Andy Roo's Fun Facts - Sturt Desert Pea

Sturt Desert Pea

Emerging from the harsh environment of desert sands, Sturt Desert Peas' add vibrant reds to an already colourful landscape. Aboriginal dreamtime story of the Pea; a beautiful young maiden was promised to a young warrior who gave her a cloak of red parrot feathers. She roamed the arid lands with her warrior and tribe. When drought hit her warrior was sent afar to search for food. He didn’t return, the tribe moved on, she remained for her warrior. The last view by the tribe was her surrounded by her red cloak surrounding her black head as she knelt on the ground waiting for his return. In 1961 the Pea was adopted as South Australia’s native floral emblem that was named after explorer Captain Charles Sturt, who in the early 1840’s explored remote regions of South and Central Australia.

Silverton or bust.

I'm a little cold sitting in the frost..but it is the first time I've seen it :)

Wholly dolly.  Now I come from Far North Queensland and when we woke up this morning there was FROST on the tent.  Yep, you heard me right, frost.  Oh my goodness it was cold.  Have any of you guys been in a frost before?  Wow, I was pretty cold but was brave and had my photo taken at the campground at Silverton because I've never seen it before and it was really cool.  :)

Old Church at Silverton

Silverton was named in 1883 because of the silver and lead ore miners found in the surrounding Barrier Range.  By the late 1880's the town's population expanded to 3,000 people.  Now it goes from 10 to 100, and not quite a ghost town, but has a lot of cool buildings that have been left from yesteryear that you can explore. 

An Australian classic movie 'Mad Max' was made out here too, and you can still see Mad Max's car in town.  It is one of those really cool, go fast one.  Yahoo.

Mad Max's car...classic Australian movie

It's a great little town to explore.

A nice cold beverage, or warm pie, it was a cold day.

The road just kept going....

On the road again.

Because there was soooo much water around and we had to take the 'black tar' all the way to Silverton, it was a long road trip.  So far we had travelled 1,679km from Coopers Creek to get to Silverton....but we made it and after Michele cooked us up a yummy dinner after a big day on the road, it was bed time.  Night!

 

 

 

 

 

Passing time saying hello to fellow travellers....

Nearly at Silverton ... Yahoo

Finally some dirt.

Michele; cooking up a storm.  Very cold night.

The Road Just Keeps Going on and on and on.........

The Road the just keeps going.....

 

We left Eulo, after my early morning training session at the Lizard Track ready for as far as we could get.  With the dirt roads all closed off we have to stick to the black tar for a while until we get to Broken Hill and go from there.  We did cross the Queensland/New South Wales Border. :)

Passing the time waving to cars...some people did wave too :)

So what do you do when you are sitting, in a car to pass the time????

Man, I was so bored at one stage I started waving to all the cars, and then played eye spy, making up sentences with the three letters on the rego plates.  Phoenix wasn't much fun he just slept.  Some 355km later we arrived at a bush camp just outside of Burke.  So I guess you could say we really were at "The back of Burke."  ......

Yahoo crossing the border from Qld to NSW

In Outback NSW....

Phoenix and I taking a break after a long drive....

Wild blue yonder calling...Eulo

Hanging out at the General Store in Eulo...great honey

On the road again...

Wow, I really did enjoy the Cooper Creek.  But now it is back on the road, yahoo.  With all this water lying around and back tracking we are spending alot of 'Quality time' in the car.  We crossed the Paroo River today and it was flowing over 500mm, it was really exciting.  Then found a real neat little town called Eulo.

Opal mining was king of the hill back in the late 1800's here, and there was a lady here called Queen Eulo that run the pub.  Not a lady to get on the wrong side of that is for sure.  Eulo also has a date farm, with a big stew pot out the front that Michele tried to cook me up in (joking)  I escaped she is too slow to get me.....hee hee.

It's a cool town that even has lizard racing, I did a lap around the track just to stretch my legs.  Had the track all to myself.  The lizards must have been having a rest day from training.  

Andy Roo's Fact Finds:  Eulo is located in SW Queensland, and is 67km west of Cunnamulla.  On the road out ot where the three states meet (SA, QLD, NSW)  Cameron's Corner.  Population:  109

Crossing Paroo River

the stew I escaped from

Dates on a tree..

the cool Lizard track in Eulo

Running away from the big lizard...he is 20ft tall

Taking a rest after the big run

Lost but now found....where have you been Andy Roo?

Holly Dolly Andy Roo got a little side tracked there didn't he, and has been gone a long time.  He just loved it at the last camp spot on the Cooper Creek, he decided to stay for a while.  So hope you have all had a great Christmas and Happy New Year.  Wonder where Andy Roo is going in 2012?


But for now....we better finish off his 7,000km adventure and then I can share some exciting news with you...

Happy tails...

Michele :)

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.