Today saw us complete the final 309 km from Maryborough to Brisbane. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, which symbolises in most respects, our experiences over the last 37 days.
We have covered this section of the Bruce Highway many times so there was not a lot to excite our photographic pheromones, so this blog is destitute of pictures.
However, it does provide an opportunity to summarise our travels.
Firstly, the distances we covered just confirm how large this country is. To stand on a relatively high spot and overlook the grandeur of thousands of square kilometres of the Queensland Channel Country, with its pale green herbage interrupted by the darker green of the trees lining the channel banks, as the channels meander their way in the direction of Lake Eyre, is awesome, awe inspiring and, in a word, beautiful.
Secondly, we took this trip to see the way the land, the animals and the people, had responded to the unusual winter rains, and we were greatly rewarded. The cattle were in superb condition. To find cattle being brought from Western Australia to Noccundra to be fattened was such a surprise. That's how good it is in South West Queensland at the moment. We noticed a change as we moved north, where the winter rains had not been so prodigious. Nonetheless, the cattle looked in good condition there. The communities are looking forward expectantly to follow up summer rains.
The Queensland coast was almost at its best, although it, too, is a little dry. However the sugar cane fields are "fields of green" and the size of the industry is amply demonstrated by the areas covered by the crops. The mills are crushing and there was activity everywhere with harvesting, ploughing, planting, smoke and steam emanating from the sugar mills and cane trains hauling cane to the mills.
And there were Bowen mangoes all the way down the coast!
Should not forget, what an experience it was at Cameron Corner to be able to put a foot in NSW, a foot in Queensland and a hand in SA ....... at the same time.
An unexpected upside for us was the absence of other tourists. The tourist season finishes at the end of September, so at almost every caravan park we visited, we were invited to pick our spot to set up camp.....wonderful.
Were there downsides? Yes. Some of the roads were narrow and bumpy and whenever we met a road train, we graciously pulled to the side of the road to allow them to pass. Trouble is we have then to wind up the car, the anchor and ourselves to get back into the groove.
The other downside was the temperature. With peaks in the low forty degrees we were forever hot, although an air-conditioned car and caravan ameliorated the discomfort.
To conclude on a positive note, we had rain only once during the trip. It was at Noccundra and was a storm with spectacular lightning displays and accompanying thunder. It provided 15mm of rain and was widespread enough for us to see its effects the whole of the next day's travel.
As is our custom, we conclude with some statistics for the trip, but not before saying this was a journey of discovery for us, and it took us to places we have never been before. For that we are very happy and most thankful.
| Distance Travelled | km | |
| Total | 7765.5 | |
| By caravan | 5493.2 | |
| By car alone | 2272.3 | |
| Duration of trip, Brisbane to Brisbane | 37 days | |
| Maximum temperature experienced | 410 C | |
| Fuel consumed | 1504 litres | |
| Cheapest fuel (Stanthorpe) | 105.9c/l | |
| Most expensive fuel (Noccundra) | 171.0c/l | |
| Average fuel consumption | 19.0 l/100km | |
Auf wiedersehen.
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