28 July 2011 – Undara to Fletchers Creek QLD

It was bad enough saying our goodbyes in Mount Isa and we found we were doing the same thing again.

One of our intended travelling companions for the trip home received an early morning telephone call which resulted in a decision being made to return to her home as quick as possible.  The reason for the return is tragic and our thoughts went with her as she departed.

Another couple were intending to travel in the same direction as us so we agreed to travel together.

We purchased sufficient diesel fuel at $2.06 per litre to ensure that we had sufficient fuel to reach the first roadhouse on our journey where we expected the cost of fuel to be reasonable.  We reached the Oasis Roadhouse near “The Lynd” and refueled.

The remained of the day was spent travelling on a reasonable development road to our intended overnight stay at a free camp called Fletchers Creek.  This site is about 45 kilometers short of Charters Towers and is a massive campsite that allows a stay of up to one month.  There are toilets and showers on the site and the cost is FREE.

We established our camp and then had a lengthy happy hour.

One thing that we noted today were “Call Points” on the development road.  Large vehicles announce their arrival on UHF 40 and the direction of travel at each of these points.  Vehicles travelling in the opposite direction are aware of the coming traffic.  We felt very safe each time we entered one of these areas.

The view of the night sky from Fletchers Creek cannot be described.  There was not a cloud in the sky and the lack of urban lights made the spectacle very unique for us.  “He” spent time outside just staring at the sky.  The Milky Way was very clear and several shooting stars were observed.

The night was very pleasant and we slept very well.

This site had no Telstra coverage so we used our satellite telephone to let our son know where we were.

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