Nindigully

Wednesday 4^th May

An ordinary day with school work and chores taking up the morning, and another visit to the Warwick Aquatic Centre in the afternoon.  Again we had the whole place virtually to ourselves.  Then it was home for tea and bed.  Tomorrow we will start our journey west towards CUNNAMULLA.

Thursday 5^th May.

After school work we were on the road by 10.30am.  We headed south-east on the Cunningham Highway, and after 110km reached INGLEWOOD.  Naturally we had been looking forward to getting to another INGLEWOOD.  We were a little disappointed with what we found.  Just a very small town spread along the highway.  Nothing to write home about at all.

We have been in the habit of buying hat badges whenever we can and were hoping to add INGLEWOOD to the list, but unfortunately they didn’t have anything available.  Finally we had to settle for a fridge magnet.  We bought a pie each from the Inglewood Bakery, (Not a patch on Nelsons), and sat on picnic tables watching the huge semi trailers rattle through town on their way from the outback to the coast.

After lunch we continued on the Cunningham Highway to GOONDIWINDI where we fuelled up before continuing on towards ST GEORGE.  We stopped for the night at a free camping spot in the sports grounds at a small place called TALWOOD.

Friday 6^th May

On the road again after the usual morning’s school work.  We were hoping today to get as far towards CUNNAMULLA as we could.  On the way we wanted to stop in at a dot on the map called NINDIGULLY.  We had been told by several people that it was well worth calling in there to visit the pub which was reputed to be the oldest in QUEENSLAND, and also served fantastic burgers.  Naturally we wanted to taste their beer as well.

The road was 2 lane but fairly narrow and the surface was pretty rough, however with so little traffic about we could straddle the white line where it was a bit smoother, and cruised along at about 95km.  The sides of the road were again strewn with cotton, and about the only traffic we met were huge semi trailers loaded with cotton bales.  With the long straights we had plenty of time to move over for them.

We got to NINDIGULLY at about 11.30am, just in time for a beer before lunch.  What a fantastic place.  Just a pub in the scrub beside a stream.  Check out their web site http://nindigully.com/ and related websites to find out more.

A real old building, with the original wooden verandah running around it.  The L-shaped bar was made out of two huge slabs of Red Gum, and the walls covered with memorabilia. A real outback Australian Pub, with heaps of atmosphere. We loved it. Naturally one schooner of 4X lead to another, and then it was lunch time. 

They had photos of their legendary burgers on the menu.  Known as ‘Road Train Burgers’, they are said to be the biggest burgers in Australia. They literally took up a whole dinner plate and were a good 100mm high.  They said each burger would feed between 4 and 6 hungry men.  We later saw one which four blokes had ordered.  They were as amazed by the size of it as we were, and were taking photos of it.  We got in on the act and also took a couple of photos. 

Believe me, you’ve got to see these monsters, to believe it.

I ordered a steak sandwich for lunch, but only managed to eat half of it.  I had the other half for tea that night.  We were enjoying the pub and its surroundings so much we decided to stay the night, so joined the close to 30 or so other caravanners and found ourselves a spot among the trees down by the river, about 100 meters from the pub.  

 There is about 10 hectares of ground along the river bank, and you just drive down under the trees, find yourself a spot, and set up. The owners of the pub allow campers free use of their toilets and showers in exchange for you buying a few beers and perhaps a meal.  A brilliant arrangement and a win-win situation for everyone.

After setting up camp, we chucked the yabbie net in the river then wandered back to the bar for another 4X.  Cameron made friends with the publican’s dog, and they spent their time chasing each other, and a ball, in and out of the bar, and around the beer garden.  With the beautiful sunny weather, idyllic surroundings, free camping, fishing, and fantastic food and beer at your doorstep, this might be as far around Australia as we get.

Later in the afternoon, we pulled the yabbie net and found we had caught about a dozen yabbies of assorted sizes.  We kept the largest six, threw the rest back, and then chucked the net back in for the night.

We found out at the bar that the Kiwis were playing the Kangaroos that night, and they would be showing the game in the bar, so we decided that after tea we would have to go back to the bar and stir up the locals by cheering for the Kiwis. We had one other expat Kiwi to support us, but were outnumbered by about 10 to 1. Unfortunately the Kiwis lost so we quietly snuck back to our van.

Saturday 7^th May.

We woke to another beautiful day.  First on the agenda was the yabbie net.  Only two this morning but both good sized ones.  We were planning to head towards CUNNANMULLA again as soon as we had packed, but very soon fell in to ‘NINDIGULLY Mode’, and after a very short debate decided, ‘what the hell’, we love it here, let’s stay another day.  So that’s what we did.

So, here I am, sitting under the awning looking out through the trees to the river, and listening to the birds, while I type the blog.  Absolute Heaven.  Cameron is amusing himself exploring along the river or chatting to the neighbours, and Christel’s got her nose in a book.  The stress is unbearable so we have decided to head over to the pub for another 4X or 2 and to try out their famous chips and gravy for lunch. 

See you later.