Today we moved to a place called Howard. A small town and railway station a bit North of Maryborough and roughly opposite Fraser Island. The dual lane highway, which has carried Spike and me all the way from home, finally ran out and turned into a good single lane road marking some kind of way point on our circumnavigation. The weather is warm, overcast, bits of rain and a bit windy. The caravan park we spent the last two days in was excellent; quiet, uncrowded, grassy and small. Today we are parked in a sort of big grass carpark near the train line. It’s not bad. Only one other van so far but no “shore power” or water so we are living off tanks and solar. No problem. The ground is firm and level so no need to unhitch and meddle with the van – just turn on the water and power inside and have a cup of tea. Life for Spike and me is turning into a predictable repeating rhythm. Spike likes that. He also likes his new bed that we bought him yesterday, having at first steadfastly refused to set one foot in it.
Gympie, where we were yesterday, was a gold town and Howard earned its place on the map as a coal mining town in the 1860’s. I guess digging stuff out of the ground was the quickest way to make money in those early days. Apparently prospectors travelled the rivers, of which there are plenty around here, looking for coal seams that had been exposed by the water over time. The Burrum River then provided the means to ship the coal by paddle steamer to the nearby coast at Maryborough.
A walk through Howard between rain showers reveals a very traditional Queensland country town. One has the impression that not much changes around here, and I’m sure everyone likes it just like that.
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