1 July
Yesterday was a short amble up to the Capricorn Highway and west to the quaint town of Bluff in the Central Tablelands. Like Mt Morgan the area is very dry at the moment. Although there seems to be plenty of feed in the paddocks, we saw only a few cattle. Coal mining is huge in the region and a very busy rail line follows the highway. There was a steady stream of huge coal trains snaking their way towards Gladstone. The Blackdown National Park is not far away from Bluff. A must do for next trip.
https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/blackdown-tableland
We camped beside a huge Mango Tree at the back of the Bluff Hotel for the night. It was lunch time when we arrived so we shouted ourselves to a delicious steak sandwich, which we enjoyed in the beer garden before we set up camp.
In the evening we joined some of our fellow campers at the bar. We had a great chat with Hugh a young man from Victoria who is travelling with his swag and camera. One of the train drivers was there as well. From him we learnt that each train load of coal weighs more than 8,000 tons and is worth more than $1.5 m. The Bluff railway station is the main operations centre for the line.
This morning Rosie and I popped over to the railway station for a closer look at one of those enormous trains.
When we returned home the resident Pub dog, a young one eyed pup tried to make friends with Rosie without much success. She reminded us of the Loaded Dog from Henry Lawson’s hilarious tale.
ON THE ROAD 