Trekkin Kakadu to Cooktown July 20 2021 start

Day 101 – Thursday 28th October 2021 – 168 Km

An early start at 6.20am as we wanted to beat the heat to walk along the shores of the Balonne River at St George. We parked on St Georges terrace near the boat ramp & children’s playground then walked along the great pathway towards the combined bridge & weir alongside stands of big River Red Gums full of birdlife. The air was warm with a slight wind as we crossed the Balonne highway over to Cavanaugh Park to look at the monument to Mitchell, the explorer that crossed the river at a natural rock ford here & gave the site the name of St George as it was St George’s Day (23^rd April) when he found it. There is also a great sculpture of a Murray Cod, the largest fish species found in the river here. After our walk it was time for breakfast & we headed to the St George Bakery in the main street around 7.30am, it was already 27C. It was surprisingly busy with locals popping in & out all the time. The bakery opens at 5 am.

After breakfast it was 8.30am & the Visitor Information Centre around the corner was open & we popped in there & chatted to the two very helpful ladies regarding some things to do today around St George. They made some suggestions so we planned our day around that. First up we drove over the Balonne River then turned & drove alongside the other side of the river for around 6km to see an old historic house called “The Anchorage”. It is a beautiful 2 story house built around 1903 & the current owners have restored it & rejuvenated the gardens, but it is up for sale again.

Back into town & we followed the self-drive discovery tour of St George looking at some of the historic buildings around town, some were nice & interesting, others not so much. The avenue of Jacaranda trees in full purple flower leading to the hospital is stunning with a carpet of fallen flowers underneath adding to the scenery. St George has a lot of Jacaranda trees scattered throughout the town.

We then headed out the highway & turned off to Beardmore Dam, a very large water storage facility for the irrigation industry around St George. The gardens & parks around the base of the dam are very well kept & look a real picture with a few lazy kangaroos in the shade resting. There is plenty of birdlife around here as well with so much water around, a flock of spoonbills were enjoying the place.

For the next part of our little adventure we drove around 45km south to Nindigully for lunch at the infamous Nindigully Pub, the oldest licensed pub in Queensland, established in 1864. The outside of the pub is very typical old outback Queensland style with a long veranda out the front. Inside the bar is quirky & different, with money pinned to the roof & old felt hats from different identities around the farming district on display & labelled. The dining room is also old with lots of interesting photos on the wall & the floors are very uneven. Outside is just as quirky, with chandeliers hung at the outside table shelters. The food was legendary, so we ordered only one meal to share, a seafood platter, absolutely delicious. The chips were some of the best we have tasted as well. After lunch we wandered over to the Moonie River & had a read on some of the sign boards about the history of the area & the types of trees, birds, fish & animals that are common around Nindigully. Nindigully was once a thriving village with a Cobb & Co. changeover station, post & telegraph office, store, school & the large pub of course. Now it is just the pub, it is popular with travellers as it offers free camp sites along the Moonie River. Did I mention it was hot, 40C today.

The drive back into St George was interesting alongside vast fields of wheat & cotton with corresponding irrigation channels & dams. Back in town we stopped at the Unique Egg Shop, this shop has an amazing collection of hand carved emu eggs. The emu eggs have all been hand-carved by a Greek man called Stavros & they are amazingly detailed & intricate. Most of the eggs have a small light inside them & mirrors behind to display the detail of the eggs. He is certainly an exceptional artist utilising the eight to ten layers in the green egg shells to create the designs. Apparently even the White house in the U.S.A. has one.

The Riversands Vineyards is next on the agenda, a winery on the outskirts of St George that have a cellar door tasting bar & gardens. We were the only people there so we had the undivided attention of the young English girl behind the bar giving us tastes & explanations of all the varieties on offer. We indulge & taste just about all that they make, some are very nice indeed so we end up buying a case of some of the wines & liquors. The wines are all made from the grapes grown on site. Roberto from Sardinia carried the box out to the car & we had a nice chat with him as well.

Back to the van & it was time for washing & attaching the car to the van for an early departure tomorrow. Tereza had a swim in the heated (it wasn’t hot at all, very pleasant) aqua therapy pool, did I mention it was 41C outside?

It feels sad to leave Queensland, we had such wonderful times here. A beautiful & interesting place. We had all the freedom to go anywhere without masks & the fear of the dreaded Covid 19. Canberra has opened its border to most parts of NSW we have to travel through so we can go home, without having to spend 14 day quarantine & 2 negative Covid tests. We have been missing our family, friends & home.

No dinner tonight as we had so much for breakfast & then lunch, though we did manage to share a delicious bee-sting from the bakery for a light supper. Another great day.