Back to Cotton Tree

Left Monto after two weeks work heading north to Biloela then west and south to Theodore. Next day stopped at Taroom for coffee, Miles for lunch and then The Gums and on to Meandarra for the night.  A nice spot at $5 for power for 3 nights and close to the pub overlooking a river.  Did the laundry and met Tom Fender of the Fender guitar fame, well some relative or other anyway. Swapped some music on USB and some movies. There is a good war museum in town well worth the visit.

After a couple of days headed to Dalby fuelling up and on to swinging bridge Park at Cooyar. Stopped here on the way north to Monto a couple of weeks ago. Nice place to stop well of the road, quiet, but no internet or phone, damn. Headed off early, lots of mist and some heavy rain. Stopped at Moore for breakfast then on to Cotton Tree arriving about 10am. Booked in for a week, can only stay till the 29th Easter, but that's OK.

Click an image to enlarge

 The creek at Meandarra

The war museum at Meandarra

Monto Blaze Aid for 2 weeks

Each morning at 7am we had a muster meeting to decide where the teams were going that day.  We usually had 6 teams.  A team usually amounted to 5 or 6 people, mostly men but not only, who once allocated a job drove to the property, up to 50km out of town, and work from 8:30am to about 4pm usually clearing and standing up fences but sometime stick picking paddocks or other work as required by the farmer. The farmers family usually provided morning tea and lunch, nice. The days were long and the work could be strenuous and at the end of the day a beer was really appreciated. We worked 7 days a week but individuals were encouraged to have a day off in every 7 worked. Back at camp each afternoon we had a few drinks before dinner was served. The local town ladies and some of the wives prepared the meals. I prepared my own because their usual menu was not my normal fare.

Whilst there a second flood came through and isolated the town again, cutting the roads north and south, undoing some work we had already done.

 Clearing fences

Standing fences up again

Corrimal to Monto and Blaze Aid

Got a call from the Highway Wanderers Motorhome club, El Pres Dave, asking to help out at Monto with flood damage from all the rain in the region in the last couple of weeks. Sounds like a worthwhile thing to do. About 1300km to Monto, better get started.

Corrimal. Had a good run through Sydney even though it was drizzling most of the time, then stopped for lunch at Mooney Mooney still drizzle. Refuelled at Gosford and stayed overnight in a rest area at Cessnock stopped drizzling but still overcast.

Showers overnight clearing in the morning. Headed off at 8am via Broke Rd, the very worst sealed rode I have driven on and in such a rich area! The Hunter Valley. Stopped at Muswellbrook for breakfast and Vinnie's for work clothes. Stop for lunch at Tamworth and found another Vinnie's and got a shirt this time. On to Armadale and Dumaresq Dam, nice.

Hot shower breakie and headed off at 8am. Cold outside. Stopped at Glen Innes for a cuppa and fuel. Tenterfield at 1230pm for lunch. Lost an hour crossing the border to QLD. Stopped for the night at Dalveen a small community just into QLD, nice. Quiet camp considering the numbers here, mostly backpackers in wiz bangers. Coffee at Hampton then lunch at Cooyar. Nice spot but no internet or phone, can't have that! Drove on to Ban Ban Springs for the night, nice, actual spring water coming out the ground and talked to a local who drinks it and swears by it.

Stopped for coffee and a walk in Gayndah, a lot of water passed this way recently. Mulgildie for lunch, just short of Monto. Arrived at the Blaze aid camp about 12:30. Got fitted out with all the gear, pants, shirt and gloves. BBQ dinner tonight then off to work tomorrow clearing fences. Met Col the caretaker at the showgrounds, nice old bloke.

 The spring at Ban Ban Springs

Gayndah behind the pub in the main street