Warrego wandering

We've arrived!

We left Bourke and the Darling River after breakfast on Thursday, heading north, planning to stop at Enngonia for the night. After perusing the "town", we decided it wasn't for us, so we stopped by the Warrego River for a cuppa then continued north. The land either side of us was dry and scrubby, with not a lot of feed! We saw paddocks of goats and cattle, tall dingo-proof fences, emus and kangaroos as we drove along, crossing the border just north of Barringun. There were plenty of caravans travelling in our direction; all the "grey nomads" are heading north to avoid the winter! We arrived in Cunnamulla just after 12:30, driving straight to the caravan park we remembered from our previous visit, the "Top tourist park" on the southern edge of town. We were very lucky to secure one of only three remaining sites, and saw many others turned away as the afternoon progressed. 

The Cunnamulla Fella

We visited the information centre in the afternoon, to get an idea of what we might do tomorrow, and attended "happy hour drinks" around the campfire in the late afternoon, meeting many others travelling north or west and swapping yarns and advice about roads, caravan parks and things to see and do. As the night cooled we returned to our "home" for dinner and bed. 

Covered railway station, disused.

On Friday morning we walked into town and checked out the local shops. Returning home, we enjoyed breakfast, then got organised for the morning's sight-seeing. The Artesian Time Tunnel at the information centre is well worth a visit and we learned a lot about this valuable natural resource and how they are working to preserve it. We drove past many lovely old houses and the covered railway station, the painted water tower and the local weir, where, while there is plenty of water in the weir, there is very little water from the Warrego River continuing south. We bought a "Cunnamulla camel burger" for lunch - an interesting taste, stronger and coarser than beef but quite edible! In the afternoon we did the "Warrego walk" through the mulga and along the river. Returning to camp, we joined a large group at the campfire, they were on a "mystery tour" around outback Queensland, and didn't learn their night's destination until that morning! A different way to travel (and the reason the park was full!) 

Warrego River

Saturday morning it was time to pack up and continue north, through Wyandra and on to Charleville. It rained a bit on the way, but had cleared by the time we reached our next stop, the Evening Star campground on Thurlby Station, 8km out of town. We were made very welcome by Shirley, the proprietor, who showed us to a nice "drive through" site next to a lemon tree covered in fruit! As a result, dessert that night was lemon delicious pudding :-) At 5pm, the cowbell rang, summoning everyone to the huge nightly campfire, where we were entertained by a country singer while we swapped yarns with fellow travellers.

Corones Hotel, Charleville

Sunday morning was time for exercises, then we drove into town to see all the "hotspots" recommended by the very nice tourist information ladies. We visited the airport and the Cosmos centre, the (failed) vortex rainmaker and the river walk, marveling at the high levee banks to keep any floods on the Warrego River out of town. After a drink at Corones Hotel, we went to the RSL club for lunch; not much else is open on Sundays in Charleville!! We stocked up on lots of groceries then returned to camp to unpack our purchases and wander over to happy hour at the campfire. 

Evening Star campfire

On Monday it was time to move on again, after a walk to check out the woolshed, star gazing area and the wild dog fence - a must in this area. Following the Warrego Way east, we stopped at Morven for morning tea, just in time for the "Fruit team truck", a weekly service much appreciated by farmers in the district as it saves them a 100km trip into Charleville for produce supplies. After purchasing a few veggies, we continued on our way, arriving at Mitchell and checking into the Major Mitchell caravan park in time for lunch. Later we visited the Great Artesian Bore water park, where I enjoyed a soak in the 39 degree pool while Martin also plunged into the cold pool, brave man! We walked along the Main Street, visiting the supermarket and the news agency and buying steaks at the butchers, as recommended by the caravan park propreitor. Cooking them later that night, we could see he was right, they were delicious! 

Marion and Sue

Judd's Lagoon

We continued east along the Warrego Way on Tuesday morning, stopping at Roma for morning tea and to catch up with friends Marion and Ken, who were on their way west! The land is becoming more settled the further east we drive, and Roma is a town that reflects that, with a lovely Main Street and lots of people around. Continuing east, we turned off the Warrego Highway at Yuleba and followed the signs to Judd's Lagoon, a lovely peaceful campsite which would be on the water's edge if there had been any rain, but looks quite pretty even when dry. As the afternoon wore on, more caravans and campers arrived, but we weren't disturbed too much! Martin lit a pre-dinner campfire where we enjoyed drinks before dinner and bed.
After a short walk around the campsite in the morning, we drove back to the Warrego Way and headed east again, passing Miles and stopping briefly in Chinchilla to visit the information centre and buy some food for lunch and dinner. Today's destination was Chinchilla Weir, recommended by others and listed in the Camps book. We were lucky to arrive early enough to score a plug in the power box; even though we don't need it, it makes dinner preparation easier. After lunch we walked around the waterfront, well down from normal levels, as the Condamine River does not have much water in it at the moment; the ski club looks like it hasn't operated in a while. Once again, many travellers arrived as the afternoon wore on. 

Chinchilla Weir

After a quiet night in the wilderness, we woke, did our exercises and packed up, heading off again just after 9:30. We took a different route out of Chinchilla, and were surprised by the number of short term accommodation units (dongas) and white four wheel drives we saw. This area is renowned for energy source supply - coal, oil and gas extraction. We saw several long coal trains travelling in each direction as we headed east along the Warrego Way. We arrived in Dalby before 11am; Dalby is a large town at the eastern edge of what is known as the "Western Downs", an area rich in agriculture including cattle, grain and cotton, as well as energy extraction and supply. It is at a cross road of highways, and trucks of all description trundle through all day and night. We booked into the caravan park in town, from where we could walk to lunch, to the shops and to see the tourist attractions (not much, in a busy town!) and get to learn more about the area. That night, the caravan park had a singer and a sausage sizzle at the campfire; the singer was very good but we didn't try the sausages.

Myall Creek, Dalby

Friday was our last "proper" day on the road for this adventure. We started our morning with a walk along Myall Creek, to try and learn more about the history of the town of Dalby. It was the first crossing place for everyone heading west to take up land. We returned to the van, packed up and hit the Warrego Way just after 10:00. On our way east, as we passed through Toowoomba, we found some cheap fuel so we filled the car, then visited our first Dan Murphy's in a few weeks to restock the wine cellar, before taking the steep passage down the Great Dividing Range and into the Lockyer Valley. We followed the old Cobb & Co route for a picnic lunch in Grantham, then returned to the Warrego Way past Ipswich, turning onto Mt Crosby Road bound for Karana Downs, where friends Fran and Peter have welcomed us for our last night in the caravan. Tomorrow, we will reach Bayview Marina and Manookatoo, where we intend spending some time on the water. We've enjoyed over three weeks, travelling along the Murray, Darling and Warrego Rivers and then following the Warrego Way, but now it's time for some fun cruising!