Toogoolawah - Woodford - Beerwah

We decided that our next stop would be Toogoolawah which is about a 2hr drive from Dalby. The drive was rather interesting travelling through some lovely farmland then back into hilly countryside once we were back on the New England Hwy then branching off onto the D'Agular Hwy where we had the steep decent of the Blackbutt Range we passed quiet a few caravans going the opposite way as this is a popular direct route for travallers leaving the Sunshine Coast to head south down the New England Hwy.

The last four nights we have been stopping at showground inland from the Sunshine Coast, our first night was at Toogoolawah then we had two nights at Woodford and then onto Beerwah. We met up with our long time friends Alison and David at Woodford, it is always great when we get together lots of  laughs & fun. Alison decided we needed to experience Costco, it is a membership warehouse which has the best possible prices on quality brand-name merchandise. Not only do they stock food items they also have clothing, camping gear, tyres, jewelery, toys, optical, hearing aides and much much more. Baz did very well to stay the distance usually he will sit outside the shops and wait for me but we did need to take a little rest on the way around. We were also able to taste a few samples in the food area as there a a few demonstrators with tempting morsels. Just so unbelievable what was on offer in one large warehouse! Nothing like it in poor old Tassie. Today we travelled a whole 37klm from Woodford to Beewah we spent a couple of hours exploring the town and catching up on a few jobs.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Al & Dave and head to the Gold Coast for three nights, unfortunately my shopping mates have already left Southport so will have to do it alone this year.

Costco experience

Too much shopping needed a rest!

Shopping at Beewah with Al & Dave

Caliguel Lagoon/Meandarra/Dalby

We had a call from friends who was leaving Moree on Thursday morning travelling North so we arranged to meet them at Caliguel Lagoon which is a free camp spot south of Condamine on the Condamine Meandarra Road. Faye & Allan were the first to arrive, we were fortunate to find a sheltered spot to camp behind a clump of tree as there was a strong wind and it was like a dust storm in the camping area it didn't seem to bother the noisy Corellas that were roosting in the trees. The wind subsided by late afternoon & we enjoyed a great night around the camp fire. Alan tried his hand at a bit of fishing in the river and managed to catch a Yellow Belly to his enjoyment, even though the fish really caught itself on the unattended line. A crop duster plane woke us early the next morning, I am sure the pilot got a lot a pleasure flying low overhead, making passes over the caravans several times.

The next day we had one of the biggest trips so far travelling 47klms to Meandarra. We pulled in along the river in the  town where you are able to camp, $10 for power or $5 unpowered. It has been four years since we were last there and in that time the General Store has closed down and the population has dropped to around 100. As we have found with many of the small towns more shop fronts are boarded over and the towns are slowly dying. We revisited the Anzac Memorial Museum that houses a large and comprehensive collection of military memorabilia. It is a very unique collection which includes a Canberra Bomber aeroplane, a Grant Tank and a Water Buffalo Tank.

That night we walked to the local pub for a meal, Baz and I ordered the pork chops, chips & salad when it arrived at the table it was a ginormous meal, I had trouble to even lift the plate. The next day we said farewell to Alan & Faye they are on their way to the Atherton Table Land and we headed east towards Dalby.

We arrived at Dalby around lunch time Saturday finding it quiet busy mainly due to the large market & car show that was being held at a local school. We had decided to find a park and check out the
market when we spotted a central caravan park along the river in walking distance to the market. We made a quick decision that Dalby was to be our next stop for the night securing a spot backing onto the river. We were entertained by a couple of  Eastern Water Dragons (large lizards) not sure if they were fighting for territory or if it was foreplay, they were very good at disguising themselves in their habitat when anyone walked their way. As Sunday happened to be Fathers Day we ended up staying another night and I thought it would be nice to go out for a Chinese meal, which turned out to be rather disappointing.

Caliguel Lagoon Campsite

Caliguel Lagoon

Meandarra Campsite

Eastern Water Dragons

Eastern Water Dragon

Dalby Dude