Caravanning Camping Touring
Let me share some of our stories with you. I'll try to keep it fun and interesting, with heaps of photos, hints, tips and reviews all relating to life on the road.
We farewelled our new friends at Eromanga and made our way towards Quilpie, on route to Charleville. About 8km from Quilpie, we saw a sign for Baldy Top lookout and decided to take a peek. I’m pleased that we did. It is a relatively easy hike up to the top and the views…wow. Well worth the effort. Baldy Top is one of the most elevated areas in in this region of south east Queensland and from up there you can see a long way. We weren’t there at sundown, but I bet the sunsets would be simply stunning. Even Hugo enjoyed the view.
From Baldy Top lookout it was a relatively short drive, (two and a half hours) to Charleville. This is a lovely place to spend some time and if you get the chance, go to the Bilby center. It was actually closed when we were there, but we have been to Charleville before and had previously visited the Bilby center. It is very informative and highlights the plight of these gorgeous little animals.
We had only been in Charleville for a couple of days when two of our new friends from Eromanga drove into the Cobb and Co caravan Park. Neighbours again. We had a good catch up with them, and Hugo got the chance to meet George the Farmer. (Good to know I’m not the only idiot out there). 😊
We spent an enjoyable evening at the Cosmos center with our neighbours, and if you have an interest in the night sky, you should go. I’ll be honest, I had a lot of trouble focusing through the telescopes at the Cosmos Center, but everyone else seemed to manage ok, so I’m guessing it was just my eyes/glasses that were causing a problem. That aside, there is a lot to see and experience in the center itself.
Disclaimer: No Bears were harmed in the making of this post.
After the tranquility at Cooper Creek, we decided to spend one more night in the company of the millions of flies and mozzies at Noccundra. I know what you’re thinking…why? What can I say, we’re gluttons for punishment. Anyway, it was a good place to spend the night and I was rewarded by a visit from two Royal Spoonbills who were happily looking for breakfast on the other side of the river. You’ve probably realised by now that I love my birds, so once more rugging up against an onslaught from the insects, I took my position and got some lovely shots.
From there we drove to Yowah, a little opal mining town about four hours east of Coopers Creek. I have to say, I was not too impressed. But it is a working mining town, and we spoke to other people who loved it there. We spent, what was for me, was an uncomfortable night in Yowah. I don’t know what it was, but it just didn’t feel right to me. Early next morning we drove south east to Eromanga.
We had not planned to stay there, but we stopped for a bite to eat at the café in the caravan park and the people were so friendly, we booked in for one night, which turned into two. It was here that we had our first official happy hour gathering. Up until then we’d pretty much been loners, bush camping or keeping to ourselves. I have to say we had a lovely time and met some very nice people, some of whom we will keep in touch with.
There really isn’t much to do at Eromanga, so we went on a road trip to the junction of Windorah and Quilpie roads. There is a little picnic spot there and as we were enjoying a bite to eat, another couple came over to join us. It didn’t take us long to find out that the gentleman we were talking to had worked with our brother-in-law for many years. Small world indeed.
I also did a spot of Brolga stalking while we were on our road trip. That seems silly going on a road trip while we’re travelling the country in a caravan…anyway, that’s what we did. We spotted two separate pairs of brolgas, a family with one juvenile and a family with two juveniles. I have to say, they are hard to get close to; they are very nervous, especially when there are young ones with them. I got some good shots and some not so good shots, but what a thrill it was to see them in their natural habitat.
I also have to say I got seriously disoriented stalking one family and I must give a big shout out to my brother, right here right now. Thank you! You see we had no phone reception where we were, but my brother had given us a set of Oricom handheld walkie talkies, and I had taken mine with me. So, I was able to get in touch with Peter and he got me safely out of the bush.
As well as lots of Brolgas what else is there to see at Eromanga? Well, you could go to the Natural History Museum. https://enhm.com.au/ I’m not a big museum person, but this was fantastic. And if you like Dinosaurs, you’ll love this place. Book yourself in for a tour, you won’t be disappointed.
As well as lots of Brolgas what else is there to see at Eromanga? Well, you could go to the Natural History Museum. https://enhm.com.au/ I’m not a big museum person, but this was fantastic. And if you like Dinosaurs, you’ll love this place. Book yourself in for a tour, you won’t be disappointed.
We woke early the next day and retraced our way back to Cooper Creek. I was hoping that on the other side of the creek, we would find our blue box nestled in the grass, just waiting to come home. The trip to the creek was uneventful, and when we arrived there, we found ourselves behind a car towing a small camper trailer debating whether to cross or not. Even though we had crossed the afternoon before, for our sakes and our fellow travelers, both Peter & I walked across before we took Bigears and Chunky Bum back over the creek.
If you haven’t already guessed, our blue box was gone. I wonder how long it will be until Peter lets me forget it?
We decided to spend a couple of nights on the banks of Cooper Creek, and my oh my, it was wonderful. We Kayaked up and down the creek, we swam in the creek, we lazed by the creek and I spent hours photographing the area and the birds.
One afternoon I left Peter asleep in the hammock while I took the kayak out. I paddled up stream, out of sight of the camp, and other than the sound of the running water and the birdcalls, there was no other sign of life.
When I stopped paddling the clay-suspended water took control of the kayak and slowly pulled me back down stream. I breathed in the hot air as I looked around at this amazing landscape. Clear blue sky, Coolabah, and gum trees hugging the banks of the creek and the scent of…I don’t know…life, I felt a sense of peace and awe fill my being, and I thought, Oh my God. This right here, this is Australia.
Now if you believe that Australia has a spirit, then I’m pretty sure you’ll find it here, and now that I’ve experienced it, I’m going to keep looking for it across this vast land.
The first thing to mention about the drive to Innaminka, is that we had to take a detour, and that gave us the opportunity to visit the site of the Burke and Wills Dig Tree. This is a site of great historical significance in Australia. I won’t go into the history here, but if you’d like to take a detour yourself, follow this link. http://www.thedigtree.com.au/the-history/ It’s a good place to start.
So, where exactly is the Dig Tree? Buried deep within the heart of Australia the Dig Tree is located on the Nappa Merrie Station, (a meager 720,000ha). This is a very remote, harsh, and unforgiving part of the country. There are minimal facilities, in short, if you don’t take it with you, you’re not going to have it, but it is teeming with birdlife and hauntingly beautiful. History buff or not, this should be on your “Must See” list.
More importantly this was the site of our first creek crossing and sadly the loss of our blue box; my bad. ☹
Ok, we like to keep things organized while travelling, you know, a place for everything and everything in its place. So, we had a blue box which contained everything, and I mean everything, needed to set up the awning. Including a washing line with peg holder that Peter made. Hammer, tie downs, pegs, anti-flap thingies, guy ropes, you name it, it was in the blue box.
We drove to the banks of Cooper Creek and saw that it was flowing fast and looked deep. Peter decided to walk the creek to see if it was passable. He asked me to get his wet shoes from the boot of the van, to do this I had to take out the blue box, to get to the orange crate, to get his shoes. You with me so far? He put his shoes on then walked the creek, when he didn’t get washed off his feet, we figured it was safe.
We were excited about the creek crossing so we jumped into Big-ears and off we went.
It’s about 60 kilometers from the creek to Innaminka, remembering we took a detour through the station, I’m not sure how far it actually was, and most of it was on dirt. When we arrived at Innaminka and I hopped out of the car, my heart skipped a beat when I saw that the boot door on the van was flapping in the wind. I knew I’d get in trouble for that, so I quickly closed it, and thought what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. But then I realised that I had left the blue box sitting on the grass on the banks of Cooper Creek, so I had to come clean.
Our visit to Innaminka was short but sweet, thanks to the blue box. We wanted to do a mach run back over the creek to see if it was still there. Sadly it was not. The hotel and the trading post were well worth the visit and it is a great base camp to explore Cooper Creek and Cameron’s Corner. We will be back.
For those of you who are not aware, we have had a lot of rain across Queensland through the latter part of 2020. Not drought breaking rain, but enough to transform the Queensland outback from shades of ochre, brown and gold, to ochre, green and yellow.
I took dozens of photos of the landscape as we drove towards the South Australian border. These photos are not particularly noteworthy, other than the fact that we were driving through outback Queensland, and it was green.
We stopped in Thargomindah to replenish our supplies, to check the road to Innaminka in South Australia, and apply for a permit to cross the border. Why did we want to go to Innaminka? Because it’s a super cool name, what other reason did we need? 😊
While applying for the permit, we were told that the main route to Innaminka was closed due to road works. There was a station road detour in place that would take us across Cooper Creek. This would not normally be a problem, but, because of the rain, the Cooper was flowing. We asked around and got varying accounts of how deep the water was and how fast it was flowing. But with comments ranging from “Nah mate, wouldn’t tow a van over that.” And “I just called my boyfriend and he said he’d do it.” We thought it best just to go have a look-see and if it was doable, we’d do it. If not? Well, Innaminka wasn’t going anywhere.
But, before Innaminka we had to drive through the tiny town of Noccundra. Now, according to the 2016 Australian census, Noccundra has a population of 11, one occupied building, that being a pub, and …well that’s it. So of course, we decided to stay there for a couple of nights. We discovered three of the eleven residents live in the Noccundra pub, but I’m not sure where the other eight live.
We free camped across the road from the pub, on the banks of the Wilson River. It was a great little spot and we shared it with another four caravans/campers, not that we could see them, and about a gazillion insects, which was probably why we couldn’t see the other vans. 😊
We took the kayaks out a couple of times and explored the river and apart from the insects it was a lovely peaceful place to stay. I feel I should point out here that I’m not exaggerating about the insects. The flies worked the 7am to 7pm shift and the mosquitoes clocked on at precisely 7.01pm and off again at 6.59 am. I’m not sure if it is always like that, or if they were just making the most of the rain as well.
Now this is not a word of a lie, though sadly I don’t have photographic proof, but I got up before dawn on our last morning at Noccundra to take some sunrise shots. Knowing what to expect I wore jeans, boots, a long-sleeved shirt, a hat with mozzie net over it, and one glove. I needed one free hand to operate my camera. Within fifteen seconds of stepping outside, my bare hand turned black as it was attacked a mass of biting little f…… flying things.
PS
It was at Noccundra that we first realised that Chunky Bum, our delightful home on wheels, was most definitely not insect proof.
We continued to head west, our goal, Thargomindah. As per usual, we didn’t get to where we were heading. Get used to that.
We pulled over for a break at Lake Bindegolly National Park, between Cunnamulla and Thargomindah, (you’ve got to love these names) and surprise, surprise we decided to spend the night.
The National park consists of several salt and freshwater lakes and the Balonne highway seems to split the park in two. On the right, as you’re heading west, we were informed that the lakes were freshwater. Don’t quote me on this. There is a long walk around the lake, picnic tables and much wildlife to be seen, but no camping. On the left, the lake is salt, again don’t quote me, just as much wildlife, and wait for it…you can camp there. So that’s what we did, and it was a lovely place to spend the night.
We didn’t see much in the way of wildlife, except some birds. In particular, a pair of very industrious Crimson Chats. I followed them and photographed them for quite some time, then the female began flying erratically and flapping around on the ground in front of me. At first, I thought she was injured, and it took me a while to figure out what was happening. She of course, was not injured, but that’s what she wanted me to believe. Had I been a predator, I would have followed her, and left her precious chicks alone. And people think animals don’t have feelings, don’t love.
It was a great little bush camp spot, the only thing wrong were the burrs and prickles, there were millions of them, and most of them ended up in my socks. 😊
