Shajota
Hero member
- Location
- Whitsundays Qld
Ok, back from a lap around the back blocks of NQ thought I'd post it as a bit of a travelogue and keep it in it's own thread so only need to read if you wish. I apologise in advance for too many words but can't help myself!!
I had planned a trip a little while ago to head to the Atherton Tablelands and get there via some out of usual (dirt) roads. The Eagle made sense for this ride but I was heading back to an area we lived in some 35 years ago so only fair to take the triple for a nostalgic blast on the Gillies, a road it knew well back then.
Anyway one of my mottos is if you have to go North best to first head West (relative to where I am) and avoid the Bruce so straight to Bowen and hang a left to Collinsville.
On the way to Collinsville you can turn off to an area called "Bogie". This is where 3 years ago a property owner shot dead 3 members of his neighbours family (and wounded a 4th) supposedly over a boundary dispute. Those murder charges are currently still before the court. My next door neighbour also owns an adjoining cattle station to the other 2 with hubby living at and working the property at Bogie while his wife lives here in town looking after their 3 kids and working as a teacher with most weekends up the property helping. Suffice to say that the murders were a harrowing experience for my neighbour who was locked in his property for days but of course that is another's story so will leave it at that.
At Bogie there is also a historical cemetery and my neighbour tells me that on their property is also the neglected ruins of an old town which I am angling to go up and see some time. It is worth mentioning that where these properties are is very harsh and remote country although it might not seem like that from the maps..... (Definitely the wild west)
Next stop Collinsville, a rural cattle community with a long history in coal mining and tough footballers! Collinsville revels in the title Pit Pony capital of Australia because they continued to use Pit Pony's in underground work long after mechanisation. They even made the last 2 pony's union members so they could be protected from unfair dismissal and could be retired to pasture.
Central Hotel & Post office Collinsville:-
Plan was to follow the Bowen Developmental road through to Mt Coolon and onto Belyando Crossing. The section to Mt Coolon is mainly sealed with a small section of dirt which I think will also be sealed in the next couple of years. The sealed section is wide and in good condition as it has only been done in recent times. The same can't be said for poor old Mt Coolon, best days are long past but at least they have put up some signs indicating it's history. It does have a pub and there is a workers camp there but not much else. The pub has a sign at the front for opening hours which reads - "Open:- Phone xxxxxxx". Clearly opening hours are arbitrary
Pics are Old Police station!, Mt Coolon hotel and the Lyric Theatre and Post Office have seen better days.
Next leg to Belyando Crossing is all dirt and conditions can vary as expected. Generally found it had a lot of loose gravel and was broken up in patches which made it a bit tricky. Couldn't go too fast on the better sections as the bike moved around a lot on the gravel and the next obstacle was always close. I stopped at one stage to take a pic of a long straight section and a Cruiser ute was coming the other way and pulled over to make sure everything ok. Turns out the lady driving was the owner of the property this road passes through so often stops to enquire what is happening and have a chin wag. I also pulled over later to allow a truck and his dust plume to pass. Pics - Rest stop in a nice shady spot, you can just see the ute and best let him go:-
A little bit after this I came across a cattle grid and it had a little sign warning of rough patch. I didn't see anything unusual until I was right on top of a badly broken up section of road! The Lav hit the fist hole and was pushed to the right where it hit another and flung back the other way. I had just enough time to start thinking, I hope I don't land too hard if the whole bike gets taken from under me, when suddenly we were through it and slip sliding to the next obstacle. Happy to get away with that and I knew there was much worse to come in the next couple of days.
Overall that road wasn't too bad and we made it to Belyando Crossing for some fuel and lunch. I found a sandwich in their fridge that had white meat and salad with some sort of mayonaise so thought it might be chicken. First bite suggested a much tougher meat and if I had to guess I would say it was roast pork (not totally convinced
) and it actually wasn't too bad (or I was bloody hungry) Pics - Roadhouse (Caravan pulled in as I was taking pic)
and lunch:-
As I was about to leave a bloke pulled up near me, got out and waved for me to wait. He came over to warn me that the police were patrolling the area about 100kms up the road which is about half way to Charters Towers. I thanked him for that and took off. I was thinking that the patrol car would be from Charters Towers and early Sunday arvo they would be looking to loop their way the 100kms back to the Towers so doubted if I'd see them, which proved correct. The road is good but care needs to be taken if travelling fast because of all the animals with the main culprit being cattle as the majority of this is unfenced. Not unusual to come around a corner and a fat heifer just standing in the middle of the road. I did pass one car which was speared off the other side of the road with it's front smashed in and a dead cow lying on the other side which would have only happened previous day (or night)
On this stretch I also caught up to a B Double which seemed to be swerving all over the road so I followed him for a while to see if it safe to pass when he suddenly veered off the left side and raised an enormous dust cloud which completely blocked all vision so I didn't know if he completely lost control and crashed or not. I had to hit the brakes and slowly go through it not knowing what was on the other side. When I got through it I saw he had righted things and was way down the road. I caught up with him again and he seemed to be keeping it a bit straighter so I took him quickly and finally arrived in Charters Towers for a rest and a nice cold beer. To be continued.................................
I had planned a trip a little while ago to head to the Atherton Tablelands and get there via some out of usual (dirt) roads. The Eagle made sense for this ride but I was heading back to an area we lived in some 35 years ago so only fair to take the triple for a nostalgic blast on the Gillies, a road it knew well back then.
Anyway one of my mottos is if you have to go North best to first head West (relative to where I am) and avoid the Bruce so straight to Bowen and hang a left to Collinsville.
On the way to Collinsville you can turn off to an area called "Bogie". This is where 3 years ago a property owner shot dead 3 members of his neighbours family (and wounded a 4th) supposedly over a boundary dispute. Those murder charges are currently still before the court. My next door neighbour also owns an adjoining cattle station to the other 2 with hubby living at and working the property at Bogie while his wife lives here in town looking after their 3 kids and working as a teacher with most weekends up the property helping. Suffice to say that the murders were a harrowing experience for my neighbour who was locked in his property for days but of course that is another's story so will leave it at that.
At Bogie there is also a historical cemetery and my neighbour tells me that on their property is also the neglected ruins of an old town which I am angling to go up and see some time. It is worth mentioning that where these properties are is very harsh and remote country although it might not seem like that from the maps..... (Definitely the wild west)
Next stop Collinsville, a rural cattle community with a long history in coal mining and tough footballers! Collinsville revels in the title Pit Pony capital of Australia because they continued to use Pit Pony's in underground work long after mechanisation. They even made the last 2 pony's union members so they could be protected from unfair dismissal and could be retired to pasture.
Central Hotel & Post office Collinsville:-
Plan was to follow the Bowen Developmental road through to Mt Coolon and onto Belyando Crossing. The section to Mt Coolon is mainly sealed with a small section of dirt which I think will also be sealed in the next couple of years. The sealed section is wide and in good condition as it has only been done in recent times. The same can't be said for poor old Mt Coolon, best days are long past but at least they have put up some signs indicating it's history. It does have a pub and there is a workers camp there but not much else. The pub has a sign at the front for opening hours which reads - "Open:- Phone xxxxxxx". Clearly opening hours are arbitrary
Pics are Old Police station!, Mt Coolon hotel and the Lyric Theatre and Post Office have seen better days.Next leg to Belyando Crossing is all dirt and conditions can vary as expected. Generally found it had a lot of loose gravel and was broken up in patches which made it a bit tricky. Couldn't go too fast on the better sections as the bike moved around a lot on the gravel and the next obstacle was always close. I stopped at one stage to take a pic of a long straight section and a Cruiser ute was coming the other way and pulled over to make sure everything ok. Turns out the lady driving was the owner of the property this road passes through so often stops to enquire what is happening and have a chin wag. I also pulled over later to allow a truck and his dust plume to pass. Pics - Rest stop in a nice shady spot, you can just see the ute and best let him go:-
A little bit after this I came across a cattle grid and it had a little sign warning of rough patch. I didn't see anything unusual until I was right on top of a badly broken up section of road! The Lav hit the fist hole and was pushed to the right where it hit another and flung back the other way. I had just enough time to start thinking, I hope I don't land too hard if the whole bike gets taken from under me, when suddenly we were through it and slip sliding to the next obstacle. Happy to get away with that and I knew there was much worse to come in the next couple of days.
Overall that road wasn't too bad and we made it to Belyando Crossing for some fuel and lunch. I found a sandwich in their fridge that had white meat and salad with some sort of mayonaise so thought it might be chicken. First bite suggested a much tougher meat and if I had to guess I would say it was roast pork (not totally convinced
) and it actually wasn't too bad (or I was bloody hungry) Pics - Roadhouse (Caravan pulled in as I was taking pic)and lunch:-As I was about to leave a bloke pulled up near me, got out and waved for me to wait. He came over to warn me that the police were patrolling the area about 100kms up the road which is about half way to Charters Towers. I thanked him for that and took off. I was thinking that the patrol car would be from Charters Towers and early Sunday arvo they would be looking to loop their way the 100kms back to the Towers so doubted if I'd see them, which proved correct. The road is good but care needs to be taken if travelling fast because of all the animals with the main culprit being cattle as the majority of this is unfenced. Not unusual to come around a corner and a fat heifer just standing in the middle of the road. I did pass one car which was speared off the other side of the road with it's front smashed in and a dead cow lying on the other side which would have only happened previous day (or night)
On this stretch I also caught up to a B Double which seemed to be swerving all over the road so I followed him for a while to see if it safe to pass when he suddenly veered off the left side and raised an enormous dust cloud which completely blocked all vision so I didn't know if he completely lost control and crashed or not. I had to hit the brakes and slowly go through it not knowing what was on the other side. When I got through it I saw he had righted things and was way down the road. I caught up with him again and he seemed to be keeping it a bit straighter so I took him quickly and finally arrived in Charters Towers for a rest and a nice cold beer. To be continued.................................
