Day 8 - Day 10

Day 8 - Monday July 28th

Travelling from Moore I headed into Goondiwindi. Goondiwindi is the first town on the Queensland side of the NSW/QLD border along the Newell Highway. Before I stopped anywhere I did a lap of the main street and spotted a cafe called 'Laurenz', where I decided to have lunch. The cafe had good coffee too! Rural NSW led me to finding some pretty ordinary coffee.

After lunch I explored the area including the Macintyre River and the Customs House Museum. The Customs House was originally used to tax goods crossing the boarder in from NSW before Australia's federation in 1901.

Looking north west along the Macintyre River

Below are some photos of technology things I found interesting at the museum. It was mostly a collection of period artefacts.

The Executive Ediphone - For making dictations well before the days of digital 

A custom built rail ambulance complete with Model T engine!

House light dimmer previously used in the Civic Theatre

Silvester Switchboard previously used in Yetman NSW (about 70km away)

After taking in some local history I decided to check in at the Big4. Shortly after I arrived the caravan park was providing a free damper and cuppa around an open fire. With my swag and tiny hatch back car, I've become a talking point at most places I stay in, and tonight was no different! Most people I meet are retired and towing a caravan with an inbuilt heater. I opted for a powered site this time (extra $5) so I could charge my modern technology in the car overnight.

Day 9 - Tuesday July 29th - My Birthday

After packing up and eating breaky I headed back to Laurenz cafe in the main street for a take away coffee. Who was to know when I'd find another good place! I went to the local botanic gardens to enjoy my coffee with some morning tea. There I unwrapped my birthday card and present from my parents. (So organised aren't they!)

From Mum and Dad

My next major town was going to be Warwick. Along the way I stopped at two dams. For those who don't know, I visit a lot of water reservoirs (normally with my friend Courtney). Firstly I picked up a ripper sandwich at Inglewood and ate it at Coolmunda Dam. Unfortunately at Coolmunda you can't get up close to the spillway gates but the view was still impressive.

Just outside of Warwick is the Leslie Dam. This dam as 7 impressive controlled spillway gates.

Leslie Dam wall

Spill way with radial gates at Leslie Dam

Staying in Warwick overnight cost me $20, one of the cheapest caravan parks yet and again no other campers in sight. Because both my sister and brother told me to get a cake with a candle, I opted for a doughnut.

Birthday cake

I received a few calls that evening, then went to bed. Thanks to everyone for the calls, txts and facebook messages! It was great to receive them while being so far away from home.

Day 10 - Wednesday July 30th

Overnight was -2^oC! When I opened my swag in the morning all the condensation froze! This actually made for easy drying. I got out my window squeegee and removed the ice. Once dry and packed, I explored Warwick.

I visited a farmers market, but the fruit and veg was in quantities too big for me to carry in my car. I also went to a live stock + trash & treasure market. I safely decided that a live cow, pig or chicken might be a bit much for me! The trash & treasure was a little different to what you would see in a city suburban market; bits of roofing, timber offcuts, chains etc.

Cattle waiting for auction with the current auctions been held under the red shelter

It was almost time to leave town, but I spotted an old railway station which I needed a closer look at. It turns out that it is actually a famous building. Because of a 'legen... wait for it... dary' egg throwing incident at the Prime Minister of the time Billy Hughes, the Australian Federal Police or AFP was created.

Warwick railway station

Commemorative plaque at Warwick railway station

Leaving town I explored part of the Main Range National Park, which is part of the larger Great Dividing Range. The roads to reach the falls was an easy drive at slow speed. Leaving, well that's another story!

Walking track to Browns Falls

Browns Falls viewed from below

Daggs Falls from roadside lookout

Queen Mary Falls from above

Leaving the falls the road was a very step decent with the road only being a single lane in some places, I fortunately didn't pass any cars ascending. After the step decent I took a gravel road to save some time, it was more direct to get over to Cunninghams Gap. At Cunninghams Gap I followed the walking track into the forest. The trees were so dense, that after a short amount of walking, I could no longer hear trucks climbing the steep hill.

Looking back across the mountains during the decent

The steep narrow decent

The gravel road

Cunninghams Gap walking track

I stopped in Boonah for a snack and rest. In town they had an awesome clock tower sculpture. My last quick stop for the day was at Wyaralong Dam, it's a recent addition to Queensland's water storage.

Boonah clock tower

Wyaralong Dam looking toward the dam wall

My stop for the night was in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast. I'm going to spend a few days by the beach, enjoying the sun, visiting a theme park and seeing a few friends who are also holidaying around the area.