White Mountains National Park

11 - 13 June 2014

After a night in Richmond we headed for White Mountains National Park, between Torrens Creek and Charters Towers. We knew it was accessed from the highway but had some difficulty finding the entrance.The park itself was well signposted but the entrance was hidden down a track at the edge of one of the rest areas. Perhaps someone wants to keep it a secret. I had been worried about accessing the camping area (Cann's Creek) as the information provided by Parks Queensland seemed to be a bit contradictory - on one place it indicated you could access the camping area in a conventional, but high clearance, vehicle and in another it indicated 4WD only. Mick had phoned and spoken to a ranger who was familiar with the area (a challenge in itself) and he assured us that we would have no trouble in my 2WD Mitsubishi Outlander. While the steep bank into and out of the creek had me a little nervous, we managed it without incident. The rest of the track had been an easy drive through some interesting scrub country. We had booked to stay for two nights and for the first night we were the only ones there - so peaceful. The facilities were basic - 8 marked campsites and a hybrid toilet, but perfectly adequate for our needs. The area was extremely dry and there was no water in the creek at all. In one place you could see where kangaroos had dug down to get to some moisture. We walked along the creek bed and marvelled at some magnificent sights. 

Mick spent a good bit of time photographing (or trying to photograph) birds. 

On our second day there we were joined by another couple.The campsite remained peaceful. We went walking along the creek and generally relaxed. Mick was somewhat disappointed at the lack of birdlife which was as a result of the extreme dry conditions. 

On our final morning we packed up, successfully negotiated the creek crossing again and headed back towards the park entrance. We took the detour to the lookout which was well worth the few extra kilometres, and again the road was in good condition. You get a feel for the ruggedness and remoteness of this park when you take in the view from the lookout. 

We returned to the highway and stopped for a cuppa at the well presented rest area - toilets, water, shaded seating. We continued on to lunch in a park in Charters Towers before home.