Fifteen dollars a night including power and water. How do they do it? Well here's a classic case of the value of volunteers. This more than adequate park, which allows a 48 hour
stop-over only, is, as the sign says, run by the Callide Dawson Machinery Preservation Club. And they do it very well (almost).
That rather backhanded compliment obviously demands some explanation. On our arrival Liz reported to me that the woman on duty at the park office could not have been more obliging. She (Liz) returned to the rig armed with a park map which clearly showed our site and the news that although this park has sixty laid out sites, only thirty are used at any one time (for a number of reasons including some council nonsense we believe). By alternating vacant sites in each row all become automatic drive-thru's...a very sensible idea, I thought.
We headed off through the imposing entrance gates rejoicing. What a boon after a long day at the wheel. Or so we thought until we pulled up at the site behind ours which was ostensibly vacant and through which we were to drive. I'll bet you are now one step ahead of me, and you would be right.
Some moron who was clearly incapable of correctly reading his site number had plonked himself right where we were supposed to drive through. This meant, of course that we had to back on and unhitch.....not happy at all, Jan!
Liz later wandered up to the office to question the arrival arrangements and to ensure that we were in fact where we were supposed to be. And, again god bless her, the vollie on duty immediately accompanied Liz back to our patch and confirmed that we were on song and that the bloke behind us was at fault. She immediately offered us an alternative spot, but there was no way that I was now going to re-hitch and move thank you very much.
And this all leads to my one criticism of the manner in which this park is run. Anyone who has managed a caravan park will be able to attest to the fact that at least 10% of those who arrive will not have the brains they were blessed with, will be incapable of following the most straight forward directions, or in some extreme cases, will take the law into their own hands if their allotted site does not suit them.
Where the parking arrangements are as they are here at Biloela, good order and a removal of the potential for some neighbourhood scraps demands that each new arrival is actually physically directed to the right site, a point I did make (politely!). And to top it all off, the bloke immediately next to us was also incorrectly moored but his little camper was hardly intrusive.
Needless to say The Matron was at her sternest when rejecting what I thought was a more than reasonable notion that I should have a quiet instructional chat to our parking pest. "Leave it alone" sound innocuous enough......believe me, delivery is everything! As it turned out, I had a second opportunity to have a crack....this drongo actually pulled up near us at a parking bay in Miriam Vale the following day, but by then I was over it.
And there was one upside......because I had been forced to unhitch, we did get the chance to take a very quick drive around the Biloela CBD (such as it is), something we had not previously planned to do.
So let's get on with that before I balance my earlier one criticism with a tour of what is a very good park.
This really was the whistle stop to end all whistle stops. I was tired, grumpy and dry and not at all in a mood for the sights and sounds of a new town. So we headed out briefly, back along the very broad main street into the CBD, which is actually the highway on which we had come into town.
We soon discovered that there is really not a lot to the Biloela business centre. Given that this town is the home of the local Shire authority and to about 6,000 permanent souls, this did surprise us a bit, although I suspect we may well have missed some significant outlying commercial areas.
These are a few photos Liz took through the front windscreen as I drove back and forth
through what we though was the most central part of the CBD....at least we found one imposing looking pub!
Some streets of the commercial central were quite open
and even leafy in parts,
but in the main we found that there was nothing her to overly excite our attention.
We did venture beyond the CBD thanks to a wrong turn and an inability to go back whence we had come. It then became evident that this town is quite spread out, but we both agreed all that we had seen to date was relatively unremarkable.
Mind you, in fairness, this was a very short jaunt, and had we had more time I am sure we would have visited the nearby Callide Dam where all reports laud the fishing prospects, even from the banks of the lake. Barramundi, yellow belly (callop) and other fine freshwater species are all to be found here. There are also abundant redclaw, but after our recent experience these are no longer an attraction.
This really is a lovely spot, as seen here (thanks to 'sweetwaterfishing)', but unfortunately any chance to spend a day or so on the shore in the van has recently been nipped in the bud by the company which controls the dam.
Apparently the irresponsible action of many of the locals (including leaving fires abandoned whilst still blazing, for example, and other stupidity) has prompted this action, something which has caused a bit of a stir amongst a group of regular grey nomads who normally come here annually. As they commented in a local news article, Biloela is now going to miss out on quite a deal of added commercial impetus when they take their spending elsewhere. The 'free camping' debate continues to rage!
As I noted earlier, Biloela is the hub of the Banana Shire, where the local economy is supported by the coal mine and extensive grazing and cropping, something we had certainly noticed as we travelled down from Dululu. Wheat, cotton and sorghum are the main crops, and as we saw, hay production is widespread. As an adjunct to local cattle production, Biloela is home to an abattoir of some significance, the third largest in the State in fact.
Now all that leads to a very interesting question, more of a conundrum really. Included in all the local agriculture there is not a single mention of 'bananas', and with good reason.....this area is entirely unsuited to the production of these fine fruit.
So why on earth is this area blessed with the moniker of the Banana Shire? The answer is quite extraordinary, and another of those 'only in Queensland' yarns.
This shire is named after the first town in the area, the town of 'Banana', so called because it was established near the burial site of a big brown bullock......and, dear contestants, the bullock's name is? Correct....'Banana'! So there you have it.....how incredible, and as I said before, only in Queensland!
But for now, it's back to our park where we took the time to follow the invitation on the entrance sign to "view the many displays on site", some of which are housed in the large shed not too far away across this open ground.
This is the home of Callide Dawson Machinery Preservation Club Inc., members of which are the volunteers who manage the park.
By all accounts this is a very active group within the community (as evidenced by the establishment and management of the park in which we were staying), and rallies of enthusiasts are a common occurrence here.
As we wandered under the quite imposing entry arch of the exhibition shed, the ability of this mob of machinery maniacs to cater for a large gathering was immediately obvious. This is a serious camp kitchen.
Equally obvious was the apparently trusting nature of this group.....all the liquor fridges were fully stocked with beer and bottles of wine. Now admittedly they were secured, but this building does not have doors or any other means of locking the contents away. We could only assume that all we nearby campers had a secret secondary role.....human guard dogs, ready to react instantly to any nefarious night time noise of a breaking glass variety.
Apart from the imposing catering facilities, this shed was crammed with all sorts of mechanical odds and sods,
including a few which were clearly of a venerable age (we think this is an old hay baler, but don't quote us).
All this mechanical mayhem continued beyond the confines of the shed
and it was here that we came across something which remains a mystery to us to this day.
I must confess that all these mechanical marvels held little real appeal to us, but 'when in Rome.....'
So we dutifully completed a circuit of the paddock which brought us back to the rear of the park office building and the most imposing water tower which dominates the local landscape and the collection of caravans in the park.
The trees near the tower surround a delightful little lake,
next to which stands the park ablution block which is more than fit for purpose
with its row of very clean and functional self contained cubicles.
All in all, despite our problematic neighbours, we decided that this choice of park had been a good one, and as we relaxed under our awing with a quite evening aperitif we were even treated to what looked very much like an outback sunset.
Needless to say, an early night was in order. Another drive of over 300 kms into Burnett Heads awaited us on the morrow.
Mind you, in fairness, this was a very short jaunt, and had we had more time I am sure we would have visited the nearby Callide Dam where all reports laud the fishing prospects, even from the banks of the lake. Barramundi, yellow belly (callop) and other fine freshwater species are all to be found here. There are also abundant redclaw, but after our recent experience these are no longer an attraction.
This really is a lovely spot, as seen here (thanks to 'sweetwaterfishing)', but unfortunately any chance to spend a day or so on the shore in the van has recently been nipped in the bud by the company which controls the dam.
Apparently the irresponsible action of many of the locals (including leaving fires abandoned whilst still blazing, for example, and other stupidity) has prompted this action, something which has caused a bit of a stir amongst a group of regular grey nomads who normally come here annually. As they commented in a local news article, Biloela is now going to miss out on quite a deal of added commercial impetus when they take their spending elsewhere. The 'free camping' debate continues to rage!
As I noted earlier, Biloela is the hub of the Banana Shire, where the local economy is supported by the coal mine and extensive grazing and cropping, something we had certainly noticed as we travelled down from Dululu. Wheat, cotton and sorghum are the main crops, and as we saw, hay production is widespread. As an adjunct to local cattle production, Biloela is home to an abattoir of some significance, the third largest in the State in fact.
Now all that leads to a very interesting question, more of a conundrum really. Included in all the local agriculture there is not a single mention of 'bananas', and with good reason.....this area is entirely unsuited to the production of these fine fruit.
So why on earth is this area blessed with the moniker of the Banana Shire? The answer is quite extraordinary, and another of those 'only in Queensland' yarns.
This shire is named after the first town in the area, the town of 'Banana', so called because it was established near the burial site of a big brown bullock......and, dear contestants, the bullock's name is? Correct....'Banana'! So there you have it.....how incredible, and as I said before, only in Queensland!
But for now, it's back to our park where we took the time to follow the invitation on the entrance sign to "view the many displays on site", some of which are housed in the large shed not too far away across this open ground.
This is the home of Callide Dawson Machinery Preservation Club Inc., members of which are the volunteers who manage the park.
By all accounts this is a very active group within the community (as evidenced by the establishment and management of the park in which we were staying), and rallies of enthusiasts are a common occurrence here.
As we wandered under the quite imposing entry arch of the exhibition shed, the ability of this mob of machinery maniacs to cater for a large gathering was immediately obvious. This is a serious camp kitchen.
Equally obvious was the apparently trusting nature of this group.....all the liquor fridges were fully stocked with beer and bottles of wine. Now admittedly they were secured, but this building does not have doors or any other means of locking the contents away. We could only assume that all we nearby campers had a secret secondary role.....human guard dogs, ready to react instantly to any nefarious night time noise of a breaking glass variety.
Apart from the imposing catering facilities, this shed was crammed with all sorts of mechanical odds and sods,
including a few which were clearly of a venerable age (we think this is an old hay baler, but don't quote us).
All this mechanical mayhem continued beyond the confines of the shed
and it was here that we came across something which remains a mystery to us to this day.
I must confess that all these mechanical marvels held little real appeal to us, but 'when in Rome.....'
So we dutifully completed a circuit of the paddock which brought us back to the rear of the park office building and the most imposing water tower which dominates the local landscape and the collection of caravans in the park.
The trees near the tower surround a delightful little lake,
next to which stands the park ablution block which is more than fit for purpose
with its row of very clean and functional self contained cubicles.
All in all, despite our problematic neighbours, we decided that this choice of park had been a good one, and as we relaxed under our awing with a quite evening aperitif we were even treated to what looked very much like an outback sunset.
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