Travels and Tours Australia – Day 5: The Queensland Border

<< Read Day 4 of this road trip adventure

Feeling revitalized, I am ready to go before first light. I wolf down a bowl of cereal and head off in the high hopes of reaching the border by just after dawn breaking. The plan works well as I head due East and am entertained by the sensational sunrise lighting the way to Queensland.

By 8 am I have reached my first destination of the day. With a sign indicating the important landmark, I pull over and take photographs of both the Northern Territory and Queensland signs before entering the ever so sweet Camooweal for a fuel stop. Having studied the map intensely, I used the opportunity to enquire which route would be permitted within the guidelines and am met with a British traveler who has little to no clue.

Disappointed I hit the road and get a good 15km before noticing the disappearance of a much-needed map. Realizing my blunder, I do my second major U-Turn of the trip and head back with my head hung in shame. Thankfully the map is exactly where I left it and the open road in front of me calls me on.

After a sudden realization that an hour of the day has been lost by simply crossing the border, I start to stress about journey time and stopping points before distracting myself with interactive games. I say interactive, but the only interaction comes from my own actions as instead of waving at fellow roadsters, I start blowing kisses but to little response.

With a far less remarkable landscape to contain my attention, I am anxious to reach my next point of potential interest – Mount Isa – and in turn, disappointed to find nothing but an industrial city. I pull in to Maccas in the hope of finding a plug point to charge my dying phone, but with little luck, I skip indulging and decide to make my way to Cloncurry.

The road to Cloncurry proves the quietest to date. With no one else around, I turn to my CD collection for company and power on through. Before I know it the quaint Cloncurry is just around the corner. I decide to try my luck with the locals and seek route advice, but again am met with little knowledge and leave none the wiser.

I opt for the highway and head for the White Mountains National Park. The route proves unremarkable and I long for the Barkly Highway. After an uneventful day, I long for sleep and skip dinner in favour of my duvet, disappointed that the freedom of the Northern Territories is behind me and wishing away the next day of driving for the sights and sounds of Cape Tribulation. For the first time I question myself, ‘can I do this?’ but as I nod off dreaming of Ubirr, I know that it will all be worthwhile.

Read Day 6 of this road trip adventure >>