Into the Outback

We love the outback and it was great to get back to "Red Dirt Country".  The days now are hot - just what we expected as it's nearing summertime.  The caravan is very well insulated and our air-conditioner is not being used.  We'll have to try it soon to make sure it still works.

A couple of hours after we leave Bollon we arrive in Cunnamulla, nearly 200kms away.The information centre is very good and they have an excellent video about the Great Artesian Basin which covers about 1/4 of the area of Australia - that's REALLY BIG!  The sinking of bores into this vast underground water supply has provided vital water to many areas of the inland.  Capping of wells and piping water instead of using open channels assists with water pressure and sustainability of supply.  

We wander through the museum which has good displays of memorabilia from the area.  We read that Joseph Wells (not a relative that we know of) robbed the bank in 1880 and hid in a tree until his capture.  He was the last person hanged in Queensland for robbery.  There's also a "time tunnel" of the Great Artesian Basin and an Art Gallery with metal sculptures of birds and animals.  The information centre, museum and art gallery are housed at the Cunnamulla Fella Centre, the building being the first secondary school built in Western Queensland in 1885.

A walk around the town takes us past the "Cunamulla Fella" a  bronze statue inspired by the Slim Dusty song, words by Stan Coster.  Across the road in the rose garden and rotunda.  







The post office was built in 1890 and is located where the Cobb & Co stockyards once stood.  The white Memorial Fountain, completed in 1919, is dedicated to those who died at Gallipoli in World War I and also to the more than 300 men and women from the area who enlisted.




After Lunch we're back into the car for the short drive to Eulo where we're planning to stay the night camped next to the Paroo River.  Eulo is a small town with a pub, patchwork and leatherwork shop and an art gallery.  Worth a stop for a beer and chat to the locals.  We were very impressed with the artwork in the gallery and wished we had walls in the caravan to hang some.  The free campsite was great, flat with views over the river.  We've seen lots of emus today - mostly family groups of dad with the chicks.

In the morning we left early for the 80km drive to Yowah where we're spending a few days.  We're off the road train route now so there aren't so many dead kangaroos and emus on the road.  We do see a few wedge tailed eagles and several goannas and echidnas.  It's really like driving through a garden, the countryside is so beautiful.  The weather has been kind this year so there's plenty of grass and new growth on the trees.  We had planned to spend just one night here but the friendliness of the locals persuaded us to stay for 3.  Georgina and Colin from the caravan park have made us feel very welcome.  Yowah is famous for opals, Australia's national gemstone and there are fossicking fields near the town.  We're staying at the Artesian Waters Caravan Park and have a powered site so we're using the air-conditioner and cycling our batteries.  The town bore has plenty of water for hot showers - it's 57C so has to cool down before it can be used. Yowah also has ample free camping sites.  There is a busy tourist season in the cooler months with the highlight being the 3 day Opal Festival in July when the permanent population of 70 is boosted to over 1,000.


We've driven to The Bluff which is the local vantage point about 4kms from town.  The views are spectacular and the land seems to go on forever.  Someone recently built a labyrinth from stones at the top so we walked it to get some "inner peace".