Ask Andy Roo a question....

I love to travel and meet new friends, discover new places and learn about really cool things.  If you have a question for me, drop me a line at my new email address: 

  andyroo@savannahphotography.com.au

I'll only be too happy to hear from you and answer your questions.  If I don't know the answers it will be fun to find out for you.

Keep bouncing

Andy Roo

Farms aren't just for animals...

Bright eyed and busy tailed.  Well, I was can't say Michele was hee hee :).  This morning we headed back to Windorah.  Do you know there is a blind gentleman there that runs the petrol station?  He is amazing.  Outside town is a very unique farm; a Solar Farm.  Five huge dishes that follow the sun like massive sunflowers collecting sunshine, which sends it to a special machine converts it to electricity for the whole town to use.  The electricity company is trying to reduce the use of current diesel generators and it seems to be working.  It is amazing.

The distances between towns out here is sooooooooo big.  I'd tell you my legs would be a wee bit sore if I wasn't in a car we travelled 218km today.  So the decision was made we'd camp beside the Cooper Creek.  Water from this creek actually runs into Lake Eyre when there is a big wet season.  Guess what?  That is where it is running right now.  All the way to SA, whoa long way to go and we'll get to see it again in SA.  It will be great to hang around the Cooper.   You never know I might find some more friends.  

Learning all abour the Solar Farm

5 dishes in total

112 mirrors in each dish.

Camping on Cooper Creek with Phoenix.  Can you see me?

Room with a view from the rooftop tent looking over Cooper Creek

Helping Michele with her work, on the Cooper.

Andy Roo's Fact Finds:  Windorah Solar Farm:  Five dishes in total.  Each Solar Dish is 14.5m high, so if you are about 1m tall it is 14 times taller than you!  13.7m wide.  Has special tracking systems to follow the sun, with 112 curved mirrors made out of glass, polymer and steel laminate. Amazing stuff.  For more cool facts about the farm; click on the link above.

The best laid plans...

After they almost forgot me; I made sure I was in the car before anybody today. We left our friend Adrian to his filming of Outback Sandgreens. Made our way to the turnoff for the corner country. Where all three states NSW/QLD/SA meet. BUT sometimes things don't go as planned. Well the road was open and then closed. We had travelled 300km on dirt, actually mud roads. It was a little disappointing; however we camped at a magic spot called Deon's Lookout, just outside the ghost town of Betoota. No-one around for miles. Man it was soooooo windy though and very cold so it was an early night for everyone.

New friends I found on the road...Emus

A wee bit of mud on our tyres

Hanging out at Deon's Lookout

Beautiful view from the lookout.  Looking towards Betoota and Birdsville.

More new friends..Corellas.

Looking out over the Gibber Plains at Deons Lookout.

Andy Roo's Fact Finds:  Betoota has 0 population.  It is 170km east of Birdsville Queensland, was formerly a Cobb and Co changing station and border town before Australia became a Federation (six separate British run colonies; NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, TAS, WA joined as one nation).  Before Federation it thrived by collecting tolls and taxes.

PS:  If you would like to see some of Adrians short films on outback Queensland golf courses, just click on the word Sandgreen above and check it out. :)

Secret mission shhhhhhh......

Hi

Sorry I haven't posted any further days of my trip but I got caught in a secret mission.  I can't tell you about it yet.  BUT stay tuned and all will be revealed (I'll tell you all about it).

Thanks for your patience; can't wait it is exciting.  Really cool and something you will be able to join in.

Andy Roo 

On the road again...

After discovering the Muttaburrasaurus, and very thankful he didn’t have any beans we had an overnight stay in Longreach to meet up with our friend “Mr E”.  A documentary maker, touring Outback Queensland filming sand green golf courses.  Cool job hey!

After a big sleep, and a great breakfast, we all headed to the South West Corner of Queensland and a small town of Jundah was our mission.  Only 235km away, there sure is a lot of wide open spaces out here, and great things to see.  I even had a drink at a very special site of a Native Well, great water too, and I needed it because I almost got left behind today….how could they forget me??

All ready for another day on the road.

Nothing around for kilometers except for Mr E's car.

Phoenix on the lookout for me..

Here I am...don't leave me.

Rescued...Thanks Phoenix.

Now you can see why I needed a drink.

Still drinking...

Andy Roo’s Fact Finds:  Native Wells played a very important role in our Indigenous culture.  When the seasons were good it was easy to live off the land.  In times when seasons were dry the Native Wells proved a valuable water source. 

Happy Mothers Day

Even on the road you have to think of your Mum, on this special day.  So wherever you are I hope you are spoiling your mum today.  The most important thing is you give her an extra special cuddle or a phone call if you don't live close by.  Love is the greatest gift of all. 

Let Andy Roo know what special things you did for your mum today. :)

Andy Roo's Fact Finds:  Mothers Day started way way way back in Ancient Greek times a spring festival that honoured the maternal goddess of Greek Mythology (myths/stories) Rhea.

Muttaburrasaurus Langdoni

Who said the country was boring, man check out what you can see out here.  Through most of outback Queensland dinosaur skeletons and fossils have been discovered.  Here in Muttaburra this guy was discovered in 1963.  Can I just say though, I think he was too long in the ground and had some gas build up.  I might not have been sitting in the right spot for this photo....and he only ate plants image if he ate beans!

This is a full scale replica and back 100 million years ago when he roamed the earth he would have stood 2 meters high and 12 meters long.  He may have also had to join the biggest loser because he weighed a staggering 15 tonnes.  (That would be 30,000 blocks of family sized chocolate - wow.)

Andy Roo's Fact Finds:  Muttaburra has a population of 106 (2006 census).  The name of the town is from an Aboriginal word meaning "meeting of waters".

How did we get here?  Type in Cairns to Muttaburra in locations map below....keep scrolling to the bottom :)

Location Location Location

Sometimes when we say names of towns or places they don't mean much.  It could be a place on Mars for all we know.   So to help me and you we have added a direction map right down the bottom.   I'll give you the names of places we have been too and going too so you can check out the distances and whats around.....scroll down and check it out.  Plus if you click on the location link it will take you straight to where I'm at right at this moment...Just have some fun :)

Wide open spaces...

When you get off the beaten track and not another sole around, it is amazing.  There is nothing like travelling the wide open spaces and not seeing any other person around.  Granted alot of wild life but no people.  Alot of cows on the stations as you pass by.  Plus an odd cousin or two, but they seem to have fur and I only have plastic so not too sure on how that works...but I'm told they are a relative too.

A great day on the road but a long one of 619km's.......

Coming up to more cows....

Still not sure about all those cows trying to hide...

Andy Roo's Fact Finds:  Australia's largest Station is Anna Creek in South Australia.  It is roughly 34,000 squared km's, 6 million acres.  That is bigger than the country Isreal.  You could certainly get lost there....

We are off....7,000km to go...

The car was all packed, and only thing left for me was to be put in the car.  I've got pretty flexible limbs and don't take up much space, so I'm a compact traveller.  Here is me already to go...

Leaving sunny Cairns

Tucked in Safe and Sound

So where to first?  Well I had front row seat and got a little excited as we left Cairns, and this time wasn't travelling in a cardboard box to a new destination.  We headed south and for our first night camped at Reid River just before Charters Towers in QLD 395km from home.

Now I don't mind sharing when the full moon came up and the cows started mooing through the night I was a little scared but I wasn't alone, Phoenix (the dog and new brother was at my side) together with the rest of the family...so I soon got to sleep and got ready for a new day....

Who is Andy Roo?

Andy Roo is a shy little fellow but with your help and his adventures I can see him overcoming that obstacle, and learning a little bit about the world along the way.

Rescued from the ‘specials’ bin in a tourist shop…by a father wanting a gift for his son.    I may or may not have kidnapped him because he was cute in own funny way and said I'd deliver said gift when I went to their home later on in the year (3,000kms away).

The problem???  I was having so much fun with Andy Roo I didn't want to give him up.  He become part of the family and we have seen some great things together, so thought I’d share.

Oh, you may also have noticed that Andy has a special package on board ‘a Joey’ but like this amazing world we live in ‘nothing is as it seems’.  Besides that Andy Roo was always going to be his name, he is just a very special roo!

Life is an adventure treasure it….…