Day 1 – Monday 20 July 2015
The temperature gauge in the car displayed zero when I started the car to check the lights and get some warmth. The following photo shows what the ice looked like from the inside of the car (side window and windscreen).
At 9:43 after all checks and rechecks were completed and all locks and such tasks were deemed OK, we rolled down our street on the start of another journey.
We had pleasant memories of the family christening yesterday when little Riley was the centre of attention. She did everything right – except go to sleep when all guests had gone home. I had to insert the following photo of our lovely grand-daughter.
Apart from some head wind for a few km on the Hume it was a superb day for driving. It was so good I even gave Shirley a drive just before we started on the Kidman Way. I was a little concerned, however, when a “Pilot” car moved in front of us and lead the way.
However a large semi with a very wide load soon passed us, much to my relief.
We had now entered the Riverina with citrus trees and cotton buds on the side of the road dominating the scenery. Apparently rice is also a popular crop in this part of the world.
Around 4pm we pulled into Griffiths and set up camp for the night.
Day 2 – 21 July 2015
With Shirley’s help we hit the road at 8am and headed north. Citrus and cotton again dominated. It was another lovely day with the temperature quickly moving from 6 degrees to 14 – later to 20.
We moved from the fertile area and (according to the sign) moved into the edge of the “Outback”. It was not hard to believe that we were in the Outback as kangaroos, emus and wild goats replaced the citrus and cotton. To make it even more realistic Slim Dusty came on the radio singing “The Pub With No Beer”.
Shirley again took over the wheel but did not score an escort today.
We stopped for lunch at Cobar as we knew (from last year) where the “good pie” shop was. And the pies were. I include the following photo again (it has been in an earlier blog) as it is so impressive as you approach Cobar. I guess it announces “great pies”.
Our journey for the day ended at the famous Aussie town of Bourke. Fred Hollows is buried here and has a marvellous stone marking his final resting place. As we moved 8 km passed Bourke to the Kidman Caravan Park, you could say that we were “back ‘o Bourke”.
The following photo shows how our evening was shaped.
It was indeed a great evening, equally marked by the lovely food, the camp fire, the guitar strumming poet, the red wine and the history that came from the poet. It is worth a click on Loath or Gulargambone to learn some of the history that we were privy to. The following photo shows our camp fire.
Day 3 – 22 July 2015
We were again on the road early, this time just after 8am. It was a boring 250 km drive to Cunnamulla, with the main feature being the entry into Queensland and the evidence of road traffic culling lots of the kangaroo population. Shirley and I estimated that there were over 1000 kangaroo carcasses within 50 km of either side of the NSW/QLD border. In many areas there were a dozen inside 100 metres. If anyone had argued that there were many more we would not have disagreed.
Cunnamulla also has a statue of the Cunnamulla Fella, a cove made famous by the Slim Dusty song.
The following photo shows a scene typical of many small outback outposts – this time 500 metres on the NSW side of the Queensland border – with red dirt, windmill, palm tree, other trees, some buildings and some vehicles.
We continued into Charleville and met up with good friends David and Lois. They cooked us roast beef on David’s home made gas bottle BBQ, with lots of discussion on preferred methods and cooking times. It was an excellent meal.
Crippsy and His Oven
I was coerced into cooking pancakes on the same form of heat. Surprisingly, they turned out OK.
Late evening rain forced us under cover and produced many hazardous puddles between the caravans and the amenities.
Day 4 – 23 July 2015
It was time again to head north – this time to Blackall. On the way we stopped at Augathella, which is noted for its famous bushrangers and murals – one of which appears below.
We then stopped for a (pie) lunch and coffee at Tambo, another small western central Queensland town. It is also noted for its Tambo Teddies, a commodity our grandsons have from some years ago.
We then moved on to Blackall, our stop for the day. The main street of Blackall has a status of Jack Howe, a local legendary sheep shearer from the 19th century. The temperature was now sufficient to discard the jeans for shorts.
Late evening rain forced us under cover and produced many hazardous puddles between the caravans and the amenities.
Day 4 – 23 July 2015
It was time again to head north – this time to Blackall. On the way we stopped at Augathella, which is noted for its famous bushrangers and murals – one of which appears below.
We then stopped for a (pie) lunch and coffee at Tambo, another small western central Queensland town. It is also noted for its Tambo Teddies, a commodity our grandsons have from some years ago.
We then moved on to Blackall, our stop for the day. The main street of Blackall has a status of Jack Howe, a local legendary sheep shearer from the 19th century. The temperature was now sufficient to discard the jeans for shorts.
Jack Howe
The end of the day (at Blackall) featured a dip in the 34 degree artesian pool and a roast and damper dinner at the camp site – accompanied by a quality guitar strumming entertainer. Shirley and I entered our beds around 10:45 to the resonating sounds of a snoring nomad from the site next door – in the tent that resided on the top of their car.
We had had a pleasant second evening with our good friends David & Lois. It was the first night of the trip that we had to disconnect car and caravan.
Day 5 – Friday 24 July 2015
It was already 17 degrees at 6:30 am so shorts were still the dress code for the day. I started the day with a walk around the town.
Around 9am we said goodbye (temporarily) to David & Lois as they were off to Longreach and we were going to the Lara Wetlands – around 30 km south of Barcaldine. It was a mere 80 km of sealed road and 13 km of red dirt road and we were there.
It is a shallow artesian lake with a circumference of less than 1.2 km. It has most camping facilities except for power, including unlimited wood and fireplaces. We booked in for two nights. The fridge seemed to have air in the gas lines and did not want to light. Eventually it came good (after some verbal persuasion).
We alternatively relaxed, went for walks, had a dip in the hot artesian pool, and read – not to mention take many photos of the birds in display. I lit the fire around 4:30 and cooked some damper, as per the (new to me) recipe that I was given last night in Blackall. It was cooked in the small camp oven – and was excellent. Accompanying dinner was reheated casserole – also heated via the fire – as was the whistling kettle. The obligatory red wine also appeared.
It was a very relaxing evening. I hope you enjoy the photos.
Lara Wetlands Campfire
Our damper
L to R – Masked Lapwing, Red Winged
Parrot, Budgerigar
Lara Wetlands – View from our caravan
door
Lara Wetlands Sunset
It was another magnificent start to the day, with the only sounds being the many birds and our neighbour coughing. It seemed appropriate to have bacon, eggs and tomatoes for breakfast – so we did. Shirley and I both wanted to do the same for the entire morning – nothing – so we did.
We enjoyed it so much we did the same for the arvo. We were too tired to walk 300 metres to Happy Hour, so we cooked our steak on the plough disk over our camp fire.
Day 7 – Sunday 26 July 2015
Today was mostly a big disappointment. We enjoyed the lovely start to the day and hated to leave Lara Wetlands, but Muttaburra was beckoning. It was a long drive and was not worth it. Small town in the middle of nowhere with nothing to offer but remoteness (apologies to Muttaburra). We did get photos of the local Muttaburrasaurus statue and some local art and chatted to the local copper in shorts and AC/DC tshirt (about the roads north). His main activity was reporting car incidents with kangaroos.
Local “Art” Identities in Muttaburra
The icing on the cake came when we stopped for the day and I went for a cold beer in the car fridge and found out that:
- The fridge had been off since midnight (long story – my fault), and
- The home prepared pea and ham soup had opened on the rough roads and “deflowered” the cool drinks. So I had a cleaning job.
We are now at Hughenden, in dinosaur country, and I finish this posting with an interesting tidbit for those of you who enjoy mixing exercise and technology. Shirley and I did little yesterday except sit in the car for 520 km, 95 km of it on dirt road, 30% of that was corrugated. At the end of the day Shirley’s FitBit advised her that she had walked 7000 steps and climbed 40 flights of stairs. Food for thought!
This Post is now complete. Last updated at 8 am Monday 27 July 2015.
Please stay tuned for the next chapter.
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