The Thirsty Tourists Hit the Road — Rockhampton to Goondiwindi
And we’re off! It’s time for another Thirsty Tourists adventure, although this year’s trip down south is going to be a little shorter than some of our previous outings.
Our destination for the first day was Goondiwindi, where we’d once again be staying at our usual haunt, the Macintyre Motor Inn.
Unlike last year’s trip, we weren’t planning any major detours or sightseeing adventures along the way. This was going to be a straightforward drive south, with one important stop to catch up with some old friends in Chinchilla.
Well, straightforward was the plan. The weather, the coffee and the quality of the roadside food had other ideas!
Pre-Dawn Departure and a Coffee Emergency
We set off in the pre-dawn darkness, keen to get a few kilometres behind us before the day got underway.
Our first stop was McDonald’s in Rockhampton for a much-needed morning coffee. Unfortunately, they had neither oat milk nor almond milk available, leaving us with the dreaded dairy option.
After drinking coffee without cow’s milk for several years, we both found the taste rather strange. Funny how your palate changes over time! What was once perfectly normal now tasted a little odd.
Still, caffeine levels had been topped up, so we climbed back into the car and continued south. There were kilometres to cover and friends to see, and we weren’t about to let a questionable coffee derail the day’s plans.
Brrr! It’s a Bit Fresh Out Here!
Once we got beyond Westwood, the temperature really started to make itself known. The car’s outside temperature display was showing between 1°C and 4°C.
Now that’s what I call fresh!
Fortunately, we were travelling in the comfort of the car rather than sitting out in the wind on a motorcycle. We could enjoy the scenery without having to dress like an Antarctic explorer.
By the time we reached Theodore, we decided it was time to find something to eat. We checked out the local café, but there wasn’t much on offer. Perhaps Saturday morning wasn’t the best time to expect a huge selection.
Rather than hang around hoping something more appealing would magically appear, we decided to keep moving.
The Great Sausage Roll Disappointment
Our next food opportunity came at the Ampol service station in Taroom, where we turned to the trusty hot box.
You know the drill: glass cabinet, hot food, and the eternal question — how long has that been sitting there?
I chose a sausage roll, which turned out to be a rather disappointing decision. Based on the taste, it seemed as though it might have been keeping warm for a day or two!
Let’s just say it wasn’t destined to win any awards in the Thirsty Tourists Food Guide.
With the weather still on the chilly side, we didn’t hang around for long. We retreated to the warmth of the car and continued our journey. At least the kilometres were ticking over, even if the culinary highlights weren’t exactly setting the world on fire.
Chinchilla — Catching Up with Old Friends
Eventually, we arrived in Chinchilla, where we were looking forward to catching up with some old friends.
This was one of the main reasons for the day’s stop, and it was lovely to spend some time together over lunch. After a morning of driving, strange-tasting coffee and a sausage roll that had clearly failed to impress, good company and a decent catch-up were just what we needed.
There was plenty of conversation, a good feed and the chance to reconnect before it was time to get back on the road.
As much as we enjoy discovering new places, catching up with friends is one of the real pleasures of travelling. Sometimes the best part of a road trip isn’t a famous landmark or a spectacular view — it’s simply spending time with people you haven’t seen for a while.
With lunch finished and the kilometres to Goondiwindi still ahead of us, we said our goodbyes and continued south.
Goondiwindi — Home of the Goondiwindi Grey
We made good time to Goondiwindi and were soon checked into the Macintyre Motor Inn, our go-to accommodation whenever we’re visiting town.
I enjoy visiting Goondiwindi. Sitting right on the Queensland–New South Wales border, it has an interesting position in the Australian landscape, with travellers regularly passing through between the two states.
One of the town’s most famous residents wasn’t a politician, celebrity or local publican, but a thoroughbred racehorse named Gunsynd, affectionately known as The Goondiwindi Grey.
Gunsynd became a racing legend and remains an important part of the town’s identity. It’s a great story of a country horse that captured the imagination of racing fans across Australia.
Of course, we’d arrived with a more immediate priority: getting settled and finding somewhere to enjoy a well-earned drink.
Happy Hour at the Victoria Hotel
After unpacking and freshening up, we wandered down to the Victoria Hotel for a beer and possibly dinner.
As luck would have it, we arrived during happy hour. Naturally, we weren’t going to argue with that!
We managed to fit in three schooners in 30 minutes before deciding that dinner was calling. That’s certainly one way to make the most of happy hour, although we figured it was probably time to slow things down and find something to eat.
And we knew exactly where we wanted to go.
New Dynasty Restaurant — Eight Years Later
Our dinner destination was the New Dynasty Chinese Restaurant in McLean Street.
We’d visited New Dynasty about eight years earlier and remembered the food and service fondly. Returning to a restaurant after that long can be a bit of a gamble. Sometimes the memories are better than the reality, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case here.
The food and service were just as good as we remembered.
We ordered the two-person banquet, which had impressed us on our previous visit. Once again, it proved to be an excellent choice, with plenty of food to keep both of us happy.
By the time we’d worked our way through the banquet, we were well and truly satisfied. There was no need to go hunting for dessert or another feed — we’d done quite enough damage to the menu already!
It’s always satisfying when a restaurant delivers the same quality and service years after your first visit. New Dynasty certainly lived up to our memories, and we’ll happily keep it on our list for future Goondiwindi visits.
Time to Call It a Night
With dinner finished and stomachs full, it was time for the short stroll back to the Macintyre Motor Inn.
Our first day of touring was done. We’d survived an early start, some seriously chilly temperatures, a disappointing roadside sausage roll and a coffee that didn’t quite taste right. On the plus side, we’d caught up with good friends, made it to Goondiwindi without any major dramas and enjoyed a cracking Chinese banquet.
All in all, not a bad start to the trip!
Now it was time to put our heads down, get some sleep and prepare for the next leg of our adventure.
After all, there are more roads to travel, more places to explore and, hopefully, better sausage rolls waiting somewhere down the highway.
Stay tuned for the next instalment of The Thirsty Tourists — touring is thirsty work!
