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August |
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| Thompson River Longreach
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Boat Basin river tours |
Billabong River Cruiser |
August 1st Here it is the first day of August and the last month of our outback travels, the moon last night was full which lit up the camp area like daylight, this made the stars look a little jaded; though still spectacular. We had a sleep in this morning and just hopped out of bed in time to have breakfast and farewell a few campers we had befriended over the last couple of days. Sam & Jacqui have elected to stop another day so we will have only new neighbours on one side of us, there were comings and goings most of the day; though again Caravans were the in the majority with just a few Camper Trailers and Motorhomes. We have elected to stay in camp today and relax and not go into Longreach, Liz did a bit of washing and I helped Sam set up his satellite box, then we had a good old chin wag just prior to lunch. After lunch we decided to go walkabout along the river bank towards the tourist boats, when we arrived at the boat basin we noted there were three boats, one styled on an paddle steamer design complete with paddles and the other two were multi hull driven by outboard motors. Sam & Jacqui went out on the cruise last night at $45 per head pensioner rate and they indicated that they enjoyed trip including the coolness of the evening. We took many photo's of the river which is a dirty clay looking colour, the tourist blurb states that a muddy river is a healthy river, try telling that to many of the residents living along muddy rivers elsewhere in Australia. When we arrived back at camp we were a little hot and sweaty for the sun really was hot and we failed take any water with us. David & Sally came out again to see us and bought their computer for me to load up a fuel consumption chart that I have designed for our use, we had a good happy hour with all of us from both camps and we then had our evening meal and sat out under the stars until it became a little cool and then went inside to watch Television for awhile before hopping into bed to read. The temperature today reached 29 degrees Celsius. When we leave on Friday we cross the Tropic of Capricorn and the further we travel away from it the colder it is going to get. |
August 2nd |
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Road to "Stonehenge" note greenery
then dryness
| Stonehenge Hotel |
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August 3rd |
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| Road Stonehenge to Jundah
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Countryside from the Rest Area Lookout on way to Jundah |
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August
4th
What a night! the Motorhome really rocked with the gale force winds that descended on us in the early hours of the morning, however when we hopped out of bed at 7am it had abated somewhat. Breakfast and then showered and we were on the way to Jundah by 8am; the road was to change for the better once we left Stonehenge the bitumen became wider and was as smooth as. There was only a breeze at this point coming out of the south east which was right on our nose, along the way we were to see heaps of Kangaroos and in some instances they were in mobs of around 15 to 20. They were predominantly big grey's with a sprinkling of reds, with all the professional shooters in Stonehenge we were to surprised to see so many, also we to see mobs of sheep grazing on goodness knows what. We seemed to be climbing and there was plenty of scrub and the occasional white gum usually by the dried out creeks and rivers, we came across a floodway which was five kilometres long. We both thought we wouldn't want to be on this road during such a downpour in the wet season. Before we knew it we were climbing up onto a plateau and then we came across a rest area that advertised a lookout and given that we didn't need to hurry today we went in for look. Good decision for the panoramic views out across the outback country were absolutely beautiful, the greens coupled with the ochre coloured ground, hills and mountains was well worth the stopover. Back on the road and we came across a road train and given the width of the bitumen we didn't have to get off the road for the three trailered monster, the Barcoo Shire have done an excellent job. We were come across more flat green land and there again were mobs of Kangaroos mixing with sheep and cattle, before we knew it we had arrived at Jundah a township of 200 people and as it was only a bit after 9am the town had not yet woken up. We sought a few directions to the Thompson River and headed out to look for a suitable campsite, there were plenty of Caravans and the most Motorhomes together than we have seen for awhile. We unhooked Digger and drove on both sides of the bridge looking for a suitable site, 
it is noticeable that the council must be camper friendly for they have
supplied wheely bins and heaps of dry wood for camp fires.We selected a campsite about 2 kilometres along the banks of the Thompson River near a wheely bin and a heap of firewood and then set up, the cursed wind from the south east has grown in strength, there is no way to get shelter from it; so needless to say in setting up the camp we did not put out the awning. The temperature at 2pm is 18 degrees some 12 degrees cooler than yesterday and we are out of shorts into jeans. We set up the fire and decided to have an open fire rather than the firepot and we took the leg of pork out of the freezer to cook in the camp oven tomorrow, gee life is tough! We erected a shower and toilet tent for we intend to stay for a few days dependant on weather conditions, of course the satellite dish was set up to watch the Collingwood V Carlton football match and the other footy match tonight. I rigged up a rod and used a synthetic prawn bait until I catch some of the small prawns to catch the elusive Yellow Belly (Golden Perch). I pulled out only one Yabby trap to test the waters if that catches I will bring the rest out. Kilometres travelled 78 |
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| Cooking toast for Breakfast
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Thompson River at Breakfast |
Camp Oven Roast Pork |
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August 5th |
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| Barcoo Shire Museum, Jundah
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Meat Safe & Kero fridge |
Bullock drawn wagons |
August 6th It didn't take much to get the fire going this morning and again no yabbies or fish. The morning was great, brilliant sunshine and clear blue sky's and no wind, it was a pleasure sitting out cooking toast and boiling the billy for breakfast. Our routine is such that it doesn't take long to clean and tidy up the Motorhome and refuel the generator. Again we are on our own on this stretch of the Thompson River and it is so peaceful and quiet, not even the noisy Corella's to annoy us with their incessant screeching. We had our showers and then drove up into the township of Jundah, on the way out we noticed that the amount of campers had diminished no doubt due to the cold winds of the past few days. Our first call was to the library, which also doubles as the information centre to pick up literature on the area plus to use their internet facility to upload this diary, the woman manning the centre, which is also the post office (with mail deliveries twice a week), was very helpful and in no time we had our link. The problem is unless you use their computers you can not send e-mail other than receive it on or through your computer, this is a pain really for I don't feel like typing out again what is already done on this computer; they will just have to wait until I have to use my own server. Then around to the Barcoo Shire Museum where they had plenty of articles on display behind glass, most of the articles date from two centuries ago and include an old meat safe, butter churns and a lot of old memorabilia, it was interesting to see the original Kerosene Fridge's and old school desks and dolls and prams etc. Outside the displays were of the old hand tools used in shearing and farming and a few old tractors that have steel wheels, in all a very good display worth seeing. We dropped into the caravan park for water and though there were no persons using the area we noted the cost with power is $10 per night with showers etc. Then around to the shop and we thought we had just dropped into the past for they were displaying groceries on shelves behind the counter just like they did centuries ago, we had a look at the boulder opals whilst there and the owner of the shop mines them some two hundred and eighty kilometres away; cuts and polish's them for sale. We broke out and had a couple of Mrs Mac's famous pies for lunch though they were no doubt frozen and reheated in a microwave,the electricity must be heavily subsidised given the cost of diesel these days. We dropped into the park to have a look at a couple of old drays one had springs and the other hard axles though it had a turntable, both were built to carry heavy loads and pulled by bullocks. Back home where we had a late lunch and then an afternoon snooze and then sat out in the last of the days sunshine reading for the wind has now dropped and it is a pleasant 19 degrees, if it stays like this we will crank the fire up after our evening meal and sit out under the stars; of course if it gets cold inside and watch a DVD for the evening for their is not much on television tonight. |
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| Thompson River Jundah
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Our resident Pelicans |
Plenty of camping area |
August 7th Breakfast by the fire again this morning, with the wind dropping and sun and blue sky's what more could you want to relax by the river. After our usual chores we went walkabout along the camping areas on both sides of the Highway, we estimate our walk took us over 6 kilometres return and it was warm. Today we were able to wear our shorts and t-shirts again and even then we were walking a sweat up. We were surprised to see that only one camper is on our side of the highway, we stopped and talked to him and he was to extol his fishing prowess and the types of bait he uses; even garnishing the bait with mustard! Well, I had to tell him that I had not been successful which gave him the opportunity to tell me where I was going wrong. We continued on across the road and there were only two Caravans and a Pop Top spread over the entire area, we assumed that these areas would be full in earlier months as people moved north for the warmer climes. We arrived back at our camp at lunchtime and then sat around reading for the rest of the afternoon and enjoying the clear blue sky's and brilliant sunshine, the temperature today was to reach 25 degrees with just a slight cooling breeze. I decided to move my fishing gear and then used mustard on my bait, took my chair and waited with anticipation for the fish to attack as I had been told earlier, alas it must be an old fisherman's tale for nothing happened, so it was time to return to camp for the happy hour. A Motorhome has just driven past us and gone up further and no doubt to set up camp, he returned 30 minutes later and stopped for a chat indicating that he will need to camp across the road for there are to many bindy's ( a type of prickle) for his dog on this side of the road. We are enjoying this area of the outback for whilst here we don't seem to have a worry in the world. No doubt we will sit out under the stars tonight by the fire for there are no Mosquito's here. It is 5:45 still sunny and the temperature has dropped to 23 degrees, needless to say when the darkness arrives the temperature plummets, tonight for our meal we are having roast pork warmed up in gravy along with vegetables, beautiful! |
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| Our views at Breakfast
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Boulder Opal display at shop Jundah |
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August 8th Another cloudless sky with no wind this morning, the views out over the river are great whilst cooking and eating breakfast by the fire, the wood is such that having burnt away overnight it leaves a white ash. This ash can be quite dangerous for it gives no indication that it is still very hot, all I have had to do each morning is throw a heap of chips from the wood heap and within one minute we have fire for cooking. For those that are not aware of how the fire turns to ash and gives no indication of its heat are in for a shock if they touch or walk over the ash. This morning after breakfast Liz packed up all articles that needed washing and we headed up to the empty caravan park and used the three dollars in slot washing machine and whilst it was doing its job we jumped under the shower. When we came out there was woman who we had seen on our walks yesterday along the campsites by the river, she had driven her Pop Top up to wash and have a shower. She was to tell us that she has been catching a fish a day where she is and the biggest a 6 pound Yellow Belly, as she was landing it on the shore she slipped and went into the river fully clothed though she had a good old laugh about it given she caught such a good fish. Like me she hasn't been able to catch any river prawns or yabbies for bait though she is lucky enough to have a supply of both in her freezer or well them's the breaks. I had pulled my yabbie trap and rod this morning and packed both away. We filled the water containers said our farewells and headed off back to camp and lunch. I had another snooze after lunch and about 3pm we started to dismantle our camp for we are back on the road tomorrow heading for Windora and then into Quilpie and Charleville. We note there is a Draft Camp on in Windora this weekend though we will not be attending, we expect to find a lot of traffic heading for the event tomorrow and friday before we park up maybe on the Cooper Creek, This is the only creek in Australia that has two rivers feed into; both the Thompson and the Barcoo. We have placed more wood on the fire and we will finish off the beautiful Pea and Ham soup made a couple of days ago with the bones of the leg of ham that has lasted us nearly a month, oh! well off to happy hour by the river and fire even though the temperature is a warm 27 degrees. Tonight we will sit by the fire under the stars and as the evening chill comes in we will adjourn inside and watch television before going off to bed. |
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| Grader on Windorah Road
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House Boat on Cooper Creek |
Windorah Outback Shop |
August 9th Another glorious morning and it wouldn't have taken much to start up the fire for the ash was still very hot, however as we are moving on this morning we had our breakfast in the Motorhome. We packed the satellite dish away and the rest of the equipment left out overnight and we were on the road by 8am pushing on for Windorah. The land was nice and flat as we went along though we did meet a few travellers going back towards Jundah, they were not a problem for the bitumen is equivalent to a small two lane highway so there was no need to get off the road. We were to see large mobs of Kangaroos both the big red and grey's plus wild horse's beside the highway. How did we know they were wild horses? they were unshod, they were rough in the coat and it looked like they had a little draft horse in them; not a good looking horse at all. The countryside is barren with spinifex and other rough looking bushes and we did not know what the cattle we saw were in fact eating, we were travelling comfortably along with big long straights and very few hills. We came across the Grader that was working last week out of Stonehenge and he certainly was doing a good job cutting in the water run offs plus the gravel up to the edge of the bitumen. It wasn't long before we came across the red sandy soil which this part of south west Queensland  is famous for, we are close to the many deserts that abound in this area, we were seeing all sorts of scrub and a few flowering gum trees which look very nice and that reminded us that Spring is not far away; given that they only have a wet and dry season in this part of Australia.We were to cross many floodways that had marker boards on them so there must be plenty of rain in this area in the wet season, it wasn't long before we came across the main road into Windorah. We elected to go out to Coopers Creek which is on the way to Quilpie, when we arrived at the Creek we noted the many campsites along the river, we unhooked Digger and found there were literally hundreds of camp spots; many on the banks of the creek and shaded by river gums. We were to see a house boat on the creek something you never expect this far out in the outback and they were trolling for fish, we selected a camp site out in the open to maximise the solar panel input from the sun as we are only stopping overnight before pushing on to Quilpie. We had our lunch and then decided to take Digger and drive out along the twelve kilometre nature drive along the Creek and through partial desert, it was interesting for the first thing we came across was many sign posted river gums and the levee where there were ten Pelicans sitting below waiting for fish to come over the levee. It was an interesting drive for at the end we were able put a name to the many pieces of scrub and trees along the way. We even drove Digger along the edges of the sandy desert and the little wheels did not like it all let alone the ground clearance, we finally arrived in Windorah and went around to the shop to see if we could buy a newspaper it didn't matter if it was a day old. It was not to be, for the paper in fact was a week old and we had read it last week, we noted the price of groceries and boy they must be well paid in these parts. It would be true to say that Windorah relies on passing trade for the population is listed as only 400 though this will swell to well over 1000 this weekend due to the Camp Draft and Rodeo, We slipped into the pub for a bit of local information and unfortunately we were the only two there and the barman was a backpacker who had only been working there for a couple of weeks, though we was able to inform us that the outlying cattle stations hands will all be in town and they tend to binge drink and roll out their swags out the back of the pub. We drove around the small township and then back to camp, where we continued the happy hour and though we will have no fire tonight. Looking at the camping areas of Jundah on the Thompson River and here at Coopers Creek at Windorah I think our vote may go to the Thompson River, for lack of fly's, supply of wood and fewer bindy's than Coopers Creek. Coopers Creek has it own special attractions such as more shade with river gums though the fly's are terrible and the lack of wood for camp fires and the enormous amount of bindy's. Because the temperature at 4:30 pm is 29 degrees we will sit outside after our evening meal until the cold night air comes upon us and then inside to watch the television or read our books. Kilometres travelled 104 |
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| Daybreak Cooper Creek
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Passing Road Train |
Red Desert Sand Hills |
August 10th Day break this morning was beautiful, with a part moon just above the tree tops, unfortunately it was hard to capture with our camera's. We did not mess about packing this morning and due to this we moved out at 7:45 am to hook up Digger, As I went down a creek wash the back step caught in the dirt without my knowledge and needless to say it was ripped off completely and if I hadn't walked around the back of the Motorhome I would not have noticed it was missing. I walked back and picked it up and it is a mangled mess that will take a bit of panel beating when we pull up today. Hooked up Digger and we were on our way to Quilpie and our next camp, along the way the going was easy with no wind and the countryside flat, we were to see many mobs of Kangaroos and plenty that had been the victims of trucks or cars also we were to spot three dead pigs complete with tusks and even in death they looked quite fearsome. We were in cattle country and the only thing for them to eat other than rocks or dirt are the small spinifex bushes and you can see the lower branches have been denuded of their foliage. We were to come across the Dingo fence once again that traverses the continent and on the southern side once again we were to see plenty of sheep; with new born lambs as well. The road was still single lane bitumen and the countryside though flat was changing every fifty kilometres or so from barren wasted soil to treeless and then back to plenty of trees. You could also see where the rain had come through for those areas were green and that's where were to see the most Kangaroos dead and alive, we came across the first Emu's we have seen for a month of so and they were in groups of about six along the way. We were to come across vehicles coming towards us and we pulled off the road for them and then a semi trailer plus a Road Train with only two trailers, we were to come across two more Road Trains though we were lucky to pass them when we came across twin lane bitumen. We were to see many signs indicating that there were flood ways for the next 30 kilometres or so and you could see the wash outs alongside the road and that gave an indication of how much it floods here in the wet season plus the measure boards alongside the road with most reading up to three metres depth. We could see hills in the distance and we were to come across a lot of red sand hills which gave an indication how close we were to the desert there were only a few trees growing in the sand though at the base there was dried out grass, we were to come across a sign posted "Range" and if you didn't see the sign you would not have known the sign read "244 metres above sea level" Traffic was now becoming more frequent no doubt going to the Windorah Rodeo  and luckily we struck most when we came across the wider road every 60 kilometre or so. Liz spotted the old original telegraph poles that met up with the road know and again so we had to pull up and take a photo of what could only be described as gnarled old timber poles with the insulators long gone.It wasn't much longer before were came into Quilpie and we first went and put forty dollars worth of diesel in one tank at $1.36.9 a litre and topped up the generator drum with unleaded fuel this should now get us through to Charleville where diesel should be much cheaper. We stopped and bought a couple of pies and a pasty for lunch and we sat in the median strip and ate them for lunch, we took a couple of photo's of the town and then bought a newspaper and the drove out to Lake Houdraman and set up camp for the weekend whilst we watch football and catch up with the phone calls missed. The first job was to fix the back step into the Motorhome which was carried out with timber blocks, axe and hammer, after a lot of belting back into shape it was refitted and works a treat until the next time it bottoms out, I guess. Then a bit more  maintenance whilst I was in the mood and then set up the satellite dish to watch the Collingwood V Richmond match tonight and have a few more beers mate! All the time we have been working and setting up we have had about five Emu's across the lake feeding and wouldn't you know it when I fetched my camera they started moving off and I only captured three. We received a phone call from mick who indicated that the weather was rough in Tassie with high winds and plenty of rain, he also informed us that the Spirit of Tasmania sailed from Devonport and then returned for it was to rough to cross the Bass Strait. This is the first time in the history of the ferries that they have been held up in rough weather. Tonight we are having eggs and bacon for our evening meal, this is a first for us and we just wanted a change from meat and vegetables every night. The temperature today is a warm 28 degrees and we are wearing shorts and singlet's at 7pm it is still 25 degrees though this will drop dramatically during the night down to about 6 degrees. |
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| Entrance to Quilpie
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Pub with no beer |
Murals depicting life at Quilpie |
August 11th A restful night  and just a little cool though we had a canopy of stars whilst outside, when we raise the air vent whilst in bed we can still see the kaleidoscope of stars no problems at all. Breakfast we cooked inside and then took it over the bank of the lake and sat under the Coolabah trees, we were to see many types of birds by the water from Ducks, Pelicans, Egrets, lime coloured Budgerigars, Brolga's and quite a few birds that we are unable to identify.To say that it was pleasant is an understatement for there was no breeze and the sun was streaming through the Coolabah's, unfortunately the water lilies have now gone into hibernation leaving only a few decent flowers. For the first time on this trip I decided it was time for me to start walking for the constant Happy Hours and the chocolate biscuits have seen my body expand, it may be ok whilst in shorts I am not so sure when  we hit the colder climes as to whether I will fit into my jeans. I walked out to the turn off which meant that the walk was over 5 kilometres, all I have to do now is lengthen the walk and make sure that I do it daily if I am to lose weight. We didn't do a lot this morning Liz caught up with a bit of washing and I gave Digger a wash using water out of the lake, we then heated water on the fire and had ours showers. After lunch we read our books and then listened to the football on the radio and just continued to observe the wild life that lives around this lake, though at the moment it is down on water content. We again watched the Brolga's come down to graze on the greenery on the edge of the lake and also today there were eleven Emu's grazing also. This evening we will make a few phone calls to the kids and then settle in to watch Sydney V St Kilda football game, Liz is not happy with Collingwood losing last night to Richmond who happen to be on the bottom of the ladder. Then it was into bed and read and look at the stars again out through the air vent before dropping off to sleep. |
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| Budgerigars Lake Houdraman
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Library Quilpie |
Farewell to Quilpie |
August 12th Breakfast under the Coolabah trees again this morning, our entertainment was around one hundred Budgerigars that were quite skittish and hard to photograph by the water as they drank; I only photographed a few in a dead tree near our camp. There were Galahs drinking along with the usual Emu's drinking and feeding on the greenery on the side of the Lake. There have been more Caravans move onto the lake and during my walk this morning I noted also that a few had headed out, it was cool so I wore a jumper and strode out to the highway which turned out to be six kilometres return. Back to camp and did our chores and then we decided we would go into Quilpie for the last time before pushing onto Charleville in the morning, we went out to the Boulder Opal fossick ground. The shire council has had a few loads of boulder Opal rocks shipped in and as could be expected it had been well worked over. Liz was to find a chip of opal and potch whereas all I found was potch, we only spent thirty minutes there and then headed into town, we had bought our shower gear on the off chance we may find a shower and thus save our water and gas. Liz found a shower in the woman's day change rooms and so we had showers, boy oh boy! doesn't this bore water have a distinct smell about it. Though you get used to it in a matter of a minute or so, we reckon the water is coming straight up from the bore and therefore does not have the water heated, we filled out water containers and then drove around the streets of the town. The roads are very wide and the whole area was clean and tidy, in past years Quilpie has won several tidy towns award, then into the shop and bought a few things for lunch and then took a few photo's and then headed back to camp. After lunch Liz watched a few cloths and then we settled in to read our books under the shade of the Coolabah trees and now and again we would be distracted by the birdlife though the interruptions were all worthwhile. We had our happy hour by the lake and the birdlife around the lake was prolific we were to see pelicans flying in formation up and down the lake and for the first time we were to see Cockatiels and Corella's coming in for water, there is no doubt that Lake Houdraman is a bird watchers paradise. Both of our football teams were defeated in the last couple of days so after our evening meal this evening we will sit out under the stars for it wont be long before we will be in the colder areas of the country and no doubt our first dose of rain in many months, something we are not looking forward to. |
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| Galahs mating
Lake Houdraman
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Ward River |
Our camp
at Ward River |
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August 13th Out of bed early this morning and there were plenty of birdlife on and around the Lake, we were visited by the Budgerigars once again in the only dead tree you can see around the lake. They were swiftly moved on when the Galahs wanted to take over and judging by their antics it must be the mating season. We had our breakfast and I decided to leave my walk until later in the day, we packed and moved off saying our farewells to the birds and Lake Houdraman for a stay we enjoyed very much, especially since the other campers tended to stay up around the start of the lake and it wasn't until later yesterday that two caravans pulled in close to us, in other words we had the whole area to ourselves for three days. On the way out we saw the Emu's once again and as one run in front of the Motorhome it bought back memories of several years ago when the same thing happened and I run one over, not wanting a reoccurrence of that I stopped completely and just as well for out of nowhere appeared another six who ran in front of us. If we hadn't come to a complete stop we are sure that we would have hit at least a couple. The day was sunny again and there was not a cloud in the sky to be seen anywhere and just a slight breeze to send us on our way towards Charleville, the road was at least a little wider and I would say that we have now seen the last of the single lane bitumen roads known as development roads. Again the land looked desolate though we were to see plenty of cattle and sheep along the road and again goodness knows what they are eating though they seem to be in good condition, there was a lot of scrub and spinifex with a few gum trees. We had flat going for the first hundred kilometres and after that it became a little hilly in places, when we left Quilpie the railway line ran alongside the road and only veered off when the hilly country commenced and just before the Ward River we had to cross the lines as they headed towards Charleville. The sun was beating through the front window screen which made it quite warm and we struck very little traffic on the road, we were to see a road train loading with cattle and as he didn't pass us he must of been heading in the opposite direction. We finally arrived at our camp site on the Ward River about 11am where we intend to stay the night and head into Charleville early in the morning for we are now only 20 kilometres away. Though we haven't been here for about five years there have been no changes made at all it still looks the same, another one of those rivers that have a orange colour look about the water though this is supposed to be a good fishing spot for the local angling club restocks the river each year. We set up and then of course out came the satellite dish and was tuned in for television tonight, at the moment we are the only ones in the camp site so it will be interesting to see what the afternoon brings. We had lunch and soon thereafter I decided to go for my walk up the road for three kilometres and then return, boy what a mistake the temperature was 27 degrees and not much breeze and before I returned to camp I could feel myself dehydrating in the heat, needless to say I had a good sweat up. Back in camp I drank several glasses of water, so no doubt in future my walks will be limited to early morning or late afternoon whilst in Queensland. The rest of the afternoon was spent tidying up some gear and relaxing in the shade by the river with its attendant breeze until happy hour which was excellent sitting on the bank in the late afternoon sun with an enjoyable river breeze, then given that we were the only Motorhome in; at 5:30pm we had 2 Caravans, 2 Camper trailers and two Motorhomes. We did not light a fire today so we cooked our evening meal inside and sat outside and enjoyed. When the night started to cool off as it does in this outback country we went inside and watched television until we went off to bed. Kilometres travelled 206 |
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| Travelling
Mitchell Highway
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Centuries
old Railway Bridge |
Our camp
or Caravan Park? Wyandra |
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August 14th This morning we awoke to a cloudy sky so on my walk I took my camera hoping to catch the suns rays colour the clouds, however this did not occur. We packed and we were on the way to Charleville by 8am, as we had been to the town on many occasions in the past we did not expect to spend much time there, the going was easy with trees lining each side of the road on the approaches to Charleville. We arrived at 8:30am so we first went into Crazy Clarks and bought a few items and had a good look at what is on offer, then over to the post office to pay bills by BPay and then onto Westpac to pay our Falcon registration. The supermarket that Woolworths used to trade from is now a IGA store so this makes two owned by the one company in this town, we topped up with groceries and then off to fuel up for the trip south to Bourke. The diesel was $1.36.9 for diesel and three cents lower for unleaded fuel and we topped up both tanks. Then we refueled Digger or should I say gave it a splash and then hooked up and then we were on our way at noon bound for Wyandra. We drove down the Mitchell Highway which though a two lane highway it is still very narrow, the road was straight and there was no wind, it was a little strange to drive out of the cloudy sky's and again be under brilliant blue and sunny sky's, though very nice indeed; we are still in shorts and t-shirts. It was interesting to note that the railway line once again runs alongside the highway as straight as a dye, we were to come across a railway bridge that had to be centuries old for the steel work is of the cast steel construction type, it was a pleasure to view such a historic type of railway bridge. It wasn't long before we arrived at our camp for the night at Wyandra, this is a free camp and if you are early enough you can hook into power for free. Luck would have it that we were number four for power leaving two more outlets and these were quickly taken up. The problem is to have power you need to park close to each other just like a caravan park, we were to go for a walk around the town and view the many old buildings and then we headed out along the Heritage Trail and then down to the Warrego River to check out the facilities, they are excellent and it shows what a small community can achieve when they set their minds to it. We had our happy hour and then spoke to several other happy campers and then inside to watch the television which is available locally. Kilometres travelled 129 |
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| Early morning
Wyandra
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Cunnamulla
Fella |
Welcome
to N.S.W. |
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August 15th |
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| 1833 Bridge
at Bourke
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Lunch time
at Rest Area |
Historic
Survey Globe |
August 16th A restful night only disturbed by the amount of Road Trains that ran during the night, though it is good for they are not about during the daylight hours generally speaking. This morning it was a warm 15 degrees and overcast and if we were at home I would have said it is going to rain. We had a tail wind again this morning as we headed out towards Bourke, the countryside was the same, flat and red soil with mulga etc along the way, we were to see a lone Emu that had 8 chicks and when we pulled up to take a photo the chicks shot through the fence and mother had to jump the fence to round them up; needless to say we did not get a photograph though it would have been a spectacular shot we believe. We were to see many cattle and sheep stations along the way and it wasn't until we were nearer to Bourke that we came across citrus trees and many grape vines all no doubt irrigated from the Darling River. About 5 kilometres out from Bourke we came to cross the Darling River and crossed on relatively new concrete structure with the old steel and timber bridge running beside it. We pulled off the highway and walked back to have a good look at the old bridge that only carries pedestrians, it is unique in that the steel sections are all held together with the old rivets type construction and the approaches are just wooden poles sitting upon timber pole tresses with timber decking right across including the lift span. There is a plaque on the bridge that states that it was the second self raising lift span bridge in Australia and now the oldest remaining bridge of this type, they keep it well maintained and as it has lasted since it date of building in 1833 it is doing a good job; needless to say it probably would not carry the road trains of today. In all we spent a pleasant hour walking over and under the structure marveling at the workmanship that has gone into this bridge across the Darling River. We then drove in the last kilometres into the town centre and we noted that they now had a total alcohol exclusion ban in the city centre which has cleaned up the town since we were here last, the steel shutters and bars are still present in the shopping centre though on this occasion we felt a little more secure than last time. The town is now very clean with little graffiti noticeable, we bought bread and topped up one tank with diesel at $1.42.8 cents a litre then we were on our way towards Nyngan, we thought we had bought the cheapest fuel in the town for we took the advise of a local. When we turned back onto the Mitchell Highway again a kilometre from town the fuel depots were selling diesel at $1.37.9 a litre, oh well, them's the breaks. The going was easy for the land was once again flat and the wind was still on our tail, on the small hills we came across we just breezed over them without having to change gear, We came across a small rest area 22 kilometres from Bourke and though it was only 11:30am we stopped here for lunch and prior to lunch Liz did a little washing to hang out when we reach our next rest area. We were to pass alongside a railway line and it would appear that this one is not used for there were small trees growing in the middle of the lines and it appeared very run down. We came across the township of Byrock which is situated on the Mulga River, which consists of a few houses and Pub with a caravan park at the rear; we didn't bother to stop and kept going for we did not see much that would attract our attention. The countryside started to change and the grass was green with full water holes so we could only assume that there had been rain in recent times, we were to get a few spots of rain on the window screen which we drove out of plus the bulk of the cloudy sky and finally we found a blue metal dump off the road where pulled up and set up camp. Liz hung out her clothes whilst I set up the satellite dish, the rest of the afternoon before happy hour was spent relaxing, reading and looking at maps for our travel tomorrow for we intend to head south and we need to take the right roads or we will end up in Dubbo. The day is a humid 26 degrees and we plan to have a Tuna salad for our evening meal and we won't be worrying about an outside fire tonight. Kilometres travelled 239 |
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| Range of old
Irons
|
1800'S
Wedding Memorabilia |
Native
copper from local Mine |
|
August 17th A cold and a heavily clouded sky threatening rain greeted us this morning, on the road and the going was easy and we were to come across hectare after hectare of wheat paddocks over about 40 kilometres. Some was very green and other paddocks we were showing lack of rain. We finally arrived in Nyngan and pulled into a small park by the Bogan River to gather ourselves and have a stretch and work out if we needed to discard our shorts and get into long trousers for the wind was chilly. We decided to keep to our shorts and we proceeded to the Nyngan and District Museum in the centre of town, it is located in the old railway station building. It was a real eye opener for you stepped back several centuries, with a static display of the Nyngan and surrounding area and of old memorabilia and a video display of the flood in 1990 when the Bogan River broke its banks and the levees that were protecting the town gave way. We were lucky to be the first into the museum which cost $2 per head and had the benefit of Max one of the curator's walked us through the display from start to finish which took some two hours to complete. We were to look at some old rolling stock and get an understanding of the railway and what it meant to the town in the past, these days there are no freight trains stopping at the station. The train and rolling stock now emanates from the mines in Cobar and the two Copper Mines that are in the district of Nyngan, only stopping now to rest the train drivers. We were to see the mining of copper and static display of the local copper mine which included native copper and the finished pure copper plate, Copper in whatever form is very heavy, we were to see the very old displays of everything from irons to clothing, which included some very nice christening dresses for children, and finally old dolls, . I took what seemed to be an endless amount of photo's of the displays and again which do you use for this diary, I may have to make a supplementary album of these and many other photo's taken on our travels. |
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| Helicopter
used in Evacuation |
Acres upon
Acres of Wheat |
Standard
size Tractor for wheat industry? |
 There
were many outstanding works done by local artists on display and the  embroidery
and other miniature models of trains, Planes and cars, trucks etc was
extensive, what a wonderful museum well worth the visit and the charge?
a mere pittance to what you learn about the district. The scale model
of an early Royal Mail Coach, that used to serve the district, in itself
is very beautiful given the detail that has gone into its construction
by one of the local artists.The people of Nyngan still have memories of the flood of 1990 that at first did not cause any concern among the populace until the levees were breached then the entire town residents had to be evacuated. This was carried out by a Iroquois Helicopter supplied by the Army, when the town was back to normal the Federal Government donated the Helicopter used and it now forms part of the Museum display, located in the car park. Many millions of dollars damage was caused and after reconstructing the flood levees to a metre higher than the highest flood waters the town started rebuilding to what it is today. We took a stroll up the main business centre after the museum visit and you wouldn't recognise that anything has changed from centuries ago, no inkling that the town was covered in water in 1990. We topped up with diesel again at $1.39.9 per litre, we bought a couple of sausage rolls to munch on before we had lunch and then we were on the way to Nevertire, it didn't take long for us to arrive and we went over to the local cafe to buy some lunch to find that it is now closed and the only other business is the pub and we refrained from that. The town is a mainly a receiving area for wheat and other grains for there are many large Silo's there. After lunch we took the turnoff to Tottenham rather than going into Dubbo and down the Newell Highway to Melbourne. The road was good and each side of the highway was just another mass of wheat sown as far as you could see, it looked a little healthier than the wheat on the other side of Nyngan. We arrived in Tottenham and found it be a rather large town that services the rural industry especially for wheat and other crops, we were to come across many hectares of Canola and another crop that we could not identify. On the turnoff to Tullamore we saw the largest tractor we have seen to date, I would like to know what horsepower drives the monster. We thought we had left the single lane bitumen highways behind in Queensland though this was not the case, we were to travel upon another albeit it for only ten kilometres, luckily we only struck two cars and they gave the road to us, it wasn't long before we were back on the wide bitumen and the countryside changed to hilly and the soil though red as in previous times it was not supporting the cropping industry just cattle and sheep. It appears that the rain has been in this district recently for the grass was green and the there were plenty of gum trees and hoop pine by the road. We finally arrived at Tullamore, again another small town supporting the rural industry and on the way into town we noticed the sign "camping ground" so we checked it out. We found that it was the show grounds that had hot showers, toilets and plenty of power points plus a washing machine provided for free, cost $10 per night. As it was so cold and threatening rain we decided to stay here the night and use the facilities and settle in to watch the footy tonight. As the local television wasn't crash hot I set up the satellite dish to get a decent picture. Well have to go it is time for a late happy hour mate! Kilometres travelled 305 |
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| Wheat
either side of mountain
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Waterless
Gum Bend Lake |
Camp at
Gum Bend Lake |
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August 18th |
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| Sunset
last night at the Lake
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Morning
Fog Gum Bend Lake |
Picnic
settings Gum Bend Lake |
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August 19th |
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| Stormy
sunset last night.
|
One of
many Wheat Silo's |
Main Street
Condobolin N.S.W. |
August
20th The sunset last night looked very stormy indeed and once again intermittent rain was to fall, though this morning we hadn't collected a full bucket of rain water. Though the morning was cold and windy, after breakfast I went on my walk around the Lake again, on this occasion I walked in the opposite direction. I was all rugged up in my trackies and jumpers plus had a woollen beanie on; the shorts and t-shirts are now firmly packed away so we expect to lose our sun tans over the next couple of weeks as we move down to the Ferries in Melbourne. Liz is making soup tonight for tea and is using the water used to cook the silverside last night as the base, we have pulled our last bag of frozen tomatoes from our freezer to use as well. We went into the shopping centre to buy a few items including soup mix and of course Tim Tams were on special so we had to have a couple of packets of those, now didn't we. We went for a drive out to the Mitre 11 to have a look about though there was nothing on offer this must be a poor community, we then drove out to the wheat silo's and we found they were huge, sheds as well as round cone built sheds; they were all an enormous size. Whilst there we noted the train loading wheat into carriages, the amount of Corella's, pigeons, galahs and other birds attempting to scrounge the wheat amounted to hundred and hundreds all up. I have to say that the pigeons appeared to be able to scrounge the best of all the birds. Back into the city centre and Mitre 10 to buy a catch that I broke and into the bakers for bread rolls for lunch. After lunch the clouds dissipated and the sun was quite warm sending the temperature up to 20 degrees, we did very little just read out books and drop off for a snooze. The council have fixed the hot water system in the complex so we had nice hot water for our showers today, yesterday it was partially cold though I am not complaining for the area to camp is free and the showers are just a bonus. Around 4pm we had two caravans come in separately and set up and again they have that mind set about camping close to others luckily they are not to near us so our generator should not worry them. At 4:30pm the clouds have arrived again though the wind has dropped and we do not think it will rain this evening, still it is to cold to sit outside even by a fire so we will watch television again. |
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August
21st What a difference a day makes, from stormy sky's last evening to a kaleidoscope of stars during the early hours and a fine though a frosty day greeting us this morning, though the slight frost was worth it given the warm day we were to experience. We still have not reverted to shorts and t-shirt and on my walk this morning I wore a beanie as well as gloves. The birdlife around the lake; given there is no water is prolific and it is funny watching the crows and the magpies seeking supremacy over a small piece of ground, their antics are quite strange. The two caravans that pulled in last night left this morning, though before moving out they came over and enquired about the satellite dish and how it worked. We were sitting outside reading our books when a person from the council came over and enquired if we were getting hot water from the showers now, he informed us that he had a worker come down early each morning to ensure that the hot water was operating ok. We thought this was great especially since he indicated we could stop as long as we like, then the real purpose of the visit became apparent he had recently purchased a Motorhome and wanted to know all about Digger and the towing hitch, legal requirements etc for he was thinking about towing a small car. In all he spent over an hour talking about Condobolin and the amount of roads and bridges they have responsibility for, it would appear the shire has about the same size territory as the entire state of Tasmania to look after; he wished us well and then indicated that the hoped to bring his Motorhome over to Tassie next year. We had our lunch and then headed into town to purchase a few more groceries and to have another look in Vinnies for gear etc, I went to the Adult Education Department who graciously allowed me to use their facilities for free to upload this diary and download e-mail etc; very kind of them indeed. We arrived back at camp a little after 3pm and there were no other happy campers arrive, though if they run true to form they will probably come in right on dark which here at the moment is about 6:30pm. We had our happy hour over by the picnic area to catch the last warm rays of the sun before it sets and then back to pack away our chairs etc for there will probably be another frost tonight. We may sit outside tonight by the fire it depends on how cold it gets, what we need is four separate fires situated so as we can stand in the middle of them and keep all sides of our bodies warm; just kidding. I suppose television and reading again and tomorrow we will head up to the library to see what they have on offer. |
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August 22nd 
Liz took a photo of a sunset last night, which can be described as different,
this morning when we hopped out of bed it was only 6 degrees; the coldest
morning yet for us this year. Within minutes the temperature had climbed
to 12 degrees as we were boiling our kettle and cooking toast on the gas
stove. The day was sunny again though there was a breeze that was keeping
the temperature low and the highest for the day was to be 18 degrees.
I walked around the lake again this morning and enjoyed the birdlife and
for the first time Kookaburra's were sounding off along the way with a
lot of other bird noises not to mention the squawking Corella's, in all
it takes about 40 minutes walking briskly.Today we are just going to laze around the camp and do next to nothing and read our books. I went over near the ablution block and had a look at the plaques set in rock near the flag less pole, the entire area is man made and was first formed in 1984 and then built up once again in 1995. At the moment there is no water in the man made lake though this is only temporary. I discovered they pump water up from the river in the summer months and fill the whole area. This year due to the drought like conditions they allowed the lake to evaporate and drain away keeping the river water for drinking and irrigation, they hope to refill it in time for summer. Apparently during the summer months they have boats out on the Lake and other aquatic sports hence the beach sand around its edges, it is so popular that they have a kiosk in operation and there are a lot of locals that camp here even though they only live five kilometres away in the township and of course other travellers. I am informed that travellers such as us only start to use the area in numbers from march on each year and then reappear as we have from August on as they return to their state of origin. We had our lunch outside in the sun and as the southerly wind increased we then headed inside and read and had a snooze. Later in the day we packed away our firepot etc and put away the awning for we are back on the road again in the morning heading further south, we are really still six days ahead of where we should be so we will need to find another good area to park up for a few days before heading to the Spirit of Tasmania Ferry. Happy hour we had inside also and to date my figures show that on this Outback Journey I have consumed 14 cartons of 30 can blocks and I only have 15 cans left, hopefully this will last until I get on the boat in 8 days time. Liz has consumed, oh! well being a lady you will need to ask her yourself!!! Television again tonight it is just to cold to sit outside even if you have a raging fire for the front of you may be warm though not your back. |
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| On
the road to West Wyalong
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Liz shopping
West Wyalong |
Mushroom
Wheat Silo's Narrandera |
August 23rd A cool evening once again, Liz took the blanket off the bed yesterday and replaced it with the other doona; needless to say we were as warm as toast last night. We hopped out of bed at 6:45am and headed straight for the piping hot showers which are really great and then back for our breakfast. We did our final packing and moved out of Gum Bend Lake, an area that we both have enjoyed immensely, straight to the service station to top up before we left Condobolin heading for West Wyalong. When I inserted the fuel hose into the tank for some reason I looked back at the bowser and noted that the price was on 8cents and .6 of a litre and I hadn't even pulled the lever to deliver the fuel. I stuck the hose into a pipe and went into the station and informed the attendant what had occurred his reply was "Oh we are waiting to install a new pump that one has been causing us problems, it will sort itself out on the computer price" I was a bit sceptical about this statement and as the Shell service station was the only one still open in the town that I had found I had no option other than to accept what he said. I filled the tank and before going in to pay for the amount another person pulled in for diesel and I indicated what the bowser was doing, in fact before he started to pump fuel the pump read 7 cents and .06 of a litre I pointed it out to him and he seemed to be nonplussed about it. When I went to pay for mine the bloke said that he had been talking to the boss on the phone and he would knock off ten cents off the price, I am wondering how crook the pump is for I expected a good kilometre per litre from the last re-fill and it did not occur. Did I receive the right amount of diesel for the price paid? I will never know! We were lucky to have the breeze on the rear of the Motorhome and at times on our side for next section of travel, Condobolin is close to being declared drought affected and we cant understand that for the paddocks are very green and other than a few paddocks the wheat is also very green and looking healthy. Wheat and more wheat as drove along the highway and then we came across fields of Canola and Peas of some description, then Lucerne it was all very colourful especially in the very large paddocks that had a sprinkling of single trees in them; quite picturesque. We were to drive through many small towns who rely on the agriculture industry for their survival and each one no matter how small had a pub, finally we came to the turnoff that put us on the Newell Highway and before we knew it were going through West Wyalong. The highway going through the centre of town is very narrow and to see large trucks
and trailers on this street looks out of place, we parked up and walked
the main business centre and the building are very old indeed; dating
from the late 1800's. All were very well maintained and Liz did a bit
of shopping for we had time to spare for it was only around 11am, of course
we went into Go Lo and made a few purchases and into the "More for
your Dollar" store. Both stores stocked virtually the same products,
we then continued along the street and came across a very old building
right on a corner the shape of a triangle. The name of the store was Thom,
Dick and Harry and it was an upmarket gift store.We checked out the Salvo's cheapo shop and then into Vinnies bought a newspaper and then topped up with fuel and then on our way down the Newall Highway. The going was easy though the amount of B-Doubles and semi's making there way to Melbourne was more than we had experienced over the past four months and they were in a hurry. We stopped for lunch at the Charcoal Pit rest area and then headed out for Grong Grong some sixty kilometres down the highway, again we were going through wheat and canola country for as far as you could see; it is obvious by the colour of the crops that they have had plenty of water. Arriving at Grong Grong we drove around the back streets checking out the rest area which we did not like all that much so we moved on. Again, we were to go through many small towns which sported wheat silo's and then we eventually arrived on the outskirts of Narrandera. We noted the wheat silo's and noticed one looked a little like a mushroom and definitely different to what we have seen to date, and then we went and checked out the showgrounds for our overnight stay. Though basic it had power, showers and toilets and was very cheap compared to caravan parks so we decided to stay here for the night. On with the power turned on the hot water and set up the television and pulled out our electric heater and now we can put our satellite gear away for we now have digital television meaning all we did was change from satellite to terrestrial digital box. We will have a look around here in the morning for it looks a sizeable town and then move onto Tocumwal. Unfortunately, again this year we are well ahead of ourselves in relation to time so we may travel up the Murray or stay at Tocumwal on the Murray. Kilometres travelled 263 |
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| Murray
River Tocumwal
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Ducks greet
us on arrival |
Our Koala
mate at Tocumwal |
August 24th We had a good nights sleep and then on awakening we both went off to the shower before breakfast, the water was nice and hot as I like it, though the floor was concrete and normally I would wear my crocs which I forgot this morning. We had bought a toaster from GO LO earlier in the trip and this morning we were to use it for the first time, considering it cost a whole $9.90 it works a treat. We bought it to stow away in the Motorhome to use when we are on power such as on this occasion. We packed away and we were underway down through Narrandera though not electing to go through the shopping centre. It is a large town again supporting the agricultural industry and there were plenty of wheat silo's on both ends of town. Traffic was heavier this morning with plenty of caravans and trucks. We had switched to the truckie channel on u.h.f. and as usual they were going crook about cars only doing 100 kph in a 110 kph speed zone who were holding them up, and to watch a few of them they drive as if there is no tomorrow. We were to have a wide load pass us which was 4metres at the wheels, so they said. A caravan passed us and fair dinkum it was so close that I thought it would take out our outside rear vision mirror, when past he(?) then drove nearly on the kerbside of the road; this really worried us for this action was by our standards dangerous and only a matter of time before there may be an accident. We went through Jerilderie, again a agricultural town, we noted the price of diesel at the B.P. station was $1.26.9 cents a litre for diesel, it is a bit early yet to refill so we moved on. We were starting to see more crops of Canola plants and the vast irrigation channels that are fed from the Murray River, there is an amount of rice grown in this area how much we are not sure of. Again this morning we have a tail wind and that should give a good fuel consumption given that the Newell Highway is flat at this point though going around in horse shoe style a lot. We arrived at Finley where we topped up the one tank at, wait for it! $1.36.9 per litre some 10 cents a litre dearer than Jerilderie and as I have often said "Them's the breaks! We moved on and finally arrived at our favourite spot on the Murray River at Tocumwal and in no time at all we had set our camp, we were greeted by several wood ducks who had left their business everywhere. Liz grabbed the spade and cleaned up around where we were camped. On the opposite side of the river and just down from the camp grounds they are building a new house and across from us is the sign indicating land for sale. This may sound the death knell of this camping ground for no doubt these residents will want the river to themselves and not want to see campers at all, it will be interesting to see what happens over the next twelve months. The only redeeming feature is that they are on the N.S.W. side of the river and the campgrounds where we are, are on the Victorian side of the river maybe that may save the campgrounds. We had our lunch and then I went looking for the Koala's and the first thing I noticed was that the Murray River Gums, that is many of them, are showing signs of dying which is disturbing for this is the habitat of a colony of Koala's. I eventually found one Koala and it wasn't very co operative wanting to sleep rather than have it picture taken, for the rest of the afternoon we just relaxed by the river and read and talked about our past travels and what we would do when we arrive home tomorrow week. Geoff & Margaret pulled in and set up camp and we were able to compare notes as to where we have all been over the past few months and this continued until we went in for our evening meal, it is good to see them again and catch up with where everyone is at the moment in the various parts of the country. Kilometres travelled 181 |
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| Murray
River in the morning
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Glider
advertising Tocumwal |
Margaret
& Liz at Tocumwal |
August 25th A warm evening and the morning was full of sunshine as the Murray River flowed past our doorstep, on reflection the river itself is at least a little over a metre lower than when we were here last year. I had my breakfast and then walked over the border into N.S.W. and Tocumawal to get the morning newspaper. On the way over the bridge, which serves as the border between the two states, the Murray River looked spectacular in the morning sunshine even the old rusty railway bridge looked a treat, the grass along the levees was green and there was a lack of Corella's this year chewing away the new growth of the Murray River Gums. I came across the Glider suspended above the old information building advertising the area. Given the area is renowned as the Glider flying capital of Australia; as yet we have to see them flying this year, the glider also serves to advertise the web page for the area being www.toconthemurray.com.au. They have completed all the roadwork's and beautification of the area and it looks a treat, especially since the community has appeared to clean or repaint all the old buildings again dating back to the late 1800's, having bought the paper I walked back to camp and had breakfast. I obtained water from the river for Liz to do a bit of hand washing and then Margaret and Liz walked into Tocumwal to do a bit of shopping and I drove in Digger to carry back whatever was bought. I took Margaret and Liz's photo standing by the large Murray River Cod and then onto the butchers where we bought a couple of marinated pork chops for our evening meal tonight. Could I resist the Tim Tams on special? Of course not! we just had to buy a couple of packets to add to what we already have, buying bread rolls for lunch and a few groceries which were left in Digger whilst we checked out the shopping area. 
I noticed a pure white very old 1949 Austin Princess car in absolute pristine
condition and having gained permission I took a couple of shots of the
interior which was all original leather seats and walnut dashboard; the
whole vehicle looked as if it had been built yesterday; such was the condition.
Apparently it used a lot for weddings etc by the local community.We then walked around to the Red Cross op shop and had a look and I bought a very old Melbourne street directory for $1, why I don't know for though it may be o.k. for streets, the main and connector roads have changed dramatically since 1984. We then had a good look about the shops and checked the library out for internet connection which is different now for they no longer offer dial up connection and the lady indicated that I should bring the computer in next tuesday when they next open and she would see what could be done to help upload the diary etc. Back to camp and the sun was shining brightly so we sat out in the sun with Liz wearing shorts and had a good old chin wag with Geoff and Margaret and watched the Murray flowing by. It was really great weather and as the newspaper reported today the weather we are having is what South East Queensland normally has, in fact the Queensland area is experiencing rain and floods not much chop for the people that flock to that area to avoid the cold of the southern states at this time of the year. Liz went walkabout along the Murray Gums and discovered another five Koala's which included one baby, which is great to see the Koala colony of this area is still intact, a bloke came and said hello to us for he camps where we are in the summer months and stated that he had come across a dead Koala along around the corner and we were wondering if it fell foul of dogs which are walked around this area; for the Koala's have to come to ground now and again to get water from the Murray. Happy hour we enjoyed again and this evening we will watch the Collingwood V Sydney match, I am disappointed that we lost to the West Coast Eagles last night which I believe means that we will not make the finals for this year. So another pleasant day and with good company what else could we want. |
August 26th 10 degrees overnight and a warm morning greeted when going outside, a little cloudy, though this cleared away mid morning to brilliant sunshine. After breakfast we went looking for the Koala's and found only two, later in the day we found the other five who were again having a snooze. Geoff and Margaret said their farewells and headed of towards Geelong where they were going to take the Sorrento ferry to the other side of Port Philip Bay and then onto the Spirit of Tasmania on Wednesday evening heading for home. The other campers were packing up and I gave them the two water containers that we longer had use for. They had caught sixty Murray River Crayfish and were cooking them before heading off home and back to work, this left the area empty with the exception of us. During the day we had many day visitors walking their dogs or trying for the elusive Murray Cod, though they never caught anything. Liz drove Digger into Tocumawal and bought the Sunday paper and then the rest of the day we just sat in the sunshine and read our books until the happy hour. A Caravan came in around 5pm and set up so we now have company again, this area does not appear in the camping books therefore it is not inundated with campers like other areas. It is a wonderful spot watching the Murray run by our front doorstep, so to speak, in all it has been a lazy day and rather than watch television early in the evening we listened to the Essendon V Richmond on the radio and then went bed and read for awhile. |
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August 27th The nights are getting warmer and so are the days, which is great. Out of bed this morning at 8:30am and it was 10 degrees and had breakfast, then it was walk into Tocumwal for the paper and exercise as well. The day temperature peaked at 24 degrees and plenty of sunshine. Back at camp and then we packed our outside gear away and headed for Shepparton some 80 kilometres away, around about 20 kilometres from camp we discovered that we had forgotten to pack our camera's so there will be no photo's again today; which we think is a bit slack of us. The traffic along the way was pretty heavy and we were to go through the small towns on the way, we noted the Kraft Cheese Factory did not appear to be working at all which is a little strange, maybe the cows are dry this time of the year who knows. We finally reached Shepparton and then took the turn off to Mooroopna and the S.P.C. and the Ardmona direct sales to the public factory, we had determined that other than tea bags and baked beans we did not want to buy anything else. Ho! Ho! we walked out with close on a hundred dollars worth and no tea bags. Loaded up poor old Digger and then headed back to Shepparton to have a look around the city centre, we had to pay parking fees and then as it was nearly 1pm we headed off to have some lunch. We walked past all the healthy eateries plus noted the proliferation of chinese and other asian restaurants and headed for the dreaded Mc Donalds, Liz had a chicken burger with medium chips and I had a Big Mac with a large chips washed down with Fanta and Coke. Isn't junk food great when you have been living reasonably healthy over the months. We noted that there was a Dick Smith store located next door whilst we were having lunch and we agreed to go in and have a look, surely that could do no harm, could it? When we entered they were giving a demo on the Sat Nav machines and while Liz was looking in the rest of the store I booked up one on the credit card. Liz then went into K-mart while I had a demo on the machine and its operation, piece of cake, so to speak; just plug it in the car and away you go with this woman telling you what to do. What changes! We had a good look around the mall and the stores and then purchased a couple of things and then down to Safeway to buy a few spuds etc just to last us until we get to Melbourne. We then went to Campbell's Soups and as always, it is cheaper to buy their soup etc from the supermarkets, though we were able to buy Copper Kettle chips at a reasonable price. Then we set the sat nav up in Digger plugged it into the cigarette lighter and then punched in Tocumawal and then it took over telling when to turn what time we were likely to arrive etc etc, all very easy to operate and we will see its value when we arrive in Melbourne we hope even if we do know the way. We arrived back in camp a little tired for the trip back was into the sun and we had packed a lot into the day, for happy hour today we just had a cuppa and then relaxed prior to out evening meal. There is no doubt that I will be learning all facets of this new gadget tonight. |
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| L.A.R.C.
re-entering River
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Mother
& Baby Koala at camp |
Kayak
on Murray at campsite |
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August 28th |
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| Barbecues on foreshore at Tocumwal | Our campsite on the Murray at Tocumwal |
August 29th We had an enjoyable time last night watching the moon eclipse that ensured we slept in this morning and didn't hop out of bed until nearly 9am. After breakfast I went walkabout looking for our Koala's and I found them both, mother and baby down in the lower limbs eating the gum leaves about 100 metres from our camp. Of course plenty of photo's were taken and then back to camp, I decided to walk into Toc and the newsagency to get the paper and of course for the exercise. On my walks I have noted the wonderful facilities the foreshore committee have installed over the years alongside the levee with the Murray River, the latest is the new barbecues and tables under a fancy roof and along further they are installing artillery from the last world war plus the whole area has had a spruce up. We have noted that this year we have not seen the amount of gliders that we would normally expect to see and on making enquiries we found that they have mostly moved onto Sale, we have only spotted one flying the thermals. It was such a pleasant walk that I stopped and took a photo of our campsite from a distance which we have to ourselves again today given that the caravan that came in last night left this morning. Back in camp and it was time for lunch and on completion given that this is our last day in this spot we started packing, firstly we gave Digger another wash and to date the motorhome still hasn't been washed. The colour's are such that from a distance it looks clean, closer inspection it is the opposite. Had our showers and then the final packing and cleaning internally of the Motorhome and honed up my skill level on operating the G.P.S. and wouldn't you know it happy hour was upon us. The weather whilst we have been here has been kind to us though the forecast indicates that we will be driving into rough weather and rain from tomorrow on way into Melbourne. A lot of the Tassie people from the Chapter have returned on the Ferry last night and tonight we do not know of any on the same Ferry as us on Friday night. We will watch television tonight and then into bed and read and take our time in the morning for we are only going 150 kilometres down the highway tomorrow and the final kilometres into Melbourne on Friday Morning. |
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| Irrigation
channel near Highway
|
Lake Nagambie |
Spring
is near |
August 30th A cold night and a cool morning greeted us on our last day in Tocumwal, after breakfast we went and checked out the Koala's for the last time, though unfortunately they appear to have moved on. I walked into Toc again this morning and bought the newspaper and then back to camp to do the final packing before leaving, we had decided to delay our departure to avoid school bus's and school crossing speeds etc. We had one last look around our campsite on the Murray and we both agree it is a bit of heaven and not overcrowded due to not being listed in the Camps Australia publication, hopefully it will stay that way. On the road and we allowed the G.P.S. to show us the way for I had logged in the Launceston address and the smarty even calibrated in the fact that we need to catch the Spirit of Tasmania ferry, though it had a heart attack when I took the short cut by passing Shepparton. Though once it recognised the short cut it just stated " re-calibrating "and then gave the instructions for this by pass. Traffic was actually starting to pick up with plenty of Caravans and interstate haulage trucks constantly appearing and then passing us for we were in no hurry for we had no desire to reach Melbourne today. We noted that the area we were going through had signs stating that they were in Stage 4 Water Restrictions even though we were to see the many irrigation channels beside the highway that were no doubt full of river water. The same type of crops that we have become accustomed to such as wheat, canola and other grains were to be seen, before we knew it we had arrived at Nagambie and decided to get some rolls for lunch from the Bakery, that is until we saw the cost. We moved onto the I.G.A. and purchased a couple of pies much cheaper even though they came from the same bakery and bread and a bit of chicken for our meal tonight. We drove off the highway and down to Lake Nagambie where we had our lunch, the G.P.S. went crazy again telling us to take all sorts of turns back to the highway before I turned it off. It was pleasant by the lake watching people enjoy the facilities as we were, being in no hurry we lingered longer, so to speak. Back on the highway and we soon came upon the duel carriageway and then onto the Freeway, in no time at all we arrived at the Taungurung Rest Area and even though it is only 2pm we intend to stay here the night and push on to Melbourne in the morning, it being only 110 kilometres away. No doubt we will leave here at such a time to miss the peak hour traffic in Melbourne, I tuned in the digital set top box and we will be able to watch the footy show tonight that we haven't seen for some months and then off to bed. Kilometres travelled 164 |
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| Our
camp at Taungurung R.A.
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Western
Ringroad |
Spirit
of Tasmania from West Gate |
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August 31st A windy and wet night with the weather forecast indicating that today would be gale force winds and rain in Melbourne today. We had our brekky and cleaned up for this is the last time we would be using our bed in the Motorhome on this journey. At 8am we pulled out and made our way down the highway until we came onto the Hume Highway, then we were on our way into Melbourne. It was very blustery and at times it was on our rear then our side, when we had a side wind the large body of the Motorhome suffered being blown sideways. Now we were on the major highway the number of trucks either B-Doubles or semi trailers had increased, so it was that every time you looked in the rear vision there was another wave of them speeding along if there was no tomorrow. We were to have intermittent rain which meant that poor old Digger copped all the road grime being thrown up by the Motorhome, we were to see very few Caravans today though heaps of cars and small trucks also. The closer we came to Melbourne the more the traffic picked up and they are not prepared to give a metre at all its a wonder we did not see more accidents. When we entered the Western Ring Road the traffic was very thick and it was past peak hour traffic I really had to fight to keep the Motorhome in a straight line and I noticed that the large trucks and trailers were having the same problem. It became apparent to do any more than 70 kph would be dangerous and luckily the trucks pulled back to that speed. When we came across the West Gate Bridge the authorities had imposed a 60 kph limit at the start of the bridge and on the top down to 40kph and boy you sure knew that we were in gale force winds, this will mean that we will have a rough trip over Bass Strait to Tassie tonight. When off the bridge we headed for the fuel station and took on Diesel at $1.22.9 per litre which made us happy. We then went and parked the Motorhome at Port Melbourne and unhooked Digger and went our to see our daughter who lives at Fairfield and to meet our eleventh grand child that we haven't seen prior other than in photographs. We allowed the G.P.S. guide us there and I forgot to tell it was no longer dealing with a truck for it took us on a long route suitable for trucks, we didn't make this mistake on the way back and we took a much shorter route. We spent a pleasant two a bit hours with Jen and Oliver and had lunch that Jen had prepared. Liz was quick to cuddle and nurse Oliver and take many photo's of the young fellow, we bid our farewells and headed into the Victorian Markets and bought a whole heap of different types of meat to put in our freezer when we get home. The prices have risen dramatically over the past twelve months and the fruit and vegetables were cheap and plentiful the only problem we are not able to bring them into to Tasmania due to Quarantine rules. We had a good look around the markets and then went back and hooked Digger on the back of the Motorhome and then had a cup of tea and battened everything down in case we have a rough trip this evening and then we headed off to the boat. This is the first time that we had to unhook Digger to go on the boat though consultation with the wharfies meant that Liz was able to drive it on the ship and park close by the Motorhome. We went up to our cabin and put our cloths etc out for tomorrow and then we went and had an evening meal in the Restaurant as a bit of a treat, then into the lounge area and had a few beers and wine and then watched the Collingwood V Adelaide football match, which Adelaide won thus putting to rest St Kilda's chances of competing in the finals. Once underway we were advised that when we entered the Bass Strait we could expect to meet 6 metre waves in the early part of the trip and then as we approached Tasmania it would calm down. It took the usual time to sail down Port Philip Bay and when we went through the rip it was a bit lumpy and then the Captain informed us that the weather had calmed down and they expected to smooth trip from here on in. Kilometres travelled 142 |
| September 1st |
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"Spirit
of Tasmania" Vehicular Ferry, connecting State of Tasmania to mainland
Australia - 29,338 tonne - average speed 27 knots |
| Take a virtual tour of the "Spirit of Tasmania" Ships |
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campsite
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our generator.
have access to papers etc.
destinations.