Day 83 – Monday 26 August 2024 – Gold Coast to Lake Dyer - 153 km
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| Sunset over Lake Dyer (60 km west of Toowoomba) |
Day 84 – Tuesday 27 August 2024 – Lake Dyer to Toowoomba - 75 km
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| Showgrounds Windmill |
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| Shirley Considering the Potential Floral Display in Weeks to Come |
Parks and public gardens all over Toowoomba are in a 'near bloom' state. There was time to relax and ponder the horizon and our surroundings.
Toowoomba,
nicknamed 'The Garden City' is in the Darling Downs region of Queensland. It
is 132 km west of Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoomba is just
over 142,000. Today was designated a day to explore Toowoomba.
Click here if you want to see more.
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| View from Picnic Point Lookout |
We broke camp around 9:15 and headed roughly north. Our route to the Bunja Mountains was via Crows Nest (the QLD version), Cooyar and Maidenwell. It was longer than the direct route but it provided a more caravan friendly route. The GPS tried to take us to Sydney, but we resisted.
A coffee was had at Cooyar and the trip ended in a pleasant National Park camp site called Dandabah. Camp was established in sight of many Bunja Pine trees, before lunch. Lunch happened then we went for a drive.
Our first main walk was a 3 km return stroll to the Koondaii Lookout, as our first option (Mount Kiangarow walk) was closed. We heard lots of birds and saw very few. I did get a photo of a butterfly and an orchid not in bloom.
It was interesting that we had to clean and disinfect our footwear at the start and end of the walk.
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| Above - Shirley cleaning and disinfecting her shoes Below - Walkers emerging from the rain-forest |
We returned to base and the car somehow deviated to the nearby cafe & coffee shop. The charming staff briefed us on the Bunja Nut and we agreed to buy some bunja scones. They had all sorts of preserves that contained the bunja nut.
The Bunja nut comes from a sort of large pine cone that contains many nuts sort of like the well known pine cone contains a lot of seeds. The Bunja 'pine cone' can weight up to 5 kg.
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| Bunja cone & nuts |
Dinner was a BBQ and some veggies.
The day started crisp and sunny with many birds providing their 'early bird' sounds. It quickly rose to 15 degrees by 7.30 am as the sun appeared over the Bunja trees. Shirley slept on.
Bacon & eggs became breakfast, over which we decided to tackle the 4 km "Scenic Circuit" walk. We turned it into 5 km.
We started out around 9:30 am (22 degrees) and soon learned that a hat was an optional accessory as 98% of the walk was under the rain-forest canopy. Walk and bug repellent were mandatory and both used in abundance. The features of the walk were the Bunja pines, hoop pines and strangler figs. Throw in many magnificent ferns, many orchids (some in bloom), creeks, waterfalls, stunning lookout views and you have a great walk.
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| Waterfall |
Sounds came from the many resident birds, most too quick or too well hidden to capture on camera. I did score a few. The light in the rain-forest made it hard to get a good photo.
Other trees along the walk included red cedar, churnwood, incense cedar, whalebone trees, brittlewood, native olive and the white quandong.
We learned a lot about the history of the area.
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| The marks in the bunja tree behind Shirley, were made by local indigenous inhabitants who used the grooves to climb the trees and pick the nuts. They used vines as some form of safety harness. |
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| A Strangler Fig with a path through it |
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| Left - Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) Right - Bunja Pine (Araucaria bidwillii) |
We were back at camp in time for a rest before lunch. It had been a great 2.5 hours. We will probably have sore necks tomorrow from looking up into the trees.
Not much happened after lunch, just some exploring and a bunja nut ice-cream.
Our entertainment for the late afternoon was watching the numerous camper-vans and motor-homes arrive and jostle for space, as there are no set sites in the camp-ground.
There are three ways that we know of to drive to the top of the Bunja Mountains. Advice from the rangers, and our own experience, and other campers, indicated that only one is a practical option for caravans. So today at 8:30 am we set off down the mountain via the same road that we came up. It was maybe 50 km longer than the shortest route to our destination, but safety is paramount with our Paramount caravan (and us, and our car).
We travelled via Maidenwell, then Cooyar, then Kaimkillenbun, when the navigator requested an 18 km detour (which of course becomes 36 - there and back) to Bell. All of this time we were travelling downhill with a tailwind.Bell, Shirley told me, has a "Biblical Garden" which allegedly is the only garden in the world to contain as many plants (as possible) as mentioned in the Bible.
We cannot comment on the 'plants' claim although we did take a photo of the date palm. The mosaics and the other art work were very impressive.
We had time for a coffee and fruit cake then a pleasant drive to Dalby. This country is another of the rich food bowls that we have passed through on our travels. The grain crops looked good enough to eat. In this region they have winter crops of barley, faba bean (whatever they are), wheat, chick peas and canary (bird seed). Their summer crops include sorghum, mung beans, corn, sunflowers, cotton and millets. Wow.
We went for a walk around Dalby shopping centre and bought a cooked chook. A wise decision. Diesel was also purchased as it was dirt cheap.
The navigator said "go west young man". I was the only guy in the car so I assumed that she meant me. Our tail wind then become a head wind. In no time at all we were at Walla, population 'not many'. Walla was a popular spot today as the annual race meeting was on. The dress code was similar to our wedding of eight days ago. We didn't go. Too hot at 32 degrees.
Soon after we stopped at Chinchilla and took a photo of the big watermelon slice.
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| Guess What? |
I think an ice-cream was next. The navigator then said "historical museum', and we did. $8 it cost and was worth every cent. It was worth that just to see the petrified wood display. We decided not to go fossicking for petrified wood.
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| Three of the many samples of petrified wood |
The rest of the expansive museum was also excellent.
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| Two of the many historical vehicles on display |
By now it was 34 degrees. It was cooler in the car than sitting by a waterway (Chinchilla Lake) so we drove another 50 km to Miles. We camped at Gil's Weir, a spot we visited about 10 weeks ago.
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| Gil's Weir Camp Site |
I decided that it was too hot for a camp-oven dinner - so the cooked chook became the base of a great salad for dinner. Ice blocks in my 'room temperature' shiraz lasted mere minutes.
From where we sat we could see the pelican glide in for a safe landing on the water of the weir.
It was still 25 degrees at 8 pm.
The overnight temperature dropped to a level that was ok for sleeping. However it was back to 18 degrees by 7 am. I went for a walk and watched three pelicans and a solitary kite. Shirley slept on.
As it was Father's Day Shirley let me cook her bacon & eggs for breakfast, with tomato and mushroom.
We said good bye to Gil's Weir around 8:30 am (a common theme this trip) and headed 146 km west to Roma. We passed small towns such as Dulacca, Jackson, and Yuleba, where we stopped for coffee. Shirley bought a nut-loaf from a local coffee/art/craft place. We drove through Wallumbilla and kept going. Camp was established in Roma (pop. 6850) before lunch time. It was 34 degrees.
Shirley did some clothes washing as I tried to make myself look busy. We had lunch.
By 2 pm it was time to brave the pool and off we headed. It was sooooooo refreshing. It was so hot and bright that I wore my Akubra in the pool.
We chatted to two other grey-nomad couples and time flew. I must have made an impression of one of them as I was soon handed a bottle of red wine - that was superfluous to their requirements (read - they don't drink red).
Day 89 was the first time that we had been in a pool. It was also just the second time that the caravan air-conditioner was turned on.
Father's Day dinner was BBQ pork chops & chips & salad. Dessert was a Connoisseur ice-cream. A glass of red was included. The temperature was 29 degrees at 7 pm.
Today was all about "Sculptures Outback" and we were not disappointed. A collection of sculptures from Outback 'artists' was presented at a roadside venue for all and sundry to see, plus us. And we were very impressed with the work - none of which would fit into the car (or our budget).
A few samples are included below. Click here for more statues. The attention to detail was extraordinary, most of which you cannot see in the photos I provide. For example, the car below has a box of 'apples' in the back of the ute made from gas bottles.
We did some shopping, bought more cheap diesel, washed the car and relaxed.
Whereas yesterday was all about "Sculptures Outback" in Roma, today was all about the "Artesian Spa" in Mitchell. We departed around 9 am for the 90 km drive due west to Mitchell.
On the way we stopped for a photo (or two) of the Muckadilla Pub. Read the pub name carefully. The pub porch had two contrasting seats.
Many many motor bikes & trikes, many with trailers, passed us going the other way. Shirley started counting at what she considered was a count of 40, and got up to 240. We found out later that the count is 330, although many were still coming. It was the annual Queensland Southern Cross Power Run - to raise money for disadvantaged children.
Shirley gleaned most of the information from a 'bikie' who she chatted up in the Mitchell artesian spa.
Anyway we arrived at Mitchell (pop. 995), checked out the free camp for tonight, then bought a great coffee at the bakery.
Next stop was the artesian spa. We paid our $8 and had a choice of two pools - 39 degrees and/or 20 degrees. We opted for the hotter of the two for near an hour - in and out a few times. We chatted with multiple people, including the abovementioned bikie.
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| Mitchell Artesian Spa Rear pool 39 degrees, front pool 20 degrees |
By 1:30 pm camp was established beside Dean Turner Weir, just out of Mitchell. It was around 23 degrees.
We had lunch and were entertained by a pair of Black-Backed Butcherbirds, who were keen on sharing our lunch. They seemed very friendly.
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| Black-Backed Butcherbird |
Around 3:30 pm I lit the fire and around 4 pm the start of a lamb chop stew started. It was excellent, and we have enough for maybe two more meals (each). We dined indoors. It was a great crumpet fire, but we had eaten enough.
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| Camp-oven, camp-fire & lamb chop stew |
Tomorrow we face the dreaded word - "south", as we point the car towards home. From where I write this blog we are 1609 km from home, via the shortest route. However the navigator has rejected the shortest route - so stay tuned.
This chapter is now complete (apart from minor edits).
Last updated at 7:30 pm Tuesday 3 September 2024
