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. ❌❌❌