Towards Yaraka

We headed south towards Blackall just 84 km away. 

Many years ago we travelled from Blackall to Yaraka with the first 39 km being bitumen. On this trip, the entire road has been upgraded except for a 5 km section being redone.

The road upgrade to Yaraka is just the first stage in an all-weather road linking Birdsville with the outside world. If Birdsville receives any amount of rain however small it strands people there until the roads dry out. The two major events held each year are the Birdsville Races in September and the Big Red Bash in July where more than 7000 people could be stranded for up to a week at a time.

At the Yaraka Hotel, the camping fees are $3.00 per night or $15.00 per week and are payable to the hotel on behalf of the Longreach Council. Your fees get you power, water, showers and toilets and is the cheapest fee we have ever paid. There is also an in-ground swimming pool. 

The hotel also runs a thirteen seater bus to the top of Mt Slowcombe 12 km to the east to view the sun setting on the Mitchell Plains below. The summit gives 360-degree panoramic views of the surrounding countryside. A donation to the RFDS is required which we were more than happy to pay to support this organisation.

Chris the publican gave us a rundown on the history of Yaraka and the surrounding countryside, Mt Slowcombe and the struggle to have a communications tower built on the summit. A visit from the then Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull helped hasten the installation. Chris mentioned that internet speeds were faster than most capital cities.

Friday is designated as pizza night so on our return from our tour Ros and I positioned ourselves in front of the fire with a bottle of red and a pizza with a selection of toppings chosen by us.