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North Kennedy District

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6 travelers at this place

  • Rob TaitPalm Creek Festival 2019
    Day20

    Fletchers Creek Camping area

     June 22, 2019 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    40 kilometres north of Charters Towers is one of the best camping areas. Depending on the time of the year the creek can be a trickle or quite decent flow. When flowing it is quite nice to sit beside and enjoy the sound of water running over the rocks.

    We camped here for a few days before we moved along via some shopping at Charters Towers.    Read more

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  • Rob TaitNorth Queensland 2018
    Day37

    Bluewater Springs

     September 6, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    About a hundred or so kilometres north of Charters towers is the first roadhouse stop before you reach the mining town of Greenvale.

    Roadhouses are becoming a but scarcer now due to the massive distance modern cars can travel on one tank of fuel. (Even though towing a caravan we are still on the fill from Mareeba and will fill up at Charters). Many passenger cars now can go close to a thousand kilometers on a single tank.

    We had done a longer than average day of driving and decided to break here for the night. We could have gone on but there really was no need. This place turned out to be a nice stop.

    The shower was hot and the walk down to the creek well worth the 100m walk. There were lots of birds including a large family of apostle birds with their characteristic happy chatter. This is why they are also widely known as happy jacks.

    We could hear peewee and magpies as well as an occasional plaintiff crow. The next morning we were to awake to a full symphony of birdlife.

    Birds here are pretty much spoilt for choice with the still running creek so our usual stakeout of a watering hole was not productive. Many birds just flew past on their way to another part of the creek.

    One of the unusual sights was a flowering thistle. It always amazes me that some of the most unlikely plants have such delicate and beautiful flowers. It's a hard country so these flowers are a lot of effort for a plant to get noticed by an insect or bee so pollination ensures the seeds are fertile and ready for the next few millimeters of rain.    Read more

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  • Rob TaitNorth Queensland 2018
    Day37

    Fletcher Creek Camp Area

     September 6, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We have stopped here before for a rest stop and a walk before heading elsewhere. We are now quite close to Charters towers and will visit there to shop on our way to our next planned camp at Burdekin dam.

    On our other stop and a couple of drive bys this spot seemed to be just too busy and filled with up to 200 vehicles mainly stopping for the night. This time I think we are later in the season and the numbers are quite fewer. There are 3 camping areas with the area we are in running quite a way along the small running creek. The main area with fa ilities is not so close to the creek but there are quite a few tracks.

    We are thinking that we might stay two nights so that we can enjoy a whole day here while it is not so busy.

    Setting up was a bit interesting. The Black soil has cracked deep down into the depths of the subsoil. A tent peg hammered laboriously into a block of rock hard soil finally chattered the block and came loose. I finally found a crack that was only 15cm deep and hammered my long peg in. It seems to be holding for now but I might need to use a longer sand peg it it does come loose.

    Along the creek there are quite a few birds. The lorikeets are enjoying the flowering tree not far from our camp. They are often noisy and often bicker and chase others away. A blue winged Kookaburra has set up a vigil just away from the creek in a shady spot and the pale headed Rosella has visited. The twitches part of the team is busy taking photos.

    A bit later we walked a few hundred meters up the creek to take a look. The area is quite picturesque with a few water birds. Probably later in the day there will be many more smaller birds coming in for a drink before they head off to roost for the night.

    Some of the vans in the upper campground seem as if they might be planning to stay awhile. Long hoses lead into the clear creek and back up to a pump. That is connected to the van water inlet. It is permissible to camp here for up to 4 weeks in any two month period. I suspect Fletcher Creek has been a popular camping ground long before the mass travelling public found it.    Read more

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  • Rob TaitNorth Queensland 2018
    Day37

    Why we don't camp near big trees.

     September 6, 2018 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Obviously it is not possible to camp in the creek. Trees behave the same whether they a few near a creek or not though. These trees do not have a huge tap root and rely on roots to hold them up. When they come down they re eal how little I'd s holding them upright.

    Other trees common in Australia tend to drop huge branches as they mature. There does not need to be wind. They just let go and drop. I call those self pruning trees. It is best not to be under them when they do.

    When going to a camp there is often no indication that branches have fallen. Ones that fall are quickly used by campers for firewood. If you look up though it is possible to see where branches have broken away from the tree.

    Only a lot of experience can allow some idea where a tree could fall or where limbs might drop. If not certain, park your van well away.    Read more

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North Kennedy District

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