Nardoo Station

Thought we'd try our hand at farm stay-kind of accommodation and weren't disappointed. We arrived at Nardoo Station, 38kms north of Cunnamulla, to find a roaring camp fire complete with bbq's, camp kitchen, bathroom facilities, 2 artesian spas and 50 other Grey Nomands. Nardoo is a working cattle station of 110,000 acres. The farmer's wife started the park some years ago as a means of income during a particularly awful drought when most stock had to be sold. The venture was apparently very successful and carried the farm through the difficult times, so much so, that the park grew with the demand, and other farms caught on and this sort of venture is to be found throughout the Queensland Outback. Probably elsewhere too but we've yet to experience that.

We were met at the gate by 'Pete' who showed us where to park our van, pointing out the 'green power' extension cord for electricity. The only thing we could see that was 'green' about the orange extension cord was that it was hanging in a green bush! We quickly set up camp before changing into swimsuits for a dip in the artesian spas. The spas are actually 2 x water tanks about a metre deep with fresh artesian water constantly drained in and out at a temperature between 35 - 40 degrees. There was a water tank cut in half vertically with spray jets arranged in the inside of the tank which guest were expected to wash off the 'desert dirt' before entering the spa. Great for some but when you're only 5' nothing, and the jets are arranged at intervals meant to reach the knees, mid-drift and necks of folk 5' 6" or more, it was a bit of shock to have the water blurring one's vision! However, the hot water was simply wonderful for tired, old bones!

That night we sat around the camp fire with about 30 other travellers exchanging yarns and tall tales before retiring contented and relaxed.