This morning we were well organized and on the road by 9.30 am. Out the front gate and back to Townsville then the turnoff to Charters Towers. Generally a good road all the way with light traffic. Afew road trains (prime mover and 3 trailers) were heading to Townsville.
Our destination today was the heritage town of Ravenswood. Turn left 25km before Charters Towers. Arrived in Ravenswood and on other travelers advice headed for the show grounds. Here we found the caretaker "Woody" and booked in for a couple of nights - $14 a night.
Set the van up, light lunch then into exploring mode. Ravenswood is a heritage listed gold mining town dating back to 1868. 48 hotels and shanties served the thirst of miners, today only 2 survive, although mining started again in 1995. We first went to the historic Court House Museum and spent about 30 minutes wandering around.
Our next stop was the cemetery which is one of the few remaining sites of genuine Chinese headstones and glass domed funereal arrangements. It was then on to visit the open cut gold mine lookout to view the pit where giant trucks and machinery work.
Out along the Ayr Road, past the showgrounds to the White Blow Environmental Park (5km from the town centre). The White Blow is composed of white quartz and is unusual because of its size and shape. It is about 10 metres high and you can climb to the top to get 360deg views of the area.
Back into town and we decided to have a coffee at the Railway Hotel. It was a do it yourself , boil the kettle, make yout drink and enjoy.
It was then back to the van for Happy Hour then tea. No telly reception. We joined our next door neighbours at their campfire for a chat. An hour or so later we called it a night and headed off to our respective vans for the night.
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