Cunnamulla

Saturday 7^th May Cont.

The chips and gravy were great, and after lunch we spent the afternoon just enjoying the peace and quiet beside the river, occasionally making the effort to wander over to the pub for another beer. Then it was time for tea and bed.  Tomorrow we would have to make the effort and move on.

Sunday 8^th May.

We reluctantly packed up and rolled away from the NINDIGULLY Pub at about 9.30am.  We planned to travel only as far as ST GEORGE, about 45 km away, and book into a motor camp there.  We had been free camping for 3 nights and it was time to do some washing. Again the same sort of road with heaps of cotton waste along the sides, and the only traffic was the huge trucks loaded with cotton bales.



We got to ST GEORGE just after 10.00am, and booked into the motor camp.  Christel immediately did a load of washing, then after lunch we had a drive around town, got some groceries, and fuelled up ready for the long run to CUNNAMULLA tomorrow.

Monday 9^th May.

We left the camp at about 9.30am then drove a couple of kilometres down the road to have a look at a place called ‘The Unique Egg’.   Someone at the camp had told us we should visit it before we left town.  It is a collection of engraved Emu Eggs all done by one bloke. There must have been a couple of hundred engraved eggs on display, all with lights inside them.  It was absolutely stunning. 

Apparently the emu egg is the only one in the world that has ten layers to its shell.  Each layer is a different shade of green, and by carefully scrapping off one layer at a time you can get the different shades of green to show through. With a light inside the effect is stunning.  Add to this the fantastic designs he puts on each egg and you get the picture.  We took some photos but unfortunately they don’t do it justice.

Then it was on the road west heading for CUNNAMULLA, just under 300km away.  More of the same as far as the road went, long straights, rough surfaces, bush either side, with the odd kangaroo, emu and goat to spot as we sped past.  We had been told to look out for wild pigs as well, but the only ones we saw, along with many kangaroos and the odd emu, were road kill, victims of the Road Trains no doubt.  We saw no more than about 20 cars and trucks for the entire 300km trip.

Three hours after leaving ST GEORGE, we rolled into CUNNAMULLA

 and found our motor camp, just ahead of about 6 other vans, all looking for a site.  Luckily there was room for everyone.  After setting up camp and a quick bite to eat, we drove into town to check out the Information Centre and also to see the ‘Cunnamulla Fella’.  

This is a bronze statue of a swagman which featured in Cameron’s DVD of Roothy’s trip to Cameron Corner.  For Cameron this was a highlight, actually seeing and touching the same statue that Roothy had done in his DVD.  Needless to say many photos had to be taken, especially of Cameron posing with the statue EXACTLY the way Roothy had done.

Speaking of CAMERON CORNER, great news.  The guy at the Information Centre rang someone for us, and came back with the information (as you would at an Information Centre), that the road we planned to take to get in there was ‘currently’ open.  Unfortunately all other roads from the Corner are still closed, so our plans to make a round trip from NOCCUNDRA, out to The Corner, then on to INNAMINCKA and the BURKE AND WILLS DIG TREE, then back to NOCCUNDRA, will have to be cancelled.  Never mind, at long last it looks like we will get to CAMERON CORNER.

Tomorrow we will try and get from here to NOCCUNDRA, a distance of about 340kms.  Whether or not we make it in one day will depend on the Road Conditions.  Watch this space.