Queensland - been there, done that

Our last few days in Queensland were very enjoyable. After leaving Mt Isa our next stop was Camooweal, just a few kilometres from the Northern Territory border. We had been told about a free camping area, 2 km out of the town, on the banks of the Georgina River. At this time of year the river has dried to a series of waterholes and we found ourselves a spot by the edge of a good sized waterhole where we had a view of the birds that fed there during the day. There was an ever changing parade of birds. Often the pelicans had a flotilla of cormorants following them while they swam along feeding around the water lilies. One day we were amused to see a few pelicans swim past while feeding on fish and behind them were a group of cormorants swimming flat out trying to keep up. These were followed by about 20 spoonbill running along with their heads down as they fed at the waters edge and coming up at the rear were egrets walking as fast as they could. As the egrets stopped to catch fish they got even further behind and had to fly to rejoin the parade. There seemed to be an endless supply of fish about 6cm to 8cm long.

Our initial plan was to camp here a couple of nights but as we enjoyed it so much we ended up staying 5 nights. We counted over 20 different species of birds. It was lovely to see green budgies and zebra finches flying free.

While camped there we watched the All Blacks v Wallabies Bledisloe cup game. A TV set was set up on the outside of a neighbouring van and we sat in our camp chairs watching the game while the sun sunk to the horizon with it’s usual bright red glow. We were proudly waving our NZ and Silver Fern flags while the brolgas (large storks) that were by the waterhole joined in from time to time honking their support for the Wallabies.

Reflections on the Queensland Outback
The land is flat with an occasional tree
And there is dust in the air as we go by
We travel for miles not a corner to be seen
The roads are straight here in the Outback

After miles and miles of flat road passes by
It’s excitement when a hill is in view
The rocky outcrops have a rich red glow
The earth is red here in the Outback

Kites soar on high above the road
Searching for prey or last nights road kill
Road trains show no mercy for kangaroo in their way
Life is harsh here in the Outback

Road trains they are a sight to be behold
On single track we stop to give them space
As they thunder by clouds of dust they spew
These behemoths are king here in the Outback

Ant hills are an amazing sight
Like gravestones they spread across the land
Different shapes, different sizes, different colours too
There are millions of ants here in the Outback

The cattle they wait by water filled dams
With trees for shade they stand side by side
Where there’s a pocket of water there are lots of birds
Lagoons are an oasis here in the Outback

Now about the birds well we’ve seen quite a few
For us from Kiwiland they all are new
Without a bird book we’d be lost
It’s birders paradise here in the Outback

There’s many a town that we’ve passed through
Some proudly remember the days gone by
The population many only amount to a few
But every town has a pub here in the Outback

Most of the vehicles we pass have vans in tow
And it’s waves all around as we go by
At night by our camp fire we gaze at the stars
It’s a great life on the road here in the Outback