It's Miles From Roma

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The distance from Charleville to Roma, our next destination, is the best part of 300 kilometers so on Saturday 1st October we tried to make a prompt start. But Graham got chatting to some neighbours who had just acquired a trailer-tent and were trying it out for the first time. Knowing that Sarah and Darryl are now more interested in a trailer-tent so that they can go off-road a lot more, Graham was asking how they had coped, was it easy to put up and put away etc. They seemed thrilled with it and were looking forward to some real off-road adventures. We managed to get away by about 8:45am and made good time although the road was very “bouncy” so we couldn’t go very fast. The journey was relatively un-eventful and at about the half way stage we reached the small town of Mitchell where we decided to stop for a break. We found a nice park with loos and stopped for about half an hour before carrying on towards Roma. The second half of the journey was no more eventful than the first half - the road continued to be “bouncy” – and soon after midday we reached Roma. We were surprised with Roma. We had been warned that it was a mining town but it looked very pleasant with a nice selection of shops and also a good selection of caravan parks. All of the main contenders were represented – Big 4, Top Tourist and Family Parks – but we chose a Top Tourist park and we were not disappointed. The Big Rig Caravan Park was fairly small, tidy, with a lovely looking pool and was reasonably priced. We were able to get a drive-through site although we knew we would un-hitch in order to do some shopping and to get some fuel.

After lunch we drove to a Woolies store – the first we’ve seen for a while – and then the Woolies garage – also the first for some time – where we got discounted fuel using a Woolies voucher. But most of the afternoon was, embarrassingly, spent in front of the TV watching the AFL (Aussie Rules) Grand Final between Collingwood and Geelong. We don’t have a favourite team but because of our Rego plate (PIE 673) we tend to follow Collingwood who are commonly known as The (Mag)Pies. It was an excellent match for the first three quarters but, sadly, Collingwood faded badly and Geelong romped home comfortable winners. This time last year, when Collingwood were the winners beating St Kilda, we were staying with friends in Mansfield who were fanatical Pies supporters and the atmosphere was electric. Obviously our sympathies must go to Simone and Bernie who will be devastated by the loss this year. After the match we had a quick tour of Roma including the Big Rig just across the road. It’s a display centre showing gas and oil drilling techniques over the years and is a memorial to the pioneers of the industry. It is a very popular tourist attraction but we decided to give it a miss this time. We drove through the town centre which confirmed our initial impressions that it was a very pleasant town. On our initial arrival we had resisted putting out the awning as it was very blustery. Indeed, at one point we lowered the “pop-top” roof because the gusts of wind were very strong and our neighbour had said it was going to get worse. But on our return from our tour the wind had subsided considerably and, while we still didn’t use the awning, we raised the roof again so that Graham didn’t inadvertently hit his head every time he stood up! We didn’t hitch back up but we placed the car alongside the tow-bar so that Graham could quickly connect up in the morning without my guidance.

The night passed peacefully enough and we managed a bit of a lie-in. Our neighbours were up and away before we stirred. We knew today’s journey would be relatively short and had chosen Miles as the likely destination – less than 150 kilometers away. If we didn’t like what we saw we would go on to Chinchilla which is another 50 kilometers further on. The journey started well enough only to be halted just out of Roma by the approach of four huge 8 meter wide loads. They took up the whole road so not only did we have to pull to one side but we had to pull right off the road. Fortunately there was a firm grass area to retreat to otherwise it could have been a bit tricky. A road-train in front of us must have had advanced warning over the CB radio as he pulled over very early and we sailed on by not knowing what was coming until a police escort hove into view. It meant that, when all was clear, the road train was now immediately behind us and would soon be anxious to get by. Graham was conscious of this and with the road train closing rapidly he pulled on to the entrance to a gravel road off to the left. Unfortunately he mis-judged the speed a little and for a split second it didn’t look as though the car, with the weight of the caravan behind, was going to stop before reaching a deep ditch, skidding to a halt within just a few feet of the drop. Fortunately all ended well and we were able to rejoin easily enough and carry on our way. Like yesterday, the road was poor but today we also encountered long stretches of road-works controlled by lights or stop/go boards. We managed a stop at a very small town (village) called Dulacca which came just after an even smaller place called Jackson. Dulacca had a picnic area and some loos so it was a good place for us and came mid-way on our 140 kilometer journey.

On arrival in Miles we weren’t overly impressed with what we saw but we had already convinced ourselves that a stop would be best. So we hunted down the first caravan park we came to and proceeded to register for one night. The lady in reception pointed out the spot she wanted us to have and suggested we use it as a “drive through” site. It had a block, which we like, but was so ridiculously close to a power pole that there was no way Graham could “drive through” direct. He tried - but disaster struck!! He had to approach at an angle and then straighten up but in so doing he could not see the position of the power pole in relation to the caravan. It was only when some neighbours hollered at him that he realised he was in danger of taking the power pole with him!! On closer inspection he had wedged the caravan up against the pole and realised the only way out of it was to reverse – but which way??? Fortunately the neighbour was an expert and soon had Graham away from the pole. But he then had to drive beyond the block and reverse alongside it – a very tricky manoeuvre given that the pole was constantly “in the way”. Graham was a bit despondent as he hadn’t come close to hitting anything during the whole 12 months of travelling. It had sometimes taken him an age to get it right but he had always been successful. (You could be asking yourselves, where was I during this manoeuvre? Well I was on the other side checking how close the caravan was to the block but I should have at least checked that there were no obvious obstacles in the way – oops!) There’s a mark on the side of the caravan to go with those that were already on there when we picked it up (where did they come from we wonder?) But the power pole survived and we soon settled in and had some lunch.

After lunch we did a quick tour of Miles – it didn’t take long! It has an Historical Village but, with all due respect to Miles, the village we saw at Herberton near Atherton a month or so ago would almost certainly surpass anything else we might see, so we gave it a miss. 'Miles' was originally called 'Dogwood Crossing' (which I thought sounded rather nice) but was changed in 1878 in honour of William Miles, an early pioneer. We found Chinaman’s Lagoon which is a bit of a bird-watching area and that was interesting, as was the story about the Chinaman that gave the area its name. Most other places of interest were a little drive away and we felt we had driven enough for the day. Back at the caravan park, another unit had come alongside us so room for parking the car was reduced somewhat. Graham had to negotiate with another neighbour so that everyone could park without someone being blocked in - don’t go to Miles Caravan Park if you want a bit of space!!! But the cost and facilities are reasonable and as an overnight stop it proved adequate. We sensed a bit of road noise but not enough to disturb us. Tomorrow’s destination is still a bit in doubt. We could probably get to Warwick in one go but we fancy spending time in Toowoomba so we’ll see how we feel in the morning. It’s another chilly night so we’ll be snuggling up under the duvet.

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Photos

The victorious 'Cats' with the cup
Geelong triumph over Collingwood this time in the AFL Grand Final

They won comfortably in the end
but the 'Pies' will be back!

One of the Roma 'floodboats' used in the early part of the 20th century
used to rescue people from areas like Chinatown that were prone to flooding

Statue of John Machado, an American, who came to Australia in 1923
and was responsible for training the first oil drilling teams.

Sam Ah Sun, the Chinaman who lived by the lagoon
after he was thrown out of the town for being 'lazy' drunk and supplying opium