CPA Health & Medical FCC Queensland Tour

Our ambitious travel plan to visit ten different sites across five days began on Sunday the July 28th at 6am and ended at 3pm on Friday August 1^st. During this trip we were lucky enough to catch up with 16 of our Paramedics, drop off some goodies to a few, get a ferry ride to an island, meet a friendly peacock, cross paths with our FCC colleague from CPA Fire & Rescue in the middle of nowhere and most importantly not kill each other while sitting in a car travelling over 2,100km. Our longest day saw us travel 650kms and our shortest was 54kms. We have included just a few of our highlights.

Our first stop was the MacIntyre Windfarm just outside of Warrick, after a nice leisurely drive thankfully avoiding the Brisbane traffic and with a breakfast stop on the way, we arrived at the Windfarm. We’ve all seen those wind turbines from a distance; they’re even bigger up close and personal. The MacIntyre Windfarm will be one of the largest onshore windfarms in the world when it is completed. After a quick look around the clinic and dropping off some goodies for our two Paramedics out there, we were off heading back to the hustle and bustle of Brisbane. We had a flight to catch.

A quick flight Brisbane to Emerald on Sunday night meant we arrived at our base for the next 3 nights. We won’t even mention the almost 100kgs of luggage we needed to travel with, which was certainly fun to pack into the Hilux that would be our ride for the next week.

Monday morning came around, before the sun was up and the birds were chirping, we were off again on an adventure. Just after 5:30am we encountered our first obstacle, a wide load TK48 halfway between Emerald and Clermont. After sitting behind it for close to 10minutes we got all clear to go around and get back on our way. We had the tunes going (country just in case anyone was wondering), had the typical road trip snacks and of course the drinks kept cool in the fridge.

Our first stop after a lot of dirt road, and skippy avoidance was Bravus Labona Camp, we had a Crash Cart to deliver to our clinic there, and some other goodies. Thankfully our Paramedic had the kettle ready for a morning cuppa and biscuit. We even got to say hello to a few CPA ESOs and their team leader.

Just before lunch we loaded back into the car and headed to Bravus Rail Camp 6 which was a 40-minute drive back the way we had come. Now imagine this we’re halfway between the two camps on a dirt road and coming towards us are flashing red and blue lights, we’re almost 160kms from the nearest town. So, we pulled off the side of the road to let two cop cars go zooming by (top speed maybe 30km/h).  Not long after they passed, we couldn’t believe our eyes 7 hours after we first encountered TK48 there it was heading towards us with its destination, the mine we had just left. Talk about an interesting morning.

We arrived at Rail Camp 6, after a quick Tim Tam, and chin wag with the Paramedic (let’s not forget the goodie drop) we were on our way heading back to home base. A swap of drivers but not music, still Country and back on the open road we went.

We arrived back in Emerald just on dark, and after a quick vehicle clean and refuel we headed for dinner. After our second day of driving, it was a relatively early night as Tuesday meant a visit to three separate sites.

Our first stop on Tuesday morning was Glencore – Clermont Mine. An interesting mine, it has a single open cut pit for coal mining. After a catch up with the Paramedic and some equipment deliveries we were back on our way. This time heading to Sojitz Gregory Mine.

The trip to Sojitz was quite quick and a sealed road, much better than the day before. On the way to Gregory, we got to drive past their dragline which operates very close to the entrance, certainly made us feel very small in our Hilux even from a distance. We had a nice catch up and meeting with the client and paramedic and back onto the open road. Heading for Coronado Curragh in Blackwater.

This time though we took a back road, of course it was almost a single lane dirt road with corrugations everywhere. Best and worst rollercoaster ride, but it certainly went well with the music we had going. We made it to the Bedford Wier, thankfully it was open. After a quick pitstop, leg stretch and an inspection by a curious Peacock we were back heading to Curragh.

The Coronado Curragh Complex is located in Blackwater Qld and covers around 250km². We were lucky enough to arrive just before handover which meant a visit to two of our ERT teams while there including four of our Rescue Paramedics, and our Occupational Health Nurse. Of course we didn’t arrive empty-handed, delivering a couple of presents to the teams and having a bit of a look around Curragh North and Curragh South Mines.

Our Tuesday travel was just over 400kms by the time we returned to Emerald for the night. The following morning, we packed the Hilux up ready for our next leg, which would take us to Glencore – Rolleston Mine. Neither of us had been to Rolleston before so it was an interesting morning. A visit with the client and two of our Paramedics, we even met one of the CPA security personnel on site.  After a walk around the site and a few introductions to the team at Rolleston, we were back on our way to towards Gladstone.

About half hour out of Rolleston this strange vehicle overtook us on the highway and pulled off the road, at first, we were quite confused but after pulling over ourselves we discovered that bandit in the other vehicle was none other than our counter part in another division, CPA Fire & Rescue Field Contract Coordinator Tony. Imagine meeting up in the middle of a highway heading in two different directions having come from different places, talking about a coincidence. After a quick chat with Tony and the obligatory selfie we departed Tony, heading for his site, and us heading to ours.

We arrived at Batchfire Callide Mine, a mine we had never been to, located right next to the Callide Power Station. The Callide Mine commence in 1944, making it over 80 years old. A quick introduction to the Paramedic and client and we were back on our way, still heading to Gladstone.

After a quick pub meal in Gladstone, it was off to bed for our final night on our site tour. The next morning brough a cold change with temperatures in single digits and fog everywhere, we were clearly on the coast and no longer inland. A visit to Aldoga Solar Farm was first on our agenda, we got to drop off some presents to the Paramedic and have a good chat with the CPA Security officer on site as well. We couldn’t stay long though we had a Ferry to catch.

Our final site was Curtis Island to the APLNG facility. The only way across was a Ferry trip across to the Island from the mainland. After the last 4 days of looking at nothing but roads and holes in the ground, that change of scenery was a welcomed one. We had a catch up with our Paramedic, a site tour and a chat with the client. Take in some amazing sights and views across to Gladstone and North.

But the time had finally come when our trip was done, a ferry ride back across to the mainland and one last selfie and it was back to the airport and the start of a trip home. All in all, we covered over 2,100kms, visited ten sites, meet up with 16 Paramedics, a Nurse, three ESO teams, a couple of Security officers and dropped off almost 60kgs worth of equipment and goodies. We had some great client interactions, with more cups of tea in those 5 days than we do in a month, we may have over done it with Country Music. In the end, it was a great five days, and we can’t wait to catch up with everyone we missed on our next adventure.