August

Wednesday the 1st of August
It was minus one degree when we hopped out bed this morning, when going outside the Suzuki was well and truly iced up. Speedybago's windowscreen is under the peak so it didn't ice nearly as heavy.
Breakfast and we were on the way to Emerald, I was a bit worried about having enough fuel to get there for the gauge was under the quarter full mark and we had over a hundred kilometres to go. The computer was to tell me that on arrival at Emerald we would have enough fuel for another seventy kilometres before we ran out of diesel.
The sky was a perfect blue again with little wind and we had the heater going in Speedybago to keep us warm. Over thirty kilometres we struck three lots of roadwork's and we were held up on only two. They seem to be doing the edges out to about two metres though the bitumen was as rough as. This morning in the truck stop one of the truckies was complaining about the amount of roadwork's that was holding him up and his other mates.
We were to pass through coal country again plus plenty of crops doing nicely due to the unseasonable rains they had received recently.
We finally arrived at Emerald with the orange fuel light flashing so it will be interesting to see how much fuel we will take on for our next leg of our journey home. We parked up at the botanical gardens once again and luckily there were two spaces left and would you believe that another Tasmanian took the other.
We walked over to the doctors surgery and luckily Liz was able to see him within the hour and then onto the pathology for blood samples, tomorrow afternoon back to the doctors to get the results and luckily all was bulk billed.
Then into Crazy Clarke's and bought a few items and then into Coles and bought vegetables and fruit that were a lot cheaper than at Charters Towers Woolworths then back to the motorhome for lunch. After lunch off with the trakkies and pullover and into t-shirt and shorts for the day now is a warm 22 degrees and would remain that all of the day. Refilled the water tank from the drums and then out the showgrounds for more drum water.
I had discovered that the Suzuki had shed a rubber grommet that assists in holding up the muffler system and I had placed a temporary occy strap previously that came off and then a rubber ring wound around that held. Liz recalled seeing a muffler shop on the way in town so out we went and they only had a grommet that fitted a Toyota. I looked similar to what had been lost, I expect on the rough roads on Cape York. So I tried it and it pushed on with a lot of persuasion and the the cost $4, I was expecting a lot more.
Then back into town and checking out the liquor prices and was somewhat shocked at the price they were asking so we will leave it until tomorrow to see if the prices change.
Then back to the motorhome for happy hour which today will be a cuppa and a few bites etc.
The services for phone, internet and television is excellent so we will utilise the lot before going off to bed tonight, at the moment I am back in shorts and singlet for it is very warm which is great.
Kilometres travelled today 109

Thursday the 2nd of August
Another heavy frost this morning which left ice over everything and as the sun was shining with clear blue sky's it wasn't long before it dissipated. On with the trakkies and pullover for the first part of the morning and then shorts and singlet were the order of the day. As we move south we will have to get used to the cold mornings and warm days hopefully.
Breakfast and we went out to the showgrounds where they were selling live stock and listening to the auctioneer spruiking was really a treat. As we only went for a nice hot shower I left the camera back in the motorhome. They were really nice hot showers which were most enjoyable we have taken the view to use ours only when others are not available to save our water supply.
Then onto the Centro complex and Woolworths where we bought a few items and meat especially a nice boneless leg of lamb to do in the camp oven down the track. We have now fully restocked with groceries that should see us through until the end of the month. The high price of beer is a bit concerting though I opted to purchase two cartons of XXXX Gold 24 pack for $64 which is good for they want $47 for a carton of 30 XXXX Gold.
We decided after lunch to go for a walk through the Botanical Gardens where they have replicated typical Tropical Rain Forest in small groups throughout the Gardens all very nice and pleasant to walk through with the different scents of trees and palms. They have built a small railway where young and old alike can pedal their way around the circle and it blends in well with its surroundings. Liz was to hop on and pedal the little train a few metres or more, I refrained.

There are many new happy campers coming in and again they park closer than a caravan park, though we are not complaining for the area is a freedom camp and the more the merrier unless they are not a happy camper.
Well, Liz has been to the doctors and they are happy with her blood analyses and so there will no need for a further test until after we arrive home, which is really great, it would appear that they have at last have the dosage right to treat her complaint. So tomorrow we can move on further inland and away from the highways and roads we travelled up on.
Again in shorts and singlet and out in the sun reading our books and taking in the traffic going past and happy campers coming in. Around 5 pm the train "Spirit of the Outback" trundled past our camp going ever so slow and we had many passengers wave no doubt to remove their boredom, we can recall seeing this train pulled into the Longreach rail station a few years ago.So they have travelled a fair way on their way to Brisbane and still have a few kilometres to go through the night while we sleep. We expect a freight train to come through again tonight about 9 pm. Tonight we will again watch the Marngrook Football Show and then off to bed after another relaxing day doing very little.

Friday the 3rd of August
Needless to say cold again though we did not hop out of bed until 7-30 am to a pleasant day with the same blue sky and sun shining. We left the car unhooked and went to refuel Speedybago who took on 82 litre's and if the book is right we only had less than 8 litre's left in the tank when we pulled into Emerald. The cost of the fuel at Woollies with the discount was $1.40.9 cents a litre probably the last time we will see diesel at that price. We have made a conscious decision to find a suitable bush camp somewhere today and set up for the weekend only moving on on Monday morning, we did this for we are terrified we may get down into the cold weather quicker than we need to especially now that we have dropped below the Tropic of Capricorn. With this in mind we took on extra drums of water for Liz wants to use the washing machine tomorrow to do the sheets etc.
When we hooked up the Suzuki we had a chat to the caravan people that came in last night and discovered that we had met them several times last year at Winton, Boulia and Jundah. We spent the best part of thirty minutes chatting away and then we noticed a beautiful parrot land to take the bread crusts that the woman had thrown on the ground and even though there were people walking about it seemed totally unperturbed.
The book man had set up across the road so went over to have a look at this wares and purchased a Clive Cussler novel and a couple of westerns then we were on our way towards Roma.
As soon as we left Emerald we came across plenty of wheat crops that looked very healthy thanks to recent rains and then further on we came across numerous grain silo's with trucks and trains loading the wheat for cartage to the various ports for shipping.
The recent rain caused a lot to damage to roads after we left the area heading north and we again came across two major roadwork's where they have had to carry out major reconstruction though we were not held up for long at either one.
The scenery along the way was excellent with the wattle coming into full bloom and the green crops as a back drop to the mountains in the distance. In the distance we could see the coal mine workings plus there mullock dumps. We were now climbing and it wasn't that long before we arrived at the township of Springsure. A bustling little town with the same business's being on the main street attracting and enticing motorists to stop for a rest and to make purchases. Liz was to purchase the paper and we were on our way climbing up out of the town and along the way looking for a suitable bush camp.

We finally came down off the plateau and onto flat land with plenty of wheat crops once again thriving now in the sunny weather. We were to check out two areas that were suitable and we thought we would look for something a little better and sure enough we found a bush camp in an old gravel yard and when we pulled in we recognised it, for we stopped in this same area on our way north a couple of months ago.
After lunch we set up the camp with the campfire out and lit and now boiling water and the tables and chairs and awning out in the warm sunny weather and now back in shorts and singlet. For the rest of the afternoon we sat out in the sun and read our books before we had a happy hour on our own for a change.
Of course we will watch the football tonight with Geelong V Hawthorn which should be a good game. The bonus is that we can pick up digital television with the exception of Win which is not a loss so there is no need to set up the satellite dish or use the generator.
Kilometres travelled 112

Saturday the 4th of August
No frost of ice this morning even so we decided to light the campfire and cook our breakfast and enjoy the sunshine and the lovely blue sky once again. After brekkie we set up the washing machine so Liz could do her sheets etc. I have to say that the washing machine has nearly paid for itself given the cost of using laundromat's and the washing appears to be much cleaner though I still cant get used to the size and weight of the machine to produce the results it does.
The football game last night was one of the best we have seen for awhile and it was won by Geelong on the last kick of the match. It was disappointing to have the television pixilate now and again so this morning we set up the satellite dish and now have a perfect picture to watch the football games today.
Even though St Kilda V Collingwood match today is being televised it will not be shown here in Queensland only the Brisbane V Richmond which is just as well for it may have been a slanging match between Liz and I. Collingwood are expected to win though I will be happy for St Kilda to play well. St Kilda's run to the finals is over and they will not make the eight for the following weeks are tough games as well.
You think that not much happens in a bush camp though right on midday a bulldozer trundled through the camp and started pushing bush over some 100 metres from our camp and then moved on down the hill towards Rolleston.
During the afternoon I took our camp oven boiled water in it and then cured it again for I want it just right for when we bake our boneless leg of lamb tomorrow for our evening meal. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon until the Western Bulldogs V North Melbourne game commenced then we came inside to watch the game. We only had a small happy hour this afternoon before cooking our evening meal on the campfire. Another happy camper spotted us in here and came in though they haven't ventured outside as yet.

Sunday the 5th of August
The mornings have been a lot warmer over the past few days, it could be that we are now coming off the Central Highlands. Lit the fire for breakfast and settled in to read our books for awhile for there will not be much happening this day. It was a nice sunny day again and shorts and singlet were only required. Closer to lunch time I decided to pack away the satellite dish and tripod and we will just watch the normal digital television tonight, pixelating or not.
After lunch we had our showers and then settled in to watch the Melbourne V Gold Coast Suns where Melbourne hit there straps early and the Sons having a bit of a fight back though to no avail.
Stoked up the fire and in went the leg of lamb into the camp oven for our evening meal along with the veggies to bake. So into bed early tonight for we are leaving our bush camp in the morning and it has been great over the weekend to watch footie and just rest up.

Monday the 6th of August
A mild 9 degrees this morning as we watched the sun rise through the trees in our bush camp. We had our breakfast and showers and we were on our way towards Rolleston. As we went down the hill we could see to the west the township that comprises the Rolleston Coal Mine, not to be confused with the main township of Rolleston some 30 kilometres further down the highway.
It was a pleasant sunny morning and shorts were the order of the day though down to the singlet later. We Finally arrived at Rolleston which is a small township with the usual shops, roadhouse for fuel and small shops for other touristy stuff, it is obvious they do not have a large population.
We went around to the small park and placed our rubbish in the bins provided and then topped up with water and back on the road toward Roma.

We have no intention of arriving at either Injune or Roma today. Along the highway we were to see many grain crops especially the many hectares of Sun Flower that were in bloom on our way up north. Now the heads have dried and the parrots and galahs are having a field day enjoying the seed prior to them being harvested. We were to notice in the distance the many escarpments and some mountains off to the west of us and they formed part of the Carnarvon Gorge which we visited a few years ago. The colours were outstanding. It was such a pleasant day with the very nice scenery that I had to be careful that I remembered I was still driving, though Liz was to remind me on a couple of occasions to keep my mind on the job.
It was around 10-30 am that we found a nice big gravel storage area at least 500 metres long and 100 metres wide and we set up behind a very large metal heap where you could only see us if you driving from the north.
Out came the chairs for there was no wind at all just brilliant sunshine and blue sky and we had a cappacino, biscuits and read our books. It was to get a bit hot so we came inside and I noted the bush view out of the window looked great as if it was in a picture frame.
We had lunch and then a snooze and then back to our books, as usual I am unable to put down the Clive Cussler novel entitled "Fire Ice" and I doubt I will put it down until finished.
I set up the satellite dish experimenting with a 600 watt inverter run off the Waeco battery to see if I can get away from running the generator, it will be interesting to see how much power it uses powering the satellite box. If all goes well I will try it next going through the house batteries.
Well it is now happy hour and a happy camper in their caravan have come in for the night also, though given the wide expanse of the ground available you wouldn't expect them to pull in 10 metres behind us.
So not having travelled far today after our meal of cold lamb salad we will watch television or finish off our books before retiring after after another restful and colourful day's scenery.
Kilometres travelled 127

Tuesday the 7th of August
Another glorious day greeted us again this morning and it was great watching the sun breaking through the trees so early. All things packed away and we were on the road and if we thought that we had seen the best of the colourful escarpments yesterday we were wrong. A few times Liz had to call me back to driving for I was looking at the different colours that the sun was highlighting on the escarpments in amongst the bush etc.
The going was reasonably easy except we started to climb and at one stage we were back in third gear for the grade was 10% and seemed to climb forever. We were striking a lot of trucks and road trains going north and cars going south. Before we knew it we had arrived at Injune and as there were plenty of trucks and mine vehicles in the roadhouse we elected to stop.
We first went and had a look at the old steam train that had been placed beside the original Injune Railway Station building and then into the roadhouse. It would appear that Injune has had a new lease of life for their were mining vehicles everywhere and as the company logo was Santos we can only assume they are from the gas recovery and exploration in the area, before leaving the town we were to see plenty of idle drill rigs in the Santos compound.
In the roadhouse we were to have a cappacino and a sausage roll each, there was non stop people ordering take away's mostly mine people and as there ten road trains out in the yard the drivers were having take away's or sitting down to a full breakfast. It was an experience listening to them exchanging information as to where or whence they came. We were then back on the road again heading for Roma.

We were still climbing and at one stage the highway was hewn out of sandstone and presented a picturesque sight. In all we were to come across five different road works before Roma and we were only delayed on two of them. We came across a sign that indicated that we were crossing the Great Dividing Range once again at 446 metres above sea level. We have crossed this mountain range on about five occasions in different areas in Queensland. We were now going down off the mountain ranges and the land changed immensely to very dry paddocks with many cattle grazing and we were to see Boab trees appearing amongst the golden wattle.
We arrived in Roma just around lunch time and parked up. We then went walkabout and noted the amount of Boab's that had been planted in each street and it looks as if the Boab is the major tree in the city area. We noted the old buildings and did not recall many from our visit here in 2000. There were still the old pubs and shops in the city centre though on the outskirts many new plaza's etc had sprung up with the major national retailers occupying the sites. We first went into the reject shop and bought a few items we needed and then into Crazy Clarke's where nothing was purchased. Then into Woolworths and bought a couple of items in the way of bread and rolls and leg of ham for we had finished the last one yesterday. The last leg of ham lasted nearly two months. Then back to the motorhome and then into Woolies fuel outlet where the fuel was $1.40.9 with the discount, we pulled on a substantial amount of diesel and then we were on our way towards Surat. We stopped at a truck stop and had lunch and then went on further until we found a suitable place in metal dump for the night which will give us about 60 kilometres to go in the morning to get to Surat.
We are getting television and phone service here so that will be what we will be doing tonight. I have finished my Cussler novel so I will need to find something else to read.
Kilometres travelled 203

Wednesday the 8th of August
I was laying in bed this morning listening to the radio when the announcer was giving out the temperatures in the various regions of Queensland for this morning. Surprisingly they were registering minis 1, 2s or just on the minus part very few towns were above freezing. When I stopped to think about it they have regions for all areas of Queensland and are quite parochial about their area. We have been in South East Queensland, Tropical Queensland, Tropical far North Queensland, Tropical North Queensland, Central Highlands Queensland and now we are in South Queensland and Liz informs me that we are only 150 kilometres from the New South Wales border. The only area we have not been on this occasion is North Western Queensland which takes in Mount Isa and other towns in the area.
We noted that quite a few side loader road trains and cattle road trains passed as we were having our breakfast and that and a clean up we were on our way to Surat which is only 58 kilometres away. The road going was good and even though they stated that road works were being carried out over the next 50 kilometers we did not happen upon them. There was flat open spaces along the way with plenty of cattle grazing though again the countryside looked very dry so they may not have received the torrential rain that other areas of Queensland did. We saw just a few grain crops growing and before we knew it we had arrived on the outskirts of Surat. We pulled into Fisherman's Park which is a freedom camping area run by the local fishing club and all they ask for is a gold coin donation and for this they supply the ground, toilets and water. All very well maintained.
As we were setting up we noticed two lots of Tasmanians in the park who we said hello to and found they were from Penguin. Once we were set up I checked the television and found that we could only get analogue so I set up the satellite dish and obtained all the digital channels.
We had our lunch and then decided we would stay a few days, we were told you could get wood at the timber mill out the road a little way. Out we went and then cut lengths of mill wood and then decided to top up with bush logs. Wouldn't you know it I run out of fuel in the chainsaw so that was the end of that the, fuel is stored in the motorhome.
As we were now dirty and recalling available showers when we were here in 2009 we had bought along our shower things and went out to the sports ground and had beautiful piping hot showers thus conserving our water supply again
Back to camp and on the way took a photo of the upside down river whose waters were really brown, how could any self respecting fish survive in that. They must do for they have fishing competitions later in the year.
Off loaded the wood and then finished setting up assembling the table, chairs and firepot we will need to go tomorrow to get more wood. The day is now warm at about 22 degrees and again not a cloud in the sky so this may mean we will have happy hour this afternoon with the happy campers we have met already. There were two very large motorhome's come into the grounds and there really was not enough space to accommodate them so they have gone out onto council ground.
With some amusement we were to watch the automatic satellite dish on one the motorhome's go round and round for at least ten minutes before it latched onto the satellite as someone said it nearly makes you giddy watching the dish rotate.
Well that is it for the day just relax in the last of the sunshine and cook our meal for this evening on the firepot.
Kilometres travelled 58

Thursday the 9th of August
It was colder in the motorhome this morning than outside. We arose around 8am and the sun was shining brightly along with a nice blue sky and no wind and it was really warm. Lit the campfire and boiled our water for a cuppa and cooked our toast. Then a little later out came the washing machine and before long we had a total of nine happy campers gathered around looking at the machine working and asking questions. A few indicated that they would buy one for like us they are sick of the cost of Laundromats especially since some are well below standard though high in price.
Cleaned up and up to the post office to buy the paper and then onto cut a bit more wood and this time the chain stuffed up after a cutting a few small logs, then onto the showers. Speaking to a couple of locals they informed us that the Federal Government is going to supply each house with a satellite dish and encoder in and around Surat for the cost of getting digital services out here to Surat and surrounding areas is prohibitive. That will mean next year happy campers who may wish to watch television in a lot of these outback towns will need to carry their own satellite equipment as we do.
Back in camp and we spent most of the day after lunch just chatting with our immediate happy campers before happy hour. The wind rose and blew dust around the camp site which was a bit uncomfortable. Though sitting in the sunshine near our awning after happy hour reading our books, keeping a eye on the beef stroganoff in the camp oven we were protected by the side of the motorhome from the dust. Will watch the Marngrook Football Show again tonight and isn't the time flying. We have decided to stay here until monday even if we are doing nothing; rather than get down into the colder States before we have to.

Friday the 10th of August
We had that cold southerly wind return this morning so the shorts were discarded for our trakkies and of course pullovers where required even though the sun was shining brightly, we had that clear blue sky again.
We had our breakfast and then fare welled a couple of happy campers we had befriended one heading north and the other south so we may run into them again. We have decided to have our showers later in the day and discover the history of the town this morning if we could.

We decided to walk over the bridge and into the township of Surat; it has only a population of 446 by the last census and is the hub of the pastorlist community. We first went to the Post Office come newsagent plus gift store and bought the paper. The Post Office is the original and has be well preserved like many of the other early buildings dating from the 1840's. Then onto the General Store which is also the Real Estate, Grocery, Hardware and General Cafe. Whilst having a good look around we decided to have a cappacino and the owner came and sat at our table and we had a talk about the area. His name was Tom and it appeared that he owned this business plus A cartage business and many other buildings in the town, it wasn't long before he was to tell us that he a very rich man. I wasn't impressed by him and decided to look at the Cobb & Co Museum for the town history and we found it was all there in many forms. The first thing you see when you enter the museum is the large 25,000 litre fish tank that houses the many fish you are able to catch in the Balonne River. There was everything from cat fish to Murray River Cod not to mention yellow belly etc, This river is restocked every year by the local fishing club and they give all information as to how to catch the various fish.

We then discovered the district was first mapped by Surveyor-General Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1846. In early 1849 Mitchell directed a surveyor, Burrowes, to select a township site on the Balonne River. Burrowes did so and named it after the diamond-polishing city of Surat, his former place of residence in present day Gujarat state, then known as the Bombay Province, India. There are oil fields further south of the town. By the end of the 1849 pastorlist had penetrated the area, the township was surrounded by farms who fattened and sheared sheep for the burgeoning markets in Australia and overseas. Today there are very few sheep in the area with cattle now the mainstay along with mines and oil drilling further to the south. There were many static displays in the museum and especially those dealing with the old coach days when that was the only means of transport of goods and people to and from Surat.
The display I liked the most was the old Cobb & Co coach that has been restored to its original condition. It was licensed to carry 14 passengers and had a team of seven horses. The horses consisted of three leaders and those nearest the coach a team of four. The original harness's for the horses is also on display. It was interesting to note in those days there were no steel springs for the coach it consisted of Leather wrapped to form springs for the comfort of the passengers. This has to be the best display we have seen of the old Cobb & Co Coach's anywhere. We spent over an hour in the museum which is free all they ask for is a gold coin donation which we left. We noted a few just walked out without making a donation which is pretty poor given the excellence of the Museum. On a further downside we noted this morning a Tasmanian Caravan fill up with water from the camping facility and when he was gone so was the water hose connection, I would bet that he never left a donation in the box to the Fishing Club that owns and maintains the freedom camping grounds.
When we left the museum we walked around some of the streets and noted the old Shire Council Building which is not occupied for the shire council has new premises on the main street, the building is wonderful and so large and it would appear it is two stories with four clocks all telling different times. We walked home via the butcher shop where we purchased some pork chops and rump steak which all look good and should be so.
Back to the motorhome for a late lunch had our showers later in the afternoon and then changed clothes for we are going up the Bowls Club for our meal this evening and no doubt throw down a couple of pots of beer and then back home to watch the West Coast V Geelong football game tonight and then into bed after another good day.

Saturday the 11th of August
That cold wind again though it did not deter us from lighting the campfire to boil water and cook toast, for this morning again no clouds and blue sky with that cold southerly. Liz was to do a bit of hand washing though we needed to boil the kettle again for the water was on the cold side. We then went to the Post Office for the paper and then onto the farmers market and we purchased brussel sprouts and a capsicum for the rest of the vegetables were on the dear side. Whilst there we could hear the screeching of the Correla's and there were hundreds of flying and chasing two crows and one kite hawk, there is something to be said about safety in numbers. They eventually drove them off and settled back into the trees by the rivers edge. Haven't they destroyed those trees there is very little of the leafy canopy left, it reminded us of what these birds did at Tocumwal on the Murray River.
We then drove on to the weir on the Balonne River and it showed a fair bit of flow, they have some very nice picnic settings for the public to use. To get to the weir we drove past the Bowls Club where they were playing pennant bowls with other teams from other areas. Our meal there last night was interesting to say the least, they took your order and cash and placed it in an exercise book. From this book they then started cooking and there were ten people in the Kitchen all volunteers cooking and serving. Liz had chicken schnitzel with vegetables and she ended up with the schnitzel with chips they had run out of vegetables. I had seafood basket served on a plate and smothered in gravy I was somewhat surprised given that I didn't order gravy, Oh well we enjoyed the meal at 14 dollars a head and the company was good old fashioned country people who love their bowls club and refuse to put in poker machines or any other gaming machines. In all I had 8 schooners of xxxx gold and Liz had two glasses of wine.

We decided to go and have a look at the aboriginal interpretation centre located out on the road towards the sawmill. When we arrived we were to read the boards completely for it gave the family tree of the Munday and Cleeves. It was all very interesting for they were able to trace the ancestry of both families back to 1900. It was all very interesting though the humpy, made of galvanised iron, the Munday family used for nearly a hundred years is well preserved gave them little space for the size of the family. They would have froze in Winter and sweated in Summer. Today the two families descendents are still in Surat though in government housing.
We decided to go for a drive along a gravel road and see where it lead us, first down to the river on the opposite side of the weir and then bought us out on a bitumen road which we followed for about four kilometres until we came to a creek. There was a gravel track we then followed though it only bought us out near the farmers crops. There feeding away was five Bush Bustards who quickly exited the scene though I was able to take a photo of three from a distance with the zoom lens of the camera. We drove on and found it was taking us away from the creek and so we turned around and the Bush Bustards were all crouching down in the crop and it was only their head that gave them away for they blended in nicely with their surroundings.
Back to the road and found a track that lead to the creek which was low on water though still running. I decided to put in six yabby nets and check them in the morning to see if there is any yabby or red claw or is it the water is still to cold. This is the first time they have been in this trip so we are hoping for the best.
We returned to camp and then after lunch it was time to check the battery levels for water and then drove the Suzuki close to the motorhome and stood on the roof rack to clean the solar panels that are very dirty again. The happy camper along from us had the same problem so as a community service I did his to.
The rest of the afternoon was watching football and we will do the same this evening before we go to bed.

Sunday the 12th of August
Out of bed at 7 am into the Suzuki and out to the river to check my Yabby Pots, even before I left I thought that there would not be much of a result for the screen of the car was iced up. Happy Camper Barry came with me for the ride and to see where I had put my traps for he is staying on for a few days and is looking for a good spot. Out of the six pots there was only one yabby which I was going to put back for it wasn't worth the effort to cook. Barry indicated that he would like to keep it for bait to catch a Murray Cod so that is where it ended up. It was obvious that it was a good spot for you could see the yabby holes in the bank when the weather gets a little warmer I reckon Barry will catch a heap.
Poached eggs, Bacon and Toast this morning washed down with two cups of tea. The wind had abated so it was good to sit in the sun eating our breakfast listening to a station that plays nothing other than Country & Western music, Liz is the fan not me.
After cleaning up we went out the road to have a look at the remains of the old Corduroy tracks which consisted of Cyprus Pine saplings laid side by side to form a road through the muddy or sandy stretches of the road that the Cobb & Co Coaches took on their journey from Surat to Roma and return. The mail and passengers had to get through irrespective of the weather and whether uncomfortable or not. All very interesting to see for it won't be much longer and it will all disappear through rot and weather. On the way back to the road we spotted one Emu so I reversed to get a photo and was puzzled why it had not taken off further into the bush. liz spotted the reason why, for there were seven small chicks that the mother was protecting and it was so good to look at I was to slow to get a photo, unfortunately this photo opportunity will not arise again with so many chicks I bet. On the way back we spotted a man and woman dragging a large net in one of the water holes near the bridge. They had caught plenty of small fish and a few yabbies and they told us that they were for the fish in the fresh water tank at the Cobb & Co museum.

Back to the motorhome and picked up my wallet to buy bread for the next few days, we noted the ute was outside the museum and there were still nine small yabbies in a drum which no doubt he will use for fishing. We looked in the tank and there were the small fish and yabbies they had caught and it didn't take long for the catfish, yellow belly and Murray Cod to make short work of them. The Murray Cod cleaned up the yabbies in no time at all. Whilst there we stopped and had a look at the local artwork on display and we really liked the stand where Abalone shell had been used to make a hat and the jewelery looked a treat.
We bought our bread and bought a fishermen's basket to take home for lunch which was very nice.
Later in the afternoon we started to pack up our camp and then up to the showers and then drove around a few streets looking at the houses etc we noted th colourful hedge of some description that looked great and then back to camp to relax and get ready to leave in the morning having enjoyed our stay in Surat. It may be a small town though there is plenty to see if you wish to take the time to look about and get away from the main street. A bit of television tonight before we dismantle the satellite dish then off to bed.

Monday the 13th of August
A cool night with no frost this morning with the usual sun and blue sky. We didn't hop out of bed until 8-30 am and then had our breakfast inside, for everything was packed away yesterday afternoon. It didn't take long and we were ready to move on, whilst hooking up the Suzuki we had a few happy campers watching to see how we did it. Liz would normally get a bit nervous with people watching however the connection went straight on. After five minutes of chatting with the happy campers we bid them farewell.
Our first stop was at the Post Office at Surat to get the newspaper to check the football ladder and I would say after seeing the ladder that the chances of St Kilda making the finals is very remote indeed. We bid Surat farewell and we were on our way towards St George. Along the way it was all farming mainly cattle with a few crops though as we approached St George we were to come across sheep in their hundreds something we hadn't seen for awhile. The road was undulating with few hills and just gentle rises, unfortunately the sun was behind us so we put the heater on in the front for awhile just to take the chill out of the air. We didn't want to go into St George today so we pulled into a rest area some two kilometres off the highway and when we arrived it was full of happy campers by the river and you could see that the majority had been there for some weeks and this was confirmed by a few. The only spots left were in the shade which didn't auger well for the solar panels so we opted to travel onto St George which was only twenty kilometres away. When we arrived we drove through the centre of town and noted everything was closed and we found out that it is a public holiday here today. The only shop open was the IGA Supermarket and a few fuel stations. We didn't even get out of the Motorhome and pulled into the cheapest fuel station and it was closed so we used the credit card and received our Diesel at $1.46.9 per litre which isn't to bad this far out in the outback. We moved on and turned off the highway two kilometres out heading for Hebal which is on the border of N.S.W. and Queensland. Again we came across two lots of roadwork's though they weren't working so we drove on straight through. We came across a few water channels and you could see that the water is primarily used for cotton farming and the further down the road we came across wheat crops that stretched as far as the eye could see, so far there was a shimmer in the distance that gave the illusion that the crops were jumping up and moving about.
We then came across a stretch of road that had the dreaded Prickly Pear Cacti growing very large though they did not seem to be inside the fence line of the farms, then a huge tractor was pulling a set of ploughs opening up the ground no doubt for another crop of wheat. We have decided not to go into Dirribandi or Hebal today and as we could see a wheat silo in the distance we thought we check that out for our rest area for the night.
When we checked it out it was a bit rugged so we checked the truck stop about a kilometre down the highway and found that it had a toilet and water so we decided to get off the road and set up. We then had our lunch late once again and I tried for television to no avail and I can't be bothered setting up the satellite dish so we will either read our books, play cards or watch a DVD tonight. There is still no wind and the sun is streaming through the window and I am down to shorts and singlet again though I do not for how long.
Kilometres travelled 203

Tuesday the 14th of August
A sleepless night for we were awoken many times during the night with trucks coming and going, the last one pulled out at 6-30 am. We can't complain after all it is a designated truck stop. The past few days we have noted the amount of cotton on both sides of the highway and the reason this morning presented itself. A road train with only two trailers came in with Cotton Bales on both trailers. We assume that the wind blowing on the side of the bales must dislodge cotton onto the side of the highway.
We had our breakfast and then we were on our way towards Dirranbandi and on arrival we pulled into the rest area and used the facilities whilst we had a cuppa. There were signs threatening next to death for free camping in the facility, they urged you to use the caravan park. We were on our way again and we passed the caravan park and it was so bad we believe they should pay us to stay there. We noted the amount of water on the sides of the highway and the green countryside they must have had plenty of rain recently. We are now on our way towards Hebal and the border of NSW and Queensland. We were to see large flocks of sheep either side of the highway and you had to watch for the paddocks had no fences and they were close to the road. The sheep must be used to the traffic for we did not see any dead beside the highway as you would expect. We were to see the biggest Boar that we have ever encountered dead on the side of the road it was huge, we were to see other dead pigs further along the way. We then entered land that was very dry to the extent even the gum trees were dying we assume for the lack of water, what a contrast to the land back further near Dirranbandi.

We finally arrived at Hebal and it was a very small town with the old hotel the centre of attraction. It was very old with a few sheets of corrugated iron changed no doubt blown off the roof and replaced with other old tin of a different colour, though isn't that country? We drove on through and a bit further down the road was the border with New South Wales, so we have now left Queensland behind us. We are still on flat country and the wind has not arrived as yet so we are really travelling easy in Speedybago. The Cyprus Pines are appearing and they are a nice shade of green. There were many cattle stations and sheep stations along the way.

We finally arrived at Lightning Ridge and pulled up just before the town and took off the Suzuki. We intended to stay a few days so we drove in the Suzuki out to the old lookout and also had a look at the big pond where I caught a lot of yabby's last time here. We thought about it for awhile and thought we would only do a bit of shopping and refuel and move on down the highway.
We left the Suzuki out of town and drove in with Speedybago. First we went to the IGA supermarket and bought a few things that we needed and then we walked down to the el cheapo shop and bought fuses etc. Then a walk around the main street admiring the black opal that was on sale. We noted that they wanted $20 for a small bottle of Opal Potch, what a rip off.
Down to the Artesian Health Spa where first they require you to shower before entering the main pool that is fed from the Great Artesian Basin, they have a picture of how large the basin is and some scientists believe that it has its beginnings in Papua New Guinea. I spent some time in the pool and came out really refreshed and I noted there were a lot of elderly locals who believe it has healing power for arthritis etc. We had not had lunch as yet and it was 1-30 pm so we left to refuel at $1.50.9 a litre for diesel and then hooked up Suzuki and headed out of Lightning Ridge. We found a good rest area 20 kilometres down the highway so we pulled in and set up for the night. We figure we want to spend a week at Condobolin and a week on the Murray River at our favourite spot at Tocumwal so we will move on again in the morning to allow this to happen.
Kilometres travelled 181

Wednesday the 15th of August
I saw the dawning of the new day and it was a real pretty sight to see, all the reddish, pinkish and orange tinge on the horizon prior to the sun rising. Why didn't I take a photo of this beautiful morning? Because I went back to bed for it was a chilly 6 degrees. We are noticing it is getting colder as move down towards home with the clear blue sky's no longer to greet us and the daytime temperature dropping down to 20 degrees. Needless to say the shorts are now packed away so the brownness of legs and arms will quickly disappear.
At the rest area we stopped at last night, some twenty kilometres south of Lightening Ridge, had two plaques and a painting on a large rock. The plaques gave you the history of the naming of the area and the painting looks like a recent addition. There was another happy camper join us last night and this morning the bloke was videoing his vehicle and pop top camper as both looked all shiny we assume it is all new gear, good luck to them both and we hope they both enjoy their travels

We pulled out at around 9 am headed towards Walgett. The damn road even though bitumen is the roughest we have encountered it just has the motorhome pitching and bucking and they have the cheek to place signs every now and again warning of rough road and that you should reduce speed. It is not a nice sight to see a road train coming at you pitching with the unevenness of the road. In fact it is awful you just do not know whether they will pitch across the white line or not. Luckily there was not a lot of traffic especially trucks so the going was easier though the road did not change. It was impossible to take photo's whilst the motorhome was moving you either pictured the sky or the ground not what you were trying get.
We were entering large tracts of grazing and cropping land and it was strange to see hectares of broad beans being grown. Then we came across Canola fields and of course as far as you could see was Wheat. Along the way we were to note the amount of water that was lying in ditch's on both sides of the highway and were very surprised to see so many Cormorants working the water ways there must have been hundreds of them along with the Emu's and wild Goats obtaining water. As we approached Walgett we noted the very large wheat silo's and holding yards with plenty of wheat under tarpaulins. There was a train loading wheat and in another area of the yard they were loading road trains with wheat whose destination we do not know. As we drove through Walgett you could hear the screeching of the Correla's over the sound of the motor and when we looked they had taken over the communication tower in the centre of town, there were hundreds of them no doubt attracted to the area because of the wheat and other grains available through spillage etc.

The main street of Walgett is not that long so we parked on the edge of town and walked back for once again they had angle parking that did not suit us. When I noted the amount of Aborigine's walking about aimlessly I did not want to park in the back streets. This may sound a little off colour though as soon as you walk the street you notice every building has steel or aluminum mesh over their doorways and windows. The bank, well it has steel shutters and does not start trading until 10-30 am so we had to go to the Post Office for money withdrawal. Even the Police Station has all its entrances barred including windows. It must be a wild town. We walked up the main street and the noise from those Correla's was just deafening. We went into Vinnies for a gander though made no purchases and then onto the newsagents and due to the truck crashing they did not expect the paper until late afternoon.
Into the IGA and bought oranges for $2.99 for three kilo, some two dollars cheaper for the same at Lightning Ridge and the tomatoes were $10.99 a kilo a dollar dearer than Lightening Ridge needless to say we did not buy tomatoes from either. We purchased two pieces of fillet steak to have with onions and egg on bread for our meal tomorrow night.
Back on the road and again there was plenty of cropping country which looked a treat with the greenness of the crop. Cattle and Sheep abound in areas that are not being cropped with cattle in the Sorghum stalks after harvesting.
We pulled into a rest area fifty kilometres south of Walgett for lunch and decided to stay the night for we are travelling to fast into the colder area of the state, we noted that the rest area indicated we are now in Central NSW. No telephone service though there is nearly all the digital television stations so we will read for the rest of the afternoon and then watch tellie tonight.
Kilometres travelled 124

Thursday the 16th of August
We had a cattle train come into the rest area late last night whilst we were in bed. How did we know, because the cattle were kicking the sides of the trailers, we eventually went off to sleep though we didn't hear him go during the early morning. The cattle road train just wasn't there this morning.
Before breakfast I tarped the wood on the roof rack for they predict rain for Friday around Dubbo and I do not want the wood to get wet creating extra weight for the Suzuki. All finished and it was time for breakfast and then we were on our way towards Gilgandra to see the Mayer family again before pushing on, along the way we were concerned that we were travelling down to fast and would have nearly a fortnight to spend somewhere.
We were passing plenty of wheat crops and a sprinkling of canola plus lucerne crops along the way, the highway hasn't improved we were still bumping our way along dodging the worst of the bad sections best we could. We arrived at Coonamble which services the wheat belt and there were huge Silo's not to mention the large harvesters and other machines on display for sale. We didn't stop for the main section of the town is on the highway and the speed limit is only 50 kph which is hard to keep to, as yet we haven't struck any highway patrols or police vehicles with speed guns.
We pushed on and the breeze was increasing though it was on our side for the early parts of our journey prior to coming onto the front of the Motorhome. We arrived at Gulargambone, which I won't even try to pronounce, and noticed they have heaps of cut outs in galvanised tin of Galahs and they are everywhere in the town and on the outskirts.

We drove down to the river and noted the beautiful trees getting their spring colours and again more Galahs shaped in corrugated iron. It was a pleasant 18 degrees so a walk around the park was taken though we gave the river walk a miss. We drove back onto the highway and there was plenty of trucks bouncing around on the rough highway and again there were signs now and again warning of rough stretch's. As far as the eye could see there were more wheat and canola crops with the broad beans appearing now and again. We finally arrived at the outskirts of Gilgandra and noted the cows cut out of galvanised tin which looked real until you had a closer look.

The highway goes through the main shopping area of Gilgandra and there are a few of the national retailers though not Coles or Woolworths. We drove onto the roadhouse to refuel at $1.49.9 a litre taking on board seventy two litre's, we were then able to use their very hot showers which were great at no charge and I noted there were 14 road trains parked up either sleeping, showering or having a meal. We went around to the see the Mayer family and whilst there they were able to tell us about a good camping spot by a weir if we went out through Collie. After we bid them farewell we headed out to Collie to have a look at the Gin Gin Weir and camping spots, we stopped a the Collie Hotel first and had a wine and a few schooners and then we decided to have lunch there and only a small meal this evening. We had Chicken Kiev with salad and without asking there was the dreaded gravy once again, though we have to say it was a good meal. The publican allowed us to use their phone free of charge to get our football tipping in this week, he also advised us how to get to the Gin Gin Weir. We filled our drums with water for Liz wants to get the washing machine out to do some major washing tomorrow and we were on our way, even on the back roads the farms are all wheat or other grains. We were to see major works going on building canals and it didn't take long to find our what for. We were to see an extremely large Cotton Gin with heaps of cotton baled up waiting shipment. Needless to say we were to see many large paddocks with levees and canals around them and so we know now why they have the weir across the river. We finally arrived at the turn off to the Gin Gin Weir and the road was gravel and you could see by the tracks of other vehicles it is not the place to be when it is wet. We finally arrived and elected to go down a steep bank down onto the rivers edge near the Weir and set up. The first sign of rain and we are out of here. There were fishermen, though the only catch I saw was a Carp which was quickly dispatched up the bank, there was a very large Murray Cod head near the rubbish bin so I thought it was time to get the rods out and do a bit of fishing. A local bloke was to give me worms and yabby flesh which was good of him. We did not have any luck though we will try again in the morning. Set up the satellite dish and will watch football over the coming days,
Kilometres travelled 254

Friday the 17th of August
The weather forecast last night predicted showers for the area we are camping today, that concerned us for the ground though now dry is black soil and when this type of soil gets wet you can very rarely move on it let alone drive. To make matters worse we need to climb up a track to get to the top and the normal road. We have decided to make the decision to stay or leave in the morning though if it rains during the night we can leave straight away for everything is packed in readiness.
First thing this morning the sky was blue and sunny so we unpacked and then cut wood for our fire for there is plenty close to the camp. We had our breakfast then out came the washing machine and the clothes line up and then while the washing was underway I read yesterdays paper. Around 11 am the sky clouded over and there were a few spots of rain. We knew that we had to leave or stay. It is not very often that you come across a gem of a camp like this that is not listed in any camp books only available from the locals that are prepared to share this spot with you. Bearing this in mind we decided that the rain would have to be heavy to raise the water to our level and if the ground gets boggy we will just sit it out for a few days. The rain disappeared and it was cloudy with the sun making occasional appearances so hopefully their forecast will not eventuate in full. I baited the lines with worms and yabby that a local bloke had given us last night and then sat back waiting for the results. The results were nothing other than to lose the bait so I put cheese on the hook to see how it went.
No fish so we stoked the fire and put a couple of spuds in aluminum foil to cook then cooked the steak inside and covered both in cheesy spaghetti a little different though tasty.
Half way through our meal a bloke turned up to fish and I went out to check him out and he told me that it is illegal to use cheese and gave me a wattle grub to use. He caught a nice murray cod in no time at all and even with the grub I was to not even get a bite. The bloke was to tell me that he had caught fifty in the last fortnight and all good size. I fished up to 8 pm to no avail and came inside to watch the football which is Geelong V St Kilda match tonight. If St Kilda do not win tonight then their season is over and I can't see them beating Geelong.

Saturday the 18th of August
Last night the fisherman was only to catch one small Murray Cod which he put back. What a disappointment St Kilda was well and truly beaten by Geelong and other than two more games to play their season is finished. I have been supporting them for forty four years and they know how to disappoint their fans in a big way, oh well I will continue to support them until the day I die, why would I want to change teams.
When I came out into the drab overcast and cold of this morning I noticed that the fisherman from last night had left me with about seven fat wattle grubs so I baited up the lines and put them in river around 7-30 am. I pulled the yabby pot with no success, this is such a nice place to camp and again this morning we have the area to ourselves.
Before breakfast I cut enough wood for the day and lit the fire then brekky. I checked the rods and found the grub had nearly been eaten and the other I snagged and after much pulling it freed itself.
It was all happening this morning with the sheep coming down on the opposite bank to drink and then our resident wood ducks appeared eating the lush grass also the Yellow crested cockatoo's were also seeking to drink from the river.

When you look across the river you see the marks on the trees near the river of previous river heights and it is a white stain which could mean there is a lot of salt in the water. The first fisherman of the day has arrived at 11-30 am so I will watch to see if he has any luck. He didn't stay long only an half hour and packed up and gone. We have the area to ourselves again. I checked the rods and no fish!

Whilst I was goofing off Liz was doing a damper for lunch with cheese, onion and bacon, the first I knew about it was when Liz asked to get the camp oven. Onto the fire with plenty of hot coals and when cooked to perfection with no burn on the bottom or top we had it with a nice bowl of hot soup. This camping life is so tough no wonder the weight is still on the body. Tonight we are having Veal Goulash cooked in the camp oven, you could say we are over eating today.
Liz was to sit by the fire and listen to the football with Melbourne beating GWS and Carlton soundly beat Essendon which should now place Carlton in the eight at Essendon's expense,
I thought I would fish this afternoon by the rods and it is cold so I put on a beanie and noticed that I was getting small bites on one rod and then around 5 pm bang it pulled the rod out of the fork rod holder and started heading for the water. I had to stand on the rod to stop it ending up in the river and then the almighty struggle began, I thought what ever it was it was large.
When I spotted what it was I started to think that I might lose the beautiful big Murray Cod pulling it up the bank. I noted that previous fisherman all had landing nets. With excitement I pulled it up the bank and I was lucky for the hook was nearly out and did not take much removing.
Liz grabbed the camera and took a photo to have a record of the catch.
It was time for our evening meal so I pulled the rods in and had our meal cooked in the camp oven which was really tasty. Then I decided to go back and fish until dark or close to it, I took my head light with me just in case. The line was only in a few minutes before the rod went mad again; I thought I had caught another Murray Cod though it turned out to be a Carp which I threw up the bank for it is illegal to put them back in the water. It was getting dark and colder so I retired back to the motorhome and watched a bit of tellie until the Brisbane V Adelaide which should be a good game.

Sunday the 19th of August
Electric blanket on for awhile last night to warm the bed before retiring. The football game was a bit of a shock we did not expect Brisbane Lions to defeat Adelaide, the team in 13th position on the AFL ladder and beat the team in 2nd position!
We did not arise until 9 am this morning and going outside to find the blue sky and sun was a big change from yesterday. At one stage I had only my singlet on though wearing trakkies. We were still on our own in the area until a few fishermen came in and stayed the day before leaving. I cut more wood and it was easy and not far to carry and on went the billy for our cuppa's. I decided to go fishing again and sat in the sun up until lunch time to no avail only a few bites that were taking the bait. I have now used the wattle grubs and am now relying on the old standby, cheese. It was cheese that caught the two fish last night.
There was plenty of birdlife on the river today which included Kookaburra's, Cockatoo's, Ibis, Crows, our resident wood ducks and about 15 finches who joined us by the river. The finches were diving into the water either for bugs or washing themselves which I am not sure. One thing I sure of is that they are hard to photograph they do not sit long enough for this to occur.
The carp I threw up the bank was still intact this morning and later I was to see the crows pecking at it and on inspection the eyes were missing and they had just started in the belly section.
Lunch time; so boiled the billy for a cuppa and relaxed outside in the sun. Then the rest of the afternoon was spent down by the rods soaking up the sun and re baiting the hooks as required. At 4 pm the sun was disappearing behind the trees and it was getting a bit chilly so packed the rods away and other equipment for we are back on the road in the morning after enjoying the time spent here. It is pleasant of a night in bed to hear the water tumbling over the weir and the same sound you wake to plus the noise of the birds in the morning. Very nice indeed. Wasn't the Murray Cod very nice, for our evening meal, with white flaky flesh and cooked in breadcrumbs with veggies, very nice indeed. We will watch tellie on the satellite dish tonight and then just before going to bed I will pack it up otherwise in the morning it will be saturated with dew. As the generator will be going tonight we will once again turn on the electric blankets to ensure we hop into a nice warm bed. You can't beat this camping out.

Monday the 20th of August
What a very cold morning with frost on the ground and the Suzuki was thick with ice on its windowscreen. We hopped out of bed this morning at 6-30 am so we could hit the road to Condobolin reasonably early. As we were having our breakfast our resident Wood Ducks visited us again and they are funny to watch as the get the pecking right between the females and males. We stopped long enough on the way to the bitumen to look at the canal water works, they were getting ready for the days work and I felt sorry for the workers for the temperature outside was only 2 degrees. We had the heater in the motorhome wound up and the heat was lovely we hooked up the Suzuki and we were on our way after checking lights etc.
It wasn't long before we arrived at Trangie and as usual the focus of the town was around the hotel though when turning the corner there were a few shops and supermarket and they were not open as we came through.

Along the way the farms had large crops of Canola or Wheat or both the crops were as far as you could see and stretched along the highway. We arrived at Albert a small rural town who again had the Rabbit Trap Hotel as its main attraction. All these small towns service the farming and cropping community.
We were allowing the GPS to plot the way to our destination. We turned onto a gravel road and when Liz looked at the map and indicated that it was that way for next 64 kilometres. So we back tracked though before doing so we had to go in a kilometre or so to turn at a farmers gate. Unfortunately we discovered a large red kangaroo in the drive way that must have been hit by a vehicle for it was rotating around without being able to stand. I then spotted the fox in the paddock no doubt waiting for the kangaroo to become exhausted and if I had a fire arm on board I would have shot the animal and probably the fox. I didn't have the heart to hit kangaroo with an axe to put it out of its misery. No doubt the winner on the day would be the Fox.
On returning to the bitumen we turned through Tullamore and it again was a small community supporting the farming community. Along the road we were to see family birds. Cockatiels, Green Parrots and Major Mitchell Galahs not to mention the magpies, Ibis, wood ducks and cormorants. The birds were to flighty and I failed to photograph them properly and the result was for poor for viewing on the diary.
We came upon Fifield where we turned off for the final run to Condobolin. The road was part bitumen and gravel it was about ten kilometres of each until we finally arrived at the last stretch of bitumen. In all it wasn't bad though the Suzuki received a fair old dusting.
We finally arrived at the outskirts of Condobolin and called into Uncles fuel distribution depot and took on fuel. On the board it was listed at $1.45.9 a litre though Uncle let us have it for $1.37 cents a litre which was a real bonus compared to what we were paying up until now.
We stopped at the IGA for bread and biscuits and a few other groceries and veggies and then out to Gum Bend Lake. There were a few happy campers there when we arrived and we looked at the 5th wheeler and noticed the bloke close to it and then recognised David from Tassie. Before we set up we had a good old chin wag and found that Sally was at work at the hospital and they had been here for the past two months with another month to go before they move on back to Tassie.
We set up and then David and I went up the RSL and had a couple of schooners and purchased a carton of beer and back to camp for happy hour. When we arrived back at the lake Sally was there and we had happy hour which was great catching up with them after two years.
It was dark before we went inside to have our evening meal and watch television for the evening. The satellite dish is set up and operating off the Inverter so the battery level will be watched closely. Off to bed a little tired though happy that we met up with David and Sally again.
Kilometres travelled 217

Tuesday the 21st of August
It was good to be away from the frosts and dews and this morning was great around 9 degrees at 7am with clear blue sky and sun shining brightly. I lit the fire and we had breakfast cooked on the firepot and sat and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. As a matter of fact there was no wind just the wafting of the smoke from the firepot made for a very nice breakfast scenario. We had a couple of Magpies that drove us mad walking around our feet and then going off to peck other happy campers wheel caps before returning again, I refused to feed them.
After breakfast out came the chainsaw and the wood we bought with us was cut down to a size to fit the firepot and then a general clean up and the Suzuki was taken up near the lake to wash the weeks of mud and dust that was covering it. It looks good again sparkling in the sun, a few happy campers were to remark on the difference the wash made to the overall appearance of the vehicle.
We just relaxed in the sun reading books and then we had our lunch of ham sandwich's along with a cup of soup, We cut into the leg of ham yesterday so it should last awhile.
Had a bit of a chinwag with other happy campers and then we went into the township of Condobolin to get some pills etc for Liz from the Chemist and then onto the newsagents and then the IGA for a carton of xxxx gold at $40 plus a straw hat which was a promotion for the beer. Then a few veggies though not tomatoes for they are still around $9 a kilo for the cheapest.
The show is this coming to Condobolin this weekend and we thought we would have a look at the grounds, the Carnies where setting up their equipment and the rides all appeared to be around $7.

Back home and stoked the fire up for happy hour and then we cooked veggies on the firepot and David and Sally cooked roast pork that they had won at the RSL plus veggies. So our meal consisted of Pork, mashed spuds, carrots, beans and pumpkin. We had an enjoyable meal together and then just sat around the fire having a few coldies before going inside to watch the comedy shows and then off to bed after a very relaxing day, who knows if the weather is the same tomorrow the shorts may be the order of the day.

Wednesday the 22nd of August
Awoke to the warbling of Magpies and the screeching of the Major Mitchell Galahs. Lit the fire and cooked our breakfast and bathed in the beautiful sunshine though a little windy. At the moment we are experiencing warm Northerly winds so it is back to singlet though the trakkies are still the order of the day. Liz was to get the washing machine out and once again it attracted a few people wanting to look. I can see this type of washing machine becoming standard for travelling with the old washing bucket a thing of the past.
There were plenty of cloths to be washed plus sheets etc so we needed two cloths lines strung from the awning to the Suzuki then another from the Suzuki to a tree. With the warm wind it did not take long to dry at all.
I carried a few buckets of water to the van and then starting washing the grime and dirt and dust from the back, drivers side and front of the motorhome, I will put the awning in later so tomorrow I can wash the passenger side of the motorhome.
We had our lunch and Liz went in the Suzuki with Sally to look at Vinnies and do a bit of shopping and I went with David in the truck to get more firewood for his fire. We pulled in alongside the rail line where we loaded up around six old sleepers and then back to camp to cut them up. They were old red gum and did they blunt the chainsaw chain in no time at all, though it is a hot burning wood leaving just white ash.
The rest of the afternoon was spent talking to other happy campers and admiring the lake with all the ducks and other birdlife, the wind had become much stronger and warmer still coming from the north.
A around 6 pm we went with David and Sally to the RSL for an evening meal. Pretty expensive two chicken schnitzels with chips and salad for $20 and they were very nice indeed. One thing about these clubs in Queensland and NSW they have all cheap meals and no doubt paid for by the poker machines. Of course a few schooners of xxxx gold went down well along another couple or so later in the night.
They had a raffle for meat trays and $20 vouchers and we bought $5 worth and they had a draw for five more sheets just before the main draw and Liz won it. This gave us another 25 tickets. Well David won a meat tray, Sally won a meat tray and two $20 vouchers and we won absolutely nothing, oh well them's the breaks!
Liz and Sally went off to play Bingo and David and I went to the Poker Machines. I lost $5 and that was enough for me so I went back to the bar and had a few more schooners. By this time I was getting a bit sloshed so David and I went back to camp in the Suzuki with David driving for he had only had coke all night to drink.
Back at camp I fired up the television and watched the Movie on GO and had a couple more stubbies.
I heard the girls pull up and the door swung open with Liz as excited as anything stating "Look what I won at Bingo!" Liz had three parcels and Sally carried in a fourth. Liz had won two breakfast packs each consisting of 1 Litre of Pine Mango juice, 1 litre milk, 1 small box of weet-bix, 1 can of spaghetti and 6 eggs. The third package was chicken kebabs and the fourth package was an entertainment pack consisting of 1 Litre of Ginger Beer, 1 packet Cheddar Cheese biscuits, 1 packet of Cheese and Bacon Balls, 1 packet of Fantales, 1packet of Retro Party Mix lollies. So there was much excitement about the night and the winnings at Bingo.
We were to hear thunder in the distance and it wasn't long before it was overhead along with brilliant flashes of lightning and the wind had picked even further, even though I had the satellite dish well pinned down the wind pressure was altering the elevation of the dish thus we were losing the signal and movie which was getting to the exciting climax. It didn't take long to get the picture back and we saw the last of the movie. In the morning I will need to tighten the elevation bolts to stop this happening again. Off to bed after a very good day and evening.

Thursday the 23rd of August
We had intermittent rain during the night though when we arose at 7 am it was overcast and the rain and wind had gone. Lit the campfire and cooked our breakfast of crumpets and eggs with Liz also having weet-bix (I wonder where they came from). We had no sooner finished breakfast and talking to a couple of happy campers that were leaving this morning that the rain started. It was not heavy just a enough for us to go inside, we were to see a couple of lightning flashes though no thunder.
The temperature dropped sharply around lunch time so we elected to have piping hot soup for our lunch today. The rain increased and it was obvious that we needed to run the generator and turn on the battery charger for the solar panels are generating little or no power to the batteries.
Out came the awning to protect the generator from the rain. Then it happened the wind changed dramatically and reached gale force proportions which meant we had to roll up the awning wet or not. Chairs were going over plus the table so we had to pack up everything and put it in the front of the motorhome. For the next four hours the motorhome rocked and the wind did not abate and at some point became really gusty.
This is the worst day as to weather that we can recall so we cancelled the trip into the township of Condobolin today until tomorrow, we are wondering how the happy campers that left this morning are weathering the condition on the road.
There will be no cooking of the evening meal on the firepot tonight so we will be locked away and no doubt be rocked to sleep tonight while reading our books for awhile. Late afternoon and the wind dropped off and the clouds dissipated which allowed the happy campers to come outdoors and have a chat before night descended. Talk about a lazy day of course governed by the weather. We hope that the weather abates for the Condobolin Show commences tomorrow and goes until Saturday, we hope to go probably on Saturday.

Friday the 24th of August
What an excellent morning after last night. Lit the firepot and on went the kettle and then cooked the crumpets for breakfast. Though sunny it was still a little cold so we elected to have our breakfast inside.
After breakfast out came the awning for it was put away wet yesterday afternoon and it was still dripping wet. Gathered the water for the cleaning of the passenger side of the Motorhome and water for hand washing.
It didn't take long to wash the motorhome and then the awning was washed top and bottom and with the sun and slight breeze it didn't take long to dry. We elected to go into the shopping centre for grog and then out to Uncles to buy two valve extensions, brass of course for the existing valve extensions being plastic had broken. We were going to draw down some funds from the bank however there had been major damage and the bank was closed with police tape around the building. On the news they stated that some person/s had placed a gas bottle near the ATM and it had exploded blowing the front out of the wall and starting a fire inside the bank, which bank?. Now this bank just happens to be next door to the police station and they have not caught the culprits.
Back in camp and the new valve extensions were fitted then we grabbed the camera and went walkabout. We drove out to the showgrounds and checked the price of entry which is $5 each for pensioners so we will attend tomorrow. Then out to mitre 11 and checked it out and whilst there they were shredding all the old car and tractor tyre's to very small pieces. There was not much to collect for all material had been bulldozed into pits for burial.
Then inspected the grain facilities and whilst there a train arrived and started loading grain; whilst at the other silo's road trains of two trailers were also loading. We then went and had a look at the old passenger railway station that is no longer used, outside there is also old farm machinery like threshers that were driven by steam.
Back home for late lunch via the Foodworks store for bread rolls for lunch and whilst there could not resist the Tim Tams at $1.79 cents a packet so I purchased a few or more. Liz was not aware until we arrived home and unpacked.
The day now is cold and terribly overcast and could probably rain. So we had our showers getting ready to go out tonight for our Chinese Meal at the RSL.
At 6 pm we went with David and Sally to the RSL and decided to eat straight away to avoid the crowds, this turned out to be a good move for at 7 pm there was a long line of people waiting to get to the smorgasbord of Chinese food. In all I had a plate full of food including spring rolls, steak in black bean sauce, prawn balls, fish in sauces, honey pork and fried rice. I was surprised to see how many people opted just for fish and chips.
It was all good food so I backed up for seconds, this why I could only manage one schooner of beer. Liz was more moderate in her meal and had a glass of wine with her meal. Liz played the keno with no success. We again bought $10 of tickets in the meat tray raffle, there were 15 trays all told and we did not even go close to winning. Sally again won two meat trays one being the last of the night valued at $50 just as well they have a freezer. I played pokies until I had lost $1 and then I called it quits for these poker machines I find boring and know full well they are not going to make you rich only poorer.
We decided to go home before the young band started banging out its music, we turned on the television and watched the football until the end and was very surprised to see Essendon beaten by Richmond by 45 points which would put their finals aspirations to rest. It has been another good day given the wind and clouds later in the day.

Saturday the 25th of August
Lit the firepot for breakfast and it was sunny enough for us to eat our breakfast by the fire. We had our daily resident Magpie come visit us like it does to all the campers looking for a handout. Normally we wouldn't feed the animals or birds though this morning we relented and gave the bird a few bread scraps. We had a couple of Tasmanian campers come over and bid us farewell for they are leaving this morning for Canberra and the war memorial. There were a few other happy campers also depart and at the end of the day only two campers came in and set up. Liz was to clean all the windows on the Motorhome and I cleaned the area and re-stacked the wood. We went into town and bought the newspaper and a few other items that we needed and then headed home for lunch. I cooked chicken kebabs for lunch and they were nice and then later in the afternoon we went off to the Condobolin Show.

There was plenty happening and as pensioners it only cost us $5 each for entry to the show. We headed first for the show ring and the dressage competition was under way and it was really a credit how they control the horses as they go through their routine and a pleasure to watch. We had arrived in time for the grand parade and the bands lead the way with the cattle well held following behind with goats and other farm animals they were all displaying their respective ribbons won in their section. The old cars were a treat plus old trucks that had been restored. It is surprising to see the old T model Fords still drivable today, along with chev's, Packard's and dodge and a whole range of modern by their standards 1970's and 80's cars. There seems to be a lot for this area given the population.

It didn't take us long to make our way around to side show alley and there were rides and for everyone from the hairy and scary to the more sedate for children. There were three dodgems cars in different parts of the ground and all were busy. Most of the rides were around $7 for adults and children and there were jumping castles for the children and small rides the most unusual was the titanic jumping and slide, all the rides had lines of customers waiting for their turn, There were the usual show bags for sale and a lot of craft work etc on sale. Of course being a country show it included a poultry pavilion and sheep, goat and other chooks etc. On the way out of the ground we watched a Morris Minor being loaded and was a little surprised to see that they had fitted a full chassis with duel tandem drive diff's and wheels at the back and a turn table making out it was a prime mover. The two back diff's worked it was not a lazy axle drive. You could see the back chassis was joined to the original Morris Minor body.
We spent a pleasant four hours there at the show and saw all there was to see and we were going to stop and have something to eat and wait for the fireworks tonight though it was to get cold so we had a couple of drinks at the bar and headed for home. We had an easy evening meal consisting of a cup of soup and a ham roll and elected to stay indoors with the heater going and watch the football this evening.

Sunday the 26th of August
We seem to do the same routine each morning since we have been at Gum Bend Lake. It was chilly this morning with the wind turning around to the sou sou west and very cloudy not good for solar panels at all.
We had our breakfast and then we set up the washing machine and pitched the cloths line from the Suzuki to the nearby tree. Carried water and the washing was underway, it is surprising how quickly the washing is completed and hung out to dry. Today's wash has now ensured that the washing machine is now paid for in savings from not having to use the Laundromat over the past month or so and has allowed us to do the heavy washing where ever we are on the road.
We sat and had a cup of coffee with our neighbours and watched a few happy campers go and a few more come in, one parking very close to us given all the free space around the camping area. We had a chat with them and they are on their way home to South Australia after four months on the road they were a nice couple to talk to and they of course inspected the washing machine, though not in use just drying out, and it provided a good talking point.
Lunch time arrived so I cranked up the fire to boil the billy and we had ham, cheese and lettuce rolls finished off with a couple of chocolate mint slice biscuits. Liz was less than happy with the result of her beloved Collingwood being soundly defeated by West Coast Eagles, I of course was elated with St Kilda's win though it is to no avail for we will not be playing in the finals. We watched the Carlton V Gold Coast Suns and who would have thought that the Suns would have defeated Carlton, they kicked to many points which cost them the game.
It is a lazy day and we do not intend to go anywhere just read our books and take it easy for the rest of the afternoon. Late afternoon and there was the dulcet tones of the Mr Whippy Van so we couldn't resist buying a waffle cone full of ice cream, very nice indeed.
There a few more happy campers arrive late in the day including one Tasmanian couple who we invited to the happy hour by the fire, they were from Hobart and we listened to their travels to date and then it was time to cook our meal of chicken and potatoes and pumpkin in foil in the hot coals. All cooked very nice with cheese placed in the hot sliced potato, beautiful.
It was 9 pm before we came inside for the cold of the night was falling even though there was no wind and the sky was very nice with no clouds only stars the chill was starting to get to us. We watched television for awhile then off to bed and we read our books.

Monday the 27th of August
A real white frost this morning that really iced up the vehicles, I have to say that though cold the sun was warming things up nicely. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and no wind and it would stay that way all day. From about 11 am I was back to a singlet and trakkies. The usual's this morning light the fire and cook our breakfast and sit in the sun enjoying the peaceful surroundings whilst eating. There wasn't much doing so along with David we went into Condobolin and filled a gas bottle bought bread and a few other items. Our Vast box is set to Northern Territory so I rang optus to change it to NSW and the southern region which should give more southern news and football etc, it was all completed very quickly.
Then out to Mitre 11 where we were able to scrounge three 9 kilo gas bottles for David to convert to firepots, the tyre shredding was completed and now they are shredding the hundreds of 20 litre plastic containers. We had a good discussion with the tip blokes who were sifting their way through the rubbish from the show days. It was surprising what they were finding not to mention the hundreds of aluminum cans they were separating from the rubbish.
Back home for lunch and turned on the satellite box to see if they had changed the settings as promised. The had not so I left the set going to allow the signal to catch up with us. Then it did, it wiped out all the commercial stations indicating that I had not the right to view them. Rang Optus from the mobile and I have to admit they do not keep you hanging on the phone like other services. Told them the problem and they fixed it whilst I was watching the screen which is great.
Lunch over and Liz went off with Sally to bingo again though at the Bowls Club this time. Whilst I started the packing away all the gear outside placing it in the Suzuki which will only leave the satellite dish and the timber for leveling to store in the morning. Liz was to return from bingo having won two ten dollar vouchers for meat from the local butchers. As we wont have time in the morning to pick it up Liz went back into town to pick up the winning meat trays of course she added a few more dollars to get a little more.
The day was so excellent that I went onto the levee and looked out across the lake at the hundreds of water fowl, ducks, cormorants and one only of geese and pelican. It was wonderful just sitting watching the birds with their diving antics and the calmness of the lake with the blue water blending in with the sky.
Happy hour arrived so we had joined other happy campers for our final gathering with them indicating our departure in the morning. Of the fourteen happy campers here at the moment eleven of them are on the road full time and have been for sometime and are looking at an extended stay here. What a wonderful sunset we had this evening as quickly as it came it disappeared. We had our evening meal and sat back to watch television as the night became colder switching on the heater to warm up the interior of the Motorhome and then off to bed where we read our books again before switching off the lights.

Tuesday the 28th of August
It was another cold night, though we were as snug as a bug in a rug in bed. We arose at 6-30 am and went straight to the showers, on the way we noted the red tinge emanating off the slight fog around the lake that made it look picturesque. Of course being 4 degrees ensured the hot water was turned on high whilst showering and it was lovely standing there warming the whole body. We had our breakfast and then Sally came over to say farewell on her way to work. We took the packing blocks and packed them away and then we were ready to hit the road at 8-15 am.
We said farewell to those happy campers that were up and moving around then over to say our final farewell to David who we will catch up with again in Tasmania in a few months after their return.
There was a certain amount of sadness in leaving for we were getting to the stage that we felt we were locals of Condobolin and there were plenty of people we were to meet in the town and at the show that gave us that feeling. Again it is one of our favourite spots in Australia to freedom camp and no doubt we will be back again in future years. We drove through Condobolin and swung a right onto the Lachlan Highway and over the bridge with the sign indicating " If horses are on the bridge they have the right of way and all other traffic must stop" and then we were leaving the town we love so much. The Lachlan River under the bridge was flowing strongly something we haven't experienced for some years.
We were soon driving through farmland with the usual Canola and Wheat sown as far as you could see. We came across a farm where the sheep were in the front paddock and behind them was the green of the wheat and then the yellow of the canola it was very picturesque. Unfortunately the photo does not do it justice.

Before we knew it we were arriving in West Wyalong an outback farming community with a large population. We parked up near the community rose garden and that was a pretty sight though no roses were in bloom there were plenty of daffodils blooming and the way the garden is set out would make the garden very colourful when the rose's bloomed.
We walked up the street and noted the very old buildings dating back to the early eighteen hundreds and all very colourful in their own way. We did a bit of window shopping and then we came across a GO- LO store and we could not help ourselves and we came out with $20 worth of junk. Then we went to the bank for a money refill, at least this one had its ATM's intact and not blown up like Condobolin. Then Liz had a hot chocolate and I opted for a cappacino which we enjoyed plus watching the foot and car traffic go by. We sauntered back to Speedybago via the newsagents and headed out along the Newell Highway to our rest area for the night.
Being the Newell Highway we saw plenty of trucks going in both directions. We were to come across road works where we were held up along with trucks at traffic lights for around ten minutes before it was our turn to travel along the single lane of the highway. Again as far as you could see there was wheat, canola and other grains plus cattle and sheep, we are now in the Riverina and enjoying the colour of the various crops. Around 12-30 we arrived at the rest area we had chosen for the night and we know it will be a little noisy for the highway is alongside us and the truck stopover is only 300 metres away. We had our lunch and I was able to tune in digital television so he satellite dish was not required. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the warm sun watching the trucks and other traffic go by and across the road is field of yellow canola right back to the tree line very nice indeed.
Kilometres travelled 170

Wednesday the 29th of August
The Beckom rest area last night saw a few trucks come in for rest and there was one happy camper who joined us, very close I might add. This morning we were getting large drops of rain so I was keen to get on the road and hopefully drive out of the bad weather that was approaching.
On the highway and you would think we would get sick of looking at the wheat and canola crops, this is not the case for they seem to have their own particular back drops whether timber or hills. They are very nice indeed and I have heaps of photo's of these crops.
There were many trucks heading north and the rain was just a few sprinkles and we could see there was a chance we would drive out of the bad weather. We first came to Ardethan a small town whose claim to fame is its grain silo's. Next was Grong Grong who also have many grain silo's though a small town. Coming along the highway we had a strong wind behind us so that should decrease our fuel consumption, we felt a bit sorry for those caravans who were heading north for they would be burning heaps of fuel driving into the strong wind. Next we drove through Nerandra a much larger town though again servicing the farming industry and we could see the two trailer trucks loading grain for the southern markets.
We were looking to buy a coffee though to do so required us to drive off the highway into the town centre so we pushed on.
On the way out of Nerandra we noted the old railway viaduct/bridge made completely of hewn timbers though it was obvious that they no longer used these tracks for some had been pulled down that were over the highway. I believe that one day they will become a real tourist attraction.

Next we came to Jerilderie and we pulled up and bought the Melbourne paper and there was plenty of AFL football articles at last we have come away from the states that promote Rugby in one form or another. We pulled around the corner and noted that there was a truck stop roadhouse so we pulled in and had a cappacino each and a nice spring roll and watched the happy campers heading south and north.
Back on the highway and we were going through vast open plains with cattle and we actually came across stockmen grazing their cattle in the long paddock there must have been two hundred cattle. We passed before I could get a photo. We haven't seen drovers running cattle in the long paddock for years and it is good to see it is alive and flourishing. Our next town was Finley and before and after their were many canals running water from the Murray River. There were signs all along the highway demanding that the irrigation channels continue and there were a few humourous comments as well. Finley's main street had all the trees in flower so spring must just be around the corner. We noted that there were plenty of sheep and the cattle were milking cows. We finally arrived at Tocumwal and we refilled the motorhome with diesel at $1.46.9 cents a litre with the discount of four cents a litre, we then drove into a side street and unhooked the Suzuki and drove to find if our normal camp area was accessible. The answer to that was no for the Murray River is in flood and both Findlay Beach camping area in Victoria and Town Beach in NSW are under flood. We drove to the western side of the highway and found the area we used last year was vacant so we set up there and had a late lunch. Needless to say that the photo's show that we drove out of the stormy weather and the sun was shining brightly still at 5 pm
The local television is not good so we set up the satellite dish to watch the football shows and football on the weekend.
It was after 4-30 pm before we finished setting up the basics and tomorrow we finish the rest and get wood for our fire. Tonight we will watch a bit of television and then read our books in bed.
Kilometres travelled 254

Friday the 30th of August
Awoke this morning to rain though it didn't last long, out of bed and took one look outside and went back to bed. It was another two hours before we ventured out and found that the rain had gone and had been replaced with sunny though cloudy conditions.
I lit the fire and boiled the kettle and cooked our toast and crumpets on the fire. Though the wind was cold so we had breakfast inside the motorhome and looked out at the mighty Murray River in its flooded state as it went by only five metres from us.
Liz had gathered more wood so I cut it to length with the chainsaw then a bit of washing and we strung up the line for it to dry.
Around 11 am we decided to drive into Tocumwal in NSW as we are camped on the Victorian side of the Murray River. We first went to look at our beloved Finley Beach campgrounds and there is no way you can get into the camp area for the flooding is right back near the main entrance to the campgrounds.
When you look to the NSW side it is noticeable that the Town Beach campgrounds are mostly underwater the only caravan remaining is the permanent caretaker's.

Across the bridge and around the roundabout then into tocumwal town centre. The first thing that is noticeable is the large Murray Cod has been refurbished along with the glider near the old tourist information centre. Hopefully I will catch a another Murray Cod on the weekend and not the dreaded Carp.
We went to the Chemist first and Liz placed her prescription and whilst that was being processed we walked down to the Newsagency for the newspaper and a fathers day card for dad which was completed and posted today, with a bit of luck it will arrive friday.
We noted that the Food Works Supermarket had closed and a local advised us that it will re-open in September. We went into IGA for bread rolls for lunch and we also bought a box of uht milk for $9.90 which was good for we have nearly exhausted our supply we bought with us. We decided to collect water and then home for lunch.
We stopped at the rail line crossing for there was a bloke sitting in a chair with a red flag to stop when and if a train arrived so we had a chat with him for awhile, they are currently working on the railway bridge which is the main line for trains from Melbourne to Sydney and other places.
We had our lunch and it was a cold wind still so we stayed indoors and read the newspaper and read our books and had a poppy nap the first in quite awhile and around 5-30 we had rain though it did not last long and tomorrow we are expecting more and rather than sitting around inside we have decided to go for a drive into Shepparton to get a few items we have run out of. It is not worth going outside tonight and have fire for it is to breezy and cold. So on with the tellie and watch the Tassie news.

Friday the 31st of August
We were out of bed at 6-30 am this morning and lit the fire. It was officially the last day of winter though the cold wind would remind us that it is still winter. Lit the fire and cooked breakfast and boiled the kettle and then ate inside again to get out of that awfully cold wind. It was picturesque looking out of the back window with the sun just rising and no clouds in the sky. All this changed before we left for Shep (Shepparton) with clouds scudding and rain sprinkling as we moved off.
As there were a few walkers well clad with winter clothes including beanies walking past us we decided to drive down further along the river. We noticed the motorhome that came in last night at 6-30 pm was parked very close to another caravan and then another was only parked a metre off the waters edge which we thought was a bit silly if the Murray rose even further.
We drove to the highway and proceeded to Shepparton, we passed the Big Strawberry and many small townships on the way. We were to see more of the beautiful Canola fields in flower and the many milking cows plus the water channels bringing water to the farms.
We decided to take the long way and came in from the northern end of town along the main highway. We drove through at least five sets of traffic lights and not one was green when arrived at them. We went straight to Dan Murphy's liquor outlet for they were selling Boags draught cans in 30 pack cartons for $39.70 so I purchased two cartons and then into Aldies and isn't it terrible to see the prices so low and even the banana's were $2.28 a kilo needless to say I bought a kilo and a half and a lot of other groceries for home and then a pork roast boned out to have when we arrive at Rob and Jens place early next week.
Then down to SPC/Ardmona and purchased tinned items and other grocery things which will take up a bit of space in the motorhome. Then onto Cheap as Chips and another few items. We then went looking for the service agent for Iveco to purchase oil and oil filter to change the current oil etc motorhome when we get home. We finally found them and made the purchase and then drove to Red Rooster for lunch. Oh no! where is my wallet, we couldn't find it anywhere so we drove back to the Iveco dealers and for the life of me we couldn't remember the short way to get there. We covered twice the distance before we arrived there and lo and behold there was my wallet so I thanked them very much and we headed back to Red Rooster for lunch. This is the first time ever that I have left my wallet behind anywhere. It was nearly 2 pm and the meal was very nice.
Even though we could do a lot more shopping we opted to head back to our Motorhome.
We took the short cut which takes you alongside the orchards and it was good to see most of them out in blossom both white and pink flowers. It was an uneventful drive home and the rain has disappeared though looking at the house battery level on arriving at camp there hasn't been much solar power generated.
We repacked the motorhome and the Suzuki to carry the extra things we bought today and then relaxed until happy hour and then had a few to top off the day. Tonight we will watch the Geelong V West Coast football game before retiring. It has been a good day given the wintry weather.

September