A Victim of “Progress”

We spent a relaxing couple of nights in Charleville at the Bailey Bar Caravan Park – a real throwback in time. Old facilities but spotlessly clean if a little different (Sheilas and Blokes to distinguish the sexes). This gave Jenny the opportunity to watch football on both nights. Charleville appears about half the size of Leongatha and has the airport right on the edge of town which houses a Royal Flying Doctor Base. You know when a town has a struggle to find sites of interest to tourists when one they do list is the site of the fertiliser truck explosion (which happened in 2014 see https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-08/transport-workers-union-want-review-ammonium-nitrate-explosion/5726828 ) which is about 30 kms out of town.

One of the two fire trucks destroyed in the blast. Miraculously no one was killed in the explosion but 8 were injured

We planned our getaway to head down to Quilpie and then onto Toompine if the roads were passable. Fortunately the Quilpie Information Bureau was able to tell us that the main roads were open (even if they were undergoing some repairs) so we headed off with the plan to freecamp at Toompine. But oh no, “progress” has meant that the site is closed down while the pub undergoes renovations. From what we could see it was more a complete rebuild than a renovation as the original roof and walls have disappeared replaced with a modern “interpretation” of an out back pub.

Toompine will never be the same again.

In a fit of pique we moved onto Eulo, deciding to stay behind the hotel and have a counter meal tonight to support an original outback pub – The Eulo Queen Hotel. Still extensive signs of the heavy recent rains but the roads are generally in good condition. We saw our first emus for this trip, a few pig carcasses and heaps of feral goats, getting fat on the bountiful pasture around here. I wonder if goat is on the menu tonight.

Dad and the kids making a quick getaway

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