Along the Warrego

Day 3 – Sunday 21st August

We left Toowoomba early Sunday morning, determined to travel as far as possible that day.  Heading towards the Channel Country an hour later we drove through Dalby, population 12 000.

As we drove, we marvelled at the vastness of the scenery, acres and acres of endless cropping land.

The irrigation systems were very long, far too large to fit in the camera’s view. They were double the length of what I managed to snap.

The land between Dalby and Miles were dotted with huge grain silos. The contents moved by train.

The road continued on over the horizon.  Flat, flat land, very different for folks who are used to mountains.  Bumpy too, I could easily imagine being a pioneer in a horse and dray, only I daresay my seat springs were more comfortable after all.  The Warrego Highway continued like this  town after town.

We reached Miles (pop.1160) for morning tea and a good stretch.  We were quick to learn an important survival skill when travelling with children.  Upon entering town quickly locate a decent park.

We were favourably impressed with the park at Miles, lots of playing equipment for the children, big and little.

The tourist information were friendly and helpful.  They added another travel tip; do not drive over dead kangaroos on the road, their bones could easily puncture your fuel tank.  Duly noted.

Blade boards and scooters were always kept just under the seat by the back door.  First item out, last in.  An excellent addition to making everyone happier whilst travelling.

After Miles our plan was to continue on to Roma (Pop. 6000) for lunch.  However Bass fell asleep and as every parent knows, when a 4 month old baby sleeps you keep driving.  Fortunately I had sandwich makings and was able, with some juggling to make them in the back of the van.

Passing through Roma we continued onto Mitchell, (Pop. 1000) another hundred kms to the West.  The landscape was fairly similar to what we had seen all morning, flat, but this was cattle country.   We were amazed at the local wildlife, we saw emus, sadly many were dead, this was to become a common sight.

The sight of road kill had by now become quite common; not only emus but kangaroos too. Halfway between Mitchell and Morven we stopped at Mungallala (pop. 50) to attend to Bass, and barefoot we discovered cockspurs!  Painful! shoes were needed from here on.

At Morven,(Pop. 270) we re-fueled and left the Warrego Highway, turning North onto the Landsborough Highway. Anna Maria  had a turn at driving on this stretch and we rarely saw another vehicle. Late in the afternoon we came to the turn off to Augathella, but decided to push onto Tambo for the night.

We arrived at Tambo(Pop. 350) just before 6pm, a long day. We found a powered tent site ($32 for all of us) and quickly pitched our tents (2 x 4 man) in the fading light.  Proving the wisdom of another travel tip; keep torch easily located by the door. We soon found a rhythm in unpacking, with all having various roles.

Surprising was the lack of BBQ facilities at the caravan park, this continued to be our experience, I suppose most guests were travellers and most had caravans. Fortunately the local park had bbq facilites and a wonderful park which the children played on as we cooked tea.  We appreciated the shower facilites too, individual ensuites.  For some of the children it was their first night sleeping in a tent and they were most excited but it didn’t take long for all to be fast asleep.