We are now in Gayndah after having a stopover at Lawless Park, this free camp is set back from the road midway between Goomeri and Gayndah. We good spot under a nice cooling leafy tree, except it is winter and it is cold in these parts. We pulled in here around lunchtime in the hope of a fire pit, and there was! So the T-Bones were out of the freezer to defrost. Also here was a bus with a couple of Nomads on board. She was quite ill, walked with a stick and had all sorts of arthritic and bone problems, spurs every where and we heard about them all. The guy was obviously very caring. They had 3 dogs and 2 cats with them in the bus plus some birds. The bus pulled an enclosed trailer/shed with a small car on board and potted plants, tools etc (like a garage almost), on top of this lot was a boat. He ran a generator until 7.30 that night. Because of her illnesses and travelling discomfort they were selling this lot and getting a longer bus! Hmmmm.

At rest in the Lawless Park free camp midway between Goomeri and Gayndah

A bit later we were joined by 2 other couples travelling together.

As the afternoon wore on Allthego chopped up some wood, or more accurately split a log portion for the fire, and around 4.30 set the fire. Allthego invited the two couples to join us for nibbles and drinks around the fire. If he hadn’t done this they would have invited themselves as it turned out. Good to be always on the front foot in these things. This lot were good talkers so Allthego didn’t have to say much and let Homealone keep the pace up. All sorts of travel tales and adventures. Entertaining for all. We let the fire subside and they disappeared for dinner, got our steaks cooked and restocked the fire for after dinner. Well, only one of the two couples emerged for this and we kept going with the chat for another hour. Got into bed eventually, exhausted!

The bus went early the next morning a bit after 7 am after leaving the engine running for 40 minutes to warm up and also wake us all up. They wouldn’t get more than 2 or 3 km to the litre, pretty expensive travelling!

Mid morning we set off for Gayndah, only about 40 km up the road and booked into the Riverview Van Park overlooking the Burnett River for a couple of nights. Nice view, comfortable but not flash! Gayndah is all about oranges and mandarins. This is the time of year when they are in season, lots of back packers around doing the picking. An ABBA tribute band was in town for the night and they belted all the great hits. Very audible from the pub on the other side of the river.

The Van at the Riverview Van Park at Gayndah, overlooking the Burnett River

Big Orange at Gayndah

Gay Dan at Gayndah

The next day we did the round trip to Mundubbera and back. Checked out a bit of the old railway line from Monto ( near the coast) to Mundubbera and saw the old ‘upsidedown’ bridge. Gayndah has the Big Orange and Mundubbera has the Big Mandarin. A number of fruit pickers were sunning themselves on the sand in front of the Big Mandarin and so spoilt a clear shot of the Mandarin, Allthego tried his best to not look too interested.

The Big Mandarin at Mundubbera

A reach of the Burnett River near Gayndah

The Ideraway Upside down railway bridge

After lunch we headed back to Gayndah. Along the way drove to the top of Mt McConnell for some great views of the Burnett River and the surrounding citrus orchards. On top was a small Eco Loo facility. It’s funny how these small things attract the politicians. There is an impressive brass plate marking the opening of this loo in 2004 by Nita Cunningham the local member and also at the time the State Minister for Local Government. I wonder if she opened it literally? It still looks pretty new and in good condition after nearly 15 years, I suspect not a lot of use up here.

The Burnett River and citrus orchards from Mt McConnell

Eco facility on top of Mt Mc Connell

Back in Gayndah we settled in for the night and will head to Yandina on the coast in the morning.