After 10 days at Pine River Showgrounds in Lawnton it was time for us to be on the move again. We packed up, hooked up, had a quick look around the market and after a final cup of coffee we headed off once more.
We joined the traffic on the Bruce Hwy and made our way to Gympie where we stopped for lunch at Lake Alford park in Monkland. Lots of water birds were enjoying the little lake. We had a walk around before continuing for another few km to Gunalda Rest Area where we stayed overnight.
We woke this morning to a white world with a thick fog hiding the valley. It soon burnt off and we left for another few hours on the road. Our first stop was at Kilkivan, a small town in the South Burnett region. Known as the home of The Great Horse Ride we saw this life size statue at the council offices.
The statue is of local identity Fabian Webb astride his horse Smoky. As well as being the shire`s longest serving councillor, having spent 37 years in local government, Mr Webb was instrumental in starting the annual Kilkivan Great Horse Ride.
From here we drove on passing the tiny hamlets of Tansey and Ban Ban Springs before arriving in Gayndah where we found a home at the Heritage Railway Museum. Gayndah lays claim to being the oldest town in Queensland and was first settled in 1849. It still maintains its old fashioned charm today and many of its buildings are Heritage listed.
It is also well known for its orange and citrus orchards. The information centre can be found inside the big orange. I liked this little guy instead.
After lunch we took a drive into town and up to Archer’s Lookout. A great view of the town and district is seen from here. Back on the flat we found the very unusual Town Clock. Designed in the shape of a citrus tree, the stained glass and stainless steel timepiece depicts stories of the district.
A sunny morning greeted us at the railway yard and after a look around the station we said farewell to Gayndah and drove on to Mundubbera. While here we had a walk along the busy Main Street and then made our way across to Bicentennial Park to see the Sculpture Walk, the steam train and the visitors centre which houses a lot of memorabilia from the area.
We then went in search of The Meeting Place of the Waters’. This is a circular mural painted by Rain Hart in 1997. It features the meeting of the Boyne, Auburn and Burnett Rivers and the native plants and animals found in the area. It certainly is much nicer than the original concrete tank. Here in the middle is a picture of the Ceratodus. That is the name of the unique Lung Fish which can only be found in the Burnett and Mary Rivers and dates back to prehistoric times.
Back on the road we continued our drive and stopped for the day at Eidsvold where we stayed at the R M Williams Learning Centre. One of the country’s true icons RM was born in SA but moved to ‘Rockybar’ a property west of Eidsvold in 1972. Some of his descendants still live in the district today.
The Learning Centre is a fabulous place to visit. Movies, stories, sculptures and memorabilia all bring the RM Williams story to life. Each night there is a short light show that tells the story through bush poetry, stories and songs. Absolutely worth the time to stop in this little town.
It was a very chilly start to the morning, 4 degrees is not fun, especially when we thought we’d left the cold behind us. As we left Eidsvold we stopped at the Apex park in town to see this lovely mosaic by the towns youth.
Our next stop was at Mulgildie to have a look at The Bunyip sculpture by Brett Benecke. The Bunyip is carrying his traditional lunch (goat and fish) as relates to the legend of the area. There are many legends of the Bunyip Hole which is just 10 mins away. We’ll leave that for another visit. From here we drove into Monto and stopped to explore for a couple of hours.
Monto is the most northern and the youngest town in the North Burnett region. Coming into existence in 1924 as a consequence of the land development scheme construction of the first buildings commenced in 1926. Walking along The Lister Street Artwalk we found metal and sandstone sculptures along the parkland.
The Art Deco Town Hall built in 1939-1940 is a must see as you walk around town. After a delicious lunch we moved on to the Historic complex.
There we found a working model (in the wind) of ‘Beautiful Betsy’. This scale replica commemorates the loss of the United States Liberator Bomber of the 528th Bomb Squadron of the 380th Bomber Group.
The plane which went missing in 1945 with the loss of eight lives. The wreckage was found in Kroombit Tops National Park in 1994.
Just up the road we found another beautiful mural painted on the water tank. We left Monto after stopping for a photo and made our way on to Biloela where we stayed for two nights.
We stayed at the Queensland Heritage Park here in Biloela. For just $10 per van each night you get a site, water, toilets and hot showers. You also get entry into the wonderful Heritage Centre. On arrival Bill found some birds to play with and I just loved these cute little Black Faced Wood Swallows.
While here we spent a couple of hours checking out the local town area. Not much to see as there are many empty shops in the Main Street and shopping centre over the road. I guess online shopping is hard for some of these rural areas to compete with. From here we drove up to Callide Lookout to see what was touted as a ‘Magnificent View’.
Yes it was a view, though I guess everyone will have a different idea of its magnificence. It is a 360 deg view looking at one side over the Callide Coal Mine and on the other side the Callide Power Station. In the distance you can see the Callide Dam. From here we drove out to see the dam which has lots of parkland and picnic areas beside the water.
On the way back home we stopped to see the beautiful artwork on the large water tank in town. This mural is called Spirit of the Land and is shown in blocks of years beginning with the dinosaurs.
There is a story board in front of each section telling the story of the local people and places.
It is a truly remarkable piece of art and history and I hope that it is looked after and maintained for future generations to enjoy.
Back at home we enjoyed a walk around the Heritage Centre where again artwork plays a big part in telling the stories of the past. All in all a great day in a nice little town.
Leaving Biloela this morning we headed to Rolleston stopping for fuel at Banana. Yes, there are no bananas in Banana! Why Banana you ask.
It was named after this yellow coloured wild bullock, which in the 1860’s, used to help local stockmen herd wild cattle into the holding yards - who knew! When the old bullock died they named the area after him in honour of his feats.
Our next stop was just down the road at Moura where we found another new artwork being painted on a water tower. Not sure if it’s finished yet but the cherry picker made it very difficult to get a good picture but here it is anyway. It does look great in real life. We also had a look at the Miners Memorial opposite.
We drove on stopping at Rolleston for lunch at the park then continued on for a short while before camping overnight in a gravel pit on route to Emerald.
We made our way into Emerald where we did some shopping and had a coffee. Back in the car we drove straight out to Clermont to stay with Alex, Brenten and the kids. Ben is here from WA too and it was great to catch up with him after so many years.
What a joy to meet the newest member of the family. Josie Terese was just three days old and such a beautiful little girl.
I spent the afternoon being entertained by Macie, Chelsea and Weylan before some quiet time with the girls before bed.
We woke up to a very cold morning here on the farm. 4 Deg makes it a bit hard to get out of bed. The heater was on in the van and in the house.
After breakfast Ben took the the girls into Emerald to see the AgGrow Field Day. We had decided to go as well. Once there we met a couple of times but otherwise just had a look around this very large event. The day was sunny but cool and lots of people where enjoying the event.
When we left we stopped at Capella on the way home to have a look at the wonderful Memorial to the Australian Light Horse. Ben and the girls arrived home after us and soon I was once again being shown how to colour in with them both.
Another day spent at home with the kids, lots of fun, interspersed with loads of washing as we got ready to roll again tomorrow. That night we all watched various stages of the State of Origin Rugby match. With a win to NSW the Qld contingent weren’t too happy.
An earlier morning as we had to say goodbye again to Alex, Brenten, Josie and Macie before they left for school. They were attending a ‘Principals Assembly’ where Macie was awarded the Principals Award. Well done Macie. We packed up and after a final coffee and ‘smoko’ with Ben, Chelsea and Weylan we said our goodbyes and made our way into Clermont where we met Bob and Ollie for a cuppa.
They were camping out at Theresa Creek Dam catching Red-claw with friends and had come into town to meet us. We decided that we were not in a rush so we followed them back to the dam and stayed overnight. What a lovely spot this is especially if you are into fishing and catching Red-claw. We spent the afternoon with Bob and Ollie, had a walk down to the water and finished the evening with some of their friends round a campfire.
A slightly warmer morning than it has been so it wasn’t so hard to get out of bed. Once up we saw Bob taking the boat out to see how there Red-claw pots had done overnight. Very well they told me. Back on land they cooked them up and we all had a feast for breakfast/morning tea.
How yummy they were straight from the pot. Ollie gave us a bowl full to take with us so dinner tonight is sorted as well. We all went over to the garden cafe and had a coffee, said more goodbyes and once again were on our way back into Clermont where we had to do a bit of shopping.
While there we found this wonderful mural on decommissioned railway wagons. They were painted by artist Glen Gaillard. It depicts various aspects of life in the district. It shows farming, mining and the beef industry. All beautifully done and a real treat to see them.
We left town then and continued on stopping just after Belyando Crossing for a night in a roadside stop.
An early start the next morning and we were soon on our way. We stopped at Charters Towers for a coffee, then lunch at a roadside stop and continued on to Townsville where we stayed the night with Sandy and Patrick.
It was great to see them again after 2 or 3 years and Sandy cooked us a superb beef curry for dinner. Meeting little Grandson Oliver was lovely too. And of course Mum and Dad, Vicky and Clancy.
Breakfast on the veranda was lovely this morning and I have to say Townsville has redeemed itself after our last visit when we froze. This morning was warm and we dressed in shorts and T-shirts for the first time since leaving Brisbane. And that was only one day there!
We loved seeing all the birds especially the beautiful Olive Backed Sunbird as it visited the garden.
After saying goodbye to Sandy and Patrick we had a quick stop for fuel and shopping then headed up the Bruce Hwy to Ingram where we are going to stay for a couple of nights at the Tyto Wetlands.
After we had settled in Bill took his camera for a walk around the wetlands and I took a walk around the lovely park beside the campground. It seems this Blue Winged Kookaburra was ready for his closeup!
On the other side of the park I found this lovely mosaic of the Magpie Goose, Plumed Whistling Duck and Comb Crested Jacanas.
Well the sun didn’t last too long. We woke to rain and dark grey skies. The rain hung around most of the day and the sky remained dark grey all day.
We donned the raincoats and walked into town to have a look . Crossing the cultural precinct I found this great sculpture of Tiddalik the frog.
A little bit further along the path is a beautiful painting of the Rainbow Serpent. We enjoyed a coffee in a great little cafe and then we had a look at the fabulous mosaic artwork in Mercer Lane. 42 metres of mosaic art panels tell the history of the local sugar cane industry.
Mosaics were chosen because of its association with the artwork of ancient Italy and the Italians who made up a significant percentage of the local population. This panel showing the Mynah Bird was very interesting. They were first released in Melbourne in 1862 to get rid of pests in Market gardens.
They were released in North Queensland in 1883 to help control pests in the cane fields, mainly locusts and beetles. Of course we know the rest of the story and they are now considered to be pests. In 1915 here in NQ they were placed on a protected species list. No idea if that is still the case.
During the afternoon the rain stopped long enough for another walk around the wetlands where Bill found enough birds to keep him happy. This bright little Mistletoe Bird certainly stood out in the otherwise grey day.
As well as finding birds of a feathered variety this visit we also found some large birds of the armed forces variety. It seems that there was a training camp in place and the streets, wetlands and skies were inundated with soldiers, tanks and helicopters. A bit noisy but the birds didn't seem to mind.
We left the next morning and drove into Biboohra stopping for coffee along the way. Of course we had to take a photo of the Big Crab at Cardwell.
We arrived at Birds on Barron early afternoon and once more were welcomed warmly by Linda. We spent the afternoon setting up and setting in.
That night Linda invited us and some fellow campers for happy hour and dinner. Leanne and Rod from next door joined us for drinks. So lovely to see them again.
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