Day 58: Tue 22 Aug 23 - Roma to St George

Tue 22 Aug 23 - Roma to St George (Towed 200km)

Weather: 10 Deg, windy and clear in Roma, reaching 28 in St George, cloudy and no wind. 

No walk this morning - a slow start; I lined the car up nicely to hook the van up and swing around the bottle tree to make our exit to the right along the one way lane, except old mate from up the other end decided it was too hard for him to do the same, and thought he would drive in the opposite direction towards us to make his exit. With no way around, and my van van backed up against the van at the back and very little room to manouvre with the oleander bushes across the front, I had to do a 20 point turn to swing out to the left in the wrong direction as well. When I did eventually get out, I had to drive to the other end of the caravan park to do a U-Turn so that I could get out between the guardrails, as it would have been too tight to turn right to exit the park (that's partly why its one way). It was a real inconvenience and not a good start to my day, but I did get over it before long, making our way towards our first stop at Surat, 82km away. We pulled up under the shade of a tree along the Riverside Walk in Surat for a nice coffee at Cafe'  'Kimbono' - never fails. Afterwards, I went for a leisurely walk along the riverwalk to the cenotaph, then Noel and I met at the Cobb & Co changing Station museum. We stopped here 2 years ago, but it was nice to see it again, and they had a wonderful photographic exhibition in the visitor information centre today as well, which we both enjoyed (and got some great ideas). It was nice to see some nice improvements, and a bit more life in Surat since we were last here. It looks like it would be a nice stay at the free camp by the river on the way into town too, there were certainly plenty of caravans set up which indicates that it is a nice location to stop - maybe next time instead of Roma. We eventually drove away at about 10.45 for St George, and arrived at the Rivergum Tourist Park shortly after midday, where we have booked to stay for three nights. Ivan the owner told us that he has been turning away more than 20 vans a day because he has been so busy. It was fortunate that we booked when we did 2 days ago, because no one else in town had any spare sites.  Nevertheless, the drive down from Roma today was very quiet, with very little traffic in either direction. I was very pleased with the fuel consumption today too - a respectable avg 14.7lt/100km from Roma to St George which is much better then the 18.5 lt/100km from Rubyvale to Roma. That section was much hillier and windy though. 

We were allocated a nice big grassy site up against the fence at the front of the park with some shade, which is perfect for our 3 night stay. Ivan was telling me that he recently put the park on the market so he can start travelling in his own van. The parks looks in better condition than than when we last drove through town two years ago. It is in a great location too just a couple hundred metres up from the Balonne riverwalk. After setting up, and having lunch, I went for a walk along the river, into town to the information centre and back again via the butcher, about 4kms. On return, Noel and I sat outside enjoying the warm weather in the shade, then I went for another walk down to the river to take some sunset photos. There was some cloud today, which added to the ideal conditions. Back at the van we had a very tasty steak from butcher cooked on the Weber for dinner. Another day done and dusted. It dawned on me this morning that we have been away from home for almost 4.5 months out of 8 months so far this year - almost 9,000km travelling in the van. Where has the time gone!  With planned stops at Goodooga, Lightning Ridge and somewhere else to be decided, we aim to be home early next week sometime.   

A short riverside walk along the Balonne River in Surat

A short riverside walk along the Balonne River in Surat


A short riverside walk along the Balonne River in Surat


A short riverside walk along the Balonne River in Surat


A short riverside walk along the Balonne River in Surat


A short riverside walk along the Balonne River in Surat - The Freedom Tree


Old Picture Theatre in Surat


A short riverside walk along the Balonne River in Surat


Surat - Cobb & Co Coach in the Cobb & Co Changing Station museum, original site of the Cobb & Co Store and drop-off point for coach travellers and goods.

Surat - Cobb & Co Changing Station museum

Surat - Cobb & Co Changing Station museum

Surat - Cobb & Co Changing Station museum

St George - Afternoon walk along Balonne River 

St George - Afternoon walk along Balonne River 

St George - Afternoon walk along Balonne River  past the Cenotaph

St George - Afternoon walk along Balonne River. Fighter Pilot Memorial 

St George - Aerial view across the caravan park and township

St George - Aerial view along the Balonne river and township
St George - Aerial view across the Balonne river 

St George - Aerial view across the Balonne river 

St George - Aerial view along the Balonne river 

St George - Aerial view across the Balonne river weir and bridge

St George - View across the Balonne river, weir and bridge


St George - View across the Balonne river, weir and bridge

St George - View across the Balonne river, weir and bridge

St George - Mighty Murray Cod at Balonne river weir

St George - Balonne river, weir and bridge


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