Bingara >  Warialda >  North Star > Boggabilla > Goondiwindi > Miles > Roma > Injune (around 1,000km driven)

The plan was simple: drive to Goondiwindi (172km) and overnight there, drive to Roma (343km) and overnight there, then do the final leg to Carnarvon Gorge (242km), where we would spend 4 nights. If only it could have worked out like that.

The drive from Bingara to Goondiwindi is all bitumen but a bit rough around the edges. Have to drive slowly on this one.. We arrived just before lunch at the Goondiwindi Top Tourist Park, and were the only ones in a massive area – not much shade, not much grass. We set up then headed into town to have a look around and particularly to see the Victoria Hotel. 

In the afternoon we made a booking for 4 nights at Carnarvon Gorge – the Takarakka Bush Resort. Shortly after, I got a call from the resort advising that because of all the rain, and with more on the way, the access road is flooded in a couple of places. This is a real blow as we have been looking forward to seeing the Gorge since we first started planning – we had told everyone the Gorge would be our first real place to visit. 

We looked for alternatives – going out to Charleville and Longreach is just too far west for this trip; going towards the coast would only be heading into a hell of a lot of rain which refused to go away. So we decided to sit it out for a couple of days and see what happens.

The Caravan Park office booked the Victoria Hotel courtesy bus for us, and we had dinner there with another couple of travellers. I ordered 2 crumbed lamb cutlets and when the meal arrived it looked massive. But then the waitress came out with a plate and another cutlet on it, explaining that the chef felt guilty that the cutlets looked so small so he did me another one. Now that would never happen in Sydney.

We decided to stay in Goondiwindi the next day and called to see my sister’s mother in-law (Stacia Lawless) in a local nursing home. She is 93 and has lived in Goondi since she first came to Australia from Ireland in 1963. We talked about the good days and her life on the Waterford property just out of Goondi. We also looked at the museum, which is pretty impressive. 

That night it poured rain and the camp site became a water-covered quagmire. Moving in and out of the van was awful. Next morning was dry but the mud remained at our doorstep.  The door mat was 25mm under water (totally ridiculous says Kerry), especially since the lagoon hadn’t risen – just really bad drainage in the caravan park.

So we were off to Roma by 8am, not that we were desperate – but we were glad to see the back of that site and would not stay there again (especially at $38 a night). Up to Moonie (really just a roadhouse) then Miles, a proper town.

Stopped at Condamine, a very small town, then at the Condamine River crossing where we were amazed at the flood level indicator which just showed how high the record 2011 flood level was – 15.5m, way above the other markers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also stopped at Dogwood Creek, where the nearby sign tells us the the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt named the creek on his 31st birthday on 23 Oct 1844. So there you go.  Both rivers were flowing high. 

 

 

The road was mostly bumping us around a fair bit, which was a tad unfair as it was Kerry at the wheel, but with some pretty good stretches now and again. Slow travelling. From Miles we turned west for Roma on a pretty good and busy road. The landscape was generally flat, in fact flat as far as the eye can see – as flat as a plate of stale beer as a fellow I once worked with would say. We sa a lot of prickly pear which surprised us as we had thought that there had been a massive eradication program to get rid of this. Obviously it did not work.  Lots of young ones springing up and so many ancient looking specimens – massive). So sad to see.

Got to Roma early afternoon and we were given a great drive-through site with a concrete slab next to Mobi. Actually 2 sites as there is nobody else here, not bad for $35 a night. The facilities are good, although the Ladies near us is closed so Kerry has a walk to get to the other facilities. Nothing is new but it is all perfectly functional. There are some bad reviews of this park in Wikicamps and in the peak season we can see how tight it may be – it’s physically small.  But we are loving the space and after a swim in the pool we go into town to have a look around. 

Roma is a really nice place with some interesting architecture, including the traditional grand old pub, which now seems to be not a pub. We have a drink in an extremely modern and chic bar/eatery which would not have been out of place anywhere in Sydney. Kerry had a pink lemonade, Des had a schooner of Lashes.

Next morning we filled up with fuel and drove to Injune, the closest place to the Gorge, where we will wait to see when we can get in. It’s a good road and we were surprised that it was not dead flat. This is quite attractive country with rolling hills and mountains in the distance. We see Mount Hutton which is quite striking.

Injune is a surprisingly functional and busy town – it is certainly not on the way down like so many small country towns. It was only gazetted in 1922 after being established as a camp at the end of the railway line in 1920, built to support the development of the Mount Hutton Land soldier settlement blocks after the First World War.  Doesn’t so much of our history start from there? Today cattle and timber production are the main industries. But now the town is also the gateway to the fabulous Carnarvon Gorge in the Carnarvon Ranges (if only we could pass through that gateway!). A more recent development is the coal seam gas industry which has developed through the area. Is it this that has brought a look of “going somewhere” to the town?

At the Tourist Information centre the receptionist was extremely helpful trying to find out what was happening in the Gorge. But we didn’t get good news. An electrician had gone into the Gorge this morning but said the water was still high and not suitable for normal vehicles, which I guess includes a caravan. As well the main track up the gorge was closed although it was expected to open today. So more waiting time for us.

The caravan site is unusual as we have to self check in – pick any site we want, then put the $30 (a night) in an envelope with a registration form and then into a box. Kerry reckons she could put her hand through the letterbox and take it all. There was only a couple of other RVs there so we had the pick of the place. We put Mobi up against a concrete slab and set up. The facilities are all there, clean and fully operational. But not modern, which does not worry us at all. This place has the most signs around the place seeking to change the behaviour of travellers (good luck) – all parks have them but this one seemed to have them everywhere – use the toilet brush, clean the hand basin with cloth provided, leave the place tidy, do not set fires, etc, etc.  Big downside is that there was no internet and even Kerry’s Telstra phone is struggling. Apparently a big storm last week has “stuffed things up”, as a neighbour told Kerry.

In the afternoon we went back to the Tourist Info to find not much has changed. The official status is that the road into the Gorge is closed. However, the people at the resort tell us that a construction crew has left this morning with a 24 foot caravan and had had no problems. The Tourist Info staff also tell us that they understand that the main track is still closed. 

We are increasingly frustrated with this but really want to get into the Gorge even if only for a limited time. So our plan now is to get away early from Injune tomorrow and either head into to the park with Moby, or drive on to Rolleston (~70km past the park entrance), leave Mobi there, and come back in The Cruiser to the Gorge. So tomorrow night we could be camping.

 

 

 

In the afternoon we drove north for about 40 km to get to Lonesome Lookout, with spectacular views over the Arcadia Vally. Fabulous views looking north. Check out the photos in the link below.

Next day, now 27 Feb, we wake to blue skies and with a lot of hope. We fuel up early and drive north – its about 150km to the Gorge. About half way we go through some dramatic sandstone cliffs in some lovely country.

But as we go further north we increasingly see water on the road verges and on adjacent land. We cross over a few creeks and see angry, muddy floodwaters fighting each other to get to the bottom first. At the turnoff to the Gorge we see that the road is closed. So sad. At Rolleston we get phone reception and call them. The sad news is that they got another 180mm of rain in the catchment last night and the roads will be closed for a few days at least. Many towns such as Emerald are cut off.

So that’s it for our attempts to get in to walk Carnarvon. We say goodbye to the people in the Takarakka Bush Resort in the Gorge who have helped us so much and turn east, into what looks like even more rain.

Photos associated with this blog can be seen here – click here

A short video is here – click here