On the road again….

All set up for a cosy night

Our big adventure starts here - finally, after lots of planning and organising, upgrading and list making, on a sunny Wednesday 3rd of June 2026, we were ready to go! 

Navigating our way through the traffic and the many merges on busy freeways, we made our way past Ipswich, cruised up the narrow and winding Cunningham Gap and across the tablelands, through Warwick and on to Inglewood, our first stop. We decided to spend our first night in a caravan park, on power and water, to iron out any issues and ensure our next few nights “off grid” would go as smoothly as possible. 

After setting up the van, we wandered along the Main Street, checking out the local shops and information centre and chatting with the barmaid while we enjoyed a celebratory drink in the pub. As the sun disappeared so did the warmth so we opted to cook and eat inside - it’ll take us a couple of days at least to get used to chilly nights, I think!

Dinner at Nindigully Pub

Our adventure continued next morning; after a walk to the local bakery to purchase a "mega grain" loaf, we drove out of Inglewood and continued west, stopping for fuel in Goondiwindi and continuing along the bumpy outback road to join our friends, Maryanne and Neil, at Nindigully, a place we last visited in 2019. We parked near the walking track along the Moonie River; unlike our last visit it is full of water this time, nice and close to the iconic Nindigully Pub - one of Queensland's oldest licensed pub - and where we had decided to have dinner that night. It was great to catch up with our friends; we are crossing paths as they head north from Victoria and we head west. A social afternoon and evening followed, with lots of laughs and quite a few drinks!

All aboard!

Next morning we headed north to join the Inland Way at St George, stopping at Surat to check out the Cobb and Co Changing Station Museum. It was a fascinating insight into life during the stage coach era, where journeys were marked by the places where horse teams were changed and travellers were offered meals and drinks, often at local pubs or private farms. There was lots to see, including a replica stage coach and many other mementoes of life in the 1800s. 

The sculptures were amazing

 

Next stop was Roma, where the Warrego Way intersects with the Great Inland Way. We’d visited twice before but it was our friends’ first time, so they were keen to see everything whilst we visited a couple of new sights including the fascinating Saleyards display…Roma has the largest saleyards in the Southern Hemisphere, and their interactive display explains all about cattle types, transport and sales. A sculpture exhibition was also being assembled and we marvelled at the cleverness of some of the exhibitors. Later in the afternoon, the four of us met at the Western Queensland Spirit Distillery, where we all enjoyed sampling the local produce. Dinner that night was a delicious roast cooked by our friends, followed by a Yatala berry and apple crumble pie, which we’d brought from the Gold Coast. Plus a couple of drinks, of course!

When we woke on Saturday morning it was a chilly 1 degree - thank goodness for our diesel heater, with a remote control to start it without leaving the warmth of bed! Maryanne and Neil were up and organised early, keen to continue on their journey north, while we had a more leisurely start, with a trip into town for a few supplies before hooking on the van and continuing west. 

Our first stop was Muckadilla, where we enjoyed coffee in the “Mucka Bup”. Originally we had intended staying here; it has great facilities for camping either on power or free, with a pool for summer, a great looking restaurant and a very friendly owner. The ladies’ toilet even has a “Dolly dunny” with all things Dolly Parton! But it was too early in the day for stopping, so we continued through Mitchell, and on to Morven where we thought we’d get lunch but the kitchen is closed because, according to the publican, there are so few travellers in this time of fuel uncertainty. So, after a drink and a chat with the publican, we headed 1.3 kilometres out of town to “Gidgee’s camp” located on a working local farm.

Gidgee campfire

Here we met Kylie, the owner, and she led us to a flat, drive through site, close to the fire pit. We joined other travellers in sunset drinks around the fire, retiring to our van soon after sunset, when it turned very chilly!

Next morning, once the sun rose and the temperature crept above zero degrees, we went for a stroll around the paddocks, admiring quirky iron sculptures and avoiding the livestock grazing behind the electric fence. Soon after breakfast we packed up and hit the road again - a short drive of less than an hour to Charleville. After checking out the local attractions at the visitors centre we pulled into the Cobb and Co Caravan Park, our home for the next four nights. Once we were all set up, we unloaded the bikes, ensured the tires were pumped up and the brakes and gears were working and rode to the local RSL club for a well-earned lunch.  Later in the afternoon we went to the “Big red shed” to listen to the “Moldy oldies” play a range of well known, mainly country, tunes, before returning for a pizza and a quiet night in.

All set up ready for the game

On Monday we were not moving, so it was a “pottering” day, doing a few odd jobs and checking out the town. We have visited Charleville before and enjoyed reacquainting ourselves with a few of the local attractions. The afternoon was “the big freeze” footy game at the MCG, so we set up the TV outside and had a sausage sizzle lunch before settling down to watch the Demons beat the Magpies in a close fought tussle. It was tense for a while but, in the end, Martin was very happy!

On Tuesday we reacquainted ourselves with the town, visiting a few shops for supplies, enjoying coffee at the local bakery and spending a fascinating time at the local Historic House Museum. With numerous rooms set up to resemble days gone by, wool displays, machinery displays and a range of old vehicles, there was a lot to see and we really enjoyed it. 

We met some fellow travellers at afternoon drinks, swapping stories about favourite camping spots, great achievements and small disasters as the sun set over the horizon. A few raindrops fell but not enough to worry us, but more was predicted for the next day.

Bilbies in the dark

We’d made a booking to see Bilbies on Wednesday morning so we were up early and off to the Information Centre in time for the show. The presenter was very knowledgeable and passionate about all things to do with Bilbies and the threats they face, particularly from feral cats and foxes. We saw a couple of lively Bilbies in their darkened enclosure, going about their nocturnal activities. Later we filled the car with diesel and shopped for some supplies as we’re moving on tomorrow. The rain started in earnest just after lunch so we had a quiet afternoon in the caravan, sorting out a couple of storage spaces and relaxing with a book.

Later in the afternoon, between rain showers, we ventured down to the Cattle Camp Hotel, so named because of its proximity to the saleyards, for a quiet drink at another famous watering hole. We reflected on our week of travelling and how much we were enjoying being on the road again! We returned home in time for packing up ready for another move tomorrow - further into the outback - Quilpie!