The Rest of our Queensland Trip

 After Cania Gorge we continued to head north.  However, at this stage we were pretty much just covering ground we have been on before, so not playing the tourist.  

We did need to stop for a morning cuppa, and the blink and you miss it locality of Jambin was the ideal spot.  Initially, we had planned to pull up in the rest area and use the thermos we had boiled that morning, but when we saw a Coffee sign we had to support the little business.  What was extra surprising was the fact that it was a Sunday morning.

This little building was only opened at the beginning of 2023 and houses the local post office and they also serve coffee, cool drinks and prepackaged snacks.  There were three young Italian women there, who have all settled in the area.  Jambin is set in a valley boasting lots of crops and cattle.  Other than this business, it has a pub, school, hall and rest area.  Of course the coffee was excellent, being made by an Italian lady.

By lunch time we had reached our final destination - the Rockhampton area.  We spent the next few days here, just hanging out with our friends.  It is always great to catch up.

While up there, the weather was providing a “Polar Blast” across the east coast of the country.  It was cold enough for snow at home, and while much warmer up north, it was still very cold by their standards.  We didn’t reach 20 degrees C from the time we reached Rocky.

On our return trip we pretty much retraced our steps for the first little while.  We wanted to stay in Biloela on the first night, but they were booked out, so we decided to free camp back at Jambin, which is about 30kms north.  We knew there was a good camp  area behind the hall and could enjoy a pub meal in the evening.  This is a popular  donation camp and even has power, however, all the powered sites behind the hall were taken, so we took the one at the front.  We had a rather lazy afternoon, which was just what the doctor ordered.

There was a sign, dating from Australia’s Bicentenary back in 1988 that shed a bit more light on the area.  It was interesting to learn that “Jambin” is the aboriginal word for echidna, which made sense, as we had seen an echidna logo out the front of the school. It was officially named in 1923 by the railway department.  It was also interesting to read what crops were grown in the area at the time and cattle breeds that were on local properties.  Sadly, much has faded and you can’t read the names of all the properties that are shown on the map.

I forgot to take a photo of the sunset, but the colours in the sky looking west in the morning were beautiful and soft.  You couldn’t really see the sunrise due to all the campers out the back of the hall.  The building is the former railway station, now on private land.

The reason we wanted to be in Biloela was the fact that the Queensland Heritage Machinery Rally was being held over the next three days.  It was a special year for them as Biloela is celebrating its centenary this year.  It appears that much of this area was officially named about then, when the railway came through.

There was all sorts of machinery on display.

This Howard tractor is very similar to the first tractor my grandparents had on their farm back in the 1950s.

Our mate took part in a blacksmithing workshop and made a pair of tongs.  He had a great day.

After we had a look around in the morning, we continued on our way.  We always have fun spotting the bottle trees.

We weren’t sure how far we would get that day and thought that we may once again stay at Gayndah, but we were still feeling fresh and there was plenty of daylight left, so we kept on our way.  We had heard that there was a good free camp at the rest area at Ban Ban Springs, so headed for there.  We had no idea what to expect.

When we arrived, we realised that we knew the rest area, just hadn’t approached it from the Gayndah direction.  It is on the intersection of two highways.  We had even had lunch here on one of our previous trips north.  We particularly remember the blue eared honeyeaters, always on a look out for a  treat. 

Yes, it was a great place to camp.

There is actually a spring that you can see bubbling away at the rest area.

You can see why it is an important place for the aboriginals.

It was a beautiful evening, with a gorgeous sunset.

As it was getting rather cool, Mick got out the fire pit.  A pleasant way to spend the evening.

We were thankful for the diesel heater, as in the morning we woke to a very decent frost.  Not what you expect in Queensland.

It was a lovely, misty sunrise.

I must admit, that after taking those photos it was back to our warm bed for a bit.

From here it was mostly following the New England Highway south.  We skirted around the busyness of Toowoomba and saw this cute church somewhere along the way.

We reached the fruit growing area of Stanthorpe that day.  Stanthorpe is known for its cold weather and didn’t disappoint.  We had cold and very windy weather for most of the way home.

Continuing south, we spied this patchwork bus parked in a caravan park.

After Tamworth, we turned west onto the beautiful Liverpool Plains.  They are such a beautiful sight.

I must say that we didn’t expect to see canola in bloom this early.  It adds such a pop of colour.

Our last night was spent camped at the Gunnedah Showgrounds.  Gunnedah is home to Mick’s favourite painted silo featuring the poem “My Country”.

From there it was just the trip home on familiar roads, leading to rain as we dropped down into the Bathurst area.  The first rain we had seen for a while.  We had missed the worst of the extremely cold weather while away, but it was still quite a shock to the system.

Although we came home sooner that originally planned, we had a wonderful time away, visiting both new and familiar areas.  We can certainly see why people head north for the winter.

Now, to actually stay home for a little while will be nice.