Gold Coast - Hughenden

English:
Our first destination was the Central Highlands of QLD. We visited places like Coochin Creek, Monto, Moura, Emerald, Barcaldine. From there we went on a long stretch of pretty much nothing, all the way to Torrens Creek located between Charters Towers and Hughenden. Life is different out here. It is so quiet, all we hear are some Kookaburras in the distance and the occasional cricket. The mornings and evenings have their magical display of red skies and the nights are pitch black and the sky exhibits millions of stars.
We have travelled some gravel roads and even a 4WD track to our camp tonight, and so far we haven’t lost the camper yet. Nothing is more rewarding than the occasional experience that things go to plan.

Deutsch:
Unser erstes Ziel waren die Central Highlands in Queensland. Nachdem wir Coochin Creek, Monto, Moura, Emerald, Barcaldine besucht hatten, ging es ueber eine lange Strecke von ziemlich „Garnichts“  nach Torrens Creek, ein kleiner Ort zwischen Charters Towers und Hughenden. Das Leben ist anders hier draussen. Es ist so still, ausser ein paar Kookaburras in der Ferne und ein paar Grillen hoert man hier nichts. Morgens und abends wird die Sonne rot und nachts ist die Welt pechschwarz und es stehen Millionen Sterne am Himmel.
Wir haben den Camper nun schon ueber ein ein paar Shotterpisten gefahren, und sind auch schon Off-Road gefahren, und bislang haben wir das Ding noch nicht verloren. Ist es nicht schoen wenn ab und zu mal die Dinge so laufen wie wir sie geplant hatten?

Coochin Creek

Virgin Rock near Springsure

Jericho (in Australia)...
must be the smallest town with a drive-in cinema. 

Thanks, Clive Palmer!

Saw Pit Gorge (White Mountains N.P.) reminded us of the Pinnacle Desert in WA. 

Re-use and recycle - Outback Aussies are masters in this discipline.

The world’s largest painting on an easel stands in Emerald. The expert will recognise that it is Van Gough’s “Sunflowers”.  It isn’t easy to move around, the easel itself was made of 13.6 tonnes of steel, and the painting weighs another 4.5 tonnes (plus 50 Litre of paint). It was unveiled in 1999. 

Our path to Virgin Rock. Credits to Anja+ Daniel for the inspiration for this photo.

The Pyramid at Porcupine Gorge

Winter skies in Outback QLD

Another sunrise in the Central Highlands

Barcaldine with a population of 1600 is home to The Tree of Knowledge. Inside the big box is the remainder of a 180 year old Ghost Gum. The tree has historical significance in the struggle of Australia’s Union movement. Some moron poisoned the tree in 2006 and it was decided to build an artwork that represented the original surroundings of the tree with large wooden blocks that are suspended from the ceiling.