Outback Queensland

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Trip start
April 7, 2021
Outback Queensland BoomerangTravellers
Bunya Pines to Roma’s Bottle Trees
April 7, 2021 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
As our road trip began the rain didn’t impede
Flooded roads clearing as rivers slowly recede.
The clouds still heavy in a dark grey sky
Pastures lush with the grass growing high.

Cotton and russet coloured sourgum crops
Before a cabin in Dalby that’s our first stop.
Awoke to blue skies and warm sunshine
A trip up the mountain of tall Bunya Pines.

Face masks and covid restrictions were still in place
Pleasure to enjoy such an expansive open space.
Devoured delicious crusty meat pies, handmade
Watching wallabies rest under the Bunya trees shade.

Roadsides affected by numerous illegal prickly pear
Discovering their scourge of which I was unaware
Via a memorial to the hero grub-moth Cactoblastis
Which to the prickly pear was the perfect nemesis.

Driving onto Roma the land changed to flat plains
Roads mainly traffic free except for the road trains.
Hauling livestock crammed onto those 72 wheelers
Heading for sale yards run by rural auction dealers.

Roma is famous for bottle trees and the Big Rig
From the times for oil and water you had to dig.
No useable oil but gas was discovered underground
Also the Great Artesian Basin’s life source was found.Read more
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Outback Queensland BoomerangTravellers
Roma to Barcaldine
April 12, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 27 °C
Being in Beef Country we just had to try a steak
In a 750 gram prime rib Chris decided to partake.
Continued along the Warrego but not too far
Immersing ourselves in Mitchell’s artisan spa.

Charleville was a coach stop for the Cobb & Co
We were greeted by a special vintage car show.
Chris assisted in the morning cranking their cars
Evening entertainment was a Cosmos of stars.

From the Warrego we drove the Matilda H’way
Heading towards Barcaldine for our next stay.
At Blackall stopped by the Black Stump to rest
Beyond this very stump you’re ’Way out West’

Barcaldine’s known for shearers arguing their rights
The Labour Party born and to commemorate this site
There’s the Tree of Knowledge lit up for all to share
Take time to reflect on a wage system that is fair.

Ventured on a Sculpture Trail via Aramac to Lake Dunn
Milynda Rogers’ junk art was so interesting and fun.
Exhibits of lizards, turkeys, emus and jabirus
A horseback drover, footballer and kangaroos.

Being autumn it’s cooler, temperature is mild
Got excited seeing a mob of emus in the wild!
This drought ridden area blessed by rain for a few days
The grasses sprouting on which sheep and cattle graze.Read more
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Outback Queensland BoomerangTravellers
Longreach and Winton
April 16, 2021 in Australia
Lake Dunn’s water was an opaque milky hue
Picnicked aside with quirky old cabins in view.
Onto Longreach where we glamped in safari tents
And into the Qantas Founders Museum we went.

A hundred years since this iconic institution began
It’s global celebrations marred by a mass travel ban.
Promoted staycations have caused an outback boom
Serious research was required to secure future rooms!

A trip to Longreach would never be the same
Without a visit to the Stockman Hall of Fame.
With historic exhibits informative and iPod audible
A fabulous live show that’s amusing and insightful.

Required a day to chill-out, relax and refuel
Enjoying a long brunch and dips in the pool.
Absorbing the night sky in silence we sit
Relishing the warmth from our own fire pit .

Winton is famous for Opals and Waltzing Matilda
Dinosaur fossil tracks and Arno the wall builder.
We went to the open air cinema to watch a movie
Then to the Tattersalls Pub for a deserved coldie.

Onto Boulia known for the Min Min lights
Also overhead lines disappear from sight.
By now I’d developed the fly away wave
Bought a hat fly net which is a sanity save.Read more
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Outback Queensland BoomerangTravellers
Plenty Highway
April 19, 2021 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 29 °C
Where the Northern Territory starts the tarmac ends
Now 500kms of outback red dirt with hardly a bend.
Our Jeep handled this road better than we thought it might
Broke our journey at Tobermory Cattle Station for the night.

A central station with 13000 cattle is immense
Over 2 million hectares, that’s sure a lot of fence.
Vegetation sparse but escarpments we could see
Reminiscent of an extinct and ancient inland sea.

This land is vast yet not as flat as we believed
Roads rough but not deep rutted, we’re relieved.
A breakdown out here leaves you in rather a pickle
As most of the time you never see another vehicle.

The Plenty Highway is notoriously hard
Roadsides resembling a tyre graveyard.
For 4WD only and littered with car shells
Of unheeded 2WD that didn’t fair aswell.

Endless kms evoke mirages that bait
Seemingly real then readily evaporate.
Our constant dust cloud billowing out back
Settling over carcasses on side of the track.

On reaching bitumen again we knew Alice wasn’t far
Rejoiced in surviving and the performance of our car.
A couple of days needed before we collect our renter
Of an off road trailer to discover Australia’s Red Centre.Read more
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Trip end
April 21, 2021

Bunya Pines to Roma’s Bottle Trees

Roma to Barcaldine

Longreach and Winton

Plenty Highway