The Great Southern Expedition :: Day 10
Monday, 28 November
When we had put 14 miles in between the McKinley Bore and our camp we thought we would be pretty safe from all our drinking companions. But Mary and Kath sleeping on the ground had a disturbed night from about 1:00 am onwards, flicking the rats off their shoulders. When Mary awoke for the final time and decided to get up, she found she had no scuffs. However, after ferreting around in the bush for a while she found them several yards away – minus the heel straps.
Reviewing the situation in the small gale that had blown up, we began to realise that perhaps Queensland was not all “Beautiful Beautiful” by quite a long way. Neither were our hearts particularly gladdened when we reached Kynuna about 11 am that morning. The journey was fairly uneventful except that we saw a pair of gohannas – quite huge and very [waddly?] compared to others we had met – we later found them to be sand gohannas.
Kynuna was roughly after the style of McKinley only a little less of it – more spread out and with fewer trees. A truely God-forsaken looking spot.
At the pub we met three Main Roads Dept men who were carting sand back to their camp – supposedly direct and not via the pub. It was they who informed us that our snake the previous evening had been a Downs Tiger. Pop was the chief talker and was most insistent that in the first place we should keep a diary – and in the second place that it should be written up every day...
We thought we had said goodbye to them, but they overtook us soon after we had left Kynuna and at lunch time we found them drawn up under a tree with a fire ready for us to add our billy to.
Over lunch Kath and I discussed Darwin with Pop’s son and learnt – with many repetitions – about Keith’s eight brothers and sisters - where they lived and what they did – of the family brought up in Cloncurry he was the only one who had remained in the district. Pop held forth to Mary from the top of the load of sand – all about some idyllic island in the [Roper?] where the boats only call once in three months and there is everything growing there you could want. We feel we will know where to look if Mary makes a hurried exodus from Victoria next year.
The next stretch of road into Winton was not so hot – or not in Alfred anyhow, being very corrugated. The last 16 miles we did with 4 in the front after we’d picked up a lad from a droving camp asking for a lift. Not the best 16 miles of our trip.
In Winton we were so rash as to treat ourselves to a bottle of Melbourne beer at 6/6 (we have grown suspicious of the Queensland varieties lately – principally I think because of our unfortunate introduction at Camooweal). We did have ideas of going to the pictures, but waived this in favour of an evening by the swimming pool – and writing up the Diary.
The pool, which is a dam used for cooling the town’s water reticulation from the hot bore, was truely blissful and we made full use of it to clean ourselves and our clothes before setting up camp and having our usual meal of stew. We’re ploughing gradually through our tins but it’s a laborious and not unpainful process – especially as none of us liked tinned food at all even before we set out.
I was just dropping off to sleep when I heard the others receive visitors. Not Italians for a change, but local youth who were evidently quite good company, for I awoke three hours later – at 1:00 am – to hear them dispensing coffee to the self-same guests before they finally departed at about 1:30.
The camp was a nice one except for the prickly trees all around which made one’s swag and camp fire become suddenly difficult things to handle.
Monday, 28 November 1955
Well!! Woke up at 7am and decided the sooner we got out of these plains the better. By the time I had dressed Marye had decided to rise – lo and behold, no sandals!! The rats had taken them. It’s times like these you must remember to keep your sense of humour, so naturally we roared with laughter. Picture us searching in the dry grass for two blue sandals which we eventually found, straps and soles chewed! Had a quick breakfast and pressed on to Kynuna – still rough roads and open plains.
Met two Main Roads trucks and travelled in their dust until they found a spot to let us pass. Kynuna even smaller and more barren than McKinley – but we did get a beer there and a few stores. Met the drivers of the Main Roads trucks in the bar of the local pub – quite interesting chaps – especially “Pop” They told us the place to have lunch and we all headed for it. By the time we drew up they had the fire going. Spent quite a pleasant lunch hour with them.
Roads deteriorated after we passed their camp, in fact they were perfect horrors by the time we reached Winton (corrugations mostly). Picked up a young lad about 20 miles out of Winton. With our extra load it was slow travelling – and over those terrific corrugations. Finally reached Winton at 5.30pm just in time to buy our butter and eggs! “Pop” Don and Ken (our Main Roads friends) had told us of the local swimming pool for a camping spot so after our usual cold beer we were shown the spot by one of the local lads on his motor cycle. It certainly looks heaven to me right now. Found an ideal spot complete with old camp fire. Without further ado, headed for that there swimin’ pool. Oh, wonderful! We carried a cake of soap each and got rid of the dust and grime and then had a wonderful swim. How ever will we drag ourselves away tomorrow.
We still have our exciting moments tho’ – Marye put her hand on a tiny snake while searching for wood – she didn’t wait to see what kind it was! and I, for some unaccountable reason shone my torch on a tree near Alfred and there was my pet aversion – a tarantula (huntsman). However, we managed to ignore our companions and sat down to a tasty meal and now we are catching up with our diaries etc. Quite a mild night tonight, and no wind, hope we don’t strike rain.
Helen had gone to bed and Marye and I were just about to do the same when up came the lad on the motorcycle who had shown us the way to the pool, together with a friend riding pillion and another Alfred Austin full of young teenage local lads. We had quite a merry gathering for a while until the lads in the Utility decided to go – we weren’t sorry really, they were not particularly entertaining lads – however, our guide on the motorbike and his pal stayed on and were quite interesting.
Don (our guide) is a lad of about 21 or 22 and has been cattle droving quite a lot since he was 15. He had some amusing stories to tell us – particularly of his first year on the job! As it was getting rather late and they had mentioned several times that they should go, without making any attempt to do so, I decided a cup of coffee might round off the evening. Just after the lads had fetched us some nearly boiling water straight from the tap of the bore we were joined by a third chap who looks after the horses and race course which is right beside the pool (he had pointed out our camping spot). So we all sat on and it was 1.25am before they finally went – first late night for all of us I think – the local social life is practically non-existent from their remarks!
Helen, mind you slept on all through this pleasant little gathering – I think she misses a lot by sleeping! As mentioned before this bore water is hot from the ground, nearly boiling. The swimming pool is really a man-made dam which acts as a cooling system for the town water supply. Kills two birds with the one stone. I believe they are intending to build a swimming baths here – seems funny to us, but the locals complain that the water is too warm to swim in during the summer – guess it could be too.
Winton is first civilised town we have come to – it has a beautiful modern hotel called the North Gregory Hotel which was much too grand for us to enter in our filthy state fresh from the track, we decided to go across to the Australian which was very nice, but more our standard we felt!