Charleville – Monday

With our cable ties still firmly in place we left for Roma where BJ had recommended someone who could do a proper job on the brake. We were out of our cabin and at the place for 8:00, luckily for us they agreed to check it out. After Alex explained the problem they simply got on with the job and after about an hour the receptionist just printed out our invoice, the job was done and cheaply too.

Mitchell was our lunch stop and it was another nice little town with MASSIVE salad sandwiches at the Bakery. I hurt my arm trying to move one of the outside chairs they were so heavy. Just blocks of wood with small wrought iron backs. I’d love to know what the wood was. There were plenty of big hats and big dogs around the town.

We didn’t see many animals today, not living ones that is, only an echidna and a couple of feral goats but an awful lot of roadkill. In other places the roadside vegetation has been burnt and I wonder if that’s an attempt to keep native animals away from the road. I wish there was some way of protecting them.

I was very keen to see the “Vortex Guns” here in Charleville so as soon as we’d set up the camper we went to find them. I’d imagined giant muskets or something but of course they were nothing like that. Although it’s easy to laugh at the madness of thinking you could make rain fall by shooting into clouds the people were desperate for some drought relief at the time and would have thought anything was worth a try. Besides, Clement Wragge was a renowned meteorologist at the time so wouldn’t he know best?

We’d been warned that this wasn’t a good Caravan Park to stay in, far too crowded but we decided to check it out and I’m glad we did. We have a nice big site, the amenities are well maintained and the people very friendly so it seems fine to us. Alex has repositioned the car though so he doesn’t have to see the Dump Point!

There are some South Australians here who have extended their stay twice already just to avoid going further south and back to colder weather.

Egret at the pond near The Big Rig, Roma.

Kitchen in the Lenroy Slab Hut, built 1893 and home to 11.

Clever mechanism on an old dray to allow front wheels to turn.

More big Qld dogs.

Different rubbish bin, Mitchell

Stool that will never be stolen!

Between Bottle Trees and in front of a “Queenslander” house, Mitchell.

The Vortex Guns. Charleville.

Lovely memorial garden, Charleville.

Take your chance with the Fire Escape.

Need a hat?

Reclining Roo

 

 

The Queensland section