Will and Hamish, our two drivers seem to love their job. Will drives the train for the first half of the day and Hamish does the rest. Will has a genuine Aussie turn of phrase and a wonderful sense of comedy, as well as extensive knowledge of nature in the area. Hamish has experience as a manager in the railways and can answer just about any question on Queensland Railways and their history. They keep us interested all day long.
The countryside today is very isolated and we now understand why we have never heard of any of the towns around here except for Chillagoe. Much of the time the train line is away from the main roads and used to service mining towns which are now defunct, so we pass through unpopulated tracts of bush. Fortunately there are special phones for the trains spread along the track, as there is no mobile service. There used to be a big copper smelter in Chillagoe but the only mining now is for marble and granite. The marble is of unusual colour and quality and a lot of it is shipped to Italy.
We have been told often that the "Wet" this year was only 60% of the average and too concentrated to grow good pasture. The Brahmin Cattle are bred to cope but may be in trouble this year. The ban on live exports has provoked a lot of resentment around here as well.
Caroline of Chillagoe Cabins has looked after us very well, giving us an excellent tour of Chillagoe, lovely dinner and breakfast, and beautiful cabins; rustic on the outside and up to date inside:
This morning Caroline drove us back to catch the train at Almaden Station and we passed through lovely Savannah bush for a couple of hours until we got to Bullock Creek Cafe where we were supposed to have morning tea. The drivers feigned surprise to find no one at the spot, then produced a folding table and sold tea, plunger coffee, cakes and biscuits under a hurriedly erected umbrella. The $5 charge included a Bullock Creek Mug, which was claimed to have iconic status because a website was now available which featured people drinking from it at famous sites around the world. We were promised a free Savannahlander T shirt if we posted a picture from morning tea on the Gulflander. It really was a wonderful Tom Roberts style rest spot.
The music was supplied by that most melodious of flautists, the pied butcher bird from a nearby tree. He always dresses in his pure black and white tuxedo.
There were some archeological finds on the display table:
And welcome shade was offered by two magnificent savannah trees:
Lyn found part of a ceramic insulator left over from the old telegraph line which followed the railway. Will said it was a rare one because it was imprinted with "Made in occupied Japan" after WWII.
As we continued along, Hamish pointed out the Indian blaze grass which was taking over from the more suitable pasture grasses. One local grazier claims to have got rid of it by ensuring his paddocks are not overgrazed.
Its red colour stands out .
We traversed Fossil Brook Creek, looking from both sides of the bridge:
These creeks will be precious by the end of the dry.
The Fossil Brook Creek station is still there but no one is around to use it.
We had half a huge hamburger each for lunch at Surprise Creek, which is big enough to feature on most maps. We read its history.
We paid $1 each to browse the town museum which had a collection of the insulators mentioned above.
The station was in excellent order.
We returned to the train to find an extra 37 people had joined the train for a joyride to our next stop, where a bus would bring them back. The train was packed and Will took a long time to count the passengers. We stopped on the bridge at Junction Creek and Hamish had to find a granny gear to pull the train out of the hollow with all the extras on board. Another beautiful location, but we saw a black pig leaving the creek.
When we arrived at Einasleigh Station, there was a group of photographers ready to take photos of the train on the bridge for Queensland Tourism. We think this train is not well enough known. Will walked with us to nearby Copperfield Gorge and his brother caught a fish with his rod. This is our effort for a tourism photo.
These are our pictures of the gorge:
Similar to what you see in the Kimberley. We got back on at Einasleigh Station with more internal space.
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