Dawson River, when full, covers an area of around 42 hectares and is located in QLD. … Have you been bird watching in Dawson River? https://ebird.org/region/AU-QLD-BAN
Some of the birds at Theodore
The red-backed fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia and can be found near rivers and coastal areas along the northern and eastern coastlines from the Kimberley in the northwest to the Hunter Region in New South Wales
The Silvereye is a small bird with a conspicuous ring of white feathers around the eye, and belongs to a group of birds known as white-eyes… The Silvereye shows interesting plumage variations across its range… the birds in the east have regular migrations within Australia and may replace each other in their different areas for parts of the year.
In photography, the golden hour is the period of daytime shortly after sunrise or before sunset, during which daylight is redder and softer than when the sun is higher in the sky. The golden hour is also sometimes called the “magic hour,” especially by cinematographers.
The Magic Hour
The period of time shortly before the magic hour at sunrise, or after it at sunset, is called the “blue hour“. This is when the sun is at a significant depth below the horizon, when residual, indirect sunlight takes on a predominantly blue shade, and there are no sharp shadows because the sun either has not risen, or has set.
The Blue Hour
The term hour is used figuratively; the effect has no clearly defined duration and varies according to season and latitude. The character of the lighting is determined by the sun’s altitude, and the time for the sun to move from the horizon to a specified altitude depends on a location’s latitude and the time of year. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hour_(photography)
Because the contrast is less during the golden hour, shadows are less dark, and highlights are less likely to be overexposed. In landscape photography, the warm color of the low sun is often considered desirable to enhance the colours of the scene. It is the best time of day for natural photography when diffuse and warm light is desired
Last time I did this drive, I visited Theodore when the road turned towards Theodore, and I followed it to the very end where I found a beautiful river and free camp area and said I would return one day, and I did. The banks of the river is a great place to camp, rich in bird life and there are fish and platypus in the water. I must admit I saw 3 platypus….and only one fish, a catfish, in the few days I was here.
Dawson River at Theodore Queensland
It was established in the 1920s as part of Queensland PremierTed Theodore‘s ambitious Dawson River Irrigation Scheme which failed to eventuate. It was originally known as Castle Creek. Theodore is situated on the Dawson River just off the Leichhardt Highway 565 kilometres (351 mi) north-west of the state capital, Brisbane. Castle Creek flows through the town and into the Dawson River immediately south of the town centre.
The town was initially called Castle Creek after the local railway station, which in turn took its name from the creek which flowed into the Dawson River just south of the town. However, in November 1926, it was renamed in honour of Ted Theodore, who as Premier of Queensland had given so much support to the irrigation scheme.
The Hotel Theodore was originally built as a boarding house to accommodate new residents to the district. Country Women’s Association hall, 2014
The Theodore branch of the Country Women’s Association was established in about 1928. In 1932, they openedtheir original rest rooms in Theodore in 1923 at a cost of £113. On 21 February 1953, their current hall on The Boulevard was opened.
The Theodore Public Library was opened in 1959
However, Ted Theodore never obtained funding for the Nathan Dam and in 1925 he resigned as Queensland Premier in order to move into federal parliament. In 1933, the Nathan Dam was postponed for 25 years. Without the water needed for irrigation, many of the small farm blocks around Theodore became economically unviable and many sold at a loss. In 2006, the Queensland Government announced that the Nathan Dam was the preferred short-to-medium-term water supply solution for the district to meet the needs of the growing mining activity in the Surat Basin but indicated that only existing agricultural users would be supplied, suggesting there is no plan to revive the Dawson River Irrigation Scheme more generally
Marguerite Carstairs
Birdlife is prolific at Theodore
In March 2010 the Dawson River flooded, causing significant economic damage to the town.[41] On 28 December 2010, a second flood forced evacuation of the town, with the level of the Dawson River exceeding 14.6 metres.[42]
At the 2011 census, Theodore had a population of 452.
As you drive to the end of Taroom, the Caltex Service station is on your left and the Pub is on the right. Opposite the Caltex Service station is the Lions Park where you can have a hot shower for $1.00 and camp overnight around the Grassy Oval and playground. Many roadworks and huge trucks also use this area for overnight parking so be prepared to be woken up at 4am by huge trucks and vehicles revving up as they get ready for the day.
Taroom has a rare windmill of an unusual design located on the banks of the Dawson River. The windmill was produced by the Steel Wings Company, in North Sydney between 1907 and 1911, one of only six models ever erected. The windmills comprise a steel frame and fan which turns to the wind between a bearing at the bottom and a swivel at the top, all supported by guy-wires. There is a lookout at the top of Kelman Street, known as Gilbert’s Lookout in honour of John Gilbert, a naturalist with Ludwig Leichhardt‘s 1844 expedition. There is a memorial to Gilbert at the lookout. Gilbert was killed when he was speared by an Aboriginal at the Mitchell River near Dunbar, Queensland near the Gulf of Carpentaria. The lookout offers panoramic views of the town and surrounding countryside
I asked at the IGA where the creek for free parking was, and was directed to the end of town as I was driving out. The park is right next to the Bridge and I was pleasantly surprised at the facilities, the parking and the beautiful parklands that swept down to the Creek and where one can park.
Toilet, taps, parking bay and Camping area at Miles
Many travellers stop here to use the public facilities. They are clean and well maintained, as were the mowed grassed area around the trees. The creek is at the bottom and the bridge goes over the creek. Its a very pretty place and a beautiful camp
Columboola Country has been a tourism Caravan Park set up for the Public around twenty years ago. The current Owner, Colin Jackson, purchased Columboola Country in December 2003. For fourteen years the main target was tourism, schools and groups. Just before Easter 2019 suggestions were made to set it up as a Veterans Retreat. Since promoting to the Veterans the property has been very well received by all aged serving as well as served members of our defence force and first responder communities. Today 265 acres provides secluded camping sites and cottage accommodation beside the Punchbowl Creek.
The Punchbowl Creek commences here on the property and runs to the Dogwood Creek in Miles.
Punchbowl Creek, State of Queensland, Australia … Cracow, Banana Shire, Queensland, Australia, 25° 17′ 20″ S, 150° 16′ 57″ E, 52.3km (32.5 miles), 82.7° (E).
Bill and Nita Ryall Lived at Columboola Country. In 1923 using the 18hp Buick Motor from Grandfather Ryall, Bill set up a small sawmill. With the little sawmill, Bill provided timber for the shearing shed and set of sheep yards. The shed was big enough for 400 sheep. Next to be built was a new home for Bill and his family, which was constructed from Cyprus Pine and Iron Bark.
In 1957, Bill bought a bigger sawmill and employed 2 men to help operate it. One of them was Freddy Brooks, a chinchilla man with sawmilling experience. Bill was now selling sawn timber locally. By 1970, Chinchilla Cypress pine was being used for housing in Toowoomba. Here a cabinet maker discovered Bill’s timber, and soon it was being used to construct architecturally designed homes in Noosa. This western timber was resistant to white ants.
Interior of the old house on the property
Punchbowl Creek had been the setting for Bill’s childhood, and his dream was to turn it into a place where families could enjoy the simple pleasure of country living, and it was that vision that brought about what we now know as Columboola Country. Colin Jackson purchased the property from Bill Ryall, and today it has become the Columboola Country Veterans Retreat.
Columboola Country is ideally located for the travelling holiday maker. They are four comfortable hours drive west of Brisbane, just off the main Warrego Highway. They are also only two hours north of Goondiwindi, which is the major inland crossing point between Queensland and New South Wales.
WELCOME TO COLUMBOOLA COUNTRY
VETERANS RETREAT
Columboola Country is the ideal location to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday situations.
We are a comfortable 4 hours drive west of Brisbane, just off the main Warrego Highway between Chinchilla and Miles. Being only 2 hours north of Goondiwindi, the main crossing point from New South Wales into Queensland, Columboola Country is the obvious choice for those from the southern states, to break their trip.
Your pets are more than welcome here and we completely get it that all our best companions may not be human. Dogs are not the only companions our guests bring either. Those with horses are also welcome, we do have a small yard for your horse, but most people prefer their horses with them.
Columboola Country is not your usual regimented caravan park. We pride ourselves on the space and the distance between all cabins, cottages and sites. We promote as more of a back to nature, bush camping experience. And with 265 acres available, our unpowered sites range from ‘completely remote’ to being within the main camping area.
The Camping Area has all the modern amenities… hot showers and flush toilets. A coin operated laundry is also available.
Am staying at The Dalby Tourist Caravan Park and there is a walking track along the river adjacent to the Caravan Park which is rich with bird life as well as Baobab Trees and huge gums that line the river bank
Dalby is a town and locality in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. Dalby is approximately 82.3 kilometres west of Toowoomba, 208 kilometres west northwest of the state capital, Brisbane The name of the town is believed to come from the village of Dalby on the Isle of Man and reflects immigration from the Isle of Man in the mid-19th century.
Dalby was believed to have a healthy climate and in 1900 the Queensland Government built the Jubilee Sanitorium for consumptive patients. In 1904 the Dalby Town Council erected therapeutic thermal baths using artesian water from a local bore for those wishing to improve their health by “taking the waters“. In 1938, the council closed the artesian baths as interest in “taking the waters” was declining
Lake Coolmunda is at full capacity because of the rains. Sunrise is over the lake and amazing. It always surprises me that so many people camp on water shores with sunrise views such as this and never see them as they are all tucked up safe and asleep at Sunrise. This is my last day here and its an amazing sunrise and a very beautiful location right on the water.
The Coolmunda Dam is an earth–fill embankment dam with a gated spillway across the Macintyre Brook, a tributary of the Dumaresq River, that is located on Darling Downs in Queensland, Australia. The main purposes of the dam are for irrigation and potable water supply.
The dam is located approximately 13 km (8.1 mi) east of Inglewood, just off the Cunningham Highway. Two smaller creeks, Bracker Creek and Sandy Creek, also provide inflows to the reservoir.
Completed in 1968 the earth–fill dam structure is 20 metres high and 2,826 metres long. The 690-thousand-cubic-metre (24×106 cu ft) dam wall holds back the 69,000-megalitre (15×109 imp gal; 18×109 US gal) reservoir when at full capacity.
There is one boat ramp, three picnic areas with good facilities as well as a caravan park.[3] Free bush camping by the lake was once permitted. In 2013, a new camping area was opened to the public. There are no boating restrictions in place. Parts of the lake contain stretches of standing timber and along the northern bank there are submerged fence posts the demark a former creek bed. Eel-tailed catfish and spangled perch are found naturally in the lake’s waters and the Lake Coolmunda Restocking Group Inc. stocks it with murray cod, silver perch and golden perch .A stocked impoundment permit is required to fish in the dam. The dam is managed by SunWater
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