Roma, Queensland

Tuesday morning sees us leaving St. George and heading north towards Roma. We are still getting used to the one hour time change so up and on the road early again. Stopped at Surat for a stretch and morning tea. Lovely memorial park where we had a walk around while we enjoyed our morning snack. The road was good and not very crowded so we make good time. Arrived in Roma around 11am and got set up at the "Ups & Downs Farm Stay". Located about 9 KM north of Roma at Orange Hill. We got a powered site for $20/night. Well laid out area with en-suite style amenities block and a rustic camp kitchen area. Not much shade so handy to have the air conditioning. Amenities are basic but clean with a 3 Star rating.

After some lunch we headed into the Big Rig Tourist Information Centre. Picked up some local information as well as about Carnarvon Gorge which is our next stop. The volunteer at the Visitor Centre informed us that the Roma Sales which are the largest Stockyard sales in the Southern Hemisphere were on today. We jumped back in the car and headed out to the sale-yard. Quite the experience as the sale was in full force. Thousands of cattle being mustered into thousands of pens for sale. We had a good view from above the pens where we watched the drafting (sorting cattle into different sex, sizes, breeds, etc) It was organized mayhem with a series of gates and enclosures being utilized by several cowhands. Some of the cattle, particularly the Brahma bulls, were less than cooperative. The scale of the operation was impressive with some 7000 head of cattle typically passing through the operation on sale day.

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon back at the farm trying to keep cool. Met the owner who took us for a brief tour on his 4 wheel drive buggy. Enjoyed a nice BBQ Steak dinner to finish off the day.

Wednesday morning we were up early again and returned to the Visitor Centre. Enjoyed a nice 3 KM walk along the the Bungil Creek, called the "Adungadoo Pathway". A lot of it was shaded with huge gum trees with quite a bit of bird life. Got some nice pictures of baby Kookaburras just learning to laugh. We then made a trip to Woolworths to restock our supplies for Carnarvon Gorge. Topped up with Diesel on the way back to the Caravan.

Took a drive with the Jeep down around the dam on the property after lunch. Lots of water and bird life. We ended up on a narrow berm which apparently was only designed for the buggy. Water from the Dam was on one side with rather steep banks on the other. Sandra ended up walking ahead guiding me for some of it.  Got to give the Quadra lift suspension and 4WD a bit of a test as well. A bit nerve wracking but we made it to the end and back. Nothing like a little bit of excitement to add to the enjoyment of our adventure. That may not be my travelling partner's view of our field trip.

Our host Robert gave 4 of the guests a tour of the farm this afternoon. $5 each which was fairly reasonable as was about 45 minutes. Got to see much of the 400 acre farm with a variety of bird life and farm animals. Robert is quite the character and seems like a typical Aussie bloke from the bush trying to make ends meet. Was good fun!

We are on the road again in the morning heading to Carnarvon Gorge. This promises to be the first nature highlight of our current adventure. We are booked in for 4 nights at Takarakka Bush Resort at present. Looking forward to lots of great walks, fantastic scenery, and photo opportunities. We aren't sure how good our communication options will be during our stay. Doesn't look like there will be mobile coverage so we may be taking a bit of a break from electronic communication. See you on the other side!