Holidays – week 1 2021
Words to come – photos are a bit out of order (updated daily) blending between the phone and the camera –
…and here they are…
As I sit writing, I have just watched a gorgeous sunset through the trees – moving in intense colours through pink and orange to soft purple/lilac and on to grey as the sky turns to night. Last night there was a beautiful array of stars – I am looking forward to unobstructed views in a few nights time of sunrise, sunset and everything in between but for now, let’s return to the start of this journey – week 1 day 1.
Brisbane – Canberra – Brisbane
This occurred over days 1 to 4 of week one. We covered an average of over 11 km a day on foot. It was easy to do. We saw the Botticelli to Van Gogh exhibition – lovely – and then caught up with dear friends for the high tea and beverages at a prohibition bar, the delightful Molly. We also found a boutique brewery – Bent Spoke – and enjoyed a tasting paddle. Tough stint this one.
Wandering through the National Museum was lovely and the eclectic nature of a generous collection donated to the Museum was amazing. Our batteries ran down at the end of day 3 after we have walked through Parliament House and the Old Parliament House Gardens. To sup, we went to the neighbouring Casino and dined there – tasty squid, noodles, lamb cutlets and Hong Kong donuts.
I am, as ever, amazed at the construction of an aircraft and its ability to stay in the sky. I love these big metal cylinders which transport us to other worlds, away from our every day. It is the best food – it means you are going somewhere. On arriving home, we played find the car in the carpark – we knew the row but did not appreciate that there were 2 buildings to the car park and we were in the other one. Car collected, it was home to play tetris, packing the car ready for day 5.
Day 5 dawned with a lovely sky. We were on road at 7.40, heading for Goondiwindi with the intention of camping in the show grounds – more on that later. Brisbane was under a heavy layer of fog as we left. It was amazing to watch it simply burn off, gone, about Plainlands – there was fog, then there wasn’t We took the highway to Toowoomba, then on to the Gore Highway A39. The Condamine River looks healthy and is flowing. It is amazing to see so much water in places which are usually so dry.
At Millmerran, I decided to inspect the ground I was walking on – while stretching my legs. Thankfully, I did not have a coffee in hand otherwise that would have been a waste. There was enough lost dignity in turning an ankle, putting lots of little grazes on the left leg, and attempting to rearrange my rib. Some days later, all is healing well. Fuel was $1.39 per litre for standard unleaded, $0.30 a litre cheaper than Brisbane standard fuel not 95.
Coming through from Millmerran we found Lake Coolmunda – looks like a gorgeous place to camp on another date. Next to Inglewood, Texas, Yelarbon and Goondiwindi. We were chasing silo art and we found some great work. It was disappointing that the weather was not playing as well as we hoped. But it was still impressive. We spotted emu, big road trains and drove into and through a weather squall. At Goondiwindi, we had thought to camp in the showgrounds. It was windy and spitting. The final straw was not being able to get the tent pegs into the ground so a cabin was found – $140 a night for the premium with cooking facilities, sofa, television, hot showers and comfy bed – not bad camping for a night. Our day was 496km.
Day 6 was Goondiwindi to Nindigully, through stormy rubbish in the morning, but good to see the rain for the local people. Storms accompanied us for most of the morning, along with some lightning. There were a lot of pockets of wetlands, puddles along the roadside and one of us decided he needed to play join the puddles, however, when doing this on an unsealed road, it was time to play less join the puddles and more attention to the road and the conditions. The road was scenic and less travelled – it was well maintained and obviously used but not all the time. We covered 271km and camped at Nindigully Pub – no charge, and access to showers and toilets. We enjoyed a few beverages then shred a majestic steak sandwich that satisfied every hunger pang. The local beer was especially good having “been filtered through the septic” or “washed with river water” – both were, in fact, good – one mid strength and the other heavy but partaken after the tent and camp had been set up and readied for early crash down (about 7pm) after some libations and good food. What a great place with wonderfully uneven floors.
Day 7 dawned – about 10 degrees. It was very brisk. As we packed up, a mouse scampered under the tent. It did not manage to hitch a left having been gently encouraged to keep going on its original path. The Moonie River is healthy and the camping is good for all types of travellers. We were on the road at 8.10 headed for St George to have breakfast – the Bakery doing good coffee and not bad treats.
The bales of cotton are enormous. There are rows of yellow and some pink along the fields, massive things they are – the bales and the fields, as well as the equipment used to manage the fields. As we motored, 2 strong healthy red kangaroos stood watching us. We saw a couple of boar and an emu carcass. We also saw a fox carcass.
Some of these roads go for ever in a straight line – I wonder what makes the surveyor decided that they should be straight or bendy or anything else. We pass few vehicles and would go half to three-quarters of an hour without seeing a vehicle. The country salute is in force – acknowledging fellow drivers. As we tootle alone, 100kph seems slow, is it the roads, the scenery or simply not needing to do anything or be anywhere really particular at a set time? We enter Bushranger country – I am sure that there were more than the story we saw at Arrest Creek.
Our digs tonight are the Major Mitchell Caravan Park. It is 300m from the Artesian Spa – well worth a stop for $8 day pass. Our site is ensuite and powered, camping, for $35 – pretty reasonable me thinks.
Our first week has seen us cover a significant amount of the country by 2 means of transport. We have seen from the air and the road. Today we have chartered about 260km. We are getting a bit proficient at putting up our tent and setting up our camp – we will really settle in when we have 3 or more nights in one place – not having to pull down and put up each day.
Tonight we got a taste of what the sunsets will be like. This morning I got a taste of sunrise. It will be amazing when we are away from the town areas and there are no trees obstructing. I am blessed – being able to take photos whilst the other half of this mad due takes the wheel.
Until the next post – happy travels and here’s cheers
