Can Go Around Australia: Meandarra and Chinchilla Weir, Queensland.

Departing Westmar, we left the major highways and began driving on minor back roads. The road surface was reasonably good but as much of the roadway is affected by flood waters from the myriad creek crossings the road has become greatly undulating in those areas. Of course slower speeds compensates for those road conditions. On fellow traveller recommendation, we made for Meandarra to camp beside The Brigalow Creek. Meandarra is very welcoming to RV travellers and has provided facilities to encourage their stay for longer periods. There is a fee of $5 per night for powered sites but unpowered camping is totally free. Free hot showers are included in the deal. We stayed for an extra day in Meandarra to participate in 'Barefoot Bowling' at The Bowling Club on Sunday afternoon. We had a great time and met more of our travelling companions. Meandarra is very proud of their Community Spirit. This community togetherness has achieved great results. Their main achievement must be The Anzac Memorial Museum. This display would not be out of place in a major city but sits with pride in the Main Street of Meandarra and is staffed four hours per day by volunteers.

On leaving Meandarra we began commuting to Childers where we have booked into The Sugar Bowl Caravan Park for a weeklong stay. We made one night stops at Chinchilla Weir and Goomeri Showgrounds along the way. In the main we are still travelling on minor roads and because of the Coal Seam Gas activity around Chinchilla these roads are totally inadequate for the volume of traffic and also the weight of trucks servicing the area. As we approached Chinchilla Weir we had a conga line of vehicles behind us and there was no overtaking possibilities or turn outs for us to move over. We stayed in Chinchilla for a week about three years ago, the town we witnessed then has long gone. With new residential areas opening up for the influx of families and the Main Street is extremely busy, the pace and style of the old Chinchilla has gone. I heard, but did not verify, that it is almost impossible for us RV'rs to get into the Caravan Parks in Chinchilla as they now consist of 'Workers Dongas' only.

The wide main street of Meandarra.

There is a local legend that states, 'there was a traveller passing through town, he stopped and asked this fellow, "what is the population of the town" the fellow responded, "just me and my dog Darra". The Legend is the town name originated from there.

Me-an- darra. Jude is getting to know Darra.

The old Meandarra Railway Station is the Information Hub for the RV Traveller and is adjacent to the free camp area on the edge of town.

The impressive Anzac Memorial Museum. There is many hours of browsing inside this building. Pictured below are some of the major exhibits but there are many other exhibits worth viewing as well.