To Roma and Beyond!

We left our campsite in Surat this morning and made our way first to the Shire Hall offices where they have free (and clean) hot showers. Feeling fresh we took it in turns to visit the Cobb and Co Museum (one of us had to stay with Cadbury outside) where we learnt about the history of the surrounding area when the Cobb and Co horse and carts were the life blood of rural outback towns such as Surat. They brought mail and goods, and transported travelers throughout the outback towns, stopping every 25km at various ‘change stations’. These change stations were usually an outback station where the driver could exchange his horses for fresh ones, and travelers could partake of a home made meal made by the lady of the house.

Next we headed to the large town of Roma. First stop, yes you guessed it - the visitor centre! Behind the centre is the Big Rig (a display including a giant mine shaft headframe explaining the exploration of oil and gas in the region) and nearby is a fully preserved historic hand built miner’s cottage that housed a family of 11.

We ate salad sandwiches, honey cake and chocolate muffins sitting in parkland along a creek with ducks napping in the sun close by.

We also visited Roma’s largest bottle tree before it was time for me to do some serious shopping at Woollies. Gadi took Cadbury for a walk and ended up finding a hairdresser to tame his wild hair.

Putting the shopping away in an already half full fridge was no easy feat! We put it away as quickly as possible, anxious to get on the road again before it got too dark.

We made it to our next stop at the small town of Injune, just 2 hours away from Carnarvon Gorge. We pulled up to our chosen free campsite at the Injune Rodeo Grounds at around 5.15pm. Enough time to set up, prepare dinner and enjoy a pretty sunset.

It was still hot when we got here, and for the first time on this trip mosquitoes came out in force. It’s now cooled down nicely and we should have a comfortable night’s sleep.

From Injune in Queensland, g’night xxLæs mere