Wednesday 24 October 2018

Ghosts of QANTAS past.... and other things.

So one of the great things about doing the "repping" for the bride's boutique is that I get to travel to country destinations.. so I usually take the bike!

It has been sometime since we did a marketing run out to Tambo and back.. so Tambo was selected, brochures prepared and stored on the bike.

And then there was nothing left for the leaving but the going itself.

(To quote Ewan McGregor)

Always good to have company so I conned great mate Frank into accompanying me on this voyage of sales and discovery....

We headed out into off and on again rain until we got slightly west of the GDR and then it was sunny and hot. Day one at sunset  found us overnighting in Miles. Debra and I had been there before for a BCAQ rural workshop where she spoke of just what Spirit of Life does.

A quick meal at the pub, early night and the next morning we packed up and headed to Tambo.


Note the stickers on Frank's panniers. Three months + in the USA!

The GSA carries enough fuel to get to Tambo with only one refuelling stop.. but the stopping along the way to allow Frank to refuel his GS was magic as it gave me a break and time for a cold drink along the way. Our lunch stop was McDonalds in Roma. It was so hot. I had my Fuji X-Pro 1 kit in the top box and was a bit concerned about internal temps in the sun. Packed a towel in on top of it as insulation. Will have to find a fix for that. Along the way I drop brochures into rural health services and country hospitals. The end of the line being Tambo.


Last time I was here was in the Discovery 3. Brochures in hand and...



We checked into the Mill Motel for 2 nights to have a rest. That afternoon their flag was flying at half mast. We wondered what was going on.. the publican told us the motel owner had died in his sleep overnight.  On the following morning my AC unit had also died so they shifted me to a new room. With an AC that worked! Bonus!!!


Now if you have seen the movie Rainman, you would be aware that QANTAS gets a good mention in it about being a safe airline. However in 1927, the mighty QF had a fatal prang right here in Tambo. We decided to go have a look at the site. Not much there but a plaque on a tree stump. Very sad all the same though.


All that is there now...



The plaque at the site.



Frank at the crash site car park.

Now Frank has been to Jackson in the USA. And he has a sticker to prove it. All day long as we headed west he would tell me at random times through the helmet comms.... "I've been to Jackson!"

About a million times he told me that!


"See.. I've been to Jackson!"

Late last year Debra and I took the mighty Calais out to Barcaldine for a BCAQ rural women's education event. Deb spoke about just how Spirit of Life helps women get back to normal post breast surgery. On the way back we stopped in at Fanny Mae's cafe in Tambo where we met this lovely lady who owed a property.

"Next time you're passing through.. come visit us"

So Frank and I thought... why not?


"Just ride 10 k out of town, turn right and then ride another 10 k and you come in through our front gate."

Sounded great.. after lunch we headed off.... except the last 10k was really deep gravel and also a lot of black soil. And deep gravel and a GSA made for a lot of "interesting" riding. But eventually we got there. This property is 45,000 acres where 3000 head of beef cattle graze. It is actually 2 properties now joined together and so they have two homesteads. Isaroy and Stirling Downs. And didn't they make us welcome.

Afternoon tea on the verandah and then a tour by Land Cruiser of the property.


Man that tea was great. So were the biscuits.


Miss Jenny and some of her newly born pups.



The GSA right out in the bush!



These guys had been dropping stock feed around the place.



Jenny and Jim. (And a pup! Everybody loves pups!)



Their new "Dear John" tractor.



Jim & Frank chewing the fat!



This dog is amazing. Jumping up there while still feeding.


Jenny took us for the royal tour across to see the original homestead. And what a place it is. Would make an excellent movie set. Until 1974 they had to generate their own electricity. A gen set (32 volt DC) and storage batteries did the trick. Even had their own butcher shop.



Jenny at the old homestead, Stirling Downs.



Bottle tress planted in 1934



Barbed wire hearts; decorations for Jenny's significant birthday!



Imagine a cold drink here after playing tennis...



Anyone for tennis?


Jenny and those fabulous bottle trees.

Looking from the house yard at Isaroy back towards the road in.



So by now the sun was starting to get low in the sky, lightening was in the distance and we had to get back to Tambo. So back to the other homestead, and a quick photo before we headed out. We hit the dreaded gravel as the sunset and the lightning came along behind us. And before we were half way along we were in total darkness. Riding along at 70 km/h standing on the pegs and balancing the bike as it bucked all over the road was bloody hard work. Especially in the dark. But we knew we had to be off that road before any rain fell or the black soil would halt our progress.

Finally we turned left onto the bitumen road back into Tambo just in time for the evening parade of kangaroos. Managed to miss them and get back under the motel cover as the rain began to fall. With two undamaged BMW bikes and two riders left over. Bonus!

Later that night Jenny and Jim came to town and we all had dinner and a beer at the Tambo Tavern.

All in all a rather quick trip. Out on Tuesday and back home Saturday afternoon.

Planning another marketing run up to Rockhampton and then out to Longreach next year. (Last did that 2 years ago.. they must be out of brochures by now.)

But I think I will return via Tambo again.

Want to see more of that country.