Hebel, Qld

For anyone visiting Lightning Ridge the next town north is tiny Hebel 69kms up the Castlereagh Highway. When I say tiny, it is. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics the population was 62 at the 2021 census. This little dot abuts the Qld / NSW border and in days gone by was a border checkpoint which we used to laugh about until Covid lockdowns brought border towns like Hebel back into the spotlight as states opened and closed at the stroke of a pen, or a cough.

Hebel has always been known for a good burger at the General Store and the quirky emu paint job on the pub. But when a downturn threatened the closure of the pub a local farmer stepped up and bought both the pub and store to ensure that the heart of this place continued to beat. The pub now has some smart cabins at the rear for overnight stays and plenty of level sites for RV’s. Dinner at the Hebel is known as the Hebel Experience, as one orders for a specific time at the store across the road. A few beers later, when the time is right it’s a stroll across the highway to pick up the cloche covered meal and take it back to your table at the pub. Perfect timing, perfect meal, and a seriously good parmie! Not forgetting the emus wandering along the back fence.

Nindigully, Qld

When leaving Hebel, it’s always a wise choice to turn off at Dirranbandi and aim for the Nindigully Pub. Why? Well, like the Hebel you just can’t go past without calling in to the Nindigully, home of the famous Nindigully Burger. I always have a giggle at burger ads on TV because they look like miniatures compared to the Nindigully Burger. A long sprawling pub, she overlooks the Moonie River and has a shady veranda for sunny afternoons. Out the back there’s a spacious beer garden complete with fire pits and grazing kangaroos that keep the lawn under control. The bar is bedecked with the usual pub paraphernalia, crocodile skins and dead pigs’ heads, you know the stuff. And, if you’re staying for a meal there’s the sweetest timber-clad dining room. I guess it’s the ‘good room’. Out front there’s camping space for hundreds of RV’s and a flushing toilet block.

Back to the burger, which is served on a specially baked bun big enough for eight hungry folks and it’s a whopper!

Roma, Qld

Roma is known for natural gas drilling, cattle auctions, and bottle trees. For the RV community it is a good stopover for stocking up on supplies. For us, two things come to mind though, firstly The Ace Drapers #2 is the most amazing shop selling all manner of goods that are stacked to the ceiling. It’s one of those places where you could never find what you are looking for, but the owner knows exactly where it is. Now I’m not your haberdashery kind of girl, but I was still able to find something that I didn’t know I needed. Secondly the Roma Gun Club a few kms out of town has a large caravan parking area on asphalt and provides bathrooms and access to the club bar of an evening. Try to get there on a club shooting night for an insight into this Olympic sport.