Travel With Me

Saturday, May 21, 2011

B iloela Queensland

http://www.about-australia.com/queensland/gladstone/destinations/biloela/

Biloela is a growing rural town with a very diverse agricultural industry including cotton, sorghum, wheat, herbs and spices. The cattle industry is thriving with the largest number of cattle of any Shire in Queensland.

The Town is the centre of the Banana Shire. The name of the Shire came from a tan coloured bullock, named Banana, which worked on a property in the region in the mid 19th century.

Biloela's biggest attraction is The SILO. More than 28 metres high, it is filled, not with grain, but with an array of displays about primary industry. The SILO situated in Exhibition street gives an insight into cotton production, stud and dairy cattle, redclaw and ostrich farming, grain production and landcare.

Biloela came into being only in 1924 as an agricultural centre. Coal was first mined in the 1940s but was transported to Gladstone. First started by Theiss Brothers. Callide A commenced production over 30 years ago with two 120 Meg generators. Callide B came on line in 1988 with two 350 Meg units and Callide C with two 410 Meg generators and an overall consumption of about six million tonnes of coal from Callide Coalfields.

Tours are available from Tuesday to Friday at Callide B Powerhouse situated 17 kilometres from Biloela. For an overview of the mine, drive to Callide Mine Lookout, which has a spectacular view of Biloela and the mine areas. The vantage point gives people a fantastic view of the workings of the dragline, which is one of the world's largest walking draglines.

I stayed at the Biloela Caravan and Tourist Park, which is near the Silo Tourist Centre, just out of town, where the treed area is relaxing and beautiful and where peacocks walk around.

98 Dawson Highway Queensland
ph 07 49921211
email Biloelapark@bigpond.com Manager Terry Gordon

Friday, May 13, 2011

Mt Morgan Gold Mining Queensland

http://www.mountmorgan.org.au/http://www.mountmorgan.org.au/

Located 679 km north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and only 38 km west of Rockhampton, Mount Morgan must surely be the most charming former mining town in Australia.

At 240 m above sea-level the people of Mount Morgan enjoy a cool and breezy oasis amidst the flood plains of Central Queensland. Blessed with sufficient rainfall, close to beautiful beaches and only half hour from a city with an international Airport this small town (pop 2200) is an undiscovered Australian tourism icon.
Home to one of the world's richest gold discoveries Mount Morgan's history is a quintessentially Australian story. It tells of great hopes, vision and great tasks undertaken and accomplished. It tells of sacrifice and dedication.
From its earliest beginnings as a rough mining camp hastily thrown over the hills and valleys beside a fabulously rich gold, silver and copper ore body, Mount Morgan's new residents carved out a home in the hills and a proud place in Australian history.
Mount Morgan's great wealth flowed down the hill to Rockhampton and via the Fitzroy River to the sea and beyond, enriching all as it passed. Rockhampton's grand buildings were built and Queensland's young government and the financing of the new Australian Federation greatly assisted by its rivers of gold.
Mount Morgan's wealth and the work of its hundreds of skilled workers drawn from all over the world built a great engineering works that brought industry to Queensland and helped lay the foundations of Australia's international mining reputation and industrial capacity.
Mount Morgan's people helped build Australia.
Today, the mine lies idle; the once mighty Ironstone Mountain, richest in the world has vanished, replaced with one of the world's largest man made holes, filled with water it is 1000 metres long and 300 metres deep, a beautiful but deadly acidic blue lake.
The township of Mount Morgan lies across the Dee River from the old mine site, its grand buildings, museums, and community and sporting infrastructure a living testament to a magnificent pioneering past and the civic spirit of early Australian communities.
Today, Mount Morgan has little industry, but that community spirit lives on, this friendly little town has great natural beauty and there is much to see and learn of its remarkable past

Gold Mining Gold

There is plenty of accommodation there.
I stayed at the Silver Wattle Tourist Park

I also went on the half day tour of the Town and the mines, which included a Mine Musem and the Beautiful but contaminated Dam

http://www.capricorntourism.com.au

Mt Hay Queensland

What are Thundereggs?
http://www.digthetropic.com.au/places/mthay.aspx

Hot Beginnings… Mt Hay’s thundereggs formed in silica-rich volcanic rocks resulting from ancient lava flow called Rhyolite 120 million years ago.
Trapped in Time… The flowing Rhyolite trapped small particles and tiny gas bubbles, leading to the development of ‘volcanic birthstones’.
Formation… Thundereggs occurred when two forms of crystallization took place creating spherulites and spheruloids. Spherulites are a radical growth created when minerals crystallize around a nucleus. Spheruloids are a hollow form created when minerals crystallize around a steam bubble.
Stars in the Stone… As the lava cooled the star shaped cavity often seen in thundereggs (spheruloids) developed.
Lasting Layers… The cooling caused minute cracks to occur, allowing silica-rich solutions to seep into the cavities. This filled them with minerals such as quartz, agate, chalcedony, quartz crystals, amethyst, jasper and opalite.

There is a Caravan Park at Mt Hay.
You drive up a steep rocky road to the very top and there is a shop, a gemstone Workshop and also a Pewter Workshop, as well as a fossicking area. Tourists are given a hand pick, a bucket of water and a brush for washing the stones, and a plastic bag for collecting them for the price of $20.
Here the thunder eggs and cut in two, polished and prepared for retail.
Fossicking as well as a mine tour costs $30 and 2 stones are also cut in this price.

It is a very beautiful and tranquil location set in the mountain and there are powered sites and cabins for accommodation. I intend to return and stay a few days.
The stones you see in the first photo are what I collected and had cut.

Contact Mt Hay Gem Tourist Park for more information about tours and fossicking (Phone: 07 4934 7183).

Sunset Dingo

Dingo in Queensland has some wonderful skies and the sunsets and sunrises are magnificent.

Dingo is located on the Capricornia Highway 180 kms inland from Rockhampton.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Dingo Queensland Australia

http://www.about-australia.com/queensland/capricorn/destinations/dingo/

Dingo is a small town located just across the railway line from the Capricorn Highway. The origin of the town's name is shrouded in mystery - some say a railway surveyor saw a dingo on the creek bank and gave the town its name whilst others say that Moses Wafer, an early pioneer, heard dingo's howling at night and named the town after his camp site.

A bronze statue of a Dingo is in the town commemorating the town's name. This busy town sits on two major highways that service the beef, mining and coal industries. Up to 1,000 vehicles pass through in one day, and it's not unusual to see 10 triple road trains outside the roadhouse.

There is accommodation at the cattle station, where you can horse ride and muster. Dingo also holds the annual World Championship Dingo Trap Throwing and Picnic Races in July. For more information, just ask at the 24 hour service station on the Highway.

The last colony of the endangered Bridled Nailtail Wallaby was found north of Dingo.

Lamb Island Queensland Australia

http://www.lambisland.com.au/

Lamb Island is the second smallest of the southern bay islands. Russell, Macleay and Karragarra Islands are just a five minute ferry trip away

Bird life is abundant. Lorikeets, kookaburras waking you up, curlews and plenty more.