We trekked 10Km or so out of Charters Towers this morning, to take in the sights that awaited us at Leahton Park. Thankfully, we have tripped across another caravan park which allows pets to remain behind, so long as they are secured in the van and we are contactable by phone in any case of emergency or nuisance. Therefore, Alvin and Bethany remained behind, as we went trouping off on our tour. It was Leahton Park that I was on the phone to yesterday, trying my hardest to get us booked onto one of the traditional covered wagon tours.

‘The Beast’ beneath the gates.

The property is home to the largest herd of purebred Texas Longhorn Cattle in Australia. Amongst the beasts here is ‘J.R.’, the Guinness World Record holder for the steer with the longest horns, measured tip to tip, in the world.

The mornings events started with an introduction to the owners, Mike and Lynda. They run the multi-award winning Texas Longhorn Wagon Tours & Safaris. I think Mike was as much enamored with ‘The Beast’ as we were with the cattle, which soon saw him bringing out the object of his own automotive love affair, a lovely looking 1956 Ford truck, for us to have a look at. I don’t think that was part of the normal tour, but was a nice touch.

Welcomed to the property by Penny the joey.

As we waited for the remainder of the guests to arrive, we had a chance to look through the small gift shop, which was full of all manner of cool western inspired décor, trinkets, and a great range of leather goods and saddles. The leather work and saddles are made here by Mike and Lynda, although I don’t see where they find the time, between running the stud farm, which provides prime specimens to properties Australia wide, and looking after guests on the tour as well as staying in onsite accommodation, both of which would be full time jobs in their own right.

Billy tea was served from the ‘Chuck’ wagon.

With all of the guests having arrived, we sat around the outdoor dining area in readiness for an authentic Aussie bush tucker morning ‘smoko’ served from a fantastic old west ‘chuck wagon’. As we marveled at the kangaroo joey, deer and dog that joined the party, no doubt all waiting for a stray crumb or two to be dropped, the amenable Mike gave us a run down on the history of the Longhorn Breed, and his involvement with them here in Australia. The billy tea was hot and strong and the fresh damper soft and light, as Mike elicited more than a couple of laughs from the assembly with his typical Australian larrikin humour.

Our carriage awaits.

Morning Tea filling our bellies, it was time to meet the horses that were hitched up to the wild west styled covered wagon that would be taking us out amongst the fields to see the cattle. Always having been a fan of the ‘R.M. Williams’ brand, which uses a longhorn bull head as a logo, I had yearned for the chance to see these beasts for real. I was amazed at how beautiful the animals were, and how placid they seemed, not that I wanted to test their resolve by getting any closer to them than the inside of the wagon. Getting to see the world record holder made it all that more exciting. With horns that stretch to almost 3 meters, J.R. is definitely the star of the show, looking altogether unwieldy with his lengthy bony out riggers. Mike kept up his easy banter, and displayed an obvious love for his bovine charges as we rattled and bounced slowly among the clustered herd.

‘J.R.’ The star of the show.

One of the more diminutively horned beasts.

Several hours after we had arrived, it was time to say goodbye, at which time I declared to Bec that this had been my favourite attraction we’ve been to so far for the trip, and I’m not just saying that because I’m going to e-mail Mike and Lynda a copy of this. They’re just genuine, down to earth folks who invite the public into their lives to share their love of the cattle and the life.

Back in town, we did some grocery shopping, to get us through the next few days. We are due to leave here tomorrow, to head further inland, and as we do so, the towns will be getting smaller, the distances greater and the services will be minimal. In fact, as we move away from the population centres of the east coast, even mobile phone coverage will quickly become almost non-existent. Being that I rely on the phone coverage for Internet access, that means my blog won’t be able to go to print each and every day.

Back at the van, we were nearly bowled over by two very excited pooches, the moment we opened the door. Not that we stayed for too long, before heading out again, this time in company with the dogs. We were heading up to the top of Charters Hill, a lookout that takes in the scenes surrounding the town. Also in the vicinity are more than 30 derelict World War II era storage bunkers, remnants of old mine shafts and a seismograph station, which is currently still in use.

View from the hill.

It didn’t take us all that long to see all that there was to see, and then it was back to the caravan park. As the temperature today had hit a balmy 30^oC, we were intending to make use of the park pool. Unfortunately, the water temperature wasn’t quite a match for the ambient temperature, and we only managed to dip our lower legs into the cold water. The shock of that was enough to stop us from diving headlong in, so a swim was out of the question.

We instead, utilised our time to pack the van up and get ready for an early morning tomorrow. We have a big day on the road planned, hoping to make it at least most of the way to Julia Creek.

Don’t forget, that as we will most likely not have access to a reliable Internet connection for the better part of a week, the next time you hear from us, we will most likely be in Mount Isa. I will be maintaining my ramblings though, so expect an influx of reports the moment we return to civilisation.

I must also apologise to anyone who has been checking out our pics on Flickr and does not like the new page designs. There was no choice in the matter, as Flickr upgraded their interface to make it almost unusable.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.