The Desert Upland, North Queensland

OK, so far on our journey, we're over the Great Dividing Range and into The Outback. This is Desert Upland territory.


You are undoubtedly looking at this and saying "Why is this desert? It's kinda green!" Well, let me tell you.

Look at this grass. It's called spinifex and, as they say, "she'll be a bitch all right!"

Spinifex!

Spinifex has so much silicone it hardly counts as a "carbon-based lifeform". It's like glass, and pieces break off under the skin and if you don't get them out immediately, just like coral-cuts they always fester and the whole thing turns grangrenous before you know it. Cattle don't like to eat it either, and all it's seeds are just waiting there, all through the Desert Upland, in the ground, waiting to strangle out the "sweet grass" and take over!

Also, it just "yearns to burn"; standing there all sinister-like waiting for a spark so it'll explode into flames. And, yes, take your entire cattle property with it because the only thing that "yearns to burn" more than spinifex are gum trees and the Desert Uplands produce those in abundance too, so the whole area just needs a single lightning storm to explode into an inferno.

Gum trees!

In the past, the way to manage this was controlled-burnoffs, wherein firetrucks came around and burned, say, a single pasture, and so the spinifex would be wiped out and the regular native grasses that cattle eat can come through again. However, the Department of Primary Industries - all Southerners, naturally - banned controlled-burnoffs and now the spinifex is strangling the area and everyone awaits the Inevitable Inferno! Stupid people, really, that DPI! And they're in charge!

Oh, and you probably are wondering what the soil is like. Here you go!

Red bulldust!
Soft as talcum powder and
the most gorgeous colour too.

So you're now undoubtedly wondering how this area manages to raise cattle in the first place. Well, the reason for that is Australia has bred it's own brand of mighty hardy cows!

Drought-Masters!

Drought-Masters should be considered Australian National Treasures. They are huge, tough and can cope with just about anything - although probably not The Inevitable Inferno!

The Australian Government has admitted that their ultimate plan for the Desert Uplands is to force the Desert Uplands cattle properties out of business and return the land to the wildlife. But the wildlife is fine with the cattle properties. See here:

The eagle has landed!

I even know of someone who, 15 years ago, reported to the authorities that she had rare birds breeding on her property ... and so the government stepped in and confiscated her cattle station. It was then returned to wildlife - except the spinifex took over and the rare birds, not being stupid, knew that the Inevitable Inferno awaited and all flew off to find another property to live on. And I know exactly where they are today, and I'm not telling because telling is dangerous!

Out here, land is confiscated on the slightest pretext (I know someone who lost their land because, as children, they stupidly daubed Aboriginal-style splatter-paintings on the walls of a cave) and I know of so much fabulous stuff on so many properties - a lot of which would rewrite Australian pre-history - that everyone is forbidden to talk about because "telling is dangerous!"

And, reverting to the previous subject, there is even wildlife which thrives. Try feeding the geese without a zillion of these nasty-looking lousy jacks turning up.

The day before there were hundreds
but I missed that photo op!

I mean, just look at these things:

A lousy jack
Is that sinister-looking or what!

So there you go! The Desert Uplands of North Queensland. Plan to visit sometime?

Final shot!
The highway through!