Day 34 Friday 8/7/2022 Eidsvold to Theodore, frosty 6 – 19 then sunny

It is another very quiet night with a clear frosty morning. I sit quietly in the public loos attending to the call of nature when suddenly a shrill female voice announces “rain in 18 minutes!” I’m going to have to reload that weather app, she really has lost the plot.

We’re edgy this morning and worrying about the car. It’s easy to see where we broke down as there’s an oily line on the road and then a large stain. After a series of low hills and one-lane bridges we settle into a long straight road, red soil, and no fences.

Cracow is a very old almost derelict town that would be a dream to sketch. There’s a big old pub and dozens of Guinea fowl roaming free. On the edge of town is the Aeris high-grade low-cost gold mine, a large operation in an area that doesn’t seem good for much else.

Bottle trees now dot the landscape as we leave the hills behind. There’s farming and irrigation and paddocks of Duboisia the strange-looking plant that is used for motion sickness and stomach pain drugs. You see a lot of it in these parts and usually when we come through it’s all dead and brown and looking weirder.

Theodore is cradled between the junction of Castle Creek and the Dawson River. We pull into the Showgrounds and spot our friend’s van. We snag a couple of nice spots on the fence line. It is quite busy and some areas are still soggy. We spend an hour or so yakking with M & D and D’s cousin J from Eidsvold and more recently Bundaberg. They warn us that Covid is rife in Theodore and the pub has been shut through lack of staff but is now open.

Woody pops into the bottle shop to stock up on his Friday bourbon supply and learns that folks are ignoring the isolation rules and still going to the pub regardless. We cross off any thoughts of a pub meal here.

It’s a warm and pleasant afternoon for a stroll. I spot a film crew in town opposite the police station and assume the worst. When I return to the Showgrounds I meet them again and can’t help but ask what they’re up to. They’re making a documentary on Theodore and ask a few questions about why we’re here.

We have happy hour in the newly constructed rotunda and learn that our friends are wandering QLD for the winter and headed for the Corfield Cup in Western QLD. We also learn that Cracow is pronounced Cracko and when gold was discovered in 1932 the population was 3000. We talk until sundown. A stunning golden glow silhouettes the tank stand and bush before a final red burst.

Accom: $20.00 (power, water, dump point, toilets, and showers in a beautifully maintained bathroom block surrounded by tubs of petunias)

Towing Kms: 145kms

Unusual name: Updown Gully