Camp comforts ...

We haven't done as many trips as we might have hoped since purchasing our camper trailer in 2017.  (Yep, life gets in the way of our best plans). 

Nick has done some great improvements to the trailer since we bought it and more modifications were done prior to this trip.  As just two of us were traveling, the large box with flip-over bench top (it hadn't weathered well) were removed and the tap gun hose adjusted.  

Our various luggage (Gladstone and other bags, guitar etc) were stowed on the back seat.  Chairs, picnic bag, beverage case, esky and a few other bits were in the back of Elmer Fudd.  (Our Scrabble bag was in the trailer but we didn't play this trip).  

There aren't many photos of the small shelf in action but it's very handy to pull up for a rest stop, open the trailer box door and have everything ready to boil the kettle and/or prep lunch.  We use the single burner dual fuel stove for the kettle - even on day/picnic trips. Our green thermal mugs are smaller than the pottery ones I use at home.  Very recently I spotted a small teapot at an opshop.  I hesitated to buy it cos many spill tea all over the table but I was very pleased with this one. It pours well and holds just enough for two-plus cups, using one teabag.  $2.00 well spent!

I took a couple of pre-cooked meals with us.  We used the camp kitchen facilities at Rolleston and Barcaldine to reheat those, cook pasta and wash up afterward.  We'd inherited a small carry sink with the trailer and it was handy for carting dishes to and from the on-site sinks. We paid for powered sites at each of the caravan parks because there wasn't a lot of difference in cost.  The solar set-up ran the lights and fridge though and they worked fine, even on the unpowered site at Blackall.

The three-burner stove came away with us and we used it on our final night, set up on a folding table cos neither of us felt like traipsing across to use the camp kitchen!

There wasn't much cooking done while we were away.  Breakfasts were simple cereals.  We had a cheese platter on our first night, the pre-cooked meals the next two nights, a pub meal at Winton, one home-cooked dinner with Di and then takeaway by the lake the next night, fruit and custard at Blackall and then a pasta dish for our finale dinner.  (Funny that we made the same pasta dish at home the next night)!

Being on tour, traveling most days, was definitely novel but we liked the quick set-up / pack-up of the camper trailer.  The bedding upgrade worked well, though we definitely appreciated sleeping in a proper bed at Di's and when home again!  We talk about various camper trailer improvements but really, things work pretty well as they are - and hopefully we'll get to go away again soon.  

Froggy finale!

Nick went to the loo at around 5:00am and told me about three bathroom frogs when he returned to bed.  I didn't need the loo but went out to look at the frogs!

I could only see two of the three, the third green one was missing.  Hah!  Later in the morning when I was packing up our dirty clothes from the bathroom, I found the MIA frog!

We re-fueled before heading out of town, near the saleyards.  I took more road train shots along the way to Dogwood Creek, where we stopped for morning tea and a quick geocache (our 676th find).

While we were enjoying morning tea (caramel scrolls as well as bhuja with tea and coffee), I watched the traffic on the bridge. One ute honked and waved with lots of enthusiasm, so I waved back! He/she may have been an Elmer Fudd fan?!

We continued on to Dalby, chatting about the crops growing beside the road.  At the start of our trip there'd been silly discussion about farmers putting crop ID signs in their paddocks, to educate us and the travelling public!

The last of our corned beef had been eaten at Morven, the day before.  We opted to buy hamburgers from the same Dalby takeaway as we had visited on Day 1 of our WingIt trip - though we ate them in a different park this time, watching many flying foxes in the nearby trees.

It was another two hour's drive from Dalby. We arrived home at 4:30pm.  What an excellent adventure!

Day 9 = 455 kms

Mmmm, Mitchell scrolls!

We made a few stops along the way from Blackall to Roma.  There was a quick loo break at Tambo (and call-in at Tambo Teddies) before travelling on to Morven.

There were toilets and picnic shelters at Morven Historical Museum, so we ate the last of our corned beef on sandwiches, closely supervised by an apostlebird and a bossy blue-faced honeyeater.   

I posted a couple of postcards at the post office, which closed at lunchtime for the Melbourne Cup!

We stopped again at Mitchell, to stretch our legs and pick up a few groceries.  (If you happen to pass through Mitchell, I highly recommend the bakery's caramel scrolls - yum)!

About 20 minutes out of Mitchell was the small town of Amby.  We didn't stop but obviously the name appealed and there were jokes about someone pinching the Hs from all the signs!

It was another 45 minutes to Roma.  I took a lot of road train photos during that stretch, trying to perfect my timing.

As it was our last night, we opted to stay in a park with ensuite sites, which proved handy - and quite amusing also, listening to froggies calling while we showered later that night.  Once we were set up, Nick wandered off to talk to other campers - and I enjoyed sitting quietly, with my pot of tea and fantastic caramel scroll!    

Day 8 = 487 kilometres

Blackall birdsong ...

The previous day's tyre adventure put us several hours behind schedule, so we arrived in Blackall around 6:00pm - and made our way to visit some local friends.  

We had a lovely, long catch-up and it was quite late when we left to park up in the nearby Barcoo Riverside Camp.

There were birds calling through the night and we woke to more birdsong in the morning.  Having set up in darkness, our really pretty outlook beside the river was a pleasant surprise when we stepped outside.  We had planned another day of travel and were back on the road fairly quickly (after buying bread, milk and Pepsi Max in town).

Aramac adventure!

Our original Elmer the Blue used to have issues with his front, passenger side wheel.  It seems Elmer the Gold has similar tendencies with the rear wheel on the same side.  

We left Muttaburra without buying bread, so were looking forward to lunch at Aramac.  

About 5km out of town, there was a loud noise and Nick slowed to a halt beside the road.  We got out and saw the tyre had blown.

There was no shade but frequent gusts of wind prevented us from putting out the awning. (We had learned that those conditions could cause damage).

It was hot and the ground was soft with lots of prickles. I didn't envy Nick! 

I wasn't much use for the tyre changing, so stood beside the trailer box (bracing the lid with my hand at each wind gust) and worked on making corned beef sandwiches with the last of our bread - two slices and two crusts, shared equally.  I was also very brave and lit our little fuel stove, to boil the kettle!  Given the circumstance I rummaged in one of our big green storage boxes for a pack of shortbread biscuits.

While I was organising lunch, Nick worked on changing the tyre.  As well as the heat and prickles, there were other issues.  The jack sank into the soft ground, so my excellent "half a road train" was commissioned as a base plate.  Fortunately it survived the experience unscathed!

Once the spare was on, another landcruiser stopped to check if we were OK.  The nice fellow chatted for a bit and then left us to it.  We packed up fairly quickly, thinking to inflate the spare at a servo in Aramac.  (We were doubtful of there being a mechanic in town to buy a replacement spare).  As we drove into town, we saw a mechanic's shed but it looked quite closed, so we continued to the service station.

As Nick inflated the trye, it became obvious that the valve seam had split.  It's possible to change a valve but only by removing the tyre from the rim.  The service station didn't have those facilities (but did have recovery ice-creams) and an attendant directed us to the Council chambers, in the belief that the works depot might assist.  The admin assistant at Council was a bit bemused by our story but made some calls and found someone to help.  

We were advised to meet Nev at the mechanic's shed in an hour.  While waiting, we saw some of the town, the tramway museum and a lot of the little white bulls.  

It was actually Nev's nephew who assisted us.  He quickly removed the tyre, replaced the valve, refitted the tyre - and wouldn't take any payment, just wished us safe travels to Barcaldine (where we'd meet Bashy, another fine fellow, to organise a replacement spare).  We do meet some lovely people when things go awry and we're very thankful for them and all assistance received.

Day 6 = 468 kilometres (Hughenden to Blackall)

Centering on Muttaburra!

The most direct way from Hughenden to Muttaburra was 212km.  Not far along the road was a sign for Mount Walker and we did turn off to see that - until we spotted the no towing sign.  It's on the long "next time" list.

Some of the road was unsealed, which made us feel like we were on a proper adventure!  It was interesting to pick the country changes as we drove along, spotting for roos in the shade of small, scrubby trees and noting the cows or goats along some paddock fence lines.

Muttaburra is the closest town to the geographical Centre of Queensland and is home to the Muttaburrasaurus Langdoni, the first most complete dinosaur discovered in 1963. The fossils were found by a local grazier Doug Langdon while out mustering. 

It was hard to miss the Interpretation Centre as we drove into town, so we stopped for a look.  I thought there might be more inside than the replica dinosaur but that's just my interpretation!

We found the public loos at the local pool.  That was funny cos we found a pair of roos, too!

One had posed close the sign, so looked like it was getting ready to go swimming - and the smaller one was taking shelter in the entrance way of the ladies.  They moved off when we approached but Nick said the little one was on it's way back in while I was still inside!

I spent some time inside the Post Office/information centre and we followed that nice fellow's instructions to the Centre of Queensland on the outskirts of town. A dad emu with three young offspring was wandering along beside the sculpture, so that was quite neat, particularly as emu footprints feature on the map!

Hugs at Hughenden ...

Hughenden is in "dinosaur country" and we saw a few sculptures around the town.  

Although our main focus was visiting Di, we did a quick tour around the town to see the main points of interest.

I was a big fan of the Federation Rotunda, made from two huge, 20-foot windmills.  Pretty cool, eh?!

There were some great murals on two of the public loo buildings.  

Each year I create a calendar for family and friends, using my images.  One of the recent themes featured lots of public toilet photos - and I'm collecting more for a possible second calendar.  

The Hughenden Recreational Lake was built at a cost over $12 million.  It opened in December 2019 and seems quite popular with the locals.  There were people on jet-skis and others being towed behind a boat on an inflatable.  Di's dog enjoyed a dip in the water while we stood about chatting.  We bought takeaway from a service station and went back to dine al fresco while watching the sunset from one of the lake's picnic shelters - which was a lovely end to the day.

Day 6 = minimal kilometres

There'll be shade!

There'll be a picnic shelter with shade was the catch-cry as we left Winton.  

In reality, there was a lot of open country and very little sign of civilisation or shade for the first 80km of the trip - until we pulled into a small park at Corfield. 

Here's some info about the tiny town. 

Once again we lunched on corned beef sandwiches (made with bread from Winton).  We used the loos, left a donation for the Flying Doctor and then got back on the road again - keen to reach Hughenden and start catching up with Di!

Day 5 = 216 kilometres

Fly level - moderate!

The first of our dinosaur tours was booked for 9:00am, so we made sure to be on-site by around 8:30am to allow for check-in etc.  

Another couple from our caravan park were there and put their dog into one of the public kennels before joining the group.  That dog seemed to cope well with the experience, whereas we're sure Bandit would not have waited quietly had he been with us.

The dinosaur lab tour was interesting, particularly seeing the plaster parcels stacked in storage, awaiting processing.

There was a collection room presentation next and then a short shuttle bus ride to the Dinosaur Canyon. The landscape/outlook around this area was quite beautiful and definitely my favourite part of our three-hour visit.

At the end of our tour, we returned to Elmer and drove back into Winton where we did a couple of quick missions before heading out of town, toward Hughenden. 

One of the guides mentioned three emu families that roamed the site.  We saw those three dads with their offspring on the way back out to the main road!

Winton ...

Our phones were way out of range at Winton.  There were some online tasks requiring attention, so we decided on a pub dinner that night, a very easy option - with wifi!  

Willie Mar's garden site is quite close to Tattersalls Hotel.  We had a bit of a wander about, though couldn't enter the buildings.  

Since returning home I've read more about Willie and watched a YouTube clip where people of Winton shared their memories of him.

We sat outside the pub, enjoying drinks and some social media. (Nick/Nik had a song being released the next day, so did some promotion for that).

Our meals were delivered more quickly than we expected, so we ate one-handed while shooing flies with the other hand!  Typically the flies flew off just after sunset (when we'd finished eating) - something we'd noticed out at Innamincka on a previous trip, though there were many more to deal with back then.  I refer to billions in this post!

Day 4 = 288 kilometres

Winning at Winton!

Did you notice there was no mention of getting fuel at Longreach on my previous post?  Yep.  We forget to call in at a servo before leaving town - which became obvious later along the road.  We had half a tank to get to Winton, so Nick drove in extra conservative style.  

Elmer is a thirsty truck generally and even more so when he is towing.  

I was assured half a tank would be sufficient and there was 50km of fuel in the reserve tank.  Seemingly the red warning light started flickering 60km out of Winton and remained on just before we passed the 50km marker, so we both felt hugely relieved when we saw the Caltex just on the edge of town!  Phew!

According to the pump display, there were just eight litres remaining when we pulled in to re-fuel.  We paid for the petrol and two recovery ice-creams!

We'd gone to Winton particularly to see the Age of Dinosaurs, so drove back out of town to that site.  On speaking with the guides though, we booked our tours for the next day (when it would be cooler).  

We drove back into town, called in at the very flash tourist information building, found a caravan park - and then looked at some of the local points of interest. I had a play on the drums at the Musical Fence but Nick is a drummer, so gave a much better performance!  (I took some footage of the fence but the wind noise interfered with the sound).  We both really liked Arno's Wall - there so much stuff displayed, it was just amazing!

Multi-grip on reality!

We woke extra early at Barcaldine, due to the heat of the rising sun hitting one wall of the canvas.  (Our focus the previous afternoon had been setting up in a shade, without thinking of 

morning sunshine).  

It was good we had an early start, Nick discovered a broken trailer latch during pack-up.  It had been dodgy for a while but we thought the box wasn't quite square, not that the latch was failing.  Nick removed the now useless latch and secured that area of the storage box with a pair of multi-grips, so we could travel.  

It was 110km to Longreach (self-titled capital of the Outback).  We found a park opposite Longreach Motors and called in there after spotting the ARB signage.  A nice young guy inspected the broken latch and directed us else-where to source a replacement.  We were unfamiliar with the town, so didn't  understand what he was saying (even after asking him to repeat the name). I diplomatically asked him to enter the address in my phone and we followed the GPS instructions to CentWest Engineering & Steel Supplies.  The salesman there was very impressed with the multigrips hanging on so well!

We bought two latches and then drove further into town (in the hope of finding a shady parking spot), for Nick to fit the new part.  I used the CWA restroom and had a little walk around that area of the town. We don't usually travel with much cash particularly in these COVID times, so I left a small donation in the CWA box - and will try to accumulate more coins for various donations next time we are on tour.

Funny sight - when I returned from my walk, I saw a lady taking a photo of Elmer Fudd while Nick was working on the trailer.  I greeted her and we chatted for a little bit before her husband drove up, keen for her to get in their car!

Barcaldine knowledge ...

It was later in the afternoon when we got to Barcaldine.  We selected a site and then went for a wander around the town.  Although I traveled through Queensland as a child, I couldn't remember visiting previously - and it was new for Nick.  

I wasn't keen on the look of the huge wooden structure in town but liked it better when standing underneath, viewing the remains of The Tree of Knowledge.  

The Tree was poisoned in 2006, which caused all kinds of uproar. A direct descendant of the Tree, named The Young Un, is located in the nearby Australian Workers Heritage Centre.  

We stood at back fence and caught a glimpse of that tree and might make a point of visiting during opening hours on another occasion.  In any case, we enjoyed our stroll around the town - admiring the library mural and reading of the many pub fires, then dining back at our site.  Nick tested his new guitar chair and it was very pleasant being serenaded under the stars.

Day 3 = 448 kilometres

Rolling out of Rolleston

You can see the caravan park cat sunning itself on a chair outside the camp kitchen (top left pic).  I reckon he/she may have needed a catch-up kip after the local roosters announced the start of a new day - at 3:30am!

Early start aside, we liked our overnight stop.  There were broad-leafed bottle trees around the park, some babies and a huge one next to the amenities block.  (Our new towels had their first use that morning).

We re-fueled before leaving town (and also bought some bug cleaner additive for the windscreen washer reservoir, from the agricultural supply store across from the servo).

There were a couple of geocaches found along the way to Emerald, where we did a bit of grocery shopping.  We got some extras from BCF  - camping mats cos the few we brought with had been old and deteriorating (leaving green plastic dust on us and our bedding) and an armless camping chair for Nick, so he could comfortably play guitar of an evening.  I also bought some thongs, a dustpan set, tongs and a serving spoon from The Reject Shop. Yep, we hadn't been away for a while!

We re-fueled before leaving the "major regional service centre" of Emerald.  It was about an hour's drive to Bogantungan, where we stopped for lunch.  I needed the loo and loved the little one located beside the railway station building - with liquid soap zip-tied to the railway gate, next to an outside tap!  I posted a gold coin donation through the museum door after lunch. (Home-cooked corned beef on fresh bread rolls)!

Bogantungan was the site of Queenland's largest train crash in 1960.  You can read some of that story, here.  The article mentions a blog and I've read a bit more about the accident by following that link.  

Lonesome Lookout

We'd stopped in the township of Injune to use the public toilets and pick up some tourist info. 

When starting to plan our break we had wanted to spend a week at Carnavon Gorge but there were no sites available - which prompted our Wing-it alternative.

We drove through some lovely country before and after the turn-off to the Gorge and will definitely visit on another occasion, to do many of the walks.  The lady at the tourist information office had spoken of Lonesome Lookout though and we turned off the main road to see that. It really was as awesome as the brochure description - wow!

Given our relaxed pace, we didn't travel as far as we had the previous day.  We rolled into Rolleston in the late afternoon, pleased to set up camp at the local caravan park.  (Nick found a large gecko in the power box when connecting the extension cord, and our neighbours had two little frogs in theirs)!

Day 2 = 265 kilometres

Pick Nick stop?!

We still didn't have a plan, so driving out of Roma was in a West-ish direction - with prickly pear appreciation along the way.  Yes, I know it's a pest species and has caused huge issues throughout history but I was interested to see yellow as well as red flowers, so we pulled over for a close look.

Please take note of beaming woman in new hat, proudly displaying her "half a road train sign" cos that find plays a crucial part in the adventure further down the track!

Even driving at our moderate pace, we overshot the turn-off to the Old Injune Coal Mine.  There had been a small sign quite close to the turn, which meant little advance warning of the heritage site.  

In any case, Nick turned around and we decided to take advantage of the shaded shelters for our picnic lunch.  What was for lunch?  Corned beef sandwiches!  (We actually had corned beef sandwiches for lunch all but the first and last days of our trip).

It was a very interesting spot.  I read one side of the billboard while seated and then read the other side after lunch. We spent some time wandering around the site, matching up what we could see with a couple of historical photos on the board.  

Can you see the pick heads used as supports in the apex of the picnic shelter roof?  Pretty neat, eh?!

Ace Roma-ing!

We woke early, which set the pattern for our time away.  Brightening sky is obvious through the canvas and we are very aware of bird noise also - which is a pleasant way to start the day.  

As we sat with our morning cuppas we saw that a crested pigeon was sitting on a nest in the bottle tree beside us.  That was a nice surprise cos of all the birds we had heard during the night and earlier hours, our closest neighbour wasn't one of them!

There wasn't enough milk for cereal, so we packed up to drive into town - driving to the Largest Bottle Tree first.  (We'd visited in 2018 as part of my birthday bottle tree trip).

Next stop was a return visit to Ace Drapers.  It became obvious that morning that we hadn't packed bath towels.  We could have continued to improvise but really I liked the thought of having another chance to marvel over all the stock available in what the locals refer to as the "overflow" store!

We found bath towels and a hat for me, before picking up milk and other basics (at a grocery shop around the corner).  

I was well and truly ready for my belated breakfast by then, so ate my sultana bran under a bottle tree in a little grassed area beside our parking spot.  Once we'd rinsed the dishes and stowed all the provisions, it was time to head out of town and continue our travels.

Wing-it wanderings!

Some of our trips are particularly well thought out, with various preparation and forethought.  Not this one! There's been a lot happening behind the scenes lately, so neither of us felt motivated for packing/organising. 

When Plan A failed (due to lack of site availability), we decided to "wing it".  

Some family members weren't convinced Nick would cope with such a laissez faire approach!

We took one Engel with us, running as a fridge, with a few frozen meals stacked on the bottom.  You might be able to spot an esky in the back of Elmer.  We had a few frozen bits in there, to defrost en route (for a planned cheese platter on our first night).

I was up very early to do the last of the packing.  I also put a large piece of corned beef in the thermal cooker, to cook as we traveled.  

Our Gladstone bags and my beauty case sat on the back seat.  Nick's guitar tucked in there also.  (We fine-tuned the arrangement while "on tour"). 

On departure day we exited the driveway before 9:00am - and started heading is a West-ish direction.

I knew the corned beef wouldn't be ready by lunchtime, so we bought very nice hamburgers at Dalby and ate them in a little park just up the road.  There was a big storm after that, which made for some short-lived excitement and we were glad when we passed out of it's range.  

We reached Roma in the late afternoon and set up camp at the Roma Gun Club, next to a bottle tree.  The bar opens for a couple of hours each afternoon and we sat on the verandah enjoying our bargain drinks before returning to the camper trailer.

Our camping chairs have arms, which aren't great for guitar playing but Nick found a stool in the back of Elmer and used that for a few songs.  Later in the evening we enjoyed our cheese platter dinner under the stars. A great start to the adventure!

Day 1 = 455 kilometres.

Jam appreciation picnic!

I made six large jars of pretty mulberry jam yesterday.  The lid of one jar didn't seal properly, so it was destined to be opened first for proper sampling.

Today seemed a perfect day for a jam appreciation picnic.  I made a batch of scones before leaving home and then we set off - with Bandit.

I hadn't planned a destination but was pleased when we arrived at Moogerah Dam, particularly as we had this large picnic pavillion to ourselves in spite of the many cars parked nearby.

Well, not quite to ourselves.  As I set the table and Nick organised our little stove, he spotted a possum in one corner of the roof.  It was curled up at first but seemed to start moving about when I opened the jam - and it then was obvious that we were sharing the shelter with two possums, a mum and youngster.

How was the jam?  Excellent!  And the scones - well, they weren't bad either!

The $1.00 op-shop remnant I bought in Dalby was enough to make three smaller size tea-towels, which I've packed into our various picnic cases.  

One tea towel came with us today, for it's first trip out.  (We generally rinse our mugs with leftover hot water from the kettle, to be used again on longer outings.  They are washed properly once home again).

Dalby dallying ...

Nick's been looking forward to using his Gladstone bag and toiletries case, so appreciated a chance to road-trip out to Dalby!  

We took our time getting organised on Thursday morning and arrived around lunchtime.  After a very nice cafe lunch, we checked in to our motel room and then spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening with lovely new friends.

Nick and Ann met online via a song-writing group but it was great to meet in person.  We were treated to afternoon tea and then they played guitar.  Both sang some of their original songs.  And then we picked lots of mulberries, still chatting all the time.

We checked out on Friday morning, had a huge brekkie at a nearby cafe (where we'd lunched on Thursday) and then looked at all the op-shops in town.  As usual, we found a few bargains.  I was happy with some remnants - including a $1.00 linen tea-toweling piece. 

Although we have visited Dalby a couple of times, we hadn't seen much of the larger township so drove around a bit (and found a cache) before heading back toward home.

There were a couple of detours along the way.  Oakey was a longer stop, cos their op-shops were also open - happy days!

We enjoyed a late lunch cheese platter in the park, where we've stopped previously.  

There was a cool breeze and we could see a little of the creek, so we lingered for a while before packing up and driving the last stretch back home.

As the crow flies ...

Nick and I really enjoyed seeing all the displays at last year's Carnival of Flowers. I suggested to Erin that she and I do an overnight trip to view them, before the official program commenced.  The suggestion was made around lunchtime and initially I had thought we might head up that day.  

As it happened the afternoon was busy and we drove up on Saturday morning. (Toowoomba is less then an hour and a half from home, so not a huge trek).

We detoured to see Spring Bluff (which is self-proclaimed as the most beautiful railway station in SE Queensland). And yes, it is lovely!

From there we drove up to Toowoomba, making a couple of op-shop stops and wandering around the markets, before enjoying our picnic. 

I had Erin pose near the little vintage van because it was the same as the one I decorated for her (and Nissa) many years ago.  The story of that van, is here.

We viewed the Queens Park gardens and then those at Laurel Bank Park (where I exclaimed "look at the wisteria" and Erin heard "look at the posterior")!  By 3ish, we decided it was time for afternoon tea and a rest so farewelled Toowoomba and drove across to our accommodation at Crows Nest.