Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Travelling around OZ Quilt Project "Insanity"

Sorry, my blog posts have taken so long to post, but travelling these long distances in the Never, Never (Outback Australia) we have had lots of challenges in communicating with the rest of Australia mostly due to the isolation of these areas and no internet coverage. But I've always got something to fill in the time, I grab my handy box of hexes and a spool of basting thread and a needle and I've got instant needlework. Even if I only get a couple of my hexagon's basted along the way, they all add up in the end as you can see!


We stayed in Mount Isa QLD for three nights then set off to Cloncurry for a one night stay. It was in Cloncurry that the Royal Flying Doctor Service was established by John Flynn's (who is on our $20 note).


Flynn's choice of Cloncurry was based on its proximity to the scattered pastoralists and the mining camps, all of whom were poorly served by any kind of medical services. Then we headed up to Normanton via the Burke and Wills development road. Normanton is located along the south eastern edge of the Gulf of Carpentaria. One of the more unusual sights of Normanton is the life-sized replica of a 8.6 metre saltwater crocodile named Krys, he was shot in the Norman River in 1957 by a woman.


The we headed for the Undara Lava Tubes, 190,000 years ago, mother nature created one of the rarest and most fascinating volcanic phenomena's on Earth, the longest lava flow from a single volcano, this massive eruption caused lava to flow more than 90kms to the north and over 160kms to the north-west, it is known as the Undara Lava Tubes. Undara is an Aboriginal term of "a long way". As the lava cooled, a crust formed that remained in place even once the lava flow had ceased and the tubes had emptied out. It was the cooling of the lava that formed the incredible Undara Lava Tubes. We are told, that on dusk, at the lava tube entrance, thousands of tiny insect eating micro-bats emerge from the darkness to find food which attracts Pythons and Brown Tree Snakes that hang from the trees and strike out at the bats to capture a meal.


Then across to Cairns via the Savannah Way, Gulf Development road. These Development roads were very interesting as the road is a single lane in some parts. That meant we got off the road if a big truck or a caravan was coming towards us.



Until next time happy quilting
Anne
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