Month: July 2017

Staying in Bourke Saturday 29/7- Sunday 30/7/2017

Yesterday was, of course, Stephen’s birthday. We planned to go to the Exhibition Centre in the morning and a cruise in a paddle steamer on the Darling River in the afternoon. A fitting way of celebrating Stephen’s birthday. Our plan was to leave the Winnie at the caravan park and walk to the Exhibition Centre about 2 kms away, but we would then have needed a bus to get out to where we could catch the Jandra. When Stephen rang up, they said there was no bus, so we would need to drive ourselves, but that Sunday was a good day for the cruise as it was 2 hours long instead of 1.

We decided to stay an extra day here and do the Sunday cruise. We still walked to the Back O’Bourke Exhibition Centre, which is really a museum, but with an attractive layout. Going through the history of this area, we could better understand why such a dry area was considered to be such a find by Major Mitchell. It was thought that Bourke would become a big town. In the end, only some of the dreams were realised. We were able to read the stories of individuals who had come to the land in the early days to settle and make a living. Drought and floods came. People had to survive or give up.

Yesterday evening we joined some of the other people in our park for stew, damper, and a singer/songwriter providing live entertainment. There were a variety of stews to choose from, cooked in pots on the large campfire. It was a very enjoyable way to end the day.

This morning we made another slow start to the day, then went and did some shopping. Stephen had rung up a newsagency to reserve the Saturday paper, and was able to pick it up as the shop was nearby. We went down to the town wharf, and were pleased to see a rather nice cafe and gift shop there. Although we didn’t stay for morning tea, it was good to see something like it just in the right location. As well, they have on display the Crossley Engine, one of the first to run on diesel. It is fired up at a certain time each day during the tourist season, just to prove that an engine from 1923 is still quite capable of working well.

We then drove to the wharf where we would catch the Jandra, a replica paddle boat. We had lunch and a rest. We were the first to arrive at around midday, but the place certainly filled up by 2.30 p.m. when we left. Our skipper gave a good commentary. There was lots of wonderful birdlife, including lots of pelicans. We could better understand why the banks were a bit messy – with floods happening quite regularly over the years it doesn’t make sense to have too much infrastructure near the river. The trees appear to survive the flooding quite well, perhaps party because the land is flat and even a full flood the water doesn’t move really fast, as it would in a mountainous region.

We’ve come home, attached hoses/electrical cord and put on a meal of stir fry steak and lots of vegetables in the pressure cooker.

Moree to Walgett

I had an excellent night’s sleep last night and was feeling relaxed and ready to go travelling again. The only attractive landscapeon our way was in a little section with red soil, the bush became very green. We are still going through the cotton growing region, with little white tufts along both sides of the road as the trucks take bales of cotton to the gins.

We saw this little cafe in a village so small it was the cafe, a house and a school. The cafe has very long opening hours (until 9.00 p.m.) to cater for trucks, but also provides a place for mothers to come after dropping their older kids off at school. There is also a school bus service for children coming from further away. It appears to cater for the children as well with little bags of lollies and unhealthy fried food.

We arrived in Walgett at about 3.00 p.m. Not much to set up when we free camp, just the mat and our chairs, plus the clothes airer for wet towells.

Choir rehearsal for our friends is just starting, whilst for us it is 8.40 p.m.

Goondiwindi to Moree 24/7/17

I didn’t get around to the blog last night, so catching up this morning. On Monday night at Goondiwindi Stephen had a bad episode of gastric reflux. He was able to get a pain relief puffer (Penthrox) from paramedics. He had ECG at the hospital emergency department. There was a long wait to see a doctor, and as the pain had receded he decided to call it quits at about 11.30 p.m., so we went home to sleep. We took the Winnie to the hospital in case we were going to be there overnight.

We were able to slot into our spot at the park, turned off the alarm clock, and slept until about 8.30 a.m. We took it easy in the morning and then went into town to the bakery for some fresh bread before heading to Moree. Last night we were at the showgrounds in Moree, $22 per night with water and power. There are toilets with hot showers and a laundry. As good as a caravan park, with lots of space, and much cheaper. Plus there is no 10.00 a.m. deadline for getting out. Stephen was told we could stay until mid afternoon if we wanted to.

Mind you, we were told about meals at the Moree Services Club nearby, and after a walk into the town centre we went there for a meal. We signed on for temporary membership and, for once, had individual meals rather than sharing. Afterwards, we were invited to take the Courtensy Bus home. The driver showed us the Aquatic Centre which has public hot springs available very cheaply at the concession rate of $6.00, or normal for $8.00. Many of the caravan parks and hotels also have hot spring pools available.

I was all for staying another night to explore the town, which has attractive buildings, both older style and Art Deco, which we couldn’t see clearly in the dark. Going to the Aquatic Centre was also on my mind. This morning Stephen said he didn’t feel up to driving, so what did I want to do! I, of course, chose to stay another night to have a rest and get ready for the next two days of driving to Bourke.

We were watching the 4 Corners report on theft of water from the Murray Darling by cotton growers and other businesses. It makes a difference to hear about these things when we are in the area and on our way to Broken Hill, the town that almost ran out of water because of the theft. I hope the report sparks outrage and something is done about it. Many people do care about the environmental damage of so much water being taken out of the river illegally. I suspect that the cotton growing and other businesses will do very well indeed on the amount of water they are legally entitled to, it’s just that they get greedy and want more and more.

Warick to Karara Recreation Grounds

We are paying $12.00 for tonight. We have access to flushing toilets and even showers (but rather gungy), plus power. No water to the van, but we could have had non-potable water – it just depends where you want to be. There is only one other couple camping here and it seemed courteous to be well away from them, except when we joined them for a chat at their fireside, of course. They invited us, and it was a lovely thing to do for a while.

We woke up to a frosty morning again in Warwick.

We got up reluctantly. At about 9.00 a.m. Graeme came over to say goodbye. We were feeling reluctant to go, but mindful that we need to get started on the journey home. After finishing our packing up we were ready to leave by 10.00 a.m.

We went into town and walked around looking at some of the exhibits (decorated trees, there were prizes for the best in several categories), then had morning tea whilst listening to a little jazz band outside the cafe. We told them we wanted to share a muffin and had the unusual experience of having two plates, two sets of knives and forks, and a warmed muffin and salad each. We couldn’t quite get over it, after all, it didn’t cost very much.

We then did our shopping and packed it away in the van. The advantage of going shopping with the Winnie is that the food can go straight into the fridge, then you can go off and do other things. In this case, we went to the Art Gallery where there was a jazz concert. The bands were good, and we also saw the prizes being awarded. We had three hours in our parking zone, so were able to enjoy a sausage sizzle before having to leave at 1.00 p.m.

Then we drove about 45 kms to this spot, arriving at about 2.00 p.m.  It was lovely to arrive and get settled so early in the day.

We have a phone signal, but the internet is very slow, so I won’t post any more photos from today.

We have booked our tickets for Nanga (Thursday morning I think), but I haven’t rung up to book the caravan park yet. Must get on to it, although they don’t usually fill up. At lot of people going to the festival stay at Nanga, and there are only about 200 people going all up. I was able to book for Marie, Glenn and Geoff at the same time.