Cania Gorge

We had a lovely trip from Wondai to Cania Gorge as the sun was shining! Happy days!! Our lunch stop was at this town called Eidsvold where we were next to a lovely RM Williams bush learning centre so we popped in to have a look. It was well worth while and shed more light on the life of the legend. 
It’s amazing what you find in little places as the next surprise was this  beautiful silo art, opposite a self serve fruit stall where we bought the sweetest mandarins ever!

The Cania Gorge tourist park was a delightful spot - a very picturesque grassed and treed park nestled beneath the imposing sandstone Gorge walls and right next to the National Park. Each night they feed the birds which is an attraction. They must be the best fed birds - after Rick & Flo’s - as the caravan park up the road also feeds them each afternoon. 

We were once again able to set up casually facing each other and each night we enjoyed our campfire. We drove to the lake and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the nice lawned area. The town of Cania was drowned to make the dam - a familiar story. We enjoyed many lovely walks and saw these cute wallabies - we’ve not seen much wildlife of late.

It was a perfect spot and we’d recommend it to anyone if you’re in the area. We are now in this small town called Moura on our westwards towards Emerald way. At last the days have been warm and we’re in shorts and thongs - and haven’t seen a drop of rain for a few days! Tonight our thoughts are with the family at home who are gathered together at Josh & Jess’s celebrating Jess’s special birthday. We send our love to all until our next blog.

Love from the wanderers ❌❌❌❌ 

Heading north

Our time in Ipswich, was a happy time with Rick & Flo but unfortunately, the weather was awful - wet, dreary and miserable! So once again, we changed our minds about our our destination and instead of going along the coast and hinterland, we are now going north west, all in the pursuit of warm sunny weather. We are envious of the glorious weather we hear is being enjoyed down south. 

We travelled along the picturesque Brisbane River Valley through Esk and past the Wivenhoe Dam which is spilling over. It was a pity the scenery wasn’t enhanced by sunlight but it was still a very pretty drive to Kingaroy 

We’re in the heart of peanut territory here - but this was about as close as we got to a peanut (other than buying some at the peanut van) as there are no tours at all. After our cotton tour, we’re keen to learn about these industries so it was a bit of a disappointment. We’d also envisaged touring the Bjelke Peterson property called Bethany, and enjoying pumpkin scones on their verandah, but sadly that wasn’t possible either. So we made do with driving past the place.

We also had a picnic lunch at the same named dam - another dreary sort of day!

We were later than usual leaving Ipswich, as Darryl had a visit to the dentist before we headed off, but we found no room at the inn anywhere in Kingaroy. The lovely ladies in reception rang around and found a spot for us in this town called Wondai - which turned out to be the best thing for us. Here at the racecourse, it’s spacious, very pretty with grass and trees around the racetrack and we can have our campfire! We’ve also the added attraction of watching the horses workout in the mornings. 

Tops and I were lucky to get our hair trimmed in Kingaroy and all washing is up to date so we’re ready to head off in the morning to Cania Gorge. We’re hoping that we’ll find some sunshine there and look forward to some walks in the National Park. We have some special birthdays to mention - Dusty tomorrow and Jess’s party Saturday night with her special day on the 1st June. We send you both lots of love and  happy birthday wishes 🎂🎁🎈.

Once again from dreary wet Queensland, we sign off till next time. ❌❌❌❌

Onto Toowoomba

From wet St George, we travelled a whole 117or so kms to Surat where we set up in this spot by the Balonne River at Fishermen's Bend. We enjoyed a walk into the town and were especially impressed with the Cobb & Co museum -  the river fish aquarium and Cobb & Co coach being highlights. 

Even though we set up in dry conditions, a few showers made things rather muddy and damp! Most surprising was how quickly the river rose overnight and we believe a flood alert is forecast for the river there. 

Our next trip was to a very unusual park called Possum Park, out of Miles. Set amongst lovely spacious grounds, with the most beautiful bougainvilleas, are 18 bunkers, which were used for storing ammunition during WW2.   Some of these have been converted into accommodation and on a walk around the property, you could see into one empty bunker.  The place is also home to several train carriages - some of which are accommodation, as well as a library and TV room. Most surprisingly though, is a TAA turbo prop aeroplane which is housed in a huge hanger and is being lovingly restored. So this was a great place to visit, although the weather wasn’t ideal.

On our trip from there to Toowoomba, we saw so much water lying around and could see in places where water would have been over the roads. The Warrego Highway was mostly in a terrible condition with undulations and potholes as well as lots of traffic,  so conditions for our drivers wasn’t ideal. Give us a quiet back road any day - even if it is dusty, muddy or rough!  

We checked into a central caravan park which suited our purposes as we were able to vote, check out our power problems (there is always some teething problems) catch up with friends and see some of the sights in the town. You get a great perspective of the elevation of Toowoomba with views over the Lockyer Valley from Picnic Point and we enjoyed the tranquil Japanese gardens. 

We also took advantage of nearby eateries, and dined at a lovely hotel and then at a Chinese restaurant - both within walking distance. The latter experience was quite funny as we were the only patrons seated and helped ourselves a bit - Darryl had to alert the owners that they had a takeaway customer and we used their fridge as our own! They were lovely people- just busy with their takeaway orders and the food was delicious. 

We are now at Ipswich at Ricky’s where things haven’t gone quite to plan as it’s wetter than we thought and Dennis got bogged on the lawn! So plan two is to sleep inside and our van is out on the street and Dennis is waiting for things to dry out before he moves!  We know we’ll have a great time here with the Greenwoods! 

We trust all our readers are well,

Till later, love from us travellers. ❌❌❌

Wet St George.

Three weeks into our trip we really imagined we’d be in shorts & thongs - but this unseasonal weather sees us still in boots and coats!! And we’ve certainly had rain! Here in St George, we’ve had 178mm since Monday so just as well we aren’t on dirt tracks! This park has actually coped very well with the rain and our vans have kept us warm and dry! 

We left Goodooga and crossed into Queensland at Hebel where we saw another iconic pub. It was too early for a drink so we enjoyed a coffee & sausage roll from the local store. The road between Hebel and Dirranbandi had recently opened after some flooding, which was still evident in low lying areas. I’d say this road would be closed again after the rains. We checked into this park and have been quite comfortable, even if it is a far cry from sitting around our campfire in some remote location! This town has a lovely river frontage which is very well maintained and would be very popular in summer.

The red marker shows flood levels - the highest being in 2012. It’s hard to imagine the water being that high. The town is now protected by levee banks - both earth and brick walls. 

Tops’s birthday this year was celebrated in the Nindigully Pub, which claims to be the oldest pub in Queensland. This was a spot I’d earmarked for camping but just as well we didn’t try that, as it was rather muddy! 

We are sure in cotton country now and we enjoyed a cotton tour which although was hampered by the weather, (we couldn’t get into the farms to see picking in action) we did learn lots from the accompanying farmer and saw up close some of the high tech machinery used. The harvested cotton bales are prolific in the paddocks. 

There were even some old tractors for Dennis to admire! Our tour ended at the local winery where we were spoilt with a yummy lunch and wine tasting. The tour filled in our wet day perfectly, then we finished off the day with a meal at one of the local pubs and warmed ourselves by the wood fire. 

We are still poring over maps to determine where to go to next - some places I’ve picked out are underwater! No doubt we’ll find somewhere! We hope all our sick chicks at home are soon feeling better - we four are keeping very healthy (touch wood). As I write this, the sun is peeping out, the rain appears to have gone and Darryl has even donned shorts & thongs! 

We send our love to everyone,

❌❌❌❌

Macquarie Marshes and more.

Nyngan is in the Bogan Shire and situated on the Bogan River, so a giant Bogan statue has become an icon of the town, as is the helicopter which is like those that helped evacuate the town in 1990 when the River breached its levees and flooded the town. 

Dennis did catch a fish at Nyngan even if it wasn’t what he wanted to catch! 

We booked a visit to the Burrima Boardwalk in the Macquarie Marshes and I unknowingly picked a route to there which included all the outback road things I love - dust, mud, wildlife, cattle and dirt tracks! Don’t know if it was appreciated by Dennis who’d just washed his car! 

We’ve actually seen so many emus - must have been a top breeding season for them. There is also so much water around - especially as we approached the marshes. The boardwalk is set on private land and meanders just above the water level for about 2 kms. We did notice an abundance of reeds and water weeds and not as much bird life as we saw along the roadside. It was however, a very pleasant walk and is very well done. We were surprised to see a snake sunning himself on the road - and Dennis spied one near the toilets. We thought it was too cold for snakes now.

From this boardwalk, we drove onto a little town called Carinda, known for the fact that David Bowie filmed his ‘Let’s Dance’ video clip in the rustic hotel. We have visited the hotel previously so didn’t this time - but enjoyed a night camped there, watching the sunset and enjoying our fire. 

From there we travelled through Walgett, past Lightning Ridge to this quaint town Goodooga. It’s known for its therapeutic artesian pool, so we’ve had a dip and feel rejuvenated 😜. It is an amazing 40 degrees straight from the artesian basin! A lovely Mother’s Day treat! Unfortunately though, the local Post Office, which sells takeaway foods, is not open today so poor Tops is having to cook our curried prawn pasta dish 😋. Thanks Tops. 

We are not far from the Queensland border and tomorrow cross at Hebel and head to St George where we’ll sit out the wet weather - which hopefully is short and sharp and not as bad as predicted! We trust all mums had a lovely day- it’s my first one without my dear mum so we’ve been thinking of her today ❤️. 

Till the next blog, love from the Brays & Greenwoods ❌❌

Rabbit Trap Hotel.

Gum Bend Lake was a lovely spot to camp and we took a drink up to admire the sunset over the lake, and chatted to another couple who’ve been on the road quite a while! 

Condobolin is a nice little town and we strolled around the shops and dropped a bit of money at the supermarket and Mitre 10 shops! The men were most impressed with the Ute display which is a bit of an attraction for the town. 

When I saw Rabbit Trap Hotel  on the map, I just had to make that a destination, because in my younger days, I was an ardent rabbit trapper and carted my rabbits to the rabbito in a hession bag on the school bus! Gee that makes me sound like I am very old (probably true 🤔) 

This hotel is in the little town of Albert (which must have a population of about 8!) and we are camped at the back of a collection of accommodation dongas. Not the most picturesque spot but quite adequate and we enjoyed some fellowship in the pub plus a hearty meal. We have been surprised at how many were at the pub - these iconic hotels are often very busy. We just got to the  pub for a drink when a thunderstorm hit and things were certainly wet! Out came the rubber boots again! 

Whilst at Albert, we had a journey to the centre of NSW!  We wondered how this location was determined and one method was to cut out a map of NSW and balance it on a pencil! Unfortunately someone has taken the plaque so only the stone cairn is there to mark the spot. We drove through Tottenham and admired the art murals on the Mens Shed.

We detoured to see the Bogan river which is in minor flood - they’ve had big rains here in recent days. The vegetation and farm land is looking very healthy although some paddocks are still water logged! 

We are now camped right on the same Bogan River in Nyngan and Dennis has his line in, hoping to snag a fish for dinner! We’ve caught up on washing and are enjoying beautiful sunshine - and dry conditions. Unfortunately, it looks like there’s another rain system approaching so we’ll have to plan carefully to avoid road closures and wet feet! Tomorrow we are looking forward to visiting a boardwalk on the Macquarie Marshes - evidently it’s a perfect time to visit it - last time we were in this area things were pretty dry. 

We sign off from this lovely spot at Nyngan - even though it’s a very tranquil site, it’s just as well we have the big white hunter to save us from crocodiles! It’s funny to realise that we’ve been away 2 weeks and are really only about 750 kms from home!!We are however, enjoying this meandering  trip rather than rushing to a destination. We trust all is well with everyone,

Love from Marg & Darryl, Dennis & Tops ❌❌