This year we are starting our trip much earlier as we are wanting to visit Cape York and hope to do this before the hordes of tourists chop up the road too much. It really doesn't seem right leaving home while it is still warm but fear not the winter woollies are stowed for the latter part of our trip.
The first week of our journey sees us follow roads we have travelled many times before but along the way we did find an occasional new place to stop and check out. Our first night saw us camp at The Rock once again. I just love the view of 'the rock' across the sports field.
The next day we drove to Coolamon then found a new road and stopped for lunch at Barellan right beside The Big Tennis Racquet. It was here that the young Evonne Goolagong was discovered and this little town is very proud of their young star.
Our next stop was at Weethalle where we found this wonderful silo art. The images reflecting life in the country have been painted by artist Heesco Khosnaran and are truly wonderful. We continued on past Rankin Springs and soon after we were arriving at our favourite camp site at Lake Cargelligo.
Usually our time here is very chilly but this year, apart from the fact we have started earlier, this part of NSW is in the grip of an autumn heatwave. 40 days past the end of summer and the temperature is forecast to be 37 for the next few days. We stayed here for two days and Bill haunted his usual bird spots early morning and later in the afternoon.
Leaving the the lake we drove through to Cobar and found a new spot to camp. Newly Reserve is closed at the moment so we tried the other site at the old reservoir. It was very dry here and only a small pool of water but with only one other van there we enjoyed a peaceful afternoon and evening.
The next day we made our way to Bourke and stayed overnight at the boat ramp as we usually do. No one else here this time and we loved our riverside campsite. The next morning we continued on and arrived at Cunnamulla in the afternoon. We made our way to Bowra and enjoyed four days camped beside the lagoon at the sanctuary.
It was very quiet here with only six other people visiting during our stay. The property was so dry and the bird life quite hard to find. We found most of them around the lagoon in the mornings and afternoons. This Brown Goshawk was very happy watching over his domain. It seems that all the rain has passed them by. I hope they get some soon though the forecast for the next few weeks didn't give any hope of rain yet.
We left Cunnamulla on Tuesday and made our way to Brisbane where we were getting the car and van serviced again. Our first night we stopped at the Wallam Creek campground in Bollon where we were surprised by a little visitor. No idea where 'Mum' was but he seemed to be managing ok.
The following night we stopped at Westmar before driving on to Bowenville for the next two nights at Oakey Creek. It was lovely and we enjoyed our time here.
The next day we stopped at Ipswich and enjoyed the afternoon catching up with Sherree and loved meeting her friend Eric visiting from Adelaide. I will never look at a seagull the same way after meeting Eric! We camped overnight at the Showgrounds, checked out the market the next morning and then made our way into Brisbane where we stayed at the Showgrounds in Lawnton for the next two nights.
It was a very early start the next day as we took the van to Geebung and the car to Coorparoo. Homeless and carless we spent a day in Brisbane and played tourist for the day as we checked out the shops and some of Brisbane's sculptures. We picked our car and van up later that afternoon, negotiated the peak hour traffic and returned to the Showgrounds for the night. With a clean bill of health for both vehicles we are now ready to hit the road for our next adventure.
Leaving the next morning we made our way out of Brisbanes northern suburbs passing through Dayboro, the scenic road to Mount Mee where we stopped for coffee with a view, Woodford, Kilcoy and finally stopped for the day at a tiny little place called Benarkin. Just one shop and a few houses at this tiny hamlet but a fabulous place to stay.
We made our way to Kingaroy the next day passing through the small townships of Blackbutt, Yarraman and Nanango. Once in Kingaroy we found the town closed as it was Anzac Day so after a quick look round we made our way just out of town and camped at a rest area. with about six other vans. The next morning we made our way back into Dalby where we shopped before hitting the road to head north.
We stopped at Warra for lunch and enjoyed a look around the local park. From here we continued on for a while then camped that night beside the Condamine River. The Archer River Crossing bush camp was a great place to stay and we enjoyed a few hours of daylight with the birds and the river.
The next morning it was hard to leave but we did and made our way to Chinchilla then on to Miles where we stopped for coffee at the beautiful Chinamans Lagoon. The water lilies here are just lovely.
Our next stop stop was at Wallambilla where we stopped for a rest break and then decided to camp at their Showgrounds. It was here at the visitors centre that we found the story of Harry Thompson. It is believed that he was possibly Steve Hart one of Ned Kelly's gang. Even miles from home we seem to be followed by young Ned!
The next morning we made our way into Roma and spent the next few hours looking around this lovely town. St Pauls Anglican Church was rather stately, The Driller at the Big Rig and the Slab Hut Museum very photogenic and the 'Big Bottle Tree' absolutely amazing.
We left here and drove on to Injune, stopped overnight at the Rodeo grounds then made our way the next morning to Carnarvon Gorge where we were going to spend a couple of days. I'll let you know how it went soon.
until next time........
