to the drawing board.

Finally found a place to stop but immediately attacked by hordes of flies. Or is that a cluster? Group? Gathering? Plethora? Swarm? Well,it is my story so I will call them a mob of flies. You must eat with your mouth and eyes closed or one will go down with the sandwich while another bites you in the eye.

We are on the road again, and oh! is it hot! By the way, Larry did fix the wiring, which had a bad connection. Just as well as it could cost us a fortune to have all this work done. That is if we could actually find an available tradesperson.

After thinking that the world was about to catch fire with this terrible heat, we have found a cool spot under shady trees. Whoops! Here comes a threatening thunder storm, so we will have to take the van into the open.

Ah! At last. We have just had a very refreshing shower in the bus. The water from our tanks is almost boiling from the road heat, so had to let it cool in the portable shower container. Weather conditions are cooling down after welcome rain,so we take a walk along a bush track.

We find a Canadian cyclist who has pitched his tent. He tells us of his ride from Darwin to Perth, across the Nullarbor, up through the centre and in only 3 months. He is almost into Queensland. What an amazing feat.

After a restful night, except when woken by loud claps of thunder and a vivid display of lightening, we are on the road towards Barkley Homestead. It was hot this morning but after a light shower of rain, it has cooled considerably.

As we travel along, there is plenty of evidence of heavy rain through the night. Just what is needed here. Some areas of the highway are cut for several days during the wet season of November to March, so it is wise to always travel with plenty of food and water.

After driving through flat country dotted with Mitchell grass, we have arrived at Barkly Homestead which has a caravan park, restaurant and fuel available. Because of its isolation, fuel costs are very high so we use our jerry cans to refuel until the next stop at The Three Ways Roadhouse, which is 180klms away at the intersection of the Barkly and Stuart Highway.

The distance from Mount Isa to Camooweal is 188klms, Camooweal to the Qld border is 13klms, then it is about 80klms to Barkly Homestead Roadhouse.

The best time to travel through this area is during the winter months of April to late October.

Patricia Lilly holds a Diploma of Hospitality and has worked in the tourism industry for many years. Patricia is traveling around Australia, and as she has traveled from Mount Isa, Qld into the The Northern Territory, can pass her knowledge of these areas on to you. Make a safe and secure holiday booking with Online Accommodation and Tours-Australia. All bookings and information are Free!

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here