We could well have stayed and explored the town and surrounds of St George, with its population of two and a half thousand, sitting out at the edge of the Western Downs at 200 metres ASL and appreciated better the streets lined with the flowering bauhinias that precede the jacarandas and the fact that this locality produces cotton and grapes. We might have called into the Balonne Sports Store and seen the hand carved illuminated emu eggs. However we did none of that today but chose instead to press on south.
We drove out of town on the Carnorvan Highway that could have taken us
past Talwood and onto Goondiwindi, the road I travelled last year to buy
provisions when we were stationed out at Karamba, but we soon turned south onto
the Castlereagh Highway and followed the Balonne River on down to Dirranbandi.
Forty kilometres of the road was undergoing works, still recovering from the
floods but the rest was a delight to travel. We saw emus, kangaroos, cattle and
sheep, the latter almost obscured by the long grass. We saw vast flat plains of
wheat and land lying fallow waiting for the cotton to grow and long channels
waiting for the flow of irrigating water.
Dirranbandi lies sixty five kilometres south of St George and tries its
best to capture the tourists as they pass through to more exciting territory.
The town site was surveyed as far back as 1885 and has been a service centre
for the farms about since. The rail reached the settlement in 1913, but was
discontinued in 2009. With a population of just 437, there is not a lot here
for the tourist. The camping ground next to the river is apparently delightful
according to some fellow Lotus owners we fell into conversation with, and while
the shop frontages of the few stores leave a lot to be desired, I am sure it is
possible to buy the absolute necessities of life. It is close to here that
Cubbie Station, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest privately owned cotton farm
is situated, covering 96,000 hectares. Cotton was first harvested there in 1988
and of course it is this station that is so much in the news of late with the
impending change of ownership to foreigners. Dirranbandi has also featured in
the news over the past couple of years as having been cut off from the world
for months on end by the severe Queensland floods.
After a short walk up and down the “street”, we resumed our journey on
to Hebel, a further sixty five kilometres, the last settlement before the state
border. We stopped at a very tidy rest area by the Bokhara River for lunch and
fell into conversation with other travellers who had stopped to use the
facilities. There are just 149 folk residing here and even that seems a lot
given the few scattered tin roofed buildings, a general store, a school and a
very quaint old pub which could use some maintenance.
Again we pressed on for the last sixty two kilometres to Lightning
Ridge, our Plan A for the day having left room for staying anywhere along the
way that might have taken our fancy. We crossed the border seamlessly; the road
kill in New South Wales looked just the same as that in Queensland.
Lightning Ridge lies six kilometres off the Castlereagh Highway. We
eyed the rest area at the junction up as we turned, considering it as an
overnight place, however after visiting the Information Centre (wo)manned by an
enthusiastic young attendant, we left with options of places to stay, options
of tours to take, both free and otherwise, knowledge of the free artesian pools
available to us, and new decisions to make. And so we decided to settle into this
caravan park and stay for a couple of nights. Further study of the literature
suggests that we might have to extend, however I am sure our host will be fine
with that. This caravan park is the cheapest on offer in the place at $25,
small, super friendly and intimate.
And for those who have never heard of Lightning Ridge? It is the Black
Opal Capital of the World, and I am sure we will learn much more tomorrow and
you can be sure I will pass it all on!
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