Day 29: Sat 9 Jan: Hughenden to Townsville 398km

Had another great meal at the Royal then decided to sleep outside under the stars, alongside the dogs, with a cool breeze blowing... Ah delightful... til 1am when Laura got stung by a caterpillar and came up in horrendously itchy blisters on her feet!!

So we packed up and went inside, leaving the door open and the dogs on long ropes, so they could get out if needed. Well that didn't work either because it got much windier about 3am and the door blew shut...with Spike outside, whining to come in!

And then a family a bit further down put their music on really loud at 6am as they were packing up!!  So we gave up and the dogs ended up in bed with Steve...which is probably what they wanted all along!

Ah camping, sooo relaxing!!

Never mind, today was our last day as we headed east up the Flinders Hwy towards Townsville. 

It was 34 degrees by the time we'd packed up and left at 10am. 

It was still quite green from the recent rain, but they need a lot more to really break the drought proper. Compared to the absolutely dry conditions along this road at the very start of our trip, it was a huge change though. 

We passed the Prairie Hotel which has dozens of saddles outside along the veranda rail. We planned to stop there next time we were out this way. 

But this time we continued onto Charters Towers for a driver swap and a little excursion out to Anabranch campground on the Burdekin River. We got lost a couple of times (ok Laura's navigating is better than it used to be, but still has plenty of room for improvement!). 

We finally found it and it was very pretty, with plenty of shade around a big swimming hole. Definitely a camping spot to revisit. 

We then headed back for the final leg of our epic journey. 

As we approached Townsville, we could see the rain clouds gathering and before long, big raindrops were washing at least some of the red dirt off the Triton and the van. 

We arrived into town just after 3pm. It was 32 degrees and green!  When we left 29 days ago, it was as dry as a bone, so it was wonderful to see what the rain can do. 

We pulled up and gave Swifty a quick wash before popping him up for the night. Proper unpacking would have to wait till tomorrow as we had takeaway for dinner and reminisced about our latest amazing trip. 

On TV that night was news that 86% of Queensland is now struggling with the worst drought in history. We felt we had really gained an understanding of how many outback towns are suffering and we were glad we had in some small way put some dollars into their local communities. 

It really makes you value what you have, when you see how tough life is for others. We never take our trips for granted; we consider it a huge privilege to be able to travel around our beautiful country, and we can't wait for the next one!

But for now, it's bye bye from me, Mingo. Safe travels everyone!

Squawk!!