April 5-12
Video for this area in the next Post.
Another short run South took us from the free camping area at Warroo Bridge to the town of St. George. A couple of free camping areas here had been closed in 2015 by the council so we found the Riverfront Tourist Park, 10km North of town. The only one with river frontage this was a great little park, owner developed and operated since the late
There are about 18 powered sites on the river bank, 15 of them with river frontage. There are a few other sites closer to the amenities block as it is about a 200m walk (or drive!) from the riverfront area.
Reasonably busy for our 4 day stay it is obviously very popular. We did discover later that the free camp close to the dam (further out of town) is probably available again, but not the one in town by the weir and bridge.
The main Jack Taylor Weir is at the Southern end of town jointly with the Andrew Nixon Bridge. St George was named by Thomas Mitchell when he crossed the Balonne River here on St George’s Day (April 23) 1846.
We took the time to visit the Beardmore Dam but were disappointed that there is no lookout to get the view over the lake but only at the dam wall (and you can’t get to the top of the wall level either).
We also took “The Cotton Trail”, about a 100km loop which includes the dam and then through the cottonfields and via Buckinbah Weir, returning to town past the Cotton Gin. At the weir we came across these rows of Whistling Ducks, all perched on the dead trees poking up out of the water in neat rows of 2, 4 and 6.
On the way back we came across a lone Heron in one of the irrigation channels.
Cotton harvest was still under way here but with the majority completed and dozens of both round bales and rectangular modules awaiting transport to the Gin.
