TWO NIGHTS IN CLERMONT AND THERESA DAM

We set off from Emerald this morning, along the Gregory Highway to Clermont.  We have this great app called Wikicamps, an electronic copy of the famous friend of all grey nomads, the CAMPS book.  This showed that one could camp cheaply, with power, at the local Showgrounds.  We are the only ones here tonight.  On a closer inspection of Wikicamps, I found that there were two more camps out at Theresa Dam/Creek.  So we set up camp and drove out there mid afternoon.  What a lovely place, countless caravans and motorhomes camped there for the night, mostly sitting around campfires enjoying happy hour by the time we left at sunset.  Needless to say we are going there in the morning.

On the way we called and looked at the last remaining chimney of a copper mine, which only stopped operating in 1988.  Photos are down the bottom.

25/7/2013

Well we did go back and camped a night at Theresa Creek Dam, which was a very pleasant spot indeed, though exceptionally cold at night again.  We met some lovely people there and spent the afternoon in the sunshine.  

Today we left there and drove to Moranbah.  This town goes way back with us, we were married in April 1971 and before the year was up were in our new caravan and heading up to nearby Peak Downs Mine for Peter to work.  The first day we came to get groceries at the area of Moranbah, there was just a track leading up to an old two storey house where they sold the groceries from underneath, with just earth floor and a few fridges and freezers.  Before we left in November 1972, there was a new kerb and channelled street and a row of yet to be occupied shops.  At the end was Moranbah's first pub, The Black Nuggett.  We'll have a drink there tomorrow!  The town is very different, we thought it was now bigger, unless we find more tomorrow.  Primarily this blog post is about the last two days, as we had no internet access out at Theresa Creek Dam.

Piano up a tree from a long ago flood - Clermont

Murals on rail wagons in Clermont

Clermont Showgrounds

Copperfield Chimney on road to Theresa Creek Dam.  There used to be four and a thriving townships with two pubs and banks, nowadays it's a disused copper mine with this last remaining chimney

Theresa Creek Dam "Lake"

Theresa Creek Dam "Lake"