Day 32 - Tropic of Capricorn

Emus in the Outback; near Winton

As I went to sleep last night in Winton, I appreciated how special the Outback is. Cicada and other insects were chirping away in the darkness; the heat of the day had dissipated to a comfortable temperature with a light breeze; the stars were clear and bright. I fell asleep very well. Then the mosquitoes descended upon me in mass and ruined it all. By the way, when I first arrived in Winton, the people seemed rough and hard. I was only half right (rough), as they were the kindest you'll find.

The Little Town of Jericho

Today I made my way south of the Tropic of Capricorn and then turned east towards the coast, paralleling that imaginary line of 23.5 degrees latitude. I arrived in darkness near the little town of Moura. A woman at a cafe', upon learning I had come from Winton today, asked with surprise, 'how'd you get here?' The roads have been underwater for two weeks in the country I just crossed. I was one of the first cars to trickle through.

Interesting Trees; West of Emerald

I listened to the radio most of the time. You can learn a lot about a country by doing that. There was a show about the Australian jury selection process with comparisons to the US and UK. There was a Canadian guest speaker at a writer’s convention in Sydney talking about the complexities of our world and the value of our native peoples to provide insight. But the main focus of the nation right now is flooding. Southern Queensland, where I am currently, has been declared a disaster zone with record floods. There have been many roads and towns devastated, and now they’re talking about Brisbane being next. When I would stop in small towns for gas or food, people were gathered around the TV, silently watching flood footage. The city of Toowoomba (I passed through there last year) is on a hill, yet great amounts of flood water poured through the city center. I watched the through a TV as cars bobbed like logs through the torrent. The city is on TOP of a hill!

I fly out of Brisbane on January 17, and there are a lot of flood-affected areas I would have to pass through to get there. So I decided early today to make a bee-line for the coast (mainly north of the current flooding) where the biggest and best highways are.

Pretty Colors; East of Emerald

I arrived in the town of Longreach by mid-morning. They have a QANTAS museum, for this is where QANTAS first really got going as a commercial operator. Winton was more of where the business model got its start. I noted that there was no ethnic diversity here in Longreach, and upon reflection this seems to be true of all white outback and bush communities.

This is "Bush" with Typical Signage

By the way, the “Outback” is the most remote, driest, and hottest area of this continent. I think of it as basically treeless and red. The Outback lies in the center. You have the population, lush grazing lands, and lots of big trees typically around the coastal fringe. What’s between those two is “Bush”. I think medium-sized and spaced apart gum trees, orange soils, and a smattering of small towns (also dry and hot) when I think Bush. The Bush is the most endearing to me.

A Van Gogh in Emerald (it's HUGE)

I passed through the towns of Barcaldine, Jericho, and Alpha, arriving in Emerald in the late afternoon. They have “The Largest Canvas Painting in the World on an Easel” (quote from the sign). It's impressive and colorful. It’s a replica of one of Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings, and as I was admiring it a woman said, 'we're closed', asking me what I needed. I was at the town's public visitor center and had missed the barricades and signs, which read, 'closed due to flood damage'. I looked at the exterior wall and could see the water mark. The flood waters would have been over my head, and the young woman who addressed me was in the process of removing items for drying. I felt silly and told her I was fine, wishing her well.

I was now in the disaster zone of Queensland. I heard reports on the radio of people filling stores to stock up on food. I realized I didn’t have anything, not even water anymore. A little panic set in, and I rushed to a grocery story. The first (an IGA) had no fruit or bread, so I went to the next (Woolworth). The first thing I noticed was all the meats and certain other items were totally gone. There were sections of bare shelves around the store. But I found what I needed and decided to press on, before more rains came to this area.

Along the Fitzroy Devel Road

I reached Blackwater and then Duaringa at dusk. There were electronic road signs at key junctions indicating I could proceed south with caution. So in darkness I continued on, arriving an hour later at my present position for the night (Moura). There were frogs all over the road during this last nighttime stretch.

I came barreling down on two white pillars and couldn’t figure out what they were as I applied my brakes aggressively. They were two very tall kangaroos (as tall as me). The light had totally disoriented them as they stood there in the middle of the road. They were peering in the opposite direction from the car (which was sitting still then, 3 meters away) as if searching for the intruder. They stood like that long enough that if my camera had been ready, I could easily have opened the door, stepped out, and taken a picture for you.

Tree of Knowledge Monument (a giant wind chime); Barcaldine

A lot of the Outback landscape from the last couple of days reminds me of the Four Corners area of the United States, by the way.

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Day 32 – Tropic of Capricorn 

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