Dodging Kangaroos: NZ Herald Queensland Outback Road Trip + My Top 60 Photos, Incl 19th Century Mansions, Farm Stays, Rainforests, Mud Baths & Statues Of The Bee Gees

The view from Bunya Mountains National Park.

My longest ever published travel article was in Tuesday’s New Zealand Herald – a 3000-word epic about a Queensland road trip I did in May. Given I drove more than 2000ks, it seemed appropriate to go whoppingly large for this piece – I hope you like it!

The article includes mud baths deep in the Outback, dodging kangaroos, exploring 19th century mansions, hiking lush rainforest and a beautiful farm stay I’ve already promised to return to. The adventure comes to a close in Redcliffe where I saw Bee Gees Way – a wonderful tribute to Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb who spent several years there as they made their strides towards fame.

In all I took over 600 photos so the 60 in the below photo essay represent just 10% of my Queensland road trip photo album (close friends and family are already excited about viewing all 600 in one sitting).

Click here to link to the article in the NZ Herald and for my extended photo essay, just scroll below. Special thanks to Qantas and to Queensland’s Big Sky Country Drives – click here for details including self-drive itineraries like the one I did.

 

The Glengallan Homestead near Warwick – see more at glengallan.org.au

 

Rudd’s Pub in Nobby

 

The excellent Cobb & Co Museum in Toowoomba

 

Sunset on the Balonne River in St George – click here for river cruise details

 

Late afternoon river cruising – Balonne River, St George

 

Typical highway scene, southern Queensland Outback

 

Having a soak at the Palm Grove Artesian Mud Baths in Eulo

 

Ian and his ‘Stuff’ shed – Eulo

 

A fairly common sight on the highways of southern Queensland

 

The striking dusk colours of Charleville

 

The famous #casuallean at the Palm Grove Artesian Mud Baths – Eulo

 

You can’t have a good mud bath without a decent Mexican hat – Eulo

 

Delcious Queensland watermelon for breakfast at Charleville’s premier accommodation, The Rocks Motel

 

The endangered bilby – Charleville’s bilby rehabilitation centre

 

Doing a #casuallean at my favourite bar in all of Straya, Madonna and Lyle’s ‘The Smoke House’ – Bonus Downs Farm Stay

 

Arguably the most grand 19th century mansion in Queensland – Jimbour House

 

Still a private residence but with immaculate gardens open to the public – Jimbour House

 

My balcony view from the Bunya Mountains – click here for accommodation details

 

Friendly wallabies are easily spotted in the Bunya Mountains

 

The lush rainforest of the Bunya Mountains

 

Busting out a #casuallean on a giant bunya tree – Bunya Mountains National Park

 

An almost South East Asian rainforest scene – Bunya Mountains National Park

 

Bunya Mountains National Park

 

The adult Bee Gees looking back on themselves as children – Bee Gees Way in Redcliffe

 

Rural southern Queensland – in between Brisbane and Warwick

 

Glengallan Homstead – Warwick

 

Ensuite bathrooms with beer taps and buckets for sinks! Rudd’s Pub, Nobby

 

The memorabilia-overflowing Rudd’s Pub, Nobby

 

A sketch artist at work, Jondaryan Woolshed

 

Powerlines dancing down a southern Queensland highway

 

Cotton fields are a common sight – southern Queensland

 

Flamin’ galahs! As seen from the Sandytown River Cruise, the Balonne River, St George

 

Sunset on the river – St George

 

The Sandytown River Cruise in St George is worth it for the sunset colours alone

 

Another rural highway scene – southern Queensland

 

Kangaroos darting off into the trees

 

An emu who decided not to stick around for chat

 

I was quite a distance from Brisbane at this point in the adventure

 

A “Queenslander” house

 

Inside the main homestead at Madonna and Lyle’s delightful Bonus Downs farm stay

 

One of Madonna and Lyle’s bottle trees – Bonus Downs Farm Stay

 

An old bus grazing the grass – Bonus Downs Farm Stay

 

The living room for guests staying at the Bonus Downs Farm Stay – love those church pews at the dining table

 

The private lake at the Bonus Downs Farm Stay

 

The largest cattle saleyards in the world – the Roma Saleyards

 

Sunset in Roma

 

The swimming pool at Jimbour House

 

Another chubby bottle tree

 

Driving towards the Bunya Mountains

 

Incredible views from the Bunya Mountains

 

Seeing for miles – Bunya Mountains National Park

 

Sunbathing wallabies in the Bunya Mountains

 

Bunya Mountains accommodation visible amidst the rainforest

 

The 4WD Nissan that successfully got me through the Outback

 

Sunset in the Bunya Mountains is spectacular

 

Sunset in the Bunya Mountains

 

Catching up with some friends, Bunya Mountains National Park

 

Oversized tree roots, Bunya Mountains National Park

 

Crane Wines in Kingaroy – a charming little B&B and winery

 

Ending the trip with a #casuallean on Barry Gibb – Bee Gees Way, Redcliffe

 

2 Comments Add yours

  1. Anita Clark says:

    Fantastic pictures of Queensland's Big Sky Country!

    1. timroxborogh says:

      Thanks Anita! Was perfect weather virtually the entire trip, had such a great time.

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