Birdsville was a welcome stop for us as we not only got to reacquaint ourselves with the town, but having been in the desert for a while the laundry needs attending to and the van park at Birdsville has all we need to hit the road fresh again.....while having a great waterhole to camp by with a fire at night.

Now, back to plan and lookout Gulf here we come. We head North out of Birdsville and at our usual pace we didn't leave too early...just made it to the "City Limits" before lunch. About 60k North of town is the old ruin at Carcory. Well worth a look and if you find yourself here in the mid afternoon, there is a great camp 500m North of the ruin, back from the road with a warm bore drain to soak in like a hot bath. Follow the bore drain away from the road and the bore and you will find the old camp fire spots about 300m from the road. Test the water temp first before you soak......so you don't get a scalding.

So with all the late departure and sightseeing on the way, we only managed to cross Eyre Creek and get to Bedourie by late afternoon. On the North side of town there is a Tavern/Motel/Caravan Park/Fuel Stop. Well we filled up with fuel and asked about the van park and found it was across the road. There were a few ensuite sites which were all taken by the Road gang, but if we wanted to have an unpowered park, we could do so for no cost...yep "FREE"... Oh and we could also use the flush toilets and hot showers for free too. Way to go Bedourie.

Chooks at the Boulia Caravan Park.

Waterhole Camp just North of Boulia

We stayed at the Boulia CP while we were here as we wanted to check out the town itself this time. We were last here in '06 on our way back from Alice Springs via the Plenty Highway and we were short on time as we had spent a few extra days fossicking for garnets and zircons at Mud Tank near Gemtree on the Plenty. This time we wanted to see the Min Min Experience show at the Visitor Centre in town and we're so glad we did. There are many differing explanations for the occurrence of the Min Min lights and here they present a lot of the popular ones in the many segments of the show. The trouble they have gone to ensures a brilliant show....well worth the money and we were pleased to be able to contribute a little to the community.

There is a great water hole camp on the Northern side of Boulia.....take the turn off to the Plenty Highway and just across the causeway, the waterhole camps are on your right. The council provide rubbish bins here. Also, get out your yabbie pots if the water isn't too cold...yummm.

 Tomorrow we leave Boulia and head for an overnighter in Mt Isa and meet up with my cousin who I haven't seen for years. He works as a Safety Officer for one of the mines and also has formed a band with some of his mates. They call themselves "The Pluckers".......

So visit their web site and buy a copy of their CD....it's the least you could do for my "CUZ" and his band of Pluckers.....chuckle.