Nobby

I know the title of today's post seems improbable but more on that later.

It rained during the night, making my decision to continue erecting the awning a good one and although I had a deal of trouble getting myself into the sleep state, once there, I resided soundly until woken at 6:30am by the rude interruption of a rather unpleasant dream. I increasingly have come to believe that these nightmares are behind me but unfortunately, they still make their way far enough up from conscience to cause havoc. This morning's episode was certainly no exception and made all the more difficult because there was no Sue to turn to for solace and reassurance. I did my best on my own.

That said, I ate a hearty breakfast and was packed and on the road just after 8:00 with the road ahead still full of surprises. The first fifteen kms provided a replay of the fabulously stark sandstone cliffs of Cania Gorge and I stopped to snap a few photos before turning onto the Burnett Highway which took me at a comfortable pace through Monto, Eidsvold and finally onto Mundubbera.

Situated in the heart of a citrus growing area, it naturally adds The Big Mandarin to the world of "big things" in Australia - on this trip alone we have seen the Big Mango, The Big Gumboot and now, I have witnessed the Big Mandarin. This viewing was not as east as others I have made, as the Big Mandy is not freely available to the public as it was grown in the private orchard of a caravan park. Viewing was free if you were a guest of the park and others had to pay for the privilege. I took exception to this rule and determined to launch a commando raid on the Big Mandy. My accomplice in this was Bob, a GN whose wife collects Big Thing photos. I climbed a tree and dropped into the compound and Bob handed me both cameras. After snapping the shots, I walked calmly passed the lady on the gate and gave her a self-satisfied smile. Bob was thrilled and his Missus - I guess it was his missus, you can't tell these days - gave me a big kiss.

After the thrill of the becoming one of the Dirty Baker's Dozen, I went into town looking for coffee and found a nice cup at the Bakery, along with a silverside and salad role ... well, the second one as the first one had a fly buzzing about under the clingwrap. That would be my lunch - the roll, not the fly. As usual, I asked lots of questions to which I got the one answer - "dunno". Despite this I went out for a walk along the main street. I have never seen so many funny business names in the one place. The second hand store was run by "The Dodgey Brothers"; the discount store was "Wayne's World"; the BP petrol station also sold "Korean Vegetables"; and the real estate agent was "GV Lohse", pronounced, and yes I checked it, "louse".

I was still laughing 25kms later, although the state of the road left a lot to be desired. It was one lane bitumen with suspension busting broken edges and in many places, wet soft mud lining both sides. Luckily, in more than fifty kilometers of these conditions, I only saw one other vehicle. I stopped near the historic homestead of Boondooma, at Carters Corner, where a grove of Bottle Trees have been planted and a lone covered picnic table was waiting for me. In the half hour during which I ate lunch, 24 vehicle, including 5 trucks went past in the opposite direction. I was certainly being looked after!

After lunch the conditions continued, although there were sprinklings of better road in between the bad. By the time I had left Durong South, Darr Creek and Jinghi behind me and reached Jandowea, it was two lane black top again and the major centre of Dalby wasn't far after.

Here's a thing: I think the good folk of Jandowea are missing a tourism chance. Surely they could promote themselves as The Gateway To Dalby!

I made the long run to, through and out of Toowoomba and started thinking on settling for the afternoon and with Warwick approaching, it seemed the logical spot. I had even rung and booked a site when a sign loomed up, advising that the turn off to "Rudd's Pub" was approaching. I don't know why, but I was interested and soon after making the turn, I was further advised that "Rudd's Pub" was to be found in the village of Nobby, a few kms hence. Now I was fascinated and as it turns out, totally justified in my decision.

Nobby is a small village but with many old and interesting buildings. Arthur Hoey Davis, aka Steel Rudd, wrote the famous farming father and son Dad and Dave into Australian literary history and did so from Nobby and from his farm called "Two Firs". It was at Nobby where Davis quietly imbibed ales whilst listening to and watching fellow farmers and it is thought they provided the rich characterisations for "On Our Selection", which have been mimicked ever since. The pub is full of local history and with camping available over the road - "two bucks mate if you want power" - it was an opportunity I have learned to accept. I had a few beers with locals during the afternoon and had summed this establishment up as a old pub which would struggle to do more than make a living. Sunset undid that conclusion, as people just kept arriving in cars, semi trailers and yes, believe it or not, on horse back. All told, 45 dinner guests and the service was quick and the food delicious. In my small part of the dining room, black and white photos jostled for space on the walls and detailed the history of Nobby. After eating, words were soon running out on the page and I even managed to squeeze in a half hour discussion with one of the local Rotarians. What a fabulous night ...

TODAY'S PHOTOS

... and then the first 35 car freight train rumbled past, horns blaring at the level crossing. As I finish this entry, the second has done an equivalent job, travelling in the opposite direction.

Where did I put those tablets?

Toowoomba - Chinchilla - Roma - Morven - Charleville

Toowoomba - Chinchilla - Roma - Morven - Charleville 621(1385)kms

Woke to an overcast Toowoomba, before dawn, after a settled night’s sleep, our first on the road snuggled up in the back Forester. Pack up was smooth and we were on the road by 7:30am. After fuel ($1.64/L) we were out of town by 7:45am.

Morven Cafe

Chinchilla was our morning tea stop and the Tourist Information Centre served us up a scrumptious and cheap Devonshire tea. The conversation with the lady serving us was interesting. She was the female equivalent of the Sheik of Scrubby Creek – a lady whose self-given title was the Cactoblaster Kid. Most likely in her early forties - although carbon dating can be unreliable - she was badly hungover from her hen's night. I couldn't describe how she looked without being cruel. In fact, to stay positive, let me say this ... she got our change right.

On to Roma and the Big Rig which is ... a ... big ... rig. It’s a show about the discovery and manufacture of natural gas. We avoided the commercial venture and had lunch with the ducks, although one of them asked me for two dollars when I took his picture. Sue took some pictures of the bottle trees. Fuel in Roma was $1.68/L.

Afternoon tea stop was at Morven ... one of those small villages you find a long way from civilisation. We ordered a chocolate milkshake (Sue) and a mug of tea (Peter) and really enjoyed our two chocolate milkshakes! In fact, it was the most enjoyable cup of tea I had ever tasted, given that it tasted like a chocolate milkshake ... which, in fact, it was. Sue photographed the public toilets with some unusual murals and an old shed made from squashed kerosene tins. Meanwhile I was pulling the hub apart on the trailer as the bearings seemed loose and was soon making do with half a split pin.

The land was getting flatter, the road speed limits higher and the road kill more prolific as we head to Charleville. It was a long day - 631 km - but a very friendly welcome at the Bailey Bar Caravan Park. After we ate Sue's steaks cooked in the camping kitchen, we were off to see a the Charleville Bilby Experience ... some say the lucky marsupial and judging from the roadside, I'd say they were right.

TODAY'S PHOTOS

The Forester had returned 11.43 L/100 km yesterday over the Ranges. I expect a much better result
tomorrow after the basically flat run

Yamba - Casino - Kyogle - Border Ranges - Toowoomba

Crossing the NSW/Qld border

Yamba - Casino - Kyogle -Toowoomba 393(764)kms 

Left Yamba in the morning and stopped for morning tea at New Italy, just south of Woodburn. A community of Italians from Verona, set out in the late 1880's for Australia. They were sold a pup on their passage by a shyster with an eye for the Pacific Solution and ended up in Northern Borneo, with a third of them dead from the passage in their unseaworthy ship. Somehow they struggled on to Noumea, where their vessel was condemned. Sir Henry Parkes stepped up and arranged travel for them the rest of the way to Sydney, where they arrived with more dead and most of the rest of them very ill. Despite this, within seven years, they had left Sydney and taken up this small part of the country where they established a bakery, wine shops and other enterprises to interact with the community.

After our cuppa, we left the coast at Woodburn and on through Casino and Kyogle before taking a detour through the Border Ranges. Our lunch stop was at Border Loop Lookout which showed us two things. First, engineers can sometimes be very clever and in this case designed a great loop in the passage of the rail track so it could gain height over a shorter distance. Below us at the lookout was the Border Loop, in the main line between Sydney and Brisbane.

The second was that it doesn't matter how far you go from civilisation, bogans will still turn up and wreck your lunch!

After lunch, we climbed higher and higher - to be fair, the car did most of the climbing - until we reached the NSW/Qld border at the very top of the ranges. The photo shows us about to drop over the edge into Qld. It was a steep and winding climb and a sudden and brutal descent. Once down the other side, we followed Running Creek (yes, I'm serious) through twists and turns and many creek crossings until the valleys widened and found the road to Toowoomba.

TODAY'S PHOTOS

We had a slow tea because the gas stove has packed it in and we went for a walk after dinner which included a few bevies in the Federal Hotel. The evening was chilly but we were snug in the back of the Forester.