QI Tour - Thargomindah to Cunnamulla (Day 29)

Reluctantly but sensibly, we made the grown up decision and realised not so much our limitations but that going forward with our plan to drive the 300 plus kms to Eromanga on the Natural Science Loop was placing us too close to where those limitation are these days. Too much risk.

So instead, we did something we hate doing and retraced our steps, 200kms back to Cunnamulla. I was quite nervous about the drive, because there were some narrow sections and questionable road edges on that path too but at least there was much less of them.

In the end, the drive was relatively easy and almost all the passing of other traffic happened on wider sections. Only once did we have to drop the left wheels onto the dirt but it was full of rock and provided stable footing. On another occasion, seeing traffic coming in both directions, I pulled over on a wide section to let them pass before we returned to the narrows I could see ahead.

Back at Eulo after 135kms, we had tea and discussed our future travels. This episode has convinced me that our "adventure" touring is over. Highways and good country roads from now on and our time towing is closer to ending than it has been since the beginning. Maybe another 7 years will do and one more long trip. A return to the Centre and the West are off the agenda for good now but perhaps a return to Tassie might be worthwhile.

The RFDS was in town, their plane parked on the gravel which makes up both the parking area and taxiways and runway. They fly into Eulo once a fortnight, offering GP services and on alternate fortnights, a physiotherapist or a podiatrist. Sue had a chat to them in the local hall.

As it was a few days ago, the Queen of Eulo Opal Centre was doing a good trade, with seven vans parked in the main (perhaps only) street. No one was at the Hotel.

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The remaining 65kms to Cunnamulla were comfortable and we headed out to a new camp we hadn't tried before, The Warrego River Tourist Park, located right beside the Warrego just to the south of Cunnamulla. and it only took a short while to realise why it has such a good reputation. Just a one night stay and then off to Charleville and get the tour back on track. Lovely spot and Sue sat by the river and watched the abundant birdlife and a passing rowing team! We both enjoyed a sunset over the Warrego which was probably the best on tour so far.

QI Tour - Cunnamulla to Thargomindah (Day 26)

Our departure from Cunnamulla was delayed for a short visit back into town for Sue to have a look in at the Cunnamulla Hot Springs. Since "that thing" we have been reluctant to use a lot of shared facilities but the baths here were a new thing since our last visit. Worth a look apparently. Placed high on the bank above the Warrego and under the shade of some big River Red Gums, it looks an ideal place to soak in the soothing hot waters of the GAB. A little pricey for my liking.

Fueled up, we headed west on the Adventure Way, further into the Outback.

Eulo was our only stop on the journey and one of those where you admire the folks who remain and fight on but its obvious that sooner or later, the European history of this place which dates back to the 1860's, will come to a close. The Post Office, Police Station and General Store have been permanently closed. There is no fuel available. Its 25 years since environmentalists forced the ending of the World Lizard Racing Championships which had been a major tourist attraction for 30 years. Probably fitting that we stopped first to see Kenny, the smiling diprotodon. 

Still going is Paroo Leather, where you can purchase exquisite, hand made leather products from Tom and Helen Rosenow. Tom is a lovely bloke and we chatted for some time about his work and his town. His livelihood is totally dependent on the passing trade and its been a tough season but he just engages a slow smile and carries on the conversation.

Across the road is the Eulo Queen Hotel, a rebuild from the original which burnt down. Isabel Gray was the lady in question, who was born and raised in Switzerland, was well educated and spoke several languages ... and then was "sent to Australia" in 1868. Subsequent descriptions of her probably explain why! Married three times, she owned and ran the hotel, made her money trading opal found on the Yowah fields to the north with men in need of hospitality and built up a wild reputation. If the grog in the bar didn't lubricate opals from the men's safe keeping, then the entertainment her selection of "girls" provided did. The self-declared Queen of Eulo was often in trouble with the constabulary but even the loss of her liquor licence didn't stop her. She simply transferred the licence to a puppet among the staff and continued straight on.

Larger than life, she was a bawdy schemer, always on for a good time which always involved grog, sex and a profit. After her third husband died, ending a fractious relationship which began with her having the advantage of a 24 year age gap (him 29, her 53), better roads and a decline in opal prices and aging removing her charm, she went broke and left town, eventually dying in a the mental ward in a Toowoomba, in poverty and madness.

The current owner opened the pub for us and although his taciturn nature and grumbling about the lack of trade was a far cry from the ebullience reputed to have been Isabel's stock in trade, the seeking of profit was the same. Two cans of beer cost us $20. As another local said, "he chases them away".

Up the street, past all the other closed businesses and services, you pass a rather flash looking church. Apparently God is still a going concern in Eulo, ironic as that seems. There is also a rather pessimistic air raid shelter, built during the second world war to save the locals from Japanese aircraft. How they could have penetrated this far inland is a mystery?  Further on, The Eulo Queen Opal Centre is worth a visit. It trades on the name in legend only and is a stand alone business which offers good prices for various presentations of opals. There are also local history books and merch available, they serve a decent cup of coffee and are up for a chat. Their trade, apparently, is still going strong. I wonder why?

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Back on the narrow bitumen for the last two thirds of the trip to Thargomindah, there was little variation to the scenery or the level of road kill. There are some places that just take perseverance to reach. Our first impressions of "Thargo" were positive, from the welcome at the information centre through to service at the pub, where we washed down the road miles after setting up at out digs, a brief drive down to the Bulloo River and a picnic spot called Pelican Point.