Going With The Flow

 Carnarvon Gorge, St George and Goondiwindi

Queensland

August 21 to 30, 2019

We introduced Raina and Wayne to one of the essentials of camping: collecting wood en route and enjoying a few drinkles around a fire at night. They took to it like, well, fire flies. 

The fire was recycled the next morning for Toads in a Hole, a new dish for me but pretty bloody good.

After all the desert and dust we headed for verdant Carnarvon Gorge in the centre of Queensland. 

Garry striking pigeon pose in the middle of a rock crossing. Show off.

Gorgeous lorikeet feeding.

Inside the Amphitheatre.

Fabulous Indigenous rock art.

Special lunch spot on Carnarvon Creek.

Wayne insisted on carrying a wee portable cooker so we could have sausage sandwiches! Delicious.

The look says it all: Piss off Jen. No More Photos!

Fabulous tree ferns ...

... and rare King Ferns 

The Moss Garden

Wayne and Raina being good sports when Jen is in selfie mode.

Spiky cutie ...

... well camouflaged goanna ...

... and a way-to-familiar wallaby: "What's for dinner?"

The next day Raina and I hiked up the escarpment to view the gorge from above. 

We left the fellas tending to a lady who had fallen on the path. It took six hours to get her out of the gorge and into an ambulance. We heard later she had broken her pelvis in three places. Ouch. 

We all did a shorter hike into Mickeys Creek the next day before heading out.

Rock hopping Garry.

Rock solid Raina.

We stocked up in Roma before heading to the pretty town of Surat.

Beautifully restored shire hall in Surat.

Garry checking a wheat crop. 

Surat had received some rain but as we headed to St George in south-western Queensland we could see how the drought was biting. The road kill was shocking, the rivers dry, the paddocks bare.

St George's almost empty Beardmore Dam which covers an area of 3,350ha when full.

Dry irrigation channels.

Some cotton farms had water in channels, we're assuming fed from private storage ponds.
  

The economy of this south-west Queensland region relies on the cotton industry. No water, no cotton, no income. In 2017-18 Australia produced a record 4.5 million bales of cotton. The estimate for 2019 is 45,000 bales. Local towns are doing it tough ... and so is the Murray-Darling Basin which relies on flows from this area. Upstream water allocations to cotton farms are extremely controversial. It's a sensitive issue but one thing is clear, everyone is suffering in this drought:  farmers, communities and the environment.

Onto more positive topics. This region is also renowned for it grapes, carrots, broccoli, onions, blueberries and garlic.

Most vineyards here produce table grapes but Riversands Winery - Queensland's most western winery - bottles a selection ... and they were pretty good.

A gentle meander across to Goondiwindi took us to Dirranbandi, Thallon and Nindigully.

A few photos to illustrate this trip. 

Stunning silo art at Thallon.

Classic Nindigully pub where the film Paperback Hero was filmed. 

Water tank art in Goondiwindi

Gundi's beautifully restored Victoria Hotel ....

... and a memorial to the legendary Gunsynd, the Goondiwindi Grey.

Then it was time to say farewell to Raina and Wayne. They wanted to spend a few days in Kingscliff  before making the dash home to Sydney.

Bye bye Laughtons.

And that's goodbye from us also ... for now.