Tobermorey Station

3 - 4 August 2017

Tobermorey Station is a working cattle station and a welcome stop-over along the Outback Way - the Donohue and Plenty Highways. Information provided tells visitors it is just 4km from the Queensland/Northern Territory borders and is 5994 sq km - approximately 2 million acres. The property is 40km wide and 200 ling. It's southern boundary is the Simpson Desert and its eastern is the QLD/NT border.

It was only lunchtime but we were ready to stop and Tobermorey certainly looked like a nice spot. Green grass, clean amenities and a warm welcome - you couldn't ask for much more. As the first ones into the campground we were able to pick the best spot to suit us. The campground filled up as the afternoon wore on and many friendly conversations were had - typical traveller talk - where are you headed, where are you from, where else have you been? We noticed the nights were starting to get colder as we moved closer to the centre of the country and a few of our fellow travellers lit fires.

A shady tree is always welcome.

In the morning we set off again, thinking we might stop at  Jervois Station, about 220km down the road. That would be enough of a drive on the gravel road we thought. We pulled into Jervois about noon and were given another warm welcome. We went up to the camp ground and made lunch before setting up - and discussed the problem that had arisen for us. There were no amenities in the campground itself. There was a small toilet and shower block down at the small shop and reception area - a walk of a good few hundred metres from where we had planned to set up, and at least 200 metres from the entrance to the campground. In addition to the distance, the block contained a separate ladies and gents - each with only one shower and toilet, in a single space - could be a bit of a problem if you wanted to use the toilet while someone was in the shower. We decided to keep on going a further 206km to Gemtree. We were refunded our camp fee and bought fuel before setting off again. 

About 45km before reaching Gemtree we were back on bitumen so the last leg wasn't all that bad. The dirt road from Jervois to the bitumen, however, was by far the worst section, but nowhere near what I was expecting. There was even some bits that had been recently graded. When we arrived at Gemtree we were glad we had kept going.