Chapter 4 - Into Queensland

Day 19 – Tuesday 16 June – Moree to Thallon - 184 km

Our day on the road started just after 9am after successfully maneuvering off our very tight site. It was sunny and warm.

Not long after leaving Moree we had to pull off the road to let a cotton harvester go past.

Above: Cotton Harvester

By 10:45 we were in Mungindi whose main claim to fame is that it is the only town in Australia that has the same name both sides of a state border - which is marked by the Barwon River. The town of around 500 people has two police stations and two time zones in the summer.

Mungindi is also known for its sculpture trail, all items in which were made by a local man who tragically died some years ago. All items were in my blog on an earlier trip.

Mungindi also has a distinctive 'marker' that defines where the original state border was agreed between NSW and Queensland surveyors in 1865. "One Ton Post" replaced the original metal peg.

We also realised that Mungindi is not the place to live if you are keen on rabbits. See sign below.

Above: Shirley checking out 'One Ton Post'

Below: An interesting sign

After a cuppa we were back on the road and were soon in Thallon (pop. 231), known for its excellent silo art and sculptures around the town. We paid our $10 and set up camp on a powered site in the town RV Park - overlooking the silos below.

Above: Thallon Silo Art

Below: Four of the sculptures

A two km walk around town - after lunch - provided the above photos, a visit to the pub for an ice-cream and a photo of the wombat below. 

The Thallon wombat has a special connection to the northern hairy-nosed wombat with some of the earliest specimens found in the area. There are only 400 Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombats left on earth and they were known as Yaminon in the local indigenous language.

Above: Hairy Nosed Wombat

Book reading, sudoku, blog updates, coffee and planning filled out the afternoon, not to mention chatting to a neighbour who had the need to fully explain why he uses Yokohama tyres on his twin-cab ute. 

The cool of the evening drove us inside but not before I snagged a sunset photo.

Above: Sunset at Thallon

After dinner I stepped out side and took another photo of the painted silos. My camera and my skill levels do not do the scene justice - but the following gives a rough idea.

Above: The painted silos at night

Day 20 – Wednesday 17 June – Thallon to Roma - 288 km

Early to bed & early to rise,
Makes a man ready for a pleasant sunrise.

I woke at 6:45 and detected the opportunity for a sunrise photo - which was scheduled for 6:55 am. Shirley slept on.

I took a photo to the east and another photo to the west. Note the change in colour of the silos - with the morning sun dominating.

Above: Sunrise to the east

Below: Silos to the west

Early showers and breakfast made for an early start on the road - just after 8am.

Our first detour was to check out the Nindigully Pub. “The Gully” is one of Queensland’s oldest hotels, with its license being issued in 1864 after operating as shearer’s accommodation for the Nindigully Station. From the late 1800s the Nindigully Pub was a Cobb and Co coach change over station. Today, the pub has become a favourite watering hole and camping spot amongst locals and travellers.

Above: "The Gully"

Below: The road was flat with a head wind

We stopped for a coffee in St George (pop. 3130) which remembers actor Hugh Jackman making his 'breakout' movie Paperback Hero in 1999 in this region.

On we pressed and stopped for a break in Surat (pop. 402) which has a museum that features a Cobb & Co staging post and stagecoach.

Above: My form of travel to primary school in central Victoria

Below: Memories of avoiding school during shearing time on the farm 

We checked into the Gun Club in Roma (pop. 6838) for three nights just before 1pm.

After camp was established and lunch was eaten we headed to the "Outback Sculpture" exhibition - a wonderful annual event that features extraordinary work from very skilled people - one of whom was only 14 when his work was completed. We also saw the 2024 exhibition. Most of the sculptures were for sale.

Three samples follow - the first was my favourite.

Click here to see all of my sculpture photos

We stocked up on food and headed back to camp. It was a relaxing evening and we were able to resist the temptation to watch the 'State of origin' on the big screen in the club house.

Day 21 – Thursday 18 June – Roma 

The weather looked very ordinary as we got ready for a day of R&R. It could not start until some computer bank business was attended to.

That done we headed into Roma for a walk around the streets. The town is more depressing than inspiring. Morning tea was back at camp.

After lunch we tried again and scored photos of the 100 metre mural at the racecourse. I provide it here in three bits.

I had to take a photo of the sign below and wondered how many readers of this blog buy 20 shirts at a time. Free delivery sounds like a good idea.

Around 4:30 pm we wandered down to the Gun Club club-rooms and had a couple of drinks while we watched 'wanna-be-shooters' try to shoot flying things out of the air. It was a pleasant 45 minutes. Not many achieved their ambition.

Day 22 – Friday 19 June – Roma 

Day 22 started the same as the previous 21 - I was first out of bed. It was sunny and windy although the forecast was for rain. 

Exercises were the first order of the day.

Then a 2 km walk around the Roma Bush Gardens - which was a walk around a lake with plenty of birds to be heard and seen. Some were photographed.

Above: The lake around which we walked

Below: Can you see the bird on right in the photo on the left?

Above: Three of the regal managers of the lake

[Australasian Darter, Little Pied Cormorant, Great Egret]

There were four or five Superb Fairy Wrens who looked like they were trying to select mates. They let us get close enough to get a few photos. The photo below has two males and one female with lots of antics going on.

Above: Three of the participants in our entertainment

For lunch we called into the local bakery and had our first pies of the trip. They were superb.

Around 1:30 strong winds brought light rain so we moved indoors and relaxed.

Day 23 – Saturday 20 June – Roma to Lake Maraboon (Emerald) – 429 km

It was a non-rushed departure around 9:15 as it was to be a casual day. After 100 km we stopped at Injune (pop. 429) for coffee. The Coffee shop closed early to support the nearby ‘art exhibition’ opening. We were invited – so we went.

It was not a big room – maybe two normal bedrooms in size – around 25 people milling about – free instant coffee and home made sausages rolls and cakes. We admired the work of local artists – and ate the sausage rolls. Luckily anything we fancied had already been sold.

Above & Below: Two items of art on display

Above: Two signs worth a smile

Onwards we pressed. The day was split into three even sections. First, up-hill from Roma to the peak of the Great Dividing Range (445 m), then downhill for a long time, then an even/flat stretch at the end of the day. Great driving conditions for most of it.

There were lots of heavily grassed areas and a number of majestic rocky formations. The contrasting cloud formations also kept us interested.

The following photos show some of the scenes on display...........

We stopped in Rolleston (pop. 132) for a lunch break, then moved onto Springsure (pop. 950) to pick from one of two spots for the night. Unfortunately both were full and did not have room for us – so on we pressed to Lake Maraboon – where we had a booking from tomorrow – for four nights. Lake Maraboon is around 24 km south of Emerald (pop. 14,900) – which is on the ‘Tropic of Capricorn’.

We scored a spot and pitched camp. It was around 23 degrees at 5pm. Our ‘casual’ day worked out to be quite lengthy.

Left-overs for dinner presented lovingly by master chef Shirley.

Day 24 – Sunday 21 June – Lake Maraboon 

It was easily our warmest night of the trip to date. However the temperature started dropping around 5am and kept dropping even when the rain started around 9am – as many campers were packing up.

We needed to move onto our pre-booked site so we waited for a break in the weather. These words were produced – and photos were edited - while I waited for that break.

The break came just after 10am and camp was re-established by 11am.

Lake Maraboon has three times the capacity of Sydney Harbour and is the 2nd biggest lake in Queensland. It apparently has heaps of fish in it. At the moment it is at 34% capacity. We went for a 2km walk around some of it adjacent to the caravan park.

Above: A small section of Lake Maraboon

The piece of pork 'hit' the Weber just before 4pm. 

It came off around 6:15 and was delicious. I did not do a great job on the crackling but the rest was excellent.

The steam caused the photo to be a bit blurry. 😊

We have enough left over for another meal plus sandwiches.

Our neighbours cooked roast beef. The other neighbours were green with envy.

Life is going OK.

Day 25 – Monday 22 June – Lake Maraboon & Emerald 

Today was one of those very rare occurrences in the Kelly household. We were up, showered, dressed, had a cooked breakfast and had a washing machine full of clothes on the line - all by 8am. Wow!

Albeit a bit chilly and a heavy dew, it was a magnificent sunny start to the day.

We drifted into Emerald, stopped at the Visitor Centre and took (another) photo of the 'Emerald Dragon'. We then had a lousy coffee and visited Mitre 10 - because we could.

Emerald has an excellent art/mural trail but we have done that justice in previous trips.

On our way back to base we took a photo of Sorghum so that we (and you) know what it looks like.

Above: Emerald Dragon

Below: Sorghum

Home again. R&R. Photos of birds, of which there were plenty.

Above: Laughing Kookaburra, Sulphur Crested Cockatoo

Below: Apostlebird, Crested Pigeon

Bottom: Rainbow Lorikeet, Willy Wag Tail

The Weber was again employed for dinner - this time for a home cooked pizza, or two.

Day 26 – Tuesday 23 June – Lake Maraboon  

The day started sunny and continued in that vein, with a top around 23 degrees.

We did our exercises and a few jobs in readiness for our departure tomorrow. It was a slow day.

After lunch we had a 3 km walk around another part of the dam.

Books were read, sudoku were completed. Relaxation.

Tomorrow we head across the Tropic of Capricorn and into the tropics.

The adjacent photo is a 'seedless Murcott' mandarin - grown locally outside Emerald. At 11 cm diameter it is certainly a large mandarin. It was lovely to eat. Not bad for $4 per kg.

Our stats after 26 days: 3094 km, 119 km/day, diesel $30 per day, accommodation $25 per day, time in car 2.2 hrs/day.

*** This chapter is now complete (apart from corections) ***

Last updated at 4 pm on Tuesday 23 June 2026

Jump to the Next Chapter 

Jump to the Previous Chapter

Open the Table of Contents