Day 1 - Brisbane to Roma - June 2021
We left in the dark and were climbing the new Toowoomba bypass by daylight, making Roma by mid-afternoon. It was a smooth trip under clear winter skies, with some interesting side trips on the way. It was good to be on the open road again, with that feeling of wide open space all around.
Yuleba was one of our little side trips, just off the highway. It settled in 1865, but now has a population fewer than 400. The town featured prominently in the history of the Cobb & Co. Coach service, with plenty of information in a park at the town's entry. The last horse drawn service in Australia made its way from Surat to Yuleba in 1924.
Our next side trip was out from Wallumbilla, in search of the old Chadford State School Heritage Site. It was well off the beaten track, but with luck, we found it. This was my dad's first one-teacher school posting back in 1962. I was only five at the time and not yet at school, but I remember the place well. It was in the middle of nowhere, and still is.
It was interesting to see the commemorative plaque marking the site. The man who now owns the property happened to be at the front gate and was a wealth of information talking about families who would have been at the school when we were there. After this trip down memory lane it was only a short drive to Roma, where we spent our first night. |
Roma has the distinction of being the first town gazetted in the new colony of Queensland. It was gazetted in 1862 and had three hotels before any homes were built. By 1903 it had twelve hotels. I am not sure how many pubs the town now has, but surprise, surprise, we didn't sample any.
Roma was very sleepy on this Saturday afternoon, and so were we. I enjoyed walking around admiring their neat streets full of bottle trees before retiring early to bed.
Roma was very sleepy on this Saturday afternoon, and so were we. I enjoyed walking around admiring their neat streets full of bottle trees before retiring early to bed.
Day 2 - Roma to Carnarvon Gorge
It was a very chilly start to the day (2 degrees), but we hit the road early and planned to stop for breakfast at Injune. Sadly, Injune sleeps in in June on Sundays. The only place open was the small town service station. We refuelled and ordered coffee, but I would strongly advise against this. They had a great deal of trouble processing orders. They took orders, but just didn't get around to filling them. It wasn't slow service. It was no service. After many complaints from waiting customers a lady came from the back and started making the back log of coffees and the girl on the till seemed oblivious to why people were upset. When the coffee finally came it was definitely not worth the wait.
This small hiccup did not dampen our day however. How could one feel anything but exhilaration to be alive on such a beautiful day under such a beautiful sky? We took a short detour off the road just north of Injune to catch a glimpse of the Dingo Barrier Fence. This fence is the longest fence in the world, approximately 5,300 kilometres. It stretches from Jimbour on the Darling Downs and ends west of Eyre Peninsular on the cliffs of the Nullarbor Plains.
This small hiccup did not dampen our day however. How could one feel anything but exhilaration to be alive on such a beautiful day under such a beautiful sky? We took a short detour off the road just north of Injune to catch a glimpse of the Dingo Barrier Fence. This fence is the longest fence in the world, approximately 5,300 kilometres. It stretches from Jimbour on the Darling Downs and ends west of Eyre Peninsular on the cliffs of the Nullarbor Plains.
About 110 kilometres north of Injune we turned off the highway and headed into Carnarvon Gorge, through more spectacular countryside.