Cunnamulla to Charleville

As there was a bit of intermittent rain and we only had 200kms to drive we took our time eating breakfast and packing up the caravan the next morning. Leaving just on 10 am we headed off up the Mitchell Highway towards Charleville.

The countryside was quite flat with grasses and low lying vegetation.

After about an hour we approached the tiny town of Wyandra.

Again it was pleasing to see the road ahead was open.

Given we were about 850 kms from the nearest ocean beach we were quite bemused by this sign.

Anyway we decided it was a good time to swap the driver so we turned in.

There was a truck parked opposite the Post Office so I continued driving past the Post Office

and the Pub.

Around the next corner were the public toilets so we stopped there initially. Next door the tennis courts had definitely seen better days – not exactly up to Roland Garros standard!

Continuing on we ended up back outside the Post Office and parked there. They certainly had lots of signage.

The garden was quite quirky. Here’s a cactus pot with spider sculptures.

On our way in to buy a cup of tea Mel decided it was time for her nature break too, just as I snapped this photo!

Once our tea was ordered we had to time for a quick look around the shop. Just about anything you could need was in stock. As we came out we noticed another sign on the fence next door. If we had arrived later in the day there was an outback bar ready for beer o’clock.

Back in the car we continued driving north.

After a while I thought I’d take a photo of Karen driving with the intention of using it in this post.

She said I hadn’t warned her and that I could probably get a better shot. What I didn’t realise until later on was that in the second photo she’d shut her left eye nearest to me so it looks like she’s driving blind! So the joke was on me.

It began to rain a bit again. In this photo you’ll notice markers on the road edge. That’s to warn you not to go off the bitumen as the red dirt shoulder is very soft and you can easily become bogged.

About twenty minutes from Charleville we passed the remnants of a railway bridge. Back in 2014 a road train transporting 52 tonnes of ammonium nitrate exploded, destroying the railway bridge. Amazingly no one died.

Soon after we arrived on the outskirts of Charleville.

We checked into the Cobb and Co Caravan Park in a nice shady site. After a late lunch we drive down to the Tourist Information Centre which is housed in the railway station.

Karen made a booking for the Bilby Experience in the adjoining building for the next afternoon. More about that in the next post.

On our way back to the caravan park we passed the water tower with its lovely artwork

as well as this well preserved hotel, Hotel Corones.

Time to cook dinner and plan what we would do the following morning before visiting the Bilby Experience.