To find a vehicle test use the pull-down lists below.
On location, hunting for dinosaurs! While waiting for a massive Sauropod to wander across the barren...
Destinations > Diamond In The Rough
Diamond In The Rough
There is not a great deal to see or do in Windorah (population about 100), but it's where you have to fill up with fuel for the 350km trip to Diamantina. Since there is no fuel available in the park itself, you will need enough for the 700km round trip plus another 200km for driving around inside it. Make sure that you top up your water containers -take more than you will think that you need, as you will be passing through an extremely dry isolated part of Australia that has claimed the lives of other outback travellers in the past.
West Of Windorah
The straight, narrow strip of bitumen that stretches west of Windorah at first passes through flat, bare country and is fairly featureless apart from a few low sand hills. It's probably best to drive with your lights on as the shimmering heat off the road in the middle of the day can be mesmerising, which often makes the distance between you and the occasional on-coming vehicles quite confusing. Make sure that you pull completely off the bitumen when you see a road-train approaching as these outback monsters take up the entire black strip and never veer over.
About 39km west of Windorah you cross over Whitula Creek, which if you there after recent rain is a narrow 100m wide strip of greenery that stands in steep contrast to the reddish-brown hues of the surrounding landscape. Thick stands of mulga begin to emerge again about 10km further to the west and continue on for another 40km until you reach the turn-off to the old JC ruins.
read on below advertisement
The ruins, or what's left of them, were part of the JC Hotel that was built by the pioneer John Costello back in 1884. A tiny township called Canterbury sprang up around the old pub and was a stopover for Cobb and Co coaches as well as servicing local sheep stations in the area. Prolonged drought and hard financial times finally took their toll and by the 1930's it was abandoned and then quickly swallowed up by the elements. Today apart from the dead in the tiny cemetery the only residents are a few hardy lizards that live amongst the rubble of the old pub.
After passing the turn-off to Birdsville at the 112km mark, the bitumen continues west towards Bedourie for a further 12km before finally changing to gravel for the remainder of the trip. There is a dramatic transformation in the harsh, dry countryside about 150km west of Windorah when you crossover the first channels of Farrars Creek. After good rains lush native grasses, wildflowers and other plants suddenly emerge from the newly moistened land between the channels of water. These events cause an explosion in bird numbers, as most species go into a breeding frenzy to take advantage of the abundance of seeds and insects available.
next page »
West Of Windorah
The straight, narrow strip of bitumen that stretches west of Windorah at first passes through flat, bare country and is fairly featureless apart from a few low sand hills. It's probably best to drive with your lights on as the shimmering heat off the road in the middle of the day can be mesmerising, which often makes the distance between you and the occasional on-coming vehicles quite confusing. Make sure that you pull completely off the bitumen when you see a road-train approaching as these outback monsters take up the entire black strip and never veer over.
About 39km west of Windorah you cross over Whitula Creek, which if you there after recent rain is a narrow 100m wide strip of greenery that stands in steep contrast to the reddish-brown hues of the surrounding landscape. Thick stands of mulga begin to emerge again about 10km further to the west and continue on for another 40km until you reach the turn-off to the old JC ruins.
read on below advertisement
The ruins, or what's left of them, were part of the JC Hotel that was built by the pioneer John Costello back in 1884. A tiny township called Canterbury sprang up around the old pub and was a stopover for Cobb and Co coaches as well as servicing local sheep stations in the area. Prolonged drought and hard financial times finally took their toll and by the 1930's it was abandoned and then quickly swallowed up by the elements. Today apart from the dead in the tiny cemetery the only residents are a few hardy lizards that live amongst the rubble of the old pub.
After passing the turn-off to Birdsville at the 112km mark, the bitumen continues west towards Bedourie for a further 12km before finally changing to gravel for the remainder of the trip. There is a dramatic transformation in the harsh, dry countryside about 150km west of Windorah when you crossover the first channels of Farrars Creek. After good rains lush native grasses, wildflowers and other plants suddenly emerge from the newly moistened land between the channels of water. These events cause an explosion in bird numbers, as most species go into a breeding frenzy to take advantage of the abundance of seeds and insects available.
next page »
