Observatory

There is a nice observatory at The Monument. The skies make for clear viewing out here. It is not open to the public of course, there are very few visitors here. If you knew the right person I'm sure they'd be happy to show you round the sky one night.

Monument Scenery

There are many other interesting sights around the town of The Monument. This is one of them.

The Monument

In the middle of an apparent no where there is this rock called The Monument. The Monument is a small mining camp/town just south of Dajarra, off the Diamantina Developmental Road. It should really be called The Giant Rock Erection, as that is what it actually looks like as you drive into the town. I guess they thought 'The Monument' sounded more discrete and less phallic.
The road into the town is a dry weather only trip. Many dry creek crossings are rutted and need careful navigation.

A lonely plain

The plains are big, flat and empty out here.

Camels

The camels before the race. The Boulia racecourse on google maps is here.

Boulia

Today I went to the Boulia Camel Races (from the link click on camel races to see a pdf). Boulia is a 3 hour drive (300km) south of Mount Isa on a good condition single track bitumen road. A few cattle and wallabies/kangaroos to watch out for of course.
I made it a day trip, but with more time I would advise camping overnight with the many party goers camping near the racecourse. And take plenty of warm clothes and sleeping gear, the nights are cloudless and cold under the desert sky.

Sunset in Sunset

This photo was taken from my back doorstep. Fittingly it is a photo of a sunset here where I live, in the suburb of Mount Isa called Sunset.

Garden Construction

During my trip away I helped build a display garden at the Nambour Home & Garden Expo. This is a detail from the garden.

Mt Beerwah

This is Mount Beerwah. The summit is on the left peak you can see here, behind the clifftop.

Mountain Home

A trip to Beerwah is not complete without climbing the mountain of the same name, Mt Beerwah. This photo came from a morning walk up said mountain in The Glasshouse Mountains National Park, Mt Beerwah section..

Cloncurry

This photo of Cloncurry from the lookout shows part of the town and the bridge across the river Cloncurry. A bit over an hour's drive further west and you'll arrive at Mt Isa.

Classic Plane

This classic shot of a classic plane was one I could not resist posting. I promise no more planes for a while.

Big Engine

The engines are really big on these planes as you can see.

Wing Walk

While you're at the QANTAS museum you can (for a price) take a personal tour of a Boeing 747 and walk on the wing, like these people are. Next time I'm driving through I'll definitely be taking the tour.

Old and New

You can't drive through Longreach without seeing these planes. In fact, you can see them from about 5km away as you approach from the east. They are at the QANTAS Founders Museum. The old plane in front has only recently arrived at the museum and is not yet ready for tours. It was the first commercial jet put to use in Australia, a Boeing 707. It has many firsts for Australia and QANTAS, such as the first Boeing jet engine plane sold outside the United States, which you can read more about here.

Road Trip

My road trip took me to the big smoke city of Brisbane(1,2). Here I went to the movie Transformers with some friends at the Southbank cinemas (I recommend seeing it, great fun, high action movie). This photo is taken from the waterfront of Southbank, looking over the Brisbane river to the central business district.