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Leaving Eromanga – alternate routes

4X4, Australia, desert, Eromanga, Landscape, Qld, Quilpie

Leaving Eromanga around 4am The Doc headed towards Quilpie; on the western side of Quilpie he turned right onto the Quilpie Thargomindah Road and headed south towards Toompine. South of Toompine he turned left on the Eulo Toompine Road and headed towards the Adventure Way and Eulo (he also had morning tea at this road junction). It was a really nice drive along both htese roads. The route is on the linked map here. The pictures are from this small part of the trip.

While driving along Eulo Toompine Road The Doc saw three caravans just off the road, one was being towed by an Eldoret Blue Grenadier (there was no time to stop and talk as there was a long drive ahead). When the Doc reached the corner of the Eulo Toompine Road and the Adventure Way two large SLRV vehicles (MAN Commanders) were traveling west were talking about the baby SLRV on the UHF (The Doc’s Grenadier). Both events happened in about 30 minutes in the middle of nowhere.

The rest of the trip to Goondiwindi (actually nearby Bogabilla) was the same route as the trip in.

Shakedown lessons
Cunnamulla would be the refueling stop, but the grey nomads were everywhere, especially lined up for fuel. There was still fuel in the Grenadier’s mounted fuel containers. The Doc pulled out the fuel pump to find out the diameter of the tank opening did not let the pump be inserted. The Doc decided to refuel at Bollom instead and arrived on fuel vapors (with one or two litres left in the car).

The fuel tank was fixed at Expedition HQ during the next service, by reboring the opening. It turns out when the tanks were purchased, The Doc was given the wrong set of fuel tanks. This is why The Doc does shake down trips to find things like this out without creating major dramas.

The Doc also found out on the trip he could not sleep in the Grenadier due to his ongoing injuries from the car accident and instead had to stay in a motel. Before setting out The Doc thought he could sleep in the car, but he got a reality check instead! It became obvious on this trip The Doc needed extensive rehab and he started heading back home for treatment. The car was not only being tested but also the driver under field conditions. It was a wake up – and the intense rehab is still ongoing.

The Lightforce Viper lightbar also prove itself in the dark and rain driving out of Eromanga.

Cunnamulla, Eulo, Thargomindah – Outback Queensland

4X4, Australia, desert, Eromanga, flowers, Plant, Qld, , , , ,

After leaving Stanthorpe, The Doc travelled along the Stanthorpe-Texas Road. Then through Texas and heading northward to Inglewood (along the Inglewood-Texas Road), which was a great drive early in the morning. Time to visit the local bakery and get some warm bacon and cheese topped rolls, which was the food for the day (nice rolls they were). The last roll later in the day was warmed up in the Travel Buddy Oven.

The Doc drove all day and stayed overnight at Cunnamulla. It was a long day’s driving. On the way The Doc fueled at a Roadhouse outside Goondawindi. From memory, it was time for a Magnum ice cream.

Leaving Cunnamulla early the next morning The Doc travelled west out of Cunnamulla via Eulo (Eu-lo) and Thargomindah (Thar-go-min-dah) along the Bulloo Developmental Road. Here is an interactive map of the trip from Ballina to Eromanga.

Eulo is a place where many of the Australian Megafauna, like the Diprotodon, are found.

Previously The Doc had always travelled north out of Cunnamulla along the Mitchell Highway, but a change was in order.

The Doc visited Noccundra and then turned northwards onto the Cooper Developmental Road and up into Eromanga the back way.

The traffic was light all the way. It turns out had The Doc gone the normal way (Cunnamulla, Charleville, Quilpie and then Eromanga) he would have run into many cars heading to the Big Red Bash at Birdsville.

On a back road, The Doc came across a little oasis in the in the middle of nowhere in this semi arid landscape. Enjoy.

Stanthorpe – start of the Outback Queensland trip

4X4, Australia, bark, cityscape, Landscape, moss & lichen, mosses/lichens, Plant, rock, Textures, trees, ,

At the beginning of the Eromanga trip The Doc drove from Ballina to his mate’s place at Stanthorpe. He stayed two nights and got to ride in Tony’s Ford 350 – wow what a great tow vehicle!

The next morning The Doc was just touring around Stanthorpe and found the Mt Marlay Lookout. Just a few images from the Lookout. Click on that first panorama, because at full size it has amazing details.

The Doc really liked Stanthorpe and for the first time since switching to part time work, thought about moving out of Sydney.

We had lunch at the Jam Factory and later that day Tony took The Doc to Donnellys Castle Recreations Reserve. Plus a few textures from the reserve.

Tony made a great choice to live in Stanthorpe, part of the Granite Belt. The Doc will be back.

Interactive map from Ballina to Eromanga here. Enjoy.

Yelarbon Silos – Outback Queensland

4X4, Australia, Landscape, Qld, Uncategorised, , , , ,

On the first day heading back to home, The Doc passed through Yelarbon located on the Cunningham Highway heading towards Goondiwindi on the New South Wales and Queensland borders. The Doc was actually staying on the NSW side at Bogabilla. The Doc stayed a few nights at Bogabilla visiting the Goondiwindi Botanic Gardens, showcasing the plant communities of the Upper Darling Basin

Yelarbon is a rail terminal with grain silos, which are all gussied up. It was a quick break to take a few images. Looking back The Doc should have used a tilt shift lens to capture the silos.

The Yelarbon Silos are part of the extraordinary Australian Silo Art Trail.

Roadtrains – Outback Queensland

4X4, Australia, desert, Eromanga, Qld,

When you are this far from the Big Smoke, you see Roadtrains every day. The Roadtrains can be configured differently, the main ones The Doc saw on this trip were carrying fuel, cattle/sheep or general cargo. Most were three trailers in length but some can be bigger (four and rarely five).

The general cargo Roadtrains were doing a few runs each week, through Eromanga, from Brisbane to Darwin and back. The fuel Roadtrains were in an out every day from the Inland Oil Refinery (iOR) across the road from where The Doc was staying. iOR also had fuel pumps out front of the refinery.

One morning The Doc was drinking tea on the veranda and those two cattle Roadtrains you see below turned up. Ten minutes later three more Roadtrains turned up plus caravans. It took about 30 minutes to fill the cattle Roadtrains using high speed diesel pumps. Highly entertaining for the next 45 minutes with Roadtrain roulette. Roadtrains are big boy toys.

On single lane or narrow bitumen roads, Roadtrains have the right of way. Cars must get off the road. You do not want a Roadtrain to drop a wheel off a single lane – as the dust and rocks fly everywhere. Plus, you do not want the driver to lose control and crash. Recently a local tried to race a Roadtrain to a narrow floodway crossing in this area. He miscalculated and lost his life.

The Doc was talking to a Roadtrain driver in the Kimberley some years ago and he was pulling three trailers of LPG from Perth to Darwin. The combined rig and load weighed over 135 metric tonnes. Most Roadtrains use an extension bar and hook to join the trailers. When they drive down the road you can see all the trailers moving ‘Higgledy-piggledy’ – The Doc gets off the road even when it is a dual lane. It is unnerving to see the trailers move around like that.

Enjoy. Click on an image to see a slideshow of full size images.

Ky-ab-ra waterhole – Outback Queensland

4X4, Australia, desert, Eromanga, Landscape, Qld, Quilpie,

Heading north out of Eromanga along the Kyabra Road, traveling through Kyabra Station, you come across Kyabra Waterhole (pronounced Ky-ab-ra). It is a permanent waterhole fed by surrounding floodways. The Station owners kindly make it available, free of charge, as an overnight stop for travelers.

The Doc stayed for about an hour, as the main objective that day was the nearby red sand hills – being the most eastwards of any of red sand hills from the Simpson Desert.

If you keep traveling north you reach the Diamantina Developmental Road, turning right you head to Quilpie, turning left you go to Windorah and on to Birdville. Enjoy.

Buckaroola Station – Outback Queensland

4X4, Australia, desert, Eromanga, Landscape, landscape, Plant, Qld, rock, Textures, trees, Uncategorised, , , , ,

The Doc’s friend Steve Young got special permission to visit Buckaroola Station. These images are from the second visit, as The Doc forgot to put his memory card into his camera during the first visit! Buckaroola Station is westward out of Eromanga along the Cooper Developmental Road and is not open to the public.

Bullo Shire – Outback Queensland

Uncategorised, , , , , , ,

During the Eromanga trip in 2024, The Doc visited the adjoining Bullo Shire. Here are some images from Outback Queensland, Bullo Shire. Back to travel is a big objective of The Doc’s rehab.

The Doc stopped a few times at the fancy Rest Stop in the middle of nowhere, near the border of the Bullo and Quilpie Shires, on the Quilpie side (located on the Cooper Developmental Road). Nice clean toilets and over a week or so The Doc stopped for tea, lunch, snacks and rest breaks from driving. It was used as a rest stop on longer trips away from Eromanga.

The other rest stop with the big skip bin was located near Noccundra, located at the intersection of the Bullo Developmental Road and the Innamincka Road.

Grenadier build – metal number plate holder installed

Uncategorised, , , , ,

The Doc has never been happy with the front plastic number plate holder. Black Sheep now sell a metal version which The Doc installed today.

Here are some of the lessons learned.

BLACK SHEEP NUMBER PLATE HOLDER INSTALLATION HELP
The Doc could not get all four bolts into the bumper bar, there was always one hole misaligned, despite trying a few things. Not sure if it is a design issue with the Black Sheep holder or a manufacturing variation in The Doc’s car. The Doc used the top two bolt holes and the bottom right side. The Black Sheep holder is secure and a lot stronger than the old INEOS plastic number plate holder (INEOS holder). The missing bolt is not visible with the Black Sheep holder cover down.

The holder appears level on the bumper bar.

Make sure the top of the holder is properly aligned with the bumper, otherwise you can have issues inserting the new bolts.

TOOLS NEEDED

  1. Screw driver to remove the screws holding the number plate onto the INEOS holder.
  2. Torx T30 bit/tool to remove the four bolts securing the INEOS holder. All four bolts were not tight on my car, but they did appear to have some sort of loctite on the bolts.
  3. A 10mm bit used to tighten the bolts supplied with the Black Sheep holder (they have hex heads and a washer, they are not Torx T30 bolts). You cannot reuse the T30 bolts removed earlier due to their head shape.

PARTS NEEDED

  1. You must source two bolts used to attach the number plate to the Black Sheep holder (instead of the screws which do not work with the Black Sheep holder). The Doc used bolts with a 8mm hex head. These bolts go into different holes on the number plate (compared to the screws), The Doc just aligned the number plate on the Black Sheep holder to see what bolt holes to use.
  2. The Doc used marine Goop on all the bolts and the black plastic covers for the visible bolts (hiding the silver bolt heads and nuts). Over time these black plastic covers are likely to fall off, even with the Marine Goop.

There were rain showers during the install. The number plate is a standard size NSW plate, not a custom size.