Like a Rollingstone, Days 84 & 85 – The Darling Downs

Day 84 Monday, 1/8/2016, Kingaroy to Dalby, 2-24 degrees

It’s an interesting drive down to Dalby on the very flat Darling Downs. The farms change from small paddocks of red soil in the hills to vast acreages of black soil. Dalby is a service town selling trucks and harvesters and large farm equipment. The caravan park is an ‘overnighter’ on the Myall Creek and it is only a short walk across the creek into the neat and tidy town centre.

Towing Kms: 111Kms

Flat and with rich black soil, it may not look much but it’s some of the best agricultural land in the country

Day 85 Tuesday, 2/8/2016, Dalby to Jondaryan, cool

Some mornings it is hard to get the old body moving and I wonder how much longer I can do this. Then I step outside the van and there are dozens of eighty somethings hobbling about with conviction. What am I whinging about?

You know you quickly get into a pattern when you’re on the move and we always seem to get away by 8:00 or 8:30 each morning. That being said this morning we pull into the Jondaryan Woolshed and the girl on reception says “You’re a bit early aren’t you?”

“Oh shit it’s 9:15!” We forgot it was only a 40 kilometre drive.

The Jondaryan Woolshed was built between 1859 and 1861and was once part of the Jondaryan Estates pastoral empire which in the 1890’s encompassed 300,000 acres and was the largest freehold station in Queensland. Nowadays it’s a working museum run by the local community and skilled volunteers.

Jondaryan, one of the most interesting parks around

Jondaryan Woolshed, Darling Downs and stormclouds are gathering

We’re camped behind the big old woolshed with power and taps for water if we need to top up our tanks. Unwanted buildings have been moved here from all around the district to give a feel for life in days gone by. We have tea and damper and learn how to crack a whip. The lessons courtesy of a Tasmanian volunteer whip maker who winters here annually. We chat with some of the volunteers who restore the farm machinery, trucks, tractors, engines and even windmills. The wrangler is exercising one of the draught horses and tells us that ‘Legsy’ weighs about a tonne. In shock one woman shrieks that her caravan is the same weight. This is a homely place. There are sheep, chooks, cats and sheep dogs as well as the horses.

Cobalt blue rain clouds gather all day and as we crawl into bed, kaboom! Kaboom! Thunderbolts and lightning and heavy, heavy rain. Ah Queensland, can you throw any more rain at us?

Towing Kms: 40Kms