Travellin’ Kyds

Bingara  is a wonderful country town. Exceptionally clean and with very friendly natives that welcome we grey nomads.

It sits right on the picturesque   Gwydir River and at the time we were there the Jacaranda and Silky Oaks were in full and magnificent bloom.

We turned right after crossing the first bridge out of town off the Fossickers way tourist route to get to our camp spot.

Must say that this has got to be the most camper friendly place that we have ever experienced.

For about 10kms out of town you can free camp along the Gwydir River.

Our site was about 5kms from town with plenty of room for all of us to have a water front only stumbling distance from our awnings. What an absolutely magic place this is.

Bob was the first to wet a line after setting up camp and also the first to catch a fish followed by Glen with two. All the fish were Murray Cod that are stocked by the local fish stocking club. Unfortunately they were too small and the season was closed. Consequently brag pics were taken then the fish released back to the river.

Judy got full marks for trying but unfortunately like the rest of us didn’t catch a fish.

It was a great place non the less.

The kayaks were launched here and the peaceful surroundings enjoyed to the full.

Our itinery called for a run to Coolmunda Dam for a few days on the water and then home,but after this wonderful spot we could not bring ourselves to return to the land of the prickles and burrs, so Glen and Deb suggested we move on to Girraween National Park for the rest of our adventure. The suggestion was unanimously agreed to

The run to Girraween took us through Tenterfield where we had a break for lunch at the pub. As can be seen from the picture it was a morbid bunch that ate there   It seems that we ate out for most meals on this trip. I am sure that we took home more food in the fridge than we left home with,but it was all great.

Girraween was great. Our camp spot was great with water available nearby and fantastic walks to be done.

We did manage to do some walking and were rewarded by the sites of this great place.

The only unfortunate thing about Girraween was that it was way too close to the wonderful wineries of Stanthorpe. Suffice to say that many wine tastings, much stocking up of cellars and sampling the cuisine of the area occurred during the few days spent here. It was very fortunate that no one was put over a weigh bridge on the way home as I am sure that we all would have been over (weight that is )

And that my friends is the story of our October Bore bath trip. We hope that you enjoyed hearing about it as much as we did experiencing it.

As usual there was a lot more to tell and I apologise to those that came along for missing any important stuff but as we know what happens in camp stays in camp hehehehe.

Again a huge thank you to Deb & Glen, Judy& Greg, Lynda& Nev and Beryl & Bob (Greg’s brother from another Mother for helping us to have a great time.

Must say that it is good to be home (for hopefully only a short time) to dry out a little.

Thanks to everyone for contributing pictures. If you claim copy write just try and find me grin.

Heaps more pictures are on the way soon.

Love to all.

Mavis and Rod.

A fond farewell was said to Lightning Ridge.

Burren Junction Bore was to be our next stop, to spend a couple of days in the refreshing waters.

When we arrived at the Junction we found that the baths had been closed for renovation. Should be great when they are finished with the incorporation of new toilets and showers facilities. Really did need it with the number of travellers that take advantage of the great baths.

Non the less it was a bugger. So it was decided to travel to Piliga baths about 40 kilometres away.

This could not have been planned better.

Piliga baths had been renovated to include toilets and a cold/ bore water shower,with camping right next to the baths.

We all had a ball here with a lot of laughs and some refreshing dunking.

The added bonus was the drain from the baths was heavily populated with blue claw crayfish. Yummmeee. Just had to suffer a couple of feeds of this superb crustaceans.

Thanks to Bob, Mavis and Glen for being the hunter gatherers.

We experienced a big Willy Willy during our stay at Piliga.

Fortunately not too much damage. One of Bob and Beryl’s open windows was blown hard open and the struts separated. With a group effort a temporary repair was carried out. Lots of gear had to be searched for after the blow. But that was not all the drama. Neville lost his full stubby and cooler. Fortunately the cooler was retrieved later some distance away but we had to hear about the stubby contents for some time after the event

We left Piliga Bore on Sunday the 25^th heading for Bingara.

It was a fairly short run of about 200 kms stopping at Narrabri for smoko and a top up of provisions and draining of the black water storage at the most inhospitable Country town show grounds that we had ever experienced. The Manager was not the best bloke that we had ever met but the job was done so to speak.  Then we climbed the mountains to get to Bingara.

On the way we stopped for a short walk in Mt Kaputar National Park for a look at Sawn Rocks. This was an amazing natural feature check out the write up and the pics that follow.

This looked like a giant crystal formation only it was not crystal.

Moving over the mountain range we experienced some spectacular scenery on the way to Bingara. Flowing creeks and great rural landscapes were everywhere.

The next instalment is the last of the October Bore bath trip Our next stop Bingara then Girraween National Park.

After this most relaxing experience at Rose hill Aviaries we packed up to move on to Lightning Ridge in New South Wales for an Opal experience.

For our over seas friends Lightning Ridge produces the only black opals in the world and they are gorgeous beyond belief.

We had to stop at the little town of Hebal for a beer in the little pub, What a gem grin.

The inside of this Pub was a typically great little outback licensed establishment, providing a little light relief and refreshments for the travelling public as well as the few locals that frequent it.

After refreshing the weary bodies we left Hebal and crossed into New South Wales from Queensland.

This town my friends is one of the great attractions of the west.

There is a hot bore bath here but most found it too hot and crowded so we just enjoyed the rest of the town.

Our original plan was to book for 3 nights in case we needed a bit more time here. We only paid for 2 nights in case their was not enough to keep us there any longer.

Gotta tell you that this place has some of the best tourist attractions that we have ever seen. So much so that we stayed for 4 nights and left reluctantly on the 5^th day vowing to return to see more of the area.

Staying at the Lightning Ridge Hotel Motel Caravan Park we booked a tour with the Black Opal Tour company. This cost us $25 each for a 3 hour tour of the Ridge. Money very well spent.

Margaret our tour guide treated us to a great first hand knowledge of life on the Ridge and some of the attractions, culminating with coffee and scones at the Tour companies old train carriages where they had a great opal shop (revisited by some later on .

As a result of the tour we decided to visit two of the famous attractions in the Ridge the next day. They were booked that evening

The first was “The Black Queen” in the morning with the

“Chambers of the Black Hand “ mine tour in the afternoon.

Both of these attractions were first class. “The Black Queen” being our favourite while the Chambers ran a close second. It is hard to compare the two as they offer a completely different experience but both never to be forgotten.

Gale and Roger Collins own and operate this magnificent establishment that is “The Black Queen”.

Gail being the orator to a magnificent story concerning Joan Andrews the original occupant and builder of this not to be missed attraction.

The “Black Queen” was the most moving theatrical experience that we have seen and included a priceless museum collections of oil lamps, some absolutely priceless.

We were treated to a display of the lamps during the performance by Gale.

This display of lamps dated back to 200bc. We were allowed to not only view but hold some of the lamps and some were alight for our viewing.

Gale Collins.

The lamp on the right dates to 200BC.

We won’t go into this great attraction too far as we think it would spoil the experience for those that subsequently visit. Suffice to say it must be seen as one of the true wonders of Australia.

“Chambers of the Black Hand “ mine tour was fantastic.

It is a display of over 400 carvings in the sandstone walls of an opal mine and display of how the mining was done before mechanisation in a 100 year old mine shaft.

This is an ongoing work of art with some of the carvings having been painted.

Absolutely fantastic display and presentation.

I was very proud of Mavis who overcame her fear of confined spaces ( thanks to the compassionate guide) to view the carvings.

A great effort and a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

The themes ranged from movie s, religion to an Egyptian room where he had carved and painted Tutankhamen s tomb. Wonderful viewing.

It is hard to imagine that this is all done in sandstone 40 feet underground.

The next day was a bit of a rest day,although we did visit Bevins cactus nursery. Another great experience in the Ridge,consisting a garden filled with cacti from all over the world

It is probably a good time to say that Lynda and Neville had adopted a pee wee in Surat. This bird was fascinated with their windows and mirrors on the car. We know it is a long shot but we think that they smuggled the bird into Lightning Ridge, because this  bird was seen behaving exactly the same in the Ridge. Terrible mess on the glass grin. It even managed to remove shopping bags that were placed to deter its amorous advances to the mirrors.

After relieving some of the opal dealers of some of their heavy burden we reluctantly although excitedly said farewell to the Ridge and headed for Burren Junction.

Part 4 soon.

From Surat we travelled to Mitchell which was to be our first Bore bath experience.

On the way Roma was the lunch stop even though it was a bit early. This is one really great town, it has absolutely everything.

We all could not believe the haberdashery shop in Roma. Their was everything imaginable sold here from kitchen wear to fabrics and it was piled to the ceiling and spilled out to the front of the shop. Nothing had a price marked but the owner could come up with a reasonable price when you finally found the front door and the cash register.

The Camping shop was raided for the purchase of the inevitable last minute forgotten or newly required items.

The cake shop was also raided to fill up on the luxury items such as pies, sausage rolls,creamy cakes and yummy coffee’s that we so crave while roughing it in the wild untamed outback then off we went to the next adventure.

A short photo stop to capture a beautiful Prickly Pear cactus,This one would have to be THE most photographed noxious weed in the west

We arrived at Mitchell and camp was set up at Neil Turner Weir after a riotous trip from Surat. The conversation over the CB on this trip had to be heard to be appreciated. Mavis was in tears for most of the way thanks to Greg and Glen.

Neil Turner Weir was pretty sad. The water level was almost non existent. Their was a few small bodies of water that held some bird life and the weir wall was fully exposed concrete.

The camp site was good but on dirt with toilets and water available. A nice green grassy area was available for picnics or just to walk on green grass. We ringed up into a circle comprising the 5 vans and had a ball for two nights. Great food and even greater company.

Colin and Gayleen and their two poodles Cherie and Moet turned up for an overnight with a brand new Kedron van. They were on their third day out of Brisbane on the way back to Cairns. What a coincidence to bump into our intrepid little group.

Had we explored a little further and had a look at the other free camp at “Fishermans Rest “ we could have been on water and used the Kayaks, but this was not discovered until later.

The spar in Mitchell was in the swimming pool area. It was a pay experience but we all thought that it was worth the expenditure.

The water was at about 39.0 degrees and regulated by the pool staff. The second day we were told that the bore had heated up to 52 degrees so they were recycling the water to bring the temp down to the required 39 ish degrees. Absolutely wonderful. Their was a cold pool beside the hot bore pool for those brave souls that could leave the warm pool and venture into the cold and a full size Olympic pool next door.

Our only gripe here was with the showers (on the second day) the cold tap was from the bore and it was so hot that it was not refreshing. But hey it was a shower.

After two great days in Mitchell we packed up to head off to the Rosehill Aviaries about 56 km west of St George. This part of the trip was on the first dirt road that we had experienced on this run. About 120 kms of dirt mostly well maintained dirt but with the last 20 kms were fairly corrugated.

This gave a great proving ground for Linda and Nev (first trip in their new van on dirt )and Judy and Greg first time on dusty conditions to see how the new Kedron’s held up to their reputations. Linda and Nev had traded an older Kedron for this new baby and had done a lot of happy off road travelling in the old one.

Both new vans had some dust ingestion but not a great amount.

Unfortunately as is usual our Kedron manage to become completely filled with dust.

It would seem that no matter how we tape windows and vents we always manage to become filled with dust. Have to do some serious homework on this problem.

Rosehill Aviaries is a great property run by John and Elaine Beardmore.

The Aviaries (still) have the greatest display of Australian native birds in Australia although they closed the doors on the aviaries after the September school holidays 2009 for a well earned retirement.

I had called at the start of September and spoken to Elaine and asked if we could still camp on the beautiful bore drain on the property and was told that we could.

Arriving at the property we found Elaine entertaining family that had come from all points around the Brisbane area to celebrate a 21^st and 18^th birthdays.

John came out and we were charged the grand sum of $6.50 each to view the great bird collection. For this princely sum we could also camp at the bore for as long as we liked. Money very well spent.

The bore drain is one great place, with plenty of firewood available on the ground to collect.

The bore water is hot and fresh with no smell (unless you disturb the mud on the bottom as we found out on a previous trip) and so soft that to shower in it is a real treat.

Glen had completed the design and assembly of his portable 12volt pump before leaving Brisbane and this was the place for the proving run.

It was a huge success with him hooking it onto their van and supplying pressurised water for the shower etc. A hose was later run to Judy and Greg’s van so they also had pressure. (Life is pretty hard and rough out here in the bush .

Two glorious days were spent here just relaxing and cooking great food with some walking thrown in.

Unfortunately for John, Elaine and the areas tourism, no one has stepped up to take on the birds to maintain this wonderful attraction.

More to follow soon.

OCTOBER 2009 BORE BATH TRIP

A BIG THANKYOU TO DEB AND GLEN,BERYL AND BOB, JUDY AND GREG AND LAST BUT DEFINATELY NOT LEAST LYNDA AND NEV ALL GREAT TRAVELLING COMPANIONS AND GOOD SPORTS

The planned trip began with everyone meeting at the Rangemore Estate Winery at Maclagan in Queensland. 4 couples in as many vans were to accompany Mavis and me on this journey.

Our personal journey began on Sunday the 11^th Of October,when we set out from Narangba after enjoying a wine tasting and lunch with Mavis’s Daughter Terrie and her husband Glen.

Being that it was a fairly late start an not wanting to travel all the way to Rangemore,we decided to have an overnight at the free camp at Benarken near Blackbutt. This I can thoroughly recommend to fellow travellers as there are toilet facilities and free power and water if required. The shop opposite does great food as well.

After a good nights rest we struck out for Rangemore Estate Winery at Maclagen and the start of our adventures with good friends.

We were the first to arrive at the winery and set up camp before having a chat with Dave Allen our host and the owner of Rangemore.

Deb and Glen were next to arrive with Greg and Judy in tow.

After they had set up we moved into the tasting area for a sample of the great product that Rangemore produces.

It was after the tasting that we all decided that it would be quite acceptable to have lunch on the verandah overlooking the Bunya Mountains with a few bottles of wine to wash it down.

Dave prepared some of his goat pies with chips that were enjoyed by some of us and some seafood delights for others. It was a great afternoon but an early start for the consumption of alcohol resulting in all of us retiring to the vans for “Nana naps” afterwards .

Lynda and Nev arrived with their brand new van (first trip away) while the rest of us slept,it was a surprise to see them when we woke up. (Guess the wine with lunch must have had a bit of an effect grin).

Beryl and Bob were the last to turn up as they had to go to Kedron to have their reversing camera replaced before the trip to Rangemore.

The new arrivals (naturally) had to sample the wines while the rest of us contemplated having dinner. The decision was made to have a meal cooked by Dave. He volunteered to make a goat curry with some rice and BBQ some goat fillets to taste. This all went down well with some more bottles of wine.

The day ended with us sitting around consuming copious quantities of Rangemore Estate Fortified Shiraz,one heck of a good drop.

What a great place this is.

Can’t thank Dave enough for his hospitality great food and wines.

Next morning saw us packing up and deciding as a group that a daily departure time of between 8:30 and 9:00 am was acceptable to all for the rest of our journey.

Surat was our objective this day, it was the longest planned day of travel apart from Rosehill to Lightning Ridge at about 285 kilometres

Lunch stop on the way was at Glenmorgan. A great little town with a great car museum that was enjoyed by all.

Arriving at Surat Fish stocking club free camp we decided to drive under the bridge and camp by the river.

A lovely spot but the ground was covered in prickles. At least these jobbies were not as bad as the ones at Rangemore. (The Rangemore spikes could have been use by the police as stingers to stop offending vehicles)

Their were toilets, water and a toilet dump at this spot. Fantastic place.

We stayed two nights at Surat and enjoyed the the towns hospitality and sites.

A great lunch was taken at the Pub before a walk around the town.

The Museum is a must see,it was fantastic with a giant aquarium with samples of the native fish found in the Balonne River and display of old memorabilia including an operational replica Cobb and Co coach.

The kayaks were launched into the river, in spite of being told there were no fish being caught.

Judy and Greg had purchased an inflatable two person kayak, which provided a degree of entertainment for all during the inaugural inflation ceremony.

Much good advice was forthcoming. It was a great piece of kit and performed very well with Judy in the front providing most of the motive force while Greg relaxed in the stern .

It was great just to paddle down to the weir and see the wild life along the banks. Birds and lizards everywhere. We all loved the experience.

After two relaxing nights and much healthy intake of fruit (fermented of course) we headed for Mitchell our first Spa experience.

Great 4 days at Poverty Creek camp on Bribie Island

Our trip started on Friday when we headed to Bribie Island for a 4 day camp.

Bribie Island is only about 40 minutes from our house at Banyo and consequently makes a great place for short trips away from home.

The Morton Bay Council charges a hefty sum for the permit to drive on the off road tracks and the beach, but as we said it is close to home and a great place even for a day out so we had a year long pass to Bribie.

The EPA and or National Parks run the camp sites on the beach and those on the western side of the Island where we wanted to camp.

Our Camping permit was obtained on the internet for the grand sum of $40 we had the privilege of camping at Poverty Creek for 4 nights.

The camp area offers only toilets and a great place to camp close to Pumistone passage.

Other options include Beach camping in the ocean side sand hills for the same price but unfortunately these sites only accommodate tents and camp trailers not caravans.

The run in to Poverty Creek Camp site was definitely not suited to a road van.

White Patch on Bribie is the starting point for the trip in to Poverty Creek. It was bitumen to White Patch,then things change dramatically.

The track from White Patch to the camp site was 7 km of soft sand and in places deeply rutted. We had done a reconnaissance trip on the Thursday before taking the van in to ensure that it was ok.

We did need to drop the tyre pressures on both the car and the van for the sandy conditions (as you must do ).

Their were no problems getting the van into the camp site and what a camp site it was.

We had booked into the group camp site,where there were no fires allowed unlike the tent camp area opposite where you could build a fire in the designated fire places.

This is the tent area where you can have a fire.

Our camp site.

The area that we chose was in good sun for most of the day more than adequate for the solar panels to do their job and keep the batteries topped up and only 100 meters from the Pumistone Passage to drop the Kayak in for some fishing and site seeing.

The water in the background is the Passage

Saturday after settling in saw us off to town to pick up some eggs and bacon (forgotten in the rush). These are essential items on camp as those that do same will agree. A cooked breaky at least once on a trip is an essential part of the good life.

Unfortunately The Bribie Island Community Centre was holding a Gem fair. I say unfortunately tongue in cheek because we both thoroughly enjoyed the day.

The wood working displays and the precious and non precious gems on sale and display was incredible,not to mention the craft works wow.

The shopping trip expanded some what from the eggs and bacon when we saw the supermarket. Again wow. Fresh breads and sea foods with the most yummy small goods that we had seen for some time.

We did manage to remember the eggs and bacon in the end but the shopping bill was pretty huge grin.

Home to the van and we had a relaxing evening with some good wine an nibbles.

Sunday. It was decided to head to the beach for some fishing and relaxing.

We decided to take the inland track to the Northern end of the Island from Poverty Creek camp.

This entailed a trek on sand tracks that proved to be much worse that the run in from White Patch. The sand was like powder and the rutting was very deep but we managed it no problems.

The scenery on the way to the beach was great. It ranged from planted pine forest plantations,

to virgin sand island forest with native flowers mixed in.

We head back to the van from the beach at about 12:30,without any fish as usual, to put the kayak in the passage for a peddle/paddle.

On the way back from the beach we slowed to ask a group of about 8 cars (4 of which were very bogged in the sand) if they needed help but were waved on by the guy that we tagged as the leader.

Looked very much like a group of novice off roaders on an instructional run on the soft sand. We had seen them on the beach while we were fishing and wondered about the number of them travelling together, this site confirmed our thoughts.

Have to wonder about the experience of being bogged while others drive by. Do you feel that the instructor has missed something grin.

We made it back to camp unscathed and were surprised to find that we were the only campers left in Poverty Creek. Got back at 1:00 ( this is Sunday) and the place was deserted with the exception of the wildlife that had moved in to clean up the camp sites.

Bush Turkeys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Brush-turkey

Sand Monitor lizards or Goulds Monitor http://www.outback-australia-travel-secrets.com/goannas-monitor-lizards.html

Butcher birds http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butcherbird

N Noisy Minors. http://www.fauna.com.au/web_pages/animals/birds/noisy_minor.html

Kookaburras http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kookaburra

Magpies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magpie .

Grey Kangaroos http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Grey_Kangaroo

The Sand Monitors and Bush Turkeys were the main cleaners with the Monitors actually cleaning off the BBQ plates at the fire places. Yuck wouldn’t ya do a real good burn off before cooking.

Some of the natives did not get on too well. I guess if a neighbour ate my eggs or babies I would be a bit anti as well.

A Noisy Minor attacking a Goanna, the big guy really didn’t giva about the bird he just wanted to climb away from us.

We launched the kayak into the Pumistone Passage and explored our environment.What a great place, we spent about 2 hours just peddling around enjoying our surroundings.

Later Mavis lit a fire over in the tent camp area about 20 meters from the van and we enjoyed fivesies with some nibbles,which were enough for the evening meal along with several glasses of the fermented grape. Ain’t Life good ???? If not why not ?.

Monday was just a big relax until the decision was made to go fishing in the kayak.

We launched late about 11:30 after a BBQ brekkie of Bacon and egg Muffins with several good cups of coffee mmmmm.

The tide was coming in and was about four and a half hours from high.

There were hundreds of small whiting biting on the line. But non that we wanted to keep.

What was interesting was our bait. We bought some “GULP” artificial bait and found that they loved it.

The fishing paled into insignificance when we came upon a pod of Dugong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dugong . We heard a blow of air and saw a huge head not 5 meters from the boat.

There were 5 of them all covered in barnacles.

We managed to stay close without disturbing them and followed them for the next hour just enjoying their presence and watching them rise to the surface and gulp their next lung full of air and then disappear under the water until the next rising. This was a real buzz for both of us.

Later we encountered a pod of Dolphins including young ones. They were herding a school of fish for a meal.

Later we saw them playing with the fish in that they were throwing them into the air.(small whiting).

What a great day!

Back to camp and another fire built to warm the cockles and enjoy a small wine with some cheeses and other nibbles. Life is good is it not !!!!.

Tuesday was a late pack up and a slow trip home for the big clean up.

Another great weekend.

THE END AGAIN

This was a wonderful weekend shared with some great company.

Three caravans including ours and a camp trailer crossed the Noosa River on the ferry and braved the run along Noosa North Beach. We travelled about 26 kilometres North from the beach entry to our camp spot on the grassed sand hills with magnificent ocean views. This was the first time that we had put our van on the beach and it won’t be the last. Car and van performed superbly even on the soft beach entry.

Abundant freshish water was flowing from the sand hills and into the ocean.

This prompted an all out attempt to coax a “sand spear” http://motorcare.com.au/sspear.htm (which was proudly brought forth from the camp trailer) into action to pump some water from under our camp site. Unfortunately we did not have the instructions with this appliance and we spent many a futile hour trying to get the water to flow.

Their was an air of triumph the next time we were gathered together with the news that the beastly contraption had been worked out and water can be easily extracted with little effort. Sigh how many great engineering minds does it take to get a simple piece of kit to work as it was designed,well I can tell ya its more than we had on this camp.

The weather was overcast for most of the stay but the temperature was pleasant. The fish were not biting too well either so we had to resort to a different form of entertainment.This mainly consisted of enjoying the campfire and eating great meals. Yoshy was the saviour in the desert department. His yummy campfire baked apple and apricot pies smothered in fresh cream and ice-cream were a bit hard to take but we all seamed to manage the demolition of all of them without leaving any crumbs for the wild life. His Mothers recipe for pea and ham soup went down brilliantly as well. He has been listed as a must for all future camps grin

Kite flying was also taken up as a means of filling in some time. Unfortunately it was a little large to allow young Mitch to handle the controls as we all thought that he would end up in New Zealand. The strong breeze did not deter Jane from having a go. Now I gotta say that she would only weigh as much as a wringing wet Mitch so all eyes were pealed and bodies coiled like springs ready to save her from launching into the stratosphere. Fortunately she managed to mostly stay on terrafirma with just the odd short excursion into the air.

A trip to Rainbow Beach via Freshwater camp track was also completed. What a beautiful part of the world this is, great beaches and lovely flora.

Shame about the fish or lack there of. Was hoping that the taylor would have been running while we were there but it was not to be. The fish smoker had to be stowed away for another time sigh.

Another great time had by all.

The end.

 

The objective of this trip was to be in Wagga Wagga New South Wales on the 15^th May 2009 to see the March Out Parade of Grandson  Tim.  He has been in the Army Recruit Training Centre Kapooka for 80 days doing the hard slog of learning to be a soldier.

We are off again.

We spent Sunday morning the 10^th of May having Mothers day brunch with Rod’s mum and son Ashley at Mum’s favorite café. Have to say that I didn’t know that I could eat soooooo much. Mavis and Ashley had eggs benedict Ashley with bacon Mavis with salmon, both huge meals. Mum just had a chicken mayonnaise and egg sandwich, which she loved. Muggins ordered a big breakfast without eggs, as I don’t like them. The meal that appeared as a big breakfast was ridiculous, consisting of masses of bacon two hash browns a whole tomato grilled a bowl of mushrooms and a bowl of baked beans, all topped of with two hugely thick slices of toast. Knew I wouldn’t get through it but put in a valiant effort and completed the task much to Mums amazement.

After our brunch break Mavis and I departed for Coolmunda dam as our first night stop over on the way South after saying farewell to Rod’s Mum and Ashley.

It was quite a long haul after the big brekkie but we made it by 4 pm and managed a couple of quiet wines as we watched the sun go down beside the lake.

View of Coolmunda dam the water was quite low

Our campsite at Coolmunda Dam

There was another Kedron van camped about 100 meters from us but as it was a bit late, we waited until morning to say g-day. It was a couple that we met at our Christmas Kedron gathering in Crows Nest Stewart and his wife were on their way to Darwin with some friends. We had a chat for about 30 minutes and then said farewell and pushed on to Goondiwindi where we did some grocery shopping picked up the last of the cheap Diesel and off again heading to Burren Junction via Moree, Narrabri and Wee Waa. We got to Burren Junction at about 3pm.

What a huge surprise. There were 30 other vans and campers already there so it looked like a huge caravan park.

Last time that we were here we were on our own until a young guy turned up for a swim. He had an opal-mining lease at Lightning Ridge and was on his way back there. He didn’t camp just had a swim and took off for home leaving us on our own for the night. What a difference this time, unbelievable.

We parked stripped off and lowered ourselves into the beautiful warm water of the bore baths for a warming soak.

Completely refreshed we managed to consume a few feta stuffed olives and other nibbles with a small glass of wine before retiring for the night.

Next morning dictated that we again check out the bore bath just to make sure that it really was as good as we remembered and it was.

Then we were off to our next overnight at Forbes via dirt road to Pilliga then Coonamble, Gulargambone, Gilgandra, Dubbo, Parkes and finally Forbes.

Some members of the Kedron group had recommended a free camp at Forbes beside the Lachlan River. It was not hard to find and was fantastic. We pulled up right by the water and spent a fairly restful night. There were about 6 other campers there. The only down side was a barking guard dog in an Engineering yard about 100 meters from where we camped. Had we carried on further around the waterway we would have been ok. Oh well can’t have everything can we.

Next morning it was off again heading for Wagga Wagga.

Have to say that the towns and scenery from Forbes to Wagga Wagga were absolutely fantastic. Grenfell, Young, Cootamundra and Junee were all gorgeous old towns with the most beautiful old buildings most dating from the late 1800’s or early 1900’s. Likewise the farms were all the stuff of picture post cards, again with old stone houses and out buildings. The countryside was beautiful quite green and lush for the most parts

We both vowed to return and see the lot at our leisure (maybe when the weather gets a bit warmer grin (or after Rod installs the Webasto diesel heater to the van perhaps).

Wagga Wagga is one huge town with a population of around 57,000 and is the largest inland city in New South Wales sitting 450 kms South West of Sydney.

We found our way to the Wagga Beach Caravan Park and picked a site near the water.

The Murrumbidge River was flowing beautifully past the van park and was a great sight.

At dusk a profusion of parrots, Sulfur Crested Cockatoos, Gallahs and Rosellas noisily made the huge trees in the caravan park and by the river their roosting spots for the night. Oh well we did need to get up early in the morning (but not that bl..dy early :-/ )

View of the Murrumbidge behind our camp sit at Wagga Wagga beach caravan park

Next day saw us doing the tourist thing with our family after a recy run out to the Kapooka training center. Had to be sure that we would get there on time the next day for the Parade.

As we have a problem with alcohol we decided to check out the Charles Sturt University wine and cheese factory. This is where our Aussie wine and cheese makers are trained in their chosen craft. Have to say that the wines were of a very high standard, but Rod was not so impressed with the cheeses. The others liked some of the cheeses.

We did visit another winery that shall remain nameless for fear of slander allegations against us should they read this, which was great on the eye but not so good on the pallet. There was not one good wine that was presented to us for tasting.

That night we all made our way to the Wagga Wagga RSL club for a Chinese dinner. (Returned and Services League for the benefit of our foreign friends, this organization is in existence to provide for the well-being, care, compensation and commemoration of serving and ex-serving Defence Force Personnel and their dependants a truly worthy organization.)

Friday the 15^th May we were off early to watch Grandson Tim’s March out Parade at the Kapooka Army Recruit Training Centre just out of Wagga Wagga . We had lunch with Tim and the family at the base after the Parade. It was a very emotional time and a great day, we were all extremely proud.

Grandson Tim and proud Dad Mick

Equally Proud and emotional Mum Belinda

After lunch with the family at Kapooka Army training Center we said our farewells to them and headed for home via new and unseen places.

We dropped in to Ardlethen on the way to have a gander because one of our friends has some property there, lovely little town would love to go back stay and explore the area, no correction we will go back stay and explore the area grin.

First overnight stop was at Mirrool free camp opposite the Mirrool Hotel. A good spot with amenities and it is about 300 meters off the Newell Highway so not too noisy.

We had a couple of Rum and cokes at the pub before retiring to the van for the night, it was a little hard to leave the open fire in the pub because it was freeeeeezing outside but it had to be done so off we went to the van and climbed into our sleeping bags for a cozy nights sleep.

Next morning we were off to our next camp via West Wyalong, Condobolin,Trundle,Tullamore,Narromine,Eumungerie, Gilgandra,Coonabarabran and we stopped at a road side stop near Gunnedah where we pulled into the bush about 100 meters from the road for a good nights sleep. This day was a long drive and we decided not to do that many kilometers again in one day.

From Gunnedah we made our way along the Fossickers way to Manilla.This run along the Fossickers Way was great. All of the towns were very picturesque and well presented. This is another definite area to return to, maybe with gold pans for some fossicking and great camping. We had a small diversion into Split Rock Dam for a look. This dam is holding at less than 10% capacity a sad sight indeed. Then we traveled through Barraba, Bingara, Warialda, Yetman and on to Texas, which is just over the Queensland boarder. There was a good free campsite there by the river at Texas. We had the company of 8 other campers there for the night.

In the morning we decided to head for Stanthorpe, with a diversion to have a look at Glenlyon Dam. What a sad sight would guestimate that the dam was below 10% capacity. Still a few people camped there and boats on the water fishing.

Plan “B” was formulated on the way to Stanthorpe. The decision was made to spend a night at a great little winery at Maclagen. You have to appreciate that Stanthorpe is the wine capital of Queensland and we had decided to travel a further 100 plus kilometers to reach our destination. Terrible thing idle time you do some crazy things grin.

Non the less we headed for Rangemore Estate Winery at Mclagen after passing through Stanthorpe .

It was a long trip but worth every moment after we arrived.

Dave Allen is the proprietor. He grows the grapes on his 250 acre property overlooking the beautiful Bunya Mountains. The wine is made in Stanthorpe and marketed by Dave as Rangemore Estate Wines. He has a great little sideline with B&B accommodation in an old Queenslander house and is one of the only wineries that we have found that will accommodate caravans and camping at very reasonable prices.

This place is not 5 star but very homely and friendly with great wines and good food at non boutique prices.

His other sideline is the breeding of goat’s.These he has turned into the most superb Curry pies and meats.

We are not in the habit of plugging businesses but this one is worth it.

Tuesday morning we headed off for Home. It was only a short trip back to Brisbane normally about 3 hours. Today it was stretched out some by the fact that it was raining all the way home. After seeing the dams and rivers in New South Wales in such poor condition it was a pleasure to see the rivers full and running in South East Queensland.

Our adventure started when we left Brisbane on April 2^nd and traveled to Coolmunda Dam past Warrick. This was only an overnight stop on the way to meet the Kedron owners group at Nindigully Pub.

Nindigully Pub (built in 1864) is said to hold one of the longest continual alcohol licenses in Queensland and offers the beautiful Moonie River to camp on at no charge. The publican also offered no charge use of his hot showers and toilet facilities. We were also encouraged to top off our water tanks from one of his rainwater tanks for those that were traveling on further.

Our van beside the River at Nindigully

What a great place and great company for three days.

We all gathered on the Saturday night for a roast dinner provided by the pub at a nominal cost, yummy.

Monday saw us and a group of nine other vans leave Nindigully heading for the Rose hill Bird Aviaries 64km west of St George.

Rose hill Aviaries are run by Husband and wife team John and Elaine Beardmore. What a great display of Australian birds. They have over 600 birds from over 70 species in 80 aviaries.

For the grand price of $6.60 per head for a look at the birds and to listen to John telling a few yarns, we were privileged enough to camp for a couple of nights by a hot flowing bore on their property. The water was crystal clear and lovely and warm, good enough that we topped off our shower water tanks and did some washing.

John is 79 years old and is looking to shut the aviaries in September to try and retire. Luckily he did say that he would still allow camping at the bore after the aviary closes.

Our plan was to only stay one night but the company and surrounds were so good that we stayed for a second day.

Our van and five others left the Aviary for a trip that will take them (not us) through to South Australia to Alice Springs through North Queensland to be in Townsville for the V8 Super car races in July. Mavis and I will only travel as far as we can with them for the month of April.

The next stop was our longest drive (about 322 kms) to Eulo past Cunnamulla. We all camped that night by the river.

A guest arrived to “Have a chat” as we were enjoying a cleansing ale or wine while preparing dinner. It was Ian Pike the owner of the Date Winery at Eulo. After a chat and a sample of one of his savory date products most of the girls decide to visit the winery the next day for one of their famous mud baths.

After a restful night we all set off for the winery to deposit the girls for their hour of luxury. The plan was for the boys to head for the equally famous Eulo Queen Hotel for a cursory inspection but this didn’t eventuate with some of us carrying out a little maintenance on the vans and one of the boys hopping in the mud bath with his wife.

Ian instructing Gloria and Sylvia on the finer points of getting down and dirty.

Well the one-hour dragged out to one and a half with much raucous laughter and frivolity behind the brushwood screens of the baths. It turned out that included in the cost of the baths was a bottle of wine and some nibbles. Unfortunately some were plied with a second bottle of wine, which only served to increase the volume of the joyous occasion, and added to the instability of the recipients.

We stayed an unplanned second night at Eulo, no not due to the inebriated state of our wives after their baths but due to rain making our departure track muddy. This night was spent in the Pub grounds camped on lush green grass with hot showers. (What a luxury grin).

The Eulo Pub

From Eulo we traveled to Currawinya National Park for a couple of nights.

Currawinya is the home of the project to save the endangered Bilby or Rabbit eared Bandicoot from extinction. A 25 square kilometer area of the park was fenced with the assistance of volunteers and donated funds, then Bilbys bred in captivity were released in 2001. The project has been a great success with the elimination of predators from this protected environment. The Bilbys have bred like Bilbys.

Neville and Ivan arriving at Currawinya the car didn’t handle the rough roads too well.

The first night in Currawinya was by the muddy waters in the camp area and the next morning before dawn, (yes we were all up before dawn) drove out to Numalla Lake to watch the bird life come in to settle on the lake.

The sunrise was great with some great photo opportunities.

After sunrise we went for a walk to a small part of the lake that was teaming with life. Black swans pelicans parrots on the banks, ducks, divers, even some wild pigs on the far bank oh and lotsa sticky little flies.

Back at camp we had a peaceful day mostly relaxing. Mavis and I had to do a run into Hungerford to make a phone call to Rod’s Mum to check in and let her know where we were and still in the land of the living.

That same afternoon it started to cloud over. Contact was made with the National Parks Ranger on the UHF radio to ask about the weather, as we did not want to be on the black soil banks of the waterway if it rained. This soil turns to grease when it gets wet, which would have made our departure quite an adventure to say the least. The Ranger said that we would not be getting much rain, but an executive decision was made to move camp up to the old wool shed where the ground was at least red sandy soil.

The next morning we were on the move again heading for Hungerford Pub for a visit on the way to Comeroo Camel Station.

Mavis decided that she wanted to drive to Hungerford. Have to say that this was the first time that she has driven our rig off road and what a road it was. Lots of water and mud and very slippery conditions to contend with and a couple of water crossings, she handled it like a pro. The picture tells it all.

What a Girl and thanks to Grace and Bob for the pic.

Hungerford is right on the border of Queensland and New South Wales and is really only the Pub with a few colorful locals and a Police station. The Pub is a sight to see with lots of photos and memorabilia around the walls.

The dinning room Hungerford Pub

The Flying Doctors Service is supported by travelers wrapping a thumbtack inside a note of their selected denomination with two twenty cent pieces for weight. This package is then thrown up to the ceiling where the pin sticks the note and the coins fall back to the floor. Once a year they are removed and donated to the RFDS.

Not only a great day driving in the mud but stuck the note to the ceiling first throw

Upon leaving the pub we had to open the gate in “The Dog Fence” at the border on our trek to Comeroo Camel Station. The fence was constructed many years ago with the intention of keeping Dingo’s (Native dogs) away from sheep flocks. This fence is the longest fence in the world. At 5400km it stretches from the Great Australian Bight in South Australia to Roma in Queensland.

We arrived at Comeroo Station where we set up camp near the water way.

Mavis raced off to set the crayfish traps in the water while Rod slaved away setting up camp.

The first afternoon we all drove about 12 kms to the bore spar on the property. On arrival we found lovely green grass (something that we hadn’t seen for some time) and a big fiberglass spar bath set in a steel frame beside a free flowing hot water bore. This was all out in the bush. There was a big pipe with a tap to fill the spar with lovely clear hot water for everyone to enjoy.

After the spar we sat around a fire and enjoyed fivesies (Traditional drinks nibbles and good chat before dinner)

We spent two great days at the Station and nearly got sick of eating Cray’s (not really can’t get sick of chewing on them, what great tucker, fresh on hot damper).

Beautiful fresh crayfish.

Most of the group decided to travel on to Louth for the night on the way to Tilpa weir but Mavis myself Ivan and Gloria decided to stay the extra night at Comeroo. It was well worth it with Rod cooking a Camp oven roast chicken dinner that night after another Bore spar followed by having a yarn around the camp fire with a few wines.

Second day here Mavis and I did a run out into one of the paddocks where we spotted Emus Camels goats wild pigs and an abundance of bird life. Good old GPS got us home this farm is 100,000 acres huge.

Camels at Comeroo Station.

Emu’s at Comeroo

We left the Camel Station heading for Tilpa Weir via Bourke

In Bourke we overnighted at the North Bourke caravan park and we restocked supplies and cleaned the mud off the car that Mavis had put there. We were on grass again yummy.

Next day we were off to Tilpa weir with a stop over for a break at Louth.

The Pub at Louth had an extremely helpful publican she was a wealth of information on the area.

Another great little pub, but the main attraction was the cemetery. In the late 1800’s the founder of Louth, Thomas A Mathews built a monument to his deceased Wife, which consisted of a granite Celtic cross on a turned granite pedestal 24 feet high. The amazing feature of this monument is that of the anniversary of her death the setting sun lights the monument with a golden glow, which lit up the front door of their home. The rest of the year it lights various points within the town. A gentleman has plotted this phenomenon on a daily basis and a record kept of the lit positions. Visitors can observe the 3 minute light show. It is a real testament to the accuracy of navigation in the early 1800’s as it is said that its alignment was aided by one of the river boat captains.

The Celtic cross at Louth.

From Louth we traveled on heading for Tilpa weir on the Western bank of the Darling River to meet the rest of the group. We experienced the worst dust driving that we have ever seen for about 10kms. It was so deep and soft that the van could not be seen in the mirrors or the back window, it was like driving in talcum powder.

Tilpa used to be a major river port servicing local agriculture. Very difficult to imagine cargo vessels plying their trade on this river, it would not be possible with water levels so low now. Tilpa has the only Boer War memorial that includes a commemorative to Harry (The Breaker) Morant and the Tilpa Cemetery is the only one in Australia with no one in it.

Sunset over the Darling River at Tilpa.

After two days at Tilpa, we decided due to the lack of time remaining for our trip to leave early and travel alone driving directly to Menindee to camp by the lakes.

This journey took us through Wilcania and we mean through Wilcania.What an unfriendly an inhospitable looking town. There were some lovely old stone buildings that were beautifully constructed obviously in the late 1800’s but all with the exception of the police and courthouse were boarded up and in various states of disrepair. We have since heard from friends that stayed there that our conception was incorrect,the loved the place.

On to Menindee.

This town was the first town established on the Darling River. The area consists of the Kinchega National Park and 12 man made overflow lakes that were to provide a permanent water supply for recreation and irrigation of the fruit crops such as table grapes that are grown in the area. Bare in mind that this area is desert.

The sad fact is that all of the lakes are dry and have not seen adequate rain for 11 years according to locals, with the exception of Wetherell whose water is maintained by the “Main Weir” on the Darling River. This Lake was full after rains up stream 6 weeks prior and a small amount was being released from the weir into the River.

Copi Hollow also has water in a small lake. This is a caravan park 25 shacks and about 60 lockup sheds and is used by the Broken Hill ski club, looks to be a good camp site even though it is a caravan park.

We found a great spot and set up camp at the historic Burke and Wills camp sight on the river below the Lake. Unfortunately there was a family camp near us that was a bit noisy with fireworks being thrown into the campfire, soooo the decision was made to move to higher ground next to the Lake and the weir. A great move it was. We had a lovely view of the water, which was only about 5 meters from our awning of the van.

The view from our van, that’s Ivan’s boat with himself, Nev and Peter aboard to check cray traps shortly after dawn.

The boy’s with the mornings catch.

Next morning the kayak was launched and we peddled around the lake for about one and a half hours. It was beautiful, so quiet and so much bird life to see.

Later in the day the rest of our group arrived as we were driving in to Menindee township for a sticky beak and they decided to camp at the Burke and Wills site. We were in a great spot so we stayed where we were by the water.

Our van parked in paradise.

Four great nights were spent at Menindee relaxing cooking and enjoying the environment. The bird life on the lake was astounding. Even this late in the year with the nights starting to chill off, there were still Cormorants and Parrots nested with young in the dead trees on the lake.

On our second day here, another Kedron caravan set up near us. Tony and Jenny from Ballina were on their first trip with their van and having a ball. They had sold their camp trailer to buy the van and absolutely love it.

Wednesday the 22^nd saw us pack up and say fair well to our traveling companions and move on to Broken Hill in New South Wales, a short run of about 110kms.

Our friends were traveling on to eventually go to South Australia up to Alice Springs and across the top of Queensland to arrive in Townsville where we will meet them and enjoy the V8 Supercar racing there in July.

The Lake View Caravan Park was to be our backyard for three nights while we had a look at Broken Hill. Don’t know why its called Lake View as there isn’t a lake to be seen anywhere but the amenities were good and we were on grass and it was only $20 per night.

Broken Hill is a grand old town with many preserved old stone buildings and a good shopping center.

Day 1 saw us do the heritage drive, which takes you all over the town pointing out places of interest.

Day 2 was to see us have a look at some of the many art galleries in the area and do the heritage walk but it blew a gale and rained all night so the walk was not going to happen.

One of the galleries that we visited belonged to Jack Absolom an Aussie icon and bushman. As we were looking at his paintings and the incredible collection of opals, the man himself came out to greet us and point out his favorite opals in the collection. That was a great buzz.

The 25^th saw us pack up say farewell to Broken Hill and travel the 20 odd km’s to Silverton.

This is another magic little town with a very colorful history.

The Silverton Hotel has been the site seen in many Australian movies including Mad Max, A Town like Alice and Razor Back.

There is a working replica of Mad Max’s Falcon built for the publican parked at the front of the pub.

Here is “mad Rod” with the replica.

After our short visit to Silverton it was time to start heading back to Brisbane via Hat Head near Kempsey NSW. We want to be home by the 30^th of April so we have 5 days to get there. This will allow for a fairly leisurely trip

First night stop was at a free camp by the Barrier Highway 56km East of Wilcannia on the way to Cobar. Not much to talk about but it was relatively quiet and we had the company of a truck driver for the night.

Next morning after breakfast we started off early to put some kilometers between our last stop and the next.

The countryside was completely transforming from desert to gradually becoming lush and green.

It was sort of sad to leave the uniquely beautiful desert scenery, something that we both fell in love with. At the same time, it was also exciting to be back amongst green paddocks and luxuriant trees with fat cattle and sheep grazing in large numbers.

Our next camp was beside the beautiful Castlereagh River at Mendooran in New South Wales. Not a lot of water in the river but there were some good deep clear water holes evident.

There were already 3 other vans there when we stopped to select our site for the night and a motor home arrived later in the afternoon. One couple looked as though they were there for the long haul with a crackling fire and lots of equipment set up outside their van. On the back of their van they had a sign stating “RETIRED TRUCKIE NO LOG BOOK NO ETA” Glen and Jen (eta being estimated time of arrival grin). Obviously enjoying a well earned retirement.

The temperature this night must have dropped below zero we froze, not being prepared for the sudden change and too cold to get out of bed to retrieve our warm gear. As soon as we got up in the morning the cold weather stuff came out from under the bed, boy are we prepared now grin.

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoo’s came in to roost for the night in the tree just behind our van. Rod waited until just before dark and went out and clapped his hands. They must have thought it was a gun going off because they all flew off to the other side of the river. We were so disappointed because we were looking forward to being woken before dawn with their raucous calling. Never mind, we both managed a little sleep in the next morning.

Next morning Rod cooked breakie, pretty unusual for us as we mostly have a healthy breakfast. This morning we lashed out with bacon eggs and mushrooms with toast and coffee Yum it was good.

Our next stop after a couple of coffee breaks on the road was for food and fuel in Tamworth. Not a bad run with the fuel. Our last fill was in Broken Hill and we arrived in Tamworth still with about 40 liters in the long-range tank.

The next stop for the night was at Walcha. We stopped in the caravan park here for a long hot shower and to top up with water.

Welllllll I truly think that Mavis suggested the stop in the caravan park so she could use the electric heater, I could be wrong of course.

On arrival the lady in the office hinted that the temperature would be below zero tonight and getting worse as the week progressed. Good on Mavis I knew it was the right thing to do staying in the van park nearly suggested it myself grin :-/

Tuesday the 28th we departed for Hat Head from Walcha after a blissful night in the heated van. The scenery on the way down from Walcha was superb with flowing rivers and creeks and some of the most beautiful trees and lush farm lands that we had seen. There was a nice stopover at Wauchope for an early lunch with a great coffee followed by an even nicer back road trip to Kempsey and on to Hat Head.

When we arrive at Hat Head we parked the van in the front yard where Mavis’s sister and brother in-law are staying while their new house is being completed and went for a walk along the beach It was nice to be warm again.

Next morning we struck out for Brisbane. Our adventure was nearing the end. The decision was made to have a last overnight at our favorite place Iluka, so we made our way to the caravan park fronting the Clarence River and settled in for the night. A quick trip to the fishing Co Op netted us a kilo of green prawns for our dinner, stir-fried and consumed from a bed of salad with a glass of white wine. (Does life really get any better than this grin)?

Last day saw us leaving Iluka bound for Brisbane. It was a long day but good to get home. We dropped in to visit Rod’s Mum on the way, then home for the big clean up.