Leaving Toowoomba we headed for Charleville but as it was getting late decided to stop at a free camp near Chinchilla. Sometimes the very best camp sites are discovered by accident. The Round Waterhole was absolutely beautiful and there were only three other vans to share the paradise.

I was up very early next morning (a rare occurrence these days especially as the nights are still very chilly) taking photos of the early mist rising. A willy wagtail entertained me for a long time, but getting a good photo was another thing.

Next stop Roma along a road lined with huge prickly-pear ‘trees’ .

The Big Rig at Roma demanded a visit. It is a living memorial to the pioneers of Australia’s oil and gas industry. Again, a very good and well laid out display with lots of informative signs (e.g. “Strewth, it’s gas!”); I felt I was not missing anything even though there were many audio points too. For a little while the township enjoyed gaslight but all too soon the first gas well died out. That was in 1906.

I learned rather more than I needed about drilling techniques, types of rig, etc etc. But both Dave and I agreed it was an interesting museum worth a visit.

This is a ‘Christmas Tree’ …

We did not linger in Roma, a pity really as the town has much to offer. On through Tambo where I remembered too late that I wanted to have my photo taken with one of the huge bottle trees lining the main street – to compliment the same photo I’d had taken the last time I was in Tambo in 1971 (!). But at least I did get some hasty shots of the bottle trees through the windscreen.

Not far outside Tambo we took what we thought was the road to a ‘historical place’ but instead it took us miles out into the countryside. It was not entirely a wasted trip though, we spotted a mob of emus, stalking along in a stately manner.

Next stop Charleville. This blog is being posted in Cloncurry so I have a few to catch up on!