Miles to Bell (Carnarvon Great Walk Trip)

 

Saturday 16 September 2023

Today began with Miles Parkrun, a lovely run along a path beside the creek, where we ran into friends from the coast. 

https://www.westerndownsqueensland.com.au/towns/miles/

https://www.parkrun.com.au/miles/

Heading for home we took a different route. We stopped in Warra to look at a collection of historical items. The “Welcome to Warra” log has been secured, due to its adventures during a previous flood.

https://www.queensland.com/au/en/places-to-see/destination-information/p-56b2604f2cbcbe7073ada559-warra

Dalby was our lunch destination, followed by a walk along Myall Creek.

https://www.westerndownsqueensland.com.au/towns/dalby/

https://www.wdrc.qld.gov.au/Community-Recreation/Parks-Outdoors/Parks/Myall-Creek-Linear-Park

Our last stop for the day was the town of Bell to look at the Catholic Church and its Biblical Garden.  The art inside the church is stunning, and the garden was excellent with murals of the stations of the cross integrated throughout.  I would have found it helpful if the plants were labelled and had some information on their biblical relevance.

https://www.bellbiblicalgarden.org/

Then home.

Injune to Miles (Carnarvon Great Walk Trip)

 

Friday 15 September 2023

The colours on the cliffs in morning light were beautiful.  It would be well worth coming back to do the Boolimba Bluff walk for sunrise in good weather – we have walked it first thing in the morning in the past but the sun did not appear that day due to cloud cover.

https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/carnarvon-gorge/journeys/boolimba-bluff-walk

We stopped in Injune for a look around.  Henricks Park was a lovely little amphitheater and park area.  Scattered around town are the “Characters of Injune” which feature various locally relevant people both past and present. I also had a look at an historical train loco that had been involved in a rollover on the way to Samford many years ago.  We took the short walk around Injune Lagoon to give the legs a gentle stretch.

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/town/injune-visitor-information-centre/

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/attractions/characters-of-injune/

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/attractions/injune-lagoon-walk/

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g499667-d23629739-Reviews-Locomotive_824-Injune_Queensland.html

Then on to Roma, where we enjoyed wonderful free hot showers, followed by a picnic lunch in Loam Reserve.  This is a lovely spot close to town but peaceful , with plenty of trees and birds.  I wen to explore the famous “Ace Drapers” that I had heard about from many grey nomads. Every available space from floor to ceiling was full – amazing fabrics, odds and ends, craft supplies, linen, crockery, school uniforms, you name it! The Roma Saleyards were not auctioning today, however since we were last here they have added the Roma Saleyards Interpretative Centre, which was very good and packed with information.

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/town/roma/

https://www.facebook.com/p/Ace-Drapers-100057309945963/

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/tours/roma-saleyards-interpretive-centre-and-tour/

At Wallumbilla we stopped at the Wallumbilla Calico Cottage Complex (it had been closed on our way out) which has the old railway station, lots of craft and baking and an excellent book swap.

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/town/wallumbilla/

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/attractions/calico-cottage-heritage-complex/

The plan was to go on from here to Chinchilla, so that we could do a parkrun we had not done before. However, an accident on the Warrego Highway had the highway closed in both directions for over an hour and a half.  I spent some of this time collecting several bags of rubbish from beside the highway.  When the road reopened the traffic heading west was queued for more than three kilometres.  We pulled into Miles just on dusk and set up camp at the showgrounds.  I messaged Miles parkrun to see if I could do volunteer and there were happy to have me.

https://www.westerndownsqueensland.com.au/towns/miles/

https://wikicamps.com.au/site/Queensland/Campground/Miles+Showgrounds/8580

Sunshine Coast to Injune (Carnarvon Great Walk Trip)

 Saturday 9 September 2023

We got up to our alarm at 4am, and were on the road by 4:25am, driving to Nanango for Parkrun.  We stopped off in Blackbutt on the way to line up for opening time at the Bakery – definitely worth it.

https://www.facebook.com/blackbuttbakery/

When we arrived in Nanango there were piles of small marble sized hail remaining in any low points of the ground and like mulch in the garden bed.  Plenty of branches were down and there was leaf litter everywhere.  Ros Gregor Parkrun was cancelled due to puddles of hail on the path.  

https://www.parkrun.com.au/rosgregortrail/

We quickly headed back to the car and returned to Blackbutt for a slightly late start to parkrun, followed by breakfast at the Bunya Nut Café.

https://www.facebook.com/bunyanutcafe/

Chinchilla was our next stop. We visited the big watermelon.  We explored the botanic gardens, including the watermelon themed water play area, before enjoying a picnic lunch.

https://www.westerndownsqueensland.com.au/towns/chinchilla/

https://www.wdrc.qld.gov.au/Community-Recreation/Parks-Outdoors/Parks/Chinchilla-Botanic-Parkland

Driving west, toward Miles, we saw a large solar farm under construction north of the road, and then a wind farm between Miles and Dulacca, both sides of the highway with about forty wind turbines.

After turning north at Roma, we stopped at Gunnewin Soldier Settlement to have a look and were delighted to spend some time watching an echidna in the wild.  I found if I stood still, it came quite close to me, but as soon as I took a step in any direction it curled into a ball at the perceived threat.

https://romarevealed.com.au/travel-idea/gunnewin-soldier-settlement-monument/

The last stop for the day was at Old Injune Coal Mine site – which has a simple but tasteful memorial.

https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/attractions/old-injune-coal-mine/

We are staying the night at Injune Haven – it is spotlessly clean.  The whole town appeared neat, tidy and well maintained.

https://www.injunehaven.com/

Miles

30 June 2018 - Miles

Miles parkrun was how we started the day – a beautiful tree lined course along Dogwood Creek.  www.parkrun.com.au/miles/

After breakfast, we headed to Miles Historical Village and Museum.  This was a fantastic set up with all the buildings a town would have complete with all the internal fittings.  These gave a real insight into life in a previous era.

www.ourwesterndowns.com/miles-historical-village-museum
   

The late afternoon was spent exploring Possum Park – twenty underground bunkers for WW2 explosives.  These were very well disguised in the hillside and varied in width from twenty to sixty feet.  Some of these have been converted to accommodation and are quite special. There is also a TAA Viscount undergoing restoration and conversion to accommodation.  An old troop train has been setup as a library, television and games room.  After dinner, we once again enjoyed a campfire with fellow campers and the hosts.  
www.possumpark.com.au