Lara Station Wetlands Again

We left Rockyview this morning just before 8:30, about 20 km north of Rockhampton, en route to spend the evening in the small town of Alpha in Central Queensland. Our three days here were very enjoyable, and we savoured lunch at the sailing club in Yeppoon on one of our sightseeing days. A view of the house, including our van, from a height of 50 metres was captured with my DJI Mavic Pro.

Lyn and Tony's property was once again shrouded in mist as we departed, but it soon cleared up en route to Rocky. It was a slow process negotiating numerous sets of traffic lights and people heading off to work.
 
We often spend the night at the rest area in the small town of Duaringa, which is 109 km west of Rockhampton. This is where we stopped for our coffee break and to stretch our legs.
A lunch break in Emerald before arriving in Alpha just after 2:30. We are camped on the outskirts of town in an area shared with another six vans. There are no facilities here, which suits us just fine. It’s the first time we’ve passed through this small town where we’ve never stayed before, despite numerous previous visits.
 
A rather late start this morning as we headed further west towards Barcaldine, 140 km away, before turning south onto the Landsborough Highway. Thirty kilometres later, we turned onto a well-maintained 13 km dirt access road that led us into Lara Station. We stayed here on two occasions last year and enjoyed the experience so much that we have returned again.
 
Site fees remain at $20 per night, which provides access to very clean, flushing toilets and hot showers housed in a demountable unit. There is also a dump point, drinkable bore water, and free wood if you gather it yourself; otherwise, it costs $10 per barrow load. There is a hot artesian pool and the most stunning sunsets.
 
We were spoiled on our last two visits, but were surprised at how many were camped here this time—at least sixty vans per night surrounding the wetlands, with generators running, and they now allow pets. Regrettably, all these factors have contributed to the decline of birdlife. Our plan was to stay a week, but we left after just three days. If you decide to stay, the best time is late September to early October when everyone has left to head home.

Last night, we cooked lamb shanks in the camp oven in a red wine, garlic, and herb sauce, accompanied by potatoes and pumpkin. This was washed down with a lovely red.

On our last day, we were joined by fellow BT owner Stephen, who had just come from Lawn Hill and was camping on the Gregory River. We had a long chat when he arrived, and he joined us later in the day, spending time around the campfire.

Towards Rockhampton

Our plan was to leave home at 10 this morning, but a flat battery soon changed that. The 4wd had been sluggish to start over the past week, but I thought the drive today would solve that issue. Once we had hooked up the van, it simply refused to cooperate, so a call to the NRMA for a new start battery got us back on the road an hour later.

Those who follow our blog will know that whenever we head north to Queensland, we always break the journey and spend the first evening camping at the Yelgun rest area. It's a little over 200 km from home and helps us get into the rhythm of travelling. However, when we arrived, the usually quiet rest area was overflowing with young people who had taken over the caravan parking area with all manner of vans squashed in like sardines. Our only alternative was to share the truck parking area for the night.
 
We discovered that Splendour in the Grass, held at Byron Bay, was this weekend, which explains the overcrowding and the more than 30,000 people attending this festival each day.
 
Our next three nights were spent at the Big 4 Rivershore Resort on the Sunshine Coast, backing onto the Maroochy River. We have an issue with one of our van windows that needs repair, and there is a nearby location where it can be fixed. It's a relatively new park with large grass sites, featuring matting instead of cement pads. Sites cost $50 per night, with separate electricity charges. Our electricity bill for the three days was just $2.80. The park also has a lovely heated pool, restaurant, and coffee shop. We met some charming Bushtracker folk who were also staying here.

Today, we drove 264 km, passing through Gympie and stopping for coffee in Childers. A few kilometres later, we joined the Isis Highway for 24 km before taking some minor roads to camp behind the Bucca Pub for the night. Your $10.00 per night secures a space to park on the grass behind the pub. The pub's burgers, priced at $10, are delicious and sizable, and they offer a wide selection of beers. 

Not long after leaving Bucca, we soon joined the Bruce Highway at Gin Gin, on our way north. The next port of call was Miriam Vale, followed by Calliope, and then on to Rockhampton. We will spend the next two days sightseeing and visiting a friend that Ros went to school with.

Nindigully to Home

From Nindigully, we continued east along the Barwon Highway towards Goondiwindi, where we stayed for two nights camping at the showgrounds.
 
Your fee of $25 includes power, water, showers, and toilets, with a dump point located several kilometres away. The sunsets here were simply stunning...

Leaving Goondiwindi, we soon passed through Boggabilla as we headed eastward on the Bruxner Highway towards the small town of Texas.
This is an RV-friendly town with a lovely free camp located several kilometres from the city beside the Dumaresq River. A dump point and free showers are situated on the main street. We have stayed here before, but today it was just a coffee stop at one of the local cafes.
 
For the next 76 km, the highway runs alongside the Queensland/New South Wales border as it twists and turns on its way to Mole Creek. This road is quite similar to many other rural roads that have been damaged by the frequent passage of heavy B-doubles running back and forth each day.
 
Just 5 km north of Tenterfield, we joined the New England Highway for the journey into Wallangarra. The next two nights were spent camping in a large paddock several hundred metres behind the Jennings Pub.

The pub is listed in WikiCamps, and Lyn, who owns the pub, cooks the most amazing meals, and the beers are lovely and cold.

The Wallangarra Railway Station was opened in 1887 to link the different gauges used in NSW and QLD. The QLD narrow gauge used the western side of the station, with NSW standard gauge trains using the eastern side. The opening of a standard gauge link through Kyogle in 1930 changed everything.

On our second day, we explored Girraween National Park and walked along the Pyramid and Granite Arch tracks.

After our walk and a quick shower, we headed into Tenterfield for some sightseeing and lunch. We have visited here three times before to see the Saddlery shop in High Street, but our fourth visit was successful.

 

The building remains in its original condition, from its 20-inch blue granite stones to its red cedar doors and windows. The ceilings are stained brown from years of tobacco smoke rising over time.

There have been many saddlers over the years, but George Woolnough was the most famous, being Peter Allen's grandfather. He served as a saddler from 1908 until his retirement in 1960. Many people, including A. B. "Banjo" Paterson, were regular visitors.

George Woolnough's grandson, Peter Allen, has kept alive the memory of his grandfather with one of his best-known songs, "The Tenterfield Saddler".

And these size 13 shoes he wears in the video of "I go to Rio"

From Wallangarra to our next campsite was just 57 km. I had read about camping at the Aloomba Lavender Farm, just northeast of Stanthorpe, from another Bushtracker owner and from entries on WikiCamps.
 
Unfortunately, the place did not live up to the reports we had read, but at $15 per night, it was far better than staying in a caravan park. At least we had quite lovely views of the surrounding countryside.

Our time spent here involved touring the Stanthorpe district, sightseeing, visiting cheese factories, breweries, wineries and having lunches out. Some of the lovely cheeses, olives and dips purchased during our travels made for wonderful happy hours.

We set off for brunch with Deb and Hank at Tenterfield before going our separate ways. They were heading towards Alstonville and then back home the next day, while we had planned to camp by the Mann River for several days. The temperature at 1 pm, as we passed through Glen Innes, was just 14 degrees, and with heavy rain forecasted for the upcoming week, we decided to head home instead.

Home to the Nindigully Pub

We left home this morning, heading to Queensland. Usually, we break the journey and stay overnight at the Yelgun rest area north of Ballina, but this time we decided to drive straight through to Eumundi on the Sunshine Coast.
 
Camping is permitted near their famous markets, and at $15 per night for an unpowered site, it makes for a great overnight stop. The fee includes access to toilets, showers, non-potable water, and there's even a dump point on-site. A limited number of powered sites are available at £20, with a maximum stay of two nights.

Deb and Hank, who live in Tewantin, are joining us for a two-week trip as far as St George, with some time spent around the New England area north of Tenterfield, including Stanthorpe in South East Queensland. Our plan is then to camp at several locations before returning home to Sawtell.
 
After leaving Eumundi, we continued south along the Bruce Highway and took the Landsborough turnoff. At Beerwah, we headed west towards Peachester before joining the D'Aguilar Highway just east of Kilcoy.
 
We passed through Kilcoy and Moore before stopping at Blackbutt for morning tea. I have it on good authority from two pie enthusiasts that the bakery here is hard to beat. A selection of pies and other goodies was purchased, some of which were consumed then, and some were saved for later. 

At Yarraman, we joined the New England Highway and followed it south for 33 kilometres before taking the turnoff to Dalby and Cooyar at Wutul. This minor road is rough and narrow in places, but thankfully doesn't carry much traffic. We stopped briefly in Dalby before continuing along the Moonie Highway for 17 km, then turning towards Lake Broadwater Conservation Park, a further 10 km away.
 
We have camped here on numerous occasions, and your $6 per person per night fee includes flushing toilets and hot showers. The campground overlooks the lake, and with water levels currently low, our time here was peaceful and quiet, without the hum of jet skis or ski boats disturbing the serenity. 

We experienced relatively high temperatures, exceeding 38 degrees, while we were here, and the locals came down every afternoon to cool off.

Unbeknownst to us, the Chinchilla bi-annual watermelon festival was taking place while we were there, so on our second day we headed 100 km west of Dalby to check out the action. On Saturday morning, we joined the steady flow of traffic along the Warrego Highway towards Chinchilla. The day's temperature peaked at 38.7 degrees, so after browsing some of the stalls, we found a shady spot and watched the passing parade and watermelon races. 

On our way back, we took a minor road through the small town of Kogan. We popped into the local pub for a few beers and a hearty serving of hot chips with gravy. Camping is permitted at the Kogan Memorial Hall, with power available for $15 or without power for $10.

A sculpture in the park beside the hall depicts Hugh Sawrey, a renowned Australian painter who, along with RM Williams, founded the Stockman's Hall of Fame in Longreach. He was a close friend of a former owner of the hotel in Kogan, who was responsible for commissioning the sculpture. We have an association with Hugh Sawrey as well, as we possess a couple of his original paintings.

After two days camped at Lake Broadwater, we rejoined the Moonie Highway and soon passed through the small town of Moonie. It was the site of Australia's first oil field and remains in operation today, producing approximately 35 kiloliters each day. Several hours later, and 187 km had us stopping in St George for lunch and several beers.

Then we continued on towards the Nindigully Pub, a further 44 km away. The Gully sits beside the Moonie River, and camping is free; a gold coin donation will get you a shower.

Hank received a book for Christmas titled 'Australian Bush Pubs' and wants to tick as many of the list as he can, so this pub is his first. We also celebrated his birthday while camped here, so on our second evening, we enjoyed happy hour before dining at the pub.

This particular burger is the smallest on the menu, weighing in at 5.5 kg. Of course, we were unable to do it justice, but the resident dogs were more than happy to assist in devouring what we couldn't.