Chinchilla

 6 - 8 March 2025

We had an early start at Myall Park Botanic Gardens so Mick could have a session at the bird hide before we set off again. Once more we checked the BoM app for the progress of Cyclone Alfred and confirmed our decision to stay at Chinchilla. There would probably be some rain, but nothing too drastic.

After a rest stop and cuppa in Condamine we continued on to Rubern Lagoons in Chinchilla - a place we had stayed at before, and enjoyed the bush like setting on the lagoon. We took the same sit as we had last time which meant we were looking towards the bush instead of a neighbour's caravan. 

Our site had a great outlook

We took the time to do a couple of jobs and to get a couple of loads of washing done before the rain set in. Late in the afternoon there was a very heavy, windy downpour and then a few lighter showers but not the massive deluges that were beginning to occur in the SE corner as the cyclone approached.

We did some shopping and were surprised to see empty shelves this far from the expected cyclone impact zone. There was no fresh fruit or vegetables, no chicken, no milk - fresh or UHT, no bottled water - it seems panic buying is still alive and kicking.

We packed up on Saturday morning still not sure where we would end up - maybe Childers or Moore Park Beach.

Chinchilla

11 – 13 October 2024

We decided to stay in Chinchilla for no other reason than we had never stayed there before. We had made a visit to the Emergency Department of the local hospital in 2015 when Mick cut his finger very badly, but had chosen to keep moving on that time. We chose a caravan park at Rubern Lagoons that we had seen on YouTube and which looked a bit more to our liking than the caravan parks in towns. On arrival we called the caretaker as required and were shown to a great spot right by the water. There was even a firepit!

A quiet spot not far from town

Across the lake we could see the preparations being made for a function the following evening. Despite this we decided to stay for two nights anyway. We spent some time on Saturday exploring the area but mostly we relaxed – and Mick took photos of the birds that hung around the water.

The function on Saturday night was a ladies only fundraiser for the local kindy. Although we could hear all the announcements, music and laughter, we didn't find it intrusive at all. Judging by what we heard of the auction, a huge amount of money was raised. I’m fairly certain the early start – 2pm – and a very busy bar, helped considerably. I imagine there might have been a few sore heads in the morning too.

We left on Sunday morning, heading for another birding spot Mick had been told about, with a stop at Jondaryan for lunch and more birding.