Today we are heading to Lake Victoria, a bush camping spot 57km north of Biloela. As there are no major towns along the way we decided on the extra 5 km to Westward before backtracking and heading south to the lake.
In Westwood we found some nice toilets at the local hall and a lovely citrus stall where we purchased oranges and mandarines but alas, no coffee (well no real coffee at any rate - we are fussy). The pub/post office/cafe/store had a coffee sign outside but it was only 'vending machine' type coffee so we gave it a miss. Jill did buy a book.
There were a few other campers at the lake when we arrived but we did find a spot where we could set up for a couple of days. Arthur has a cousin in the area, so the plan was to meet up with him while we are here. Lake Victoria is on a Camping and Water Reserve and the camping part is pretty basic. In fact, you could say it's bush camping at its finest. No facilities, no reception, no marked sites, remote and lovely and quiet. The Lake is fed by Callide Creek and is apparently about 22 hectares in area when full.
We set up camp and went collecting firewood. Lots of Brigalow just here so plenty of dead wood to collect. Unfortunately also lots of Harrisia (Snake) Cactus, a nasty introduced species from South America by some hapless settler in the 1890s. Apparently, it is quite a pest in the area, infesting pastures and reducing them to a level unsuitable for stock.
Later in the afternoon Rob and his wife Barbara called in to catch up with Arthur and Margaret. Unknown to us, Rob actually has a lease on this reserve and has the property next door, the land being in the Hatch family from Arthur's grandparents days. Rob actually lives in Goovigen, about 25km away. Naturally, he was a wealth of information about the area.
