Heading north again - Sandstone to Meekatharra

29th May 2014

Arrived in Meekatharra early afternoon having travelled via Mt Magnet and Cue.   We were fortunate enough to see 2 eagles and a goshawk at close range along the way.  This is the first time we have seen any birds of prey on this trip.

Bank of New South Wales building, Cue

Bandstand at Cue

We stopped for a quick break in Mt Magnet and a longer break in Cue for lunch.  Cue had high hopes for itself in the early 1900's, with grand buildings and a bandstand.  They styled themselves 'Queen town of the Murchison', which is the surrounding region.




As usual, all the 3 of the places we have been through today have been built on mining and pastoral activities, date to the late 19th century and are now in decline.



Seems Cue has the best water for miles around. We parked the caravan next to a public tap whilst I made lunch and there was quite a queue in Cue on the other side of the tap for the water.  People who have been camping 'outback' were coming in to fill up their water containers.

Queen of the Murchison Hotel

A lot of the pastoral leases in this area expire next year so it should be interesting what terms they may be renewed under. Grazing sheep and cattle does no good to the environment.  However neither do the herds of feral goats we have seen or the mining activities.

Meekatharra is disappointing, fairly scruffy and probably the worst campsite we have encountered so far.  It's the only one in town though and caters mostly to contract miners.