TRAVEL

Tambo – the oldest town in the (central) West

In September 1846, explorer Major Thomas Mitchell stood on a ridge near Long Water Hole and became the first European to look out over the rolling black soil downs of Upper Barcoo country. BEVERLEY EVERSON tours Tambo district and finds there’s a lot more to see than you might imagine.

The Tambo Wool Truck artwork in the main street gives a nod to the region’s heritage.

Tambo is on the Barcoo Way which also includes Blackall, Yaraka and Windorah. at the Royal Carrangarra Hotel and a heritage precinct. It also has a friendly and welcoming

New settlers and selectors who moved to the Great Western Downs began camping in what would become the township from 1862. It is recorded that in the early 1870s about 200,000 sheep and 50,000 cattle watered at the holes on the mighty Barcoo River near the town. The first pub was built in 1863 as even then, travellers were keen to quench their thirst after a long, hard, dusty day on the road.

At first glance Tambo could seem to have little to offer the visitor, although the sign at its entrance proudly announces a variety of attractions in the oldest town in central west Queensland.

After obtaining brochures and mud map from the Info Centre we realised Tambo is full of history and tales of old. Well-maintained heritage buildings have descriptive interpretive signage.

It’s the site of a deadly Qantas plane crash almost a century ago, has the now-famous Tambo Teddies workshop, a Grassland Art Gallery, Ben’s chicken races atmosphere as you stroll the wide streets. At last count Tambo had a population of under 400 in town. It has limited access to the facilities that are taken for granted in bigger towns and cities, but it does very well for a small population. This slow-paced tidy town is awakened only by locals doing their day-to-day activities, the constant passing of travellers of all ages, and cattle road trains. Temperatures in summer can exceed 35C and in winter drop below zero in the early morning. We travelled in May and found the days comfortable and the nights mild. The knee-high Mitchell grass had a recent drenching which replenished the pastures for winter. Tambo has earnt its reputation as the Outback Teddy capital of Australia. During the past 25 years around 500,000 plus teddies have been sold and can be found in homes all over the world. Each bear is individually named and outfitted giving each teddy its individual appeal. Around 5pm during tourist season (seven nights a week May-September) visitors head to the Royal Carrangarra Hotel to bid or just be a spectator of the crazy Chicken Races.

Publican Ben’s lovely hens need very little encouragement other than a mobile buggy filled with chook seed, which they chase to race several times around a track.

The owner of the winning chook takes half the proceeds with the other half going to the Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS).

The Qantas crash memorial site along the Coolabah Walk commemorates the spot where a biplane crashed on the claypan landing strip on March 24, 1927, while on a regular run from Charleville to Cloncurry. The pilot and two others are buried in the Tambo cemetery.

Take a self-guided walk along the banks of the Barcoo and past the town’s historic buildings or try Morse code at the Post and Telegraph building.

Day trips are common to the Salvator Rosa national park or relax at the Tambo Dam where there’s an abundance of bird life – a comprehensive list of local birds is available at the Information Centre.

The Barcoo was not flowing but a

A memorial has been erected at the site of the 1927 air crash. series of billabongs were deep enough to hold Yellow Belly. The dam was short on water, but surrounded by shady trees, irrigated green lawns and picnic tables with barbecues.

Among the annual events that draw visitors from all over, are the Tambo Stock Show in April, and the Tambo Races in August. September sees the town overflowing for the rodeo.

When travelling it is always a good idea to check the calendar of Outback towns so you don’t miss anything.

There are currently a lot of travellers on the road as this is the best time of year to head west, so it’s likely you’ll need to book ahead for accommodation or a spot in the caravan park.

I recommend spending at least two nights to allow time for a full experience. Like all small western Queensland towns, you may need to wait till after 10am when the paper and bread are delivered. It’s not really an inconvenience, so stay a while and soak up its atmosphere.

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GET a behind-the-scenes look at the Birdsville Races as a volunteer.

There’s a call-out for helpers at the 139th Melbourne Cup of the Outback on September 3-4.

Organisers have also announced that tickets must be pre-purchased will not be sold at the gates, and numbers will be restricted for social distancing.

Tickets are on sale now, with the event raising funds for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and volunteers can register at birdsvilleraces.com/Volunteer

You can do a shift with friends and family, or in line with a particular skill-set or area of interest.

Roles are available in hospitality, information, as marshals and gate staff, media liaison assistant, ticketing, mini-bus drivers, and set-up and packdown.

In return, volunteers receive an exclusive souvenir volunteer polo shirt, a stubby holder, cap and a souvenir medallion which gives complementary entry to both race days. Visit birdsvilleraces.com/volunteer

TOURING Queensland has become the way to go, with many travellers visiting country areas they hadn’t seen previously, says tour leader Penny Hegarty. And the towns visited appreciate the bus groups and tourists who arrive.

Chinchilla, Roma, Esk, Tambourine and Toowoomba have been particularly popular.

As well as the features of each area, there is country hospitality and dining experiences, so it’s a win-win.

Most towns have a museum or historic house, and with Penny’s horticultural expertise, her tours also include outstanding gardens and nurseries, on top of the occasional winery and car museum. “Group travel is easy and economical, so all you really have to do is pack,” she says.

“Travelling with like-minded people gets the conversation flowing and as a tour host I get to meet many lovely people. Some book multiple tours.”

Penny’s next trip is in August when she heads off to Kingaroy, Jandowae, Chinchilla and Roma. The Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers is fully booked for September. Warwick and Stanthorpe are coming up in October.

Penny recommends booking early to be sure of a spot. Call 5441 2814 or email penny. hegarty@gmail.com ******* TOURISM Research Australia shows that caravan and camping is now the most popular holiday accommodation type for Australians, accounting for 44 per cent of all holiday nights.

And sales of caravans were up by 242.9 per cent in December 2020, with the top three dream destinations being the Kimberley, Tasmania and Queensland.

Despite its increasing popularity, purchasing and maintaining a caravan can still be an expensive exercise and according to Caravan Partnership founder Roni Ormandlaki, on average, it is used on average for only six weeks a year.

His Caravan Partnership system allows purchase of as little as 10 per cent of a new caravan for use for 35 days a week plus unlimited standby days, using an online booking system. The more shares that are purchased, the more days you can book the caravan.

Visit caravanpartnership.com.au

A NEW 400-page coffee-table cookbook by chef Dean Keddell is raising funds for five Bali charities to help thousands of families survive the current hard times.

With Bali welcoming more than one million Australian visitors in a normal year, it had a thriving tourism-based economy and although it has bounced back from the bombings in 2002 and 2005, eruptions of Mount Agung in 2017, and the devastating Lombok earthquake in 2018, there is no end in sight to the pandemic. People can’t travel even if they want to.

Keddell, owner of two of Bali restaurants, decided to do something and keep staff busy too.

They began collecting favourite family recipes and then expanded to ask local Warung cooks for theirs.

The large hardcover cookbook, Our Bali Your Bali (Bali Kita Bali Kamu), has colourful images, family and community stories and more than 100 local recipes as well as recipes from the restaurant kitchens. Visit chuffed.org/project/bali-needsour-help

Australian Travel to suit your Budget in 2021

Join Sunshine FM Presenter Penny Hegarty on this fabulous tour! KINGAROY, JANDOWAE, CHINCHILLA & ROMA TOUR

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Per person, Twin share Single Room $1630 INCLUSIONS: ● Petersen’s Rosella Farm Woolooga ● Kingaroy town tour ● Athlone Cottage Historical Precinct, Jandowae Exchange Hotel lunch ● Condamine - Myall Park Botanic Gardens, Heroes Avenue ● Roma Saleyards, Mooreland’s Bush Nursery, The Barn at Mount Hope ● Miles, Paddock to Plate lunch ● Itinerary subject to change without notice

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Norfolk Island with its famous pines and buildings from the convict period of the 1820s. IT’S only a short flight of just over two hours, but it’s a new world, a perfect piece of peace in the Pacific, where history and natural beauty collide.

Norfolk Island is small in size and big in attraction, from steep ocean clifftops and patches of sub-tropical rainforest to convict ruins and the famous Norfolk Pines.

Paul Brockhurst of CT Travel has carefully planned an eight-day tour for February next year and has a Norfolk adventure covered – not just the basics of where to stay and what to eat, but one that captures everything the island has to offer.

“This is a fully escorted tour that allows you to get offshore and travel overseas again, but at the same time feel safe and secure on Australian territory,” he says.

In historic Kingston there is St Barnabas Chapel, built from the ruins of the New Gaol, where history comes alive from the legends of the first settlers, the Polynesians, who arrived 900 years ago to the first and second convict settlements. Pitcairn Settlers Village, one of the last remaining original settler’s properties, shows what life was like for Norfolk Island’s most recent settlers, the Pitcairners, and their descendants. Cyclorama is a panoramic painting that brings to life the famous mutiny on the Bounty and the mutineers’ settlement on Norfolk. Journey behind the scenes to see their work, including a secluded old island home surrounded by gardens with a well dug during the convict era. If you watch Gardening Australia, you’ll recognise four gardens that are part of the tour that has Norfolk’s nature covered. At Wonderland by Night, take a stroll or ride along a winding pathway through 4ha of magical Norfolk pines and bushland St Barnabas Chapel

lit up like an enchanted forest, while a guide recites poems and dioramas light up.

A glass-bottom boat tours the reef and the coral gardens and tropical fish inside the calm crystal waters of Norfolk’s lagoon as a guide provides commentary.

See a selection of enterprises that sustain the community, from meatproducing sheep, market gardening and pig farming to manufacturing soft drinks and liqueurs or exporting of Kentia seedlings. Hilli Goat – the Norfolk Whey, is a green and sustainable dairy goat farm.

Dining experiences include an Island Fish Feast to dine on locally prepared fish while Tahitian-style dancers entertain on the clifftop overlooking Anson Bay on the western side of the island.

Spend an evening with the locals at a Progressive Dinner. Norfolk Islanders open up their homes for a three-course dinner and stories of island life.

High tea is served at Forresters Court. On magnificent lawns overlooking Cascade Bay, food and wine is served on white linen and fine china.

A traditional island dinner is a culinary experience featuring Norfolk Island’s infused cuisine over stories of the island’s rich culture and contemporary life.

And of course, there’s Norfolk’s most famous resident – take an escorted tour of “Out Yenna” the property of the late Colleen McCullough, author of 24 books who lived at Norfolk Island for almost 36 years. She and her husband, Norfolk Islander, Ric Robinson, created a luxurious hideaway. The magnificent home houses a priceless collection of artefacts.

“This will be a trip that makes sure you don’t miss a thing on Norfolk,” Mr Brockhurst says.

Other CT Travel tours to watch for next year are Stanthorpe and New England in autumn, the Darling River Run to Broken Hill, the Western Queensland Loop, the Savannah Way and Tasmania.

And if you can’t wait to get moving, explore Bundaberg and Bargara, including a cruise to Lady Musgrave, in October.

Full tours details and a list of upcoming tours where you can choose your destination and duration, are on the CT Travel website. Visit cttravel.com.au

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2021 Tours

August 26 – September 1, 2021 (7 Day Tour)

2022 Tour Program

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February 2022 Norfolk Island (7 Days) March 2022 O’Reillys Rainforest Retreat (4 Days) Carnarvon Gorge & Wallaroo (7 Days) April / May 2022 Stanthorpe & New England in Autumn (4 Days) OB NSW - The Darling River Run to Broken Hill (15 Days) May / June 2022 Carnarvon Gorge & Wallaroo (7 Days) O’Reillys -Winter Escape (4 Days) July 2022 Western Qld Loop inc Birdsville (11 Days) August 2022 Lightning Ridge (7 Days) September 2022 Nth Qld Savanah Way ( Days) Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers (3 Days) November 2022 Tasmania (14 Days)

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September 6-9, 2021 (4 Day Escape) Fraser Island Whale Watch Tour

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