Travel Diary August 2011


Cattle crossing road	Large Wedge Tailed Eagle	Emu trying to commit suicide

Monday the 1st of August
We were out of bed at 7am and had one last look at the Thomson River and the prolific birdlife and dead fish and then had breakfast and we were on our way.
Once on the highway we were heading for Windorah some 90 kilometres down the road. The road was two lane bitumen and mostly flat and easy going as there was no wind at all. We came across large open plains with cattle and sheep and plenty of wildlife due to the greenery of the countryside and there was water in the dams along the way. We were to see two groups of Bustards (Bush Turkey) plenty of Kangaroo, Emu's, Crows, Wild Pigs and Wedge Tailed Eagles one of which flew up in front of us about fifty metres away and its wing span took up half of the two lane road plus two groups of family birds, the first we have seen on this trip. Over the 90 kilometres we only struck one four wheel drive and nothing else until we reached the Windorah turnoff we elected to turn left to Quilpie and back onto single bitumen highway or development road as they call it.
Now I have to say the amount of four wheel drives towing camper trailers was huge and they all to a man had to go into the gravel even when you gave them the full bitumen and sprayed us with rocks. Along the way I was forever dodging rocks on the road for I did not want them pitched up off the motorhome onto Digger even though he has a shield. There were plenty of caravans and I would slow them down and then let them pass and guess what they had full bitumen and they went into the gravel as well so I really do not know just how much road they need. At one area on a flood plain I waited on the wider stretch of bitumen and the first caravan came through no trouble at all and the second I thought was going to hit us, he was really gripping steering wheel and he had a fearful look on his face, poor fellow I do not how he will go when he meets a road train.
The going was still good except one Emu I thought was going to turn around and crash into us luckily when I sounded the horn it kept going into the scrub. The sun was hot coming through the windscreen so we took off our pullovers and that cooled things down a little. We were coming into country that had red hills of sand with spindley trees growing, it was most unusual. Wild pigs came out in front of us along with more Emu's and cattle though there was no drama. They are widening the road in places and we noted the trucks coming at us had new Donga's and trailers with stoves and fridges so they either opening another mine or this is just set up a camp for the road workers.
Before we knew it we were in sight of Quilpie and the first stop was at the Bakery were we sat down and had pies washed down with a cappuccino, purchased the paper and then went out to Lake Houdraman.
At the turn off we took Digger off for Liz to drive in due to the gravel road and dust, whilst doing this there were three four wheel drives with camper trailers sitting at the turn off deciding what to do so we moved on and I said to Liz do no let them past you.
When in sight of the camp ground I used prior knowledge and turned off and went through the paddocks when I arrived at where we have camped before I blocked the road just as Liz and the camper trailers arrived. They sat and bitched for awhile and moved on. I have set our fire up on the edge of the lake and used the Digger to block off the area to others who might want to camp on our doorstep. Greedy? no there is plenty of room there is no need to camp on one another's doors. At the moment I am a bit tired for we have covered a reasonable distance today to get here. I haven't set up properly yet until I see where the sun rises to maximise the sun for the solar panels.
We had a late happy hour for we were tired the concentration required today to make sure I dodged rocks on the road and traffic plus over width trucks has made me tired, tonight we will have a small meal and probably go off to bed early. Today's temperature was 28 degrees celsius.
Kilometres travelled 361


Sunrise over camp	Lake Houdraman	Welcome to Quilpie

Tuesday the 2nd of August
Slept in this morning after a very good nights sleep, Lit the fire by the lake and then had our breakfast. Liz did a little washing and then we went for a walk along the lake. There are plenty of happy campers set up and by the looks of it some have been here for quite awhile. We were a little disappointed that the birdlife is not prolific on the lake just a few ducks and heron on the banks. Most of the lake is covered in algae and weed and does not look nice at all. Given this we have decided to move on tomorrow to find a better spot elsewhere and set up for a few days.


Lions Park Quilpie	Sunset at the camp site

We went for a walk along the shore and ended up at the start of the camping area where we met a couple in a fifth wheeler, the tow vehicle was a Isuzu truck with a large container like storage on its tray where they store their dual cab four wheel drive. The tow hitch is right on the rear of the truck a very good set up overall. They were to show us the interior which the had built to their specifications for they had sold their farm and now live on the road full time. We chewed the fat with them for some time. Another happy camper was to alert us to the free showers at the Lions Park and gave us run down on the tent that he uses on his travel, it is one of the oz tents that you can put up in thirty second and pull down in less time. A very nice tent indeed and very practicable.
Back to camp and had lunch then after we decided to go into town and buy bread and a few minor groceries for we will not be near a shop for at least the next fortnight. We went to the bakery for bread where the woman is hilarious and you cant help laughing at her antics. Around to the Lions park and the bloke was right they are new and beautiful hot showers.
Back to camp and there were a few happy campers come in and I suppose not being happy with the camp areas generally being full, they drove out instead of driving into the grass area's.
It was a warm being 27 degrees celsius so we sat down by the lake and enjoyed the cool breeze coming of the water, we had an early happy hour and we noted that the birdlife had increased with still the duck and herons plus cockatiels, finches, honey suckers, budgerigars and the old whistling kites soaring on the thermals. It was great and even the sunset was excellent as we cooked our evening meal on the firepot for it did not get dark until 6.40pm. We ate inside and then arranged for our next stop tomorrow at Toompine and then into Yowah to catch up with some old friends we met a few years ago.


Cattle in bush by road	Welcome to Toompine	Donkey's welcome Toompine

Wednesday the 3rd of August
Another glorious sunrise this morning, though with everything packed away we cooked breakfast inside the motorhome. We left the lake at around 8.45 am to go into Quilpie to re-fuel and pay the mobile phone bill and purchase bread for our friends at Yowah. We took on 78.30 litre's of diesel at $1.59.9 and then hooked Digger up and we were on way. It was another glorious morning driving again in singlet and shorts with the sun streaming through the windowscreen there was not a breath of wind. Again we were driving on single lane bitumen though after about 20 kilometers it widened to double lane and then only occasionally did it revert to single lane. They have carried out substantial road works since we were here last year.
The land was flat and again grass plains as far as you could see and every now and again we would come across wooded areas. We were to see five different spots along the way where they have set up bee hives. Emu's, we saw two groups one of about 6 and the others further along the road in a group of 20 plus cattle and sheep. The sheep were mainly in the wooded land along the highway and didn't become a risk to us staying on the side of the road.
It wasn't long before we arrived at Toompine welcomed by the two local Donkey's then set up and hooked into the free power and set up the dish.
Whilst we were having our lunch four happy campers came in and set up. We have met then all back at Jundah and Quilpie so we had a chin wag about their travels after lunch. It is early in the day so I do not want to go to the pub just yet we may have a poppy and nanna nap which we haven't had for awhile.


Alpaca welcome	Toompine Hotel	Daxy's Bar

Just imagine a Hotel in the middle of no where and that would describe the Toompine Hotel in the South West of Queensland, the original pub was built in 1893 as a Cobb & Co way station for the transport of passengers etc unfortunately it was burnt to the ground. The rebuilt hotel is a typical outback pub with plenty of old memorabilia hanging around the walls and a lot of galvanised iron in and around the bar. The council supplies showers and free power for the travelling happy campers, though a bit basic it is still appreciated. We went to the pub for our evening meal and a few drinks. Nothing has changed since we were here last year still cheeky and giving good service and meals.
There were a few happy campers come in for a meal and a few drinks and as could be expected the banter was great with our host Jonesey cooking up a storm and entertaining us with her quick quips and humour that had us all laughing. It was such a wonderful evening with good food and plenty of laughter and it was after 10 pm before left the bar for our bed. It has been a most memorable day with the animals and the good weather once again and a top night at the Toompine Hotel.


Goats in Enclosure	Travelling flat country	Flowering wild flowers

Thursday the 4th of August
We were out of bed reasonably early and had our breakfast and showered, the goats were still in their enclosure which is unusual for this time of the morning. Jonesey must have slept in. Two cattle road trains came in and parked up with the drivers having a sleep we suppose. The cattle in the trailers were kicking the living suitcases out of the trailers and making all sorts of noises though I suppose the drivers must be used to the commotion.
We said our farewells to the other happy campers and then headed off to towards Yowah. It was brilliant sunshine and no wind and again I was driving in singlet and shorts with the legs and the arms brown as a berry. The going was easy with the country side flat with a smattering of trees now and again. There were cattle and sheep enjoying the same grassy plains and we had another suicidal Emu run across in front of the Motorhome, the law of averages indicates that sooner or later we are going to run down one of these stupid creatures.
There plenty of road kill and another two very large Wedge Tailed Eagle's were dining on kangaroo and were slow to lift off due to the heavy feeding no doubt. We were still enjoying the two lane highway which was great given now and again we came across the climbs up hills that was warning us of crests then onto the plateau that gave a wonderful vista of the countryside with grassy plains and woody sections with mountains in the distance as a backdrop.
We had not struck traffic at all until we turned onto the Toompine Road a single bitumen road again on the way to Yowah and Oulo, caravans, trucks and four wheel drives and all were very courteous giving us the bitumen.
When we turned onto the Yowah road we noticed the wind had picked up and the countryside had changed. The countryside was very green so they must have had heaps of rain out this way. We were to see the wattle trees in flower along with wild flowers blooming all on the side of the road which was an excellent sight. Before we knew it we were on the outskirts of Yowah and it would seem that not much has changed except the school, looks as if two new classrooms have been built.
We pulled into the rest area and spoke to John whom we have met over the years here and the wind was really blowing and as we noted that Mick & Kaye had set up camp we thought that we would set up near them. That is, until we saw the dust storm blow across the road and into the space we were going park up. So we settled for a concrete block for our doorstep and where the wind and dust was not so dramatic.
We had a good chin wag with John and caught up with all the local gossip and it would appear that due to the towns actions the council did not change any conditions in the free camping area and we still have free showers and toilets. The caravan park owner, John informs us, still comes around each evening counting all the happy campers in the freedom area. We had our lunch and when Mick & Kaye returned to their camp we went over and chewed the fat for quite awhile on their travels to date. Then back to our camp for a poppy nap.


Country side around Yowah	Happy Hour arrives	Apostle birds at Yowah

Happy hour arrived so a few happy campers came together with a few showing the results of their efforts to find an opal or two, listening to them they are really working very hard to find any colour at all. It has convinced us to save our energy and not make this trip an opal finding exercise. I bought our generator out and explained to John the way it runs and he asked to hear it, then he stated " I know what the problem is" and set about to fix it and twenty minutes later it was purring like a kitten just like when we bought it, not that noisy bip, bip, bip. It now has an exceptable level of noise and as some happy campers said "you can hardly hear it". Then it was time to enjoy the happy hour and that went for a fair while with some drinking tea only and cake and others have a beer or two or wine. The discussion was about the local area and donations being made to be used to better the freedom camping area.
There are many who come back to this area for up to two months at a time and the locals all wave as they drive or walk past it is a nice atmosphere. Without walking around it would appear that there been a explosion of grass levels and trees in the back part of the grounds. The showers are still great you do not require hot water for the water coming up from the bore is hot enough so you only use the cold water tap.
We stood out by the fire for awhile and then gave our farewells to all and went inside to watch the Marngrook Football Show.
Kilometres travelled 123


Museum	General Store & Library	Yowah School

Friday the 5th of August
Slept in this morning and then lit the firepot and boiled the kettle and cooked our toast. It was very windy so I had to drive Digger close to the fire and then put a tarp to make it more comfortable to have our breakfast.
After breakfast Liz went to the laundromat to do the heavy washing and I helped John do a few chores around the place then went over to see Mick & Kaye and had a chat before they went out to noodle for Opal. To date they have not dig up any Opal worth talking about so they are hoping that today is more successful.
When Liz returned I along with John went up to Mitre 11 to check it out and it shows the prosperity of the area or should I say lack of it. There was little of anything worth salvaging though John collected a few switches from the old fridges and I found a tray to place the generator on to stop the dust being picked up into the motor. Of all the Opal stores around it would appear that most are closed including the Museum, and there is not much talk in the town of any Opal being found on the field.
Back to camp and it was time to go for a drive around the town and see what has changed and frankly nothing and it is looking sad showing no prosperity at all. The school is having two new class rooms added and the locals indicated that there is only four pupils and five teachers in the area.
Then we went up to the General Store for lunch and had chips, chicken wing and spring roll washed down with a can or soft drink, whilst there we spoke to the truck float driver and the crane driver who had finished their works at the school and were heading back to Goondawindi. I would hate to think what it cost to get this equipment here to do the work, considering the distance to travel here and return.
After lunch we went and collected sticks to light the fire in the morning. The wind was strong and the clouds came over very thick which meant that the solar panels were not working at capacity and later they became very black so maybe we are in for rain.
We were to cook our silverside on the fire and in the pot of course with an onion, then happy hour arrived and we all came together around the fire with the wind dropping and some of the ladies had plates of home made cakes and Anzac biscuits, very nice indeed.
Time for our evening meal and it was great with the silverside being very tender then washed up had a cuppa and then out by the fire until 8.30 pm when we came inside to watch the St Kilda V Fremantle game before going off to bed.


Barbecues lit and ready	Val serving soup	Mick & Kaye

Saturday the 6th of August
The wind is still with us though a little less in strength as we had our breakfast in the brilliant morning sun. There was a fair bit of Chiacking going on this morning as many gathered around the community fire and spoke of the amount of heart attacks that had occurred in the village over the past month or so.
Then the elderly lady was to bring her patch work quilt up for us to look at and what a wonderful creation very colourful indeed and the there were many remarks made on the excellence of the quilt in progress. We then viewed a DVD of Opal and Matrix Opal that had been mined in the area something that we have not seen in the raw state. Liz was to do a little noodling around the camp site and came up with three pieces of Opal that had been missed by others so that has made her happy.
Lunch time arrived and we had noodles in a bowl and I threw a potato in alfoil in the hot coals and it was very nice indeed. We had a chat with Mick & Kaye and they went off to explore the countryside going up the to plateau to admire the surrounding landscape and visit Mitre 11. Had a poppy nap and then we had showers and then dressed to go up to the community barbecue tonight.
We had our usual happy hour and then drove up to the community centre, there were a few people there so we grabbed a table where twelve of us were together. We had an entertainer singing a wide variety of songs and playing music. The barbecues were lit and the idea is that you buy your meat and onions then cook it yourself all for $13 per head which includes a bowl of soup. The meat choice was steak or pork and sausages along with onions. We had our soup and as

it was good old country style home cooked many of us backed up for seconds and thirds. It looked great to see all the locals and visitors mingling and cooking together on the barbecues and there was light hearted banter.
The alcohol was cheaper than hotels with a can of XXXX gold at $3.50 and a glass of wine at $3 and there was plenty being consumed. They had a lucky door prize and raffle with 11 prizes of which Mick was to win one of those prizes. I had an altercation with a woman I found overbearing and told her so, she gave Liz a gift for putting up with me and it happened to be an outdoor dunny with a red back spider on the roof and a matrix opal on the board. Very nice indeed.
Since it was overcast it was a little cool and thankfully we had placed our tables close to the fire whilst we ate our meal which was of huge proportions with either salad or vegetables and thankfully there were no sweets for there would not had been room for them.
After our meal many were to get and dance in the gravel and others sat and enjoyed the music which very good and not to loud, as the night wore on we all went back to our camp and had an extended happy hour and enjoyed the company and the heat of our fire for it was very cloudy. Another good day and an excellent evening.


Sculpted Stone and old Chevy Car	Yowah Nut Opal	John's hardware stall

Saturday the 7th of August
We were awakened at 1 am by thunder and the pitter patter of rain on the roof of the motorhome, when I went outside to place the generator out of the rain there was sheet lightening lighting up the sky and it looked awesome the way it lit up the dark clouds. Back to bed and it appeared much rain at all after that, out of bed at 8 am and we did not use our fire this morning to cook our breakfast. We used the community fire to boil our kettle and cook our toast and then sat around with the rest of the happy campers talking mostly about last night and how good the meal and entertainment was.
Mick came over to the fire and spent the next hour or so joining in the conversation before I headed off to today's markets to help John set up his hardware stall. We were the second stall holder there and it was a considerable time before all the stalls were set up.
John's was the only hardware stall and the others had vegetables, cakes, rocky road, soap, books and other memorabilia plus a lot of Opal for sale the dearest being $2500 and the cheapest slither was $10. There was stall after stall of Opal for sale especially in the bottle. There was an indigenous bloke selling his paintings alongside a bloke displaying his sculpted stone figures and a genuine Yowah Nut which broken displayed some beautiful colours. He is restoring an old 1939 Chevrolet Car complete with dicky seat though he is having trouble sourcing enough parts for the restoration. It has a flat six cylinder engine that purr's beautifully and he was given a generator and starter motor for it from a happy camper who visits Yowah each year. Mick & Kaye have left for Eulo having stopped to go to the markets.
The rain clouds had dissipated and the wind had dropped so we were to have another 27 degree Celsius day with plenty of sunshine. All good things must come to an end and we returned to the camp grounds and started packing Digger up for our departure tomorrow. We have arranged to meet up with Mick and Kaye and we will probably travel together for a few days.
Happy hour is here and we have gathered around for our last happy hour in Yowah. It was a jovial couple of hours before we retired for a meal and then outside by the fire again for awhile and then inside to surf the internet and watch television, another good day.

Monday the 8th of August
A rather cool night which made for an extra blanket on the bed to keep us warm. We hopped out of bed at 7am to go and have our showers and then back to finish the final pack up and have our breakfast.
Filled the generator with fuel and packed it away and then dismantled the satellite dish and pulled the pegs that secured the tripod to the ground given the winds of the last couple of days. Wouldn't you know it when I pulled one peg up came a gusher of water, when I drove the peg in I must have driven it through the poly pipe though it didn't leak or give any indication that had happened. I couldn't stop the gush of water even by trying to put the peg back in the hole of the poly pipe.


Small gusher of water from pipe	Council worker fixing problem	Job finished with joiner

The council bloke was called and he was down in ten minutes and turned the water off to the free camping area to fix the problem. He didn't have any joiners with him so he cut the pipe and bent it back and placed wire around it. It worked alright when the they turned the water back on though there was a problem that pipe was the main pipe to all the taps in the park and they did not have water. He went away and found a joiner and then when fitted it fixed the problem and now water was restored to all the taps. Now what is the odds of driving a peg into a water pipe and not knowing until you pull it out for there was no weeping of water etc in the interim. We had our breakfast and finished packing and said our farewells to all the happy campers whose company we have enjoyed over the past few days.


Wait if you do not mind.	Burnt remains Eulo Store	Paroo River Eulo

We were back on single bitumen highway with no wind and not a cloud in the sky, the sun was shining in the front of the motorhome keeping us nice and warm, we did not strike any traffic for the first 50 kilometres which was great. We were to see many mobs of kangaroo and emu's though they did not cause us any concern the only problem we had was with cattle who feeding in the long paddock were just sauntering across the road and just looking at you as if to say "Wait if you do not mind you have all day" We then turned off the single bitumen and onto twin lane bitumen which was a treat. Before we new it we arrived at the camp grounds at Eulo where we met up with Mick and Kaye. I had to do some electrical repairs to Digger and then we went for a drive into Eulo proper for a look see.
We stopped at the Date Farm and had a look at the memorabilia and had a chat to the owners and then purchased some local honey and a bottle of date Liqueur to take home to have on ice cream etc.
Then we went and had a look at the burnt out remains of the Eulo Store that had so much memorabilia of days past of the area which of course is now lost for all time, then onto the hotel where we sampled a few XXXX before having lunch.
Unfortunately the wind has risen and the clouds have appeared making it cool, We hopped into digger and drove around the various tracks looking at the nature trail and the mud mounds which no longer seem to operate and then before we knew it happy hour had arrived. Mick and Kaye went out in their Jimney and towed in large logs for the fire tonight as long as it doesn't rain.
The fire was lit and it was a beauty given the large logs that Mick towed into camp. In no time at all we had the fire going with Kaye tending to the stoking, then it was happy hour and then our evening meal which we had in the motorhome and then out by the fire. We had a couple of happy campers come and join us and we sat around with the large fire enjoying it for the wind had dropped. It was getting cooler so we came inside around 9pm and watched a DVD before going off to bed with the temperature dropping which required another blanket on the bed.
Kilometres travelled 95


Kaye stoking fire	Our camp fire last night	Toasting fire this morning

Tuesday the 9th of August
Cold this morning down to 6 degrees celsius in the motorhome and even colder outside. The fire from last night still had hot coals and didn't take much wood to re-ignite to cook our toast on.
The morning was still with no breeze and the sun was just popping up over the tree line on the Paroo River rest area. We hooked up Digger said our farewells to the other happy campers and we were on our way to Cunnamulla.
The going was easy and it would appear we have seen the last of the single lane highway's for awhile, we were to see plenty of Emu's again and heaps of cattle all grazing in the long paddock undeterred by our presence not like yesterday. We were only 68 kilometres away from Cunnamulla with next to no traffic on the highway and the land opened up to wide open plains with plenty of dried grass. They were saying on the radio this morning that with the good wet this year and the dry period they are now worried about wild fire that could destroy crops, cattle and sheep as well as the other native animals, they have asked travellers to take care with camp fires and road side verges for those who may discard a completed cigarette.
We arrived in Cunnamulla and went first to the Mobil Depot and re-filled only one tank at $1.58 per litre for the main tank had not been touched.


War Memorial Cunnamulla	Cunnamulla Fella	Camping near Mitchell Highway

Then into the town centre to do a little retail therapy, it wouldn't be the same if we didn't visit the op shop first and amazingly we did not make one purchase. The paper shop and we were one hour to early so around to the IGA and bought a few groceries to restock the cupboards and then the butchers to get some stewing steak for casseroles when we get into the cold territory and a couple of T Bones for our meal tonight. Really I shouldn't be wearing shorts today for it is cold and the wind has picked up from the south west and very blustery. Went to the bakery for bread and tried to purchase pies for lunch to no avail they wanted to microwave them and we declined. So we bought fresh bread to make sandwiches. We took a few photo's and then we were on our down the Mitchell Highway south bound. We can really say we are bound for home for when we took a right turn down the Mitchell Highway we took our first step into the cold weather.
Arrived at a blue metal dump which we selected for our camp for the night, the wind has really picked up and the temperature has dropped dramatically. Set up the satellite dish to watch television tonight and the local Tasmanian news for it is far to cold a wind to have a fire. You would need four fires going so you could stand in the middle to keep warm.
Happy hour arrived and though we used Digger as shelter after awhile I had to come inside and put on trakkies and another pullover even the though sun is shining. No doubt we will need to start using more blankets on top of the doona to keep warm. At this point the GPS tells us we are only 1200 or so kilometers from Port Melbourne and we haven't come to the NSW border yet that will happen tomorrow.
Kilometres travelled 143


NSW Border Welcome	Old pub at Barringun

Wednesday the 10th of August
I didn't hesitate this morning, on went the trakkies and pullover for it was a cold morning with just a slight breeze. We had our breakfast and we were on our way bound for Bourke in NSW, they were doing roadwork's on the Queensland side of the border so we just snapped a photo of the welcome to NSW sign and continued on to Barringun. We pulled up for a restful few minutes and then back on the highway, we were impressed with the old hotel so we had to just take a photo. Along the way the going was easy with just a breeze though the sky is clouding over with an indication of rain.
We once again came across the two vehicles driving around Australia collecting funds for the Flying Doctor Service. The lead vehicle is a Case four wheel drive with left hand controls and on loan from Case Australia for the event. They were to tell us that the top speed on the vehicle is 30 to 35 kph and now we know why they are travelling so slow. Their accommodation fifth wheeler is towed by a V8 four wheel drive Ford which is giving them 3 kilometres to the litre of petrol due to having to go so slow. We talked to them for about a half hour left a donation for them and we were on our way again.


Collecting funds for the Flying Doctor Service		Last Century Bridge at Northey

We were to see heaps of sheep some with brown and white fleeces something we haven't seen before and of course our friends the Emu's were in abundance all the way along the highway. We stopped at Enngonia South rest area for morning tea which took up the best part of forty minutes before we moved onto towards Bourke. We didn't want to arrive in Bourke today therefore we started to look for a suitable roadside blue metal pit. Unfortunately this wasn't to be, so before we knew it we arrived in Northey some 6 kilometres out of Bourke. We crossed the new bridge and noted plenty of camp area around the river and went and found a nice spot on the grass, we noted the area was black soil so we hoped it wouldn't rain. We had our lunch a little late today and after I went for ride with Mick back to Northey to the citrus farm and bought oranges, mandarins and tomatoes and then into the shop and they didn't sell the paper. We then went into Bourke and the newsagency bought the paper and then around to the Bakery and bought pies and some cakes and then back to camp. On the way we were getting sprinkles of rain so it was obvious that we would have to move or possibly get bogged. We didn't want that again this year so we moved up near the highway and onto the hard pan near the bitumen.
Then went for a drive around the area and especially to have a closer look at the old timber decked bridge with cast steel put together with rivets. By looking at it you can imagine the blacksmith heating the rivets before they were belted in to hold the circular piles together before being driven into the river bed. All the bridge is so intricate in its design and only the timber piling on the approaches to the steel is showing the signs of wear. Even the lift span to allow the old paddle steamers through in days past is intact and apparently still in working order.
Back to the motorhome and the rain was now falling steadily while we were having our happy hour, I didn't set up the satellite dish for we can get the local stations even if they are not of the same quality. We had a late evening meal and settled in to watch tellie and listen to the patter of the rain on the roof before retiring.
Kilometres travelled 203


Lined up with cars in fog Northey	Colourful Post Office Bourke	Old Paddle Steamer Wharf

Thursday the 11th of August
Awoke to a foggy morning and very cold, I wouldn't like to say what the temperature was other than to say that this cold weather has hit us so quickly that we haven't had time to adjust. Last night we had a happy camper come and ask if it was alright to park behind us. What could you say with the rain coming down and the camping area a boggy quagmire of course it was alright. This morning it looked good with all three motorhome's complete with towed cars parked as one.
It was raining when we left to go into Bourke we passed the Lime orchard and then pulled into the BP service station to top up one tank and we took on 37 litre's at $1.55 per litre. Drove into the town centre and parked near the IGA and went into buy a few supplies including Tim Tams that were on special at $1.99 a packet, also amongst the groceries we purchased corn at $2.99 a tray. When I went outside the store I noticed that we had been charged $3.99 when I drew this to the attendant's attention she was not as cheery as when we came through the check out and would not take my word after calling on staff to check the price and I was right. I was refunded $4.00 and kept the corn. How much do supermarkets make in a day through overcharging customers. I seem to have this knack of watching the till and noting the prices of the goods we select and pick very easy the discrepancy, on this occasion I had to cross check the receipt.
We then went to the bank to get money and the post office to lodge our census form, it was cold and we commented how cold it was when we hopped into bed last night. Into Retra Vision and purchased an electric blanket that will run off the generator. This will warm up the bed before we hop in and then turn the blanket off. Are we getting soft? No! We have arrived in the cold weather zone quicker than we thought. We then took photo's of the colourful Post Office and then walked down to the river and the old wharf which is in several levels to allow the paddle steamers to unload passengers each level dependant on the river height.
We had a look at the old steam engine and then the rain really dropped out of the sky in such volume we had to take shelter under the awning of a building for at least twenty minutes and boy was it cold around 6 degrees at 10am and overcast something we were not used to.
As soon as the rain eased we made a dash for the motorhome and even then we were wet. We bid our farewell to Bourke and were on the road again. We drove out of the rain though the sky was very cloudy and it took at least a hundred kilometres to get a little sunshine breaking through the clouds. We stopped at a rest area some seventy kilometres from Bourke for an early lunch. The wind had dropped and we were treated to a little sunshine that heated the day a little, back on the road and we came across our mates the Emu's and plenty of wild goats which the truck drivers warned us of before we reached the area so we were prepared should any attempt to run across the road in front of us. We were to see at least a hundred grazing in the long paddock over a fifteen kilometer range.
We finally arrived at Cobar and took Digger off and went out to the old reservoir to see if we could still camp there and yes we could so we topped up with water at the information centre and headed out and set up our camp.
Mick went and dragged logs into camp which we cut and though tonight we are having our showers and watching the Marngrook Football Show so we didn't bother to light the main fire. Though we cooked our evening meal of steamed vegetables and lamb chops on the firepot after our meal we were busy putting the electric blanket on the bed. It has been a busy day and are feeling a little tired tonight, hopefully we will hop into a warm bed.
Kilometres travelled 181


Sun breaking through early fog	Our wood for our fire tonight	Tourist Information Centre Cobar

Friday the 12th of August
What a wonderful nights sleep, the electric blanket worked a treat with the generator not even increasing its output. When we turned off the generator we hopped into a very warm bed and with our body warmth the bed didn't get cold all night. In the past we relied on body heat to warm the bed which made it a little cooler for us, though now that is all in the past and as we go down into even colder weather you can bet the electric blanket will be used.
When I went out to light the firepot a bit before 7am this morning there was a reasonably heavy fog which the sun was trying to break through, luckily the firewood was in bags so it didn't get wet. It wasn't long and the fire was going and was excellent to stand around.
By 8.30am the fog had dissipated and the sun was shining brightly with no clouds in the sky at all plus no breeze. A wonderful morning and you wouldn't have guessed this yesterday.
I couldn't believe it, I was back in shorts and singlet reading the paper and I could feel the sun on my legs so the tan will possibly continue another couple of weeks. Liz was to do the washing and we hung it out to dry and then cleaned around the camp, you do not realise that putting things here and there makes the camp look untidy.
We then just relaxed in the brilliant sunshine and watched two groups of people come in to exercise their dogs. They do not walk them they let them out of the vehicle and then the dogs chase the vehicles some running very fast others especially the small ones getting along at a trot.
Every dog, and there must have been about 15 in all, after their run jump straight into the lake and frolic about

and the twenty or so wood ducks don't get fazed by it at all.
We had out lunch and then went into Cobar to replenish the water containers and do a little retail therapy. First stop Vinnies where we bought a few items and then over to the second hand shop though we made no purchases. Into the IGA and bought crumpets for breakfast tomorrow and a carton of Pepsi Max or as I call it "Squirt Juice" which was on special and a few other items. Then around to the second IGA and scored some marked down meat and frankfurters. We came across a three wheeled bike that is manufactured in Canada and is towing a camper trailer which is a miniature of the large camper trailer's bed and all. It was quite impressive and Liz said it could be our new motorhome to go up to the cape next year. The bloke that owned it said he gets along the road at 100 to 110 kph as it is so stable with duel wheels on the front along with all the gadgetry.
Checked the price of fuel and then decided to come back to camp and relax before happy hour and then light the big fire for tonight.
Happy hour arrived and I can see why I have put more weight on from the time we left home until now. Tonight we are having hot dogs for our evening meal then sit by the fire. At 8.30pm we will come inside to watch the Collingwood V St Kilda football match and one of us is going to be disappointed and I think that will be me, at least I will be going to a nice warm bed to weep.


Our fire starting last night	Our back log for tonight	Lake close to our camping area

Saturday the 13th August
Climbed out of a warm bed this morning and the sun was trying to break through clouds that eventually disappeared for a few hours before returning. We had poached eggs on crumpets washed down with a cup of tea this morning, very nice. Cleaned up around the camp and then just stoked up our fire from last night to burn the remains of the back log.
Then I went with Mick to get another log for tonight's fire and he dragged it back and placed it directly over the existing fire and it didn't take long for it start to burn.
The rest of the morning we sat around reading and watching the dogs being exercised behind vehicles and the motor bikes doing their thing. Kaye was to make a wonderful chicken soup along with savoury scones for us all for lunch. What a treat, for Kaye had done an excellent job so much so I backed up for seconds.


Entrance to underground mine	Conveying Mullock to the surface	Original Copper Open Cut Cobar

We then went into Cobar and out to the working gold mine, they have a good lookout which allowed us to look down into the original open cut and see where they now go underground to dig out the gold and other minerals, though gold is the main mineral recovered. We were to see an articulated vehicle come out of the opening and drag its load to the surface this was followed by grader both looked like little tonka toys when coming out of the underground mine the largeness of the machines was realised when they were closer to the surface.
We spent nearly and hour watching and looking out over Cobar which from a distance looks well set out with plenty of greenery.
As we were doing the touristy thing we then went to the Tourist Information Centre and drove into the next street and looked at the original open cut mine that operated digging for copper and even though having plenty of water it gives you an idea of the size of the open cut though not how deep it was. Like all mining towns the mine is usually just on the outskirts of the town centre, this was no different though the other mines are now out of town.
We drove around the streets looking at the houses and they were neat and had plenty of yard. When driving out to the Airport we noted that there were houses very large ones on acreage with plenty of landscaping.
The airport looks quite large though there were no planes parked up though it must be busy for they had both Hertz and another company's hire cars just sitting there, this could be for the executives to drive to the mines etc- how would I know why?-
Noted their hospital and the amount of clubs which were very large especially the Bowls Club no doubt full of poker machines though we didn't bother checking this out. Down to the centre of town and noted that nothing opens on a Saturday afternoon, so bought some cream for our apple pie tonight and then picked up water and headed back to camp.
Mick & Kaye had been out to Devils Rock and on the way back dragged yet another stump to pile on the fire for tonight.
Time for our evening meal and we cooked chips and peppered squid and it was very nice indeed, we tried to chip a small portion of sweet potato though it was not as good as the normal potatoes. To top it off we had apple pie heated up in the camp oven and served with lashings of cream, its a pretty tough life this bush camping.
We then sat out by the fire and admired the full moon trying to break through the cloud cover that had arrived, it wasn't really cold as the wind had ceased and the fire was glowing strongly. so much so that we were sitting about 5 metres away and still very warm.
Around 9pm we went inside and watched the last of the Brisbane Lions V Gold Coast Suns football game and then off to our warm bed.


Visitors for breakfast	Our last night wood supply	Original Copper refinery Cobar

Sunday the 14th of August
It was warm when we arose this morning with just a few clouds and the sun shining brightly, lit the fire pot and cooked our breakfast and watched the cattle getting closer as they sought out the green grass. They didn't appear frightened being close to people at all, finally they had their fill of water and disappeared into the bushes not to be seen for the rest of the day. The happy campers that camped close to us last night were gone this morning and only the ash of their fire was to be seen.
We had our showers and then relaxed until 11am and then I went with Mick and towed two large logs out the bush with his four wheel drive. This is our last fire here in Cobar so it should be a beauty tonight that's for sure.
We decided to have a hot lunch and a small dinner this evening of sandwiches just for a change. We steamed broccoli, corn and carrots and cooked potatoes and pumpkin in alfoil on the the hot coals along with patties. Very nice indeed though not being used to a big lunch such as this in the

middle of the day we both struggled to eat it leaving some for our evening meal.
We went into Cobar to refuel Digger and top up the generator drum plus the water drums to save us doing it in the morning on the way out. Stopped at IGA bought two large cold chickens that had been marked down to two dollars each and we gave one to Mick and Kaye. We stopped at the Federation Park and had a look at the old original mining equipment including the original Mine Winder used in the late 1800's.
Back to camp and then relaxed reading the paper and as usual all good things come to an end and we started packing up the camp leaving the generator and satellite equipment to be packed away in the morning. The day has been really warm so much so that shorts and singlet were the order of the day though the cloud coverage is picking up and cooling things a little. Oh well! Happy Hour has arrived and we relaxed even further watching the young kids and their families riding their bikes and quad bikes. Some were really young though this didn't deter them from putting the metal to the pedal, so to speak.
Sandwiches tonight and then sit out by the fire enjoying the company of Mick and Kaye and then inside at 8.30pm to watch the movie and then off to bed with the bed warmed up by the electric blanket again.


Flowering wattle on Kidman Way	Aircraft runway Mount Hope	Royal Hotel Mount Hope

Monday 5th of August
The fire was still burning this morning so we were able to cook our crumpets over the red hot coals. The morning was a little overcast with the sun trying to break through as we left our camp area around 8.30am. Into Cobar to drop off the rubbish and do a top up one diesel tank at $1.49.9 cents per litre.
We bade Cobar farewell and then we were on the road heading towards Hillston. The going was easy even though we struck a few hills for the first ten kilometres or so with no wind the motorhome was climbing effortlessly over them.
We were to see absolutely heaps of wild goats and a few emu's, the road leveled out and we were to see plenty of sheep and on one property there had to be in excess of two hundred goats so we can only assume they are farming them there.
We were striking heaps of traffic especially two trailer road trains which appeared to driven as if they had to be there yesterday. There we more caravans heading north and the majority give a friendly wave as they pass, they also are going a lot slower than the trucks.
After a hundred and forty kilometres we pulled off the road and had a cuppa and a piece of cake and just stretched the legs by walking about, even though there was no sun it was warm and we were wearing only shorts and T-Shorts. The clouds were still thick, though they did not look like rain as we pushed on again. The road and adjacent land was full of Cyprus Pines and the different types wattle trees were in full bloom and looked really a treat. These were to stretch for many kilometres before petering out to farmland once again.
We finally arrived at Mount Hope and decided to stay here the night before pushing on to Hillston in the morning. The township consists of a few houses set in amongst the Cyprus Pines and a Hotel decked out in painted Cyprus Pines etc.
We had our lunch and relaxed for awhile and then hopped into Digger and went walkabout. We drove around a heap of gravel roads though they all led to houses in the bush. We climbed one small hill opposite the hotel and found the remains of the old gold mine shaft and concrete footings no doubt for the various plants to extract the gold. Before I could take a photo the batteries in the camera went flat and the full ones were back at the motorhome. Then on to have a look at their aircraft runway where the planes have worn wheel grooves in the red soil, it starts off flat then goes over a sizeable hill before take off or landing. Onto the mitre 11 and this is where the hotel dumps its cans and bottles and just a little household waste, there were no pickings other than a skipping rope in good order.
We drove around for the next hour or so looking up the side tracks and attempted to climb large hill unfortunately Diggers 12 inch wheels were not up to the large ruts worn in the track by running water so we had to turn back, we did not want to damage poor old Digger.
We headed back to the motorhome and then at happy hour went up to the pub for a few before returning for our evening meal. I didn't bother putting the satellite dish together we t watched a DVD instead before going off to bed we have enjoyed the travel and the tour around Mount Hope given that it is a very small community.
Kilometres travelled 176


Gecko in toilet Mount Hope	Wheat fields	Mural Hillston

Tuesday the 16th of August
We heard the pitter patter of rain twice during the night though it didn't amount to much rain even if it was a little windy. We utilised the beautiful solar powered hot showers at our rest area had our breakfast and we were back on the road heading for Hillston.
The road conditions were good for we had a tail wind and the sun was trying its best to break through the clouds. We were driving through slightly undulating land that had plenty of stunted gum trees and flowering wattle and we were to see once again many goats though not as many as yesterday.
We were to return to the cyprus pine and wattle tree country and the hills in the distance were obviously covered with the Cyprus Pine, then out onto the flat country once again and then as far as the eye could see wheat and other grains were growing in great abundance. The signs indicated that we had entered the "Riverina Country" and the amount to the cotton lying on the road indicated the size of the cotton industry they have in this area.
We finally arrived in Hillston and parked up and went for a walk along the main street and into the park that has the swing bridge across the river. It didn't take much to get the swing bridge swinging, so to speak, and Liz wasn't all that happy about it. It was a nice little park over the bridge and well sheltered from the sun by huge Red Gums that would supply the shade in the hot summer months. It is easy to see that we have come in from the outback country to this inland centre that services the wheat, grains, sheep, cotton and other rural pursuits, the town is well geared for this this and probably is the main employment industry. In our stroll along the street I was taken by the excellent mural depicting the sheep and wool era of the past.


Main Street Hillston	Canola fields	Wheat Silo's Merriwagga

It was approaching 1pm so we bought a few items at the IGA and Liz was to explore the many haberdashery and clothing shops before we decided it was time for lunch. What did we have? Junk tucker of course, spring rolls, sausage rolls and a pie washed down with soft drink not very healthy indeed, however so what! We continued our exploring and extracted some money from the bank and then around to top up the one diesel tank at $1.55 cents a litre. One thing about it now with towns close together and no outlandish price of diesel you do not notice small amounts of cash required though the books show us that the trip this year is well in excess of last year cost wise for diesel.
We went and checked the price at the caravan park and decided that it was to dear for the facilities offered so we headed out to find a gravel pit etc. We were now travelling with the wind at our tail and the land while still flat had changed more to canola crops and other grains that we could not identify all looking great in the cloudy, sunny at times situation.
We were to see a couple of gravel pits though we were not happy with them in the advent the rain came for as sure as night follows day we are going to run into rain and we do not want to get bogged like we did this time last year.
We could see wheat silo's in the distance and so we headed for them and eventually ended up in the township of Merriwagga a town again supported by the farming of wheat, canola and other grains. We first of all drove around the town and checked out the caravan park and once again they charged far to much for what was on offer so we just parked up at the wheat silo's and found that we can receive television etc with a toilet close by. So that will do us for the night before moving on tomorrow towards Hay. We experienced one train pulling grain wagons and though a little noisy we can put up with that and besides the noisy Galahs are here in abundance. We are now a week ahead of where we should be so we will be parking up for longer periods over the next fortnight. Oh well! It is 5pm so off to have a late happy hour with the final rays of the sun attempting to burst through the clouds and you can feel the cold closing in. Tonight read a book watch television who knows?
Kilometres travelled 147


Trucks aplenty at Wheat Silo	Driving into crook weather	Boggy camp site Hay

Wednesday the 17th of August
The rain belted down during the night and we were hear trucks arriving from midnight to dawn. This was the case when we came out this morning there were two lines of trucks awaiting to load wheat. I went and spoke to a couple of the drivers who gave me the lowdown with one company having six road trains to haul wheat to various parts of the state for either flour making or for feedlots.
We had our breakfast and it was 9am before we pulled out behind one of the two trailer road trains bound for a rest area before Hay. Or should I say that was our intentions the clouds looked ominous and the radio indicated that we were going into a storm with winds expected up to 90 kph in gusts.
The more I looked, the easier the decision was to make about not pulling off the road for we would have bogged for sure just trying to get into a blue metal pit. The countryside looked a treat with the wheat and other grains plus canola at various stages of growth and it was looking very healthy indeed, it may be they may have a bumper year as they have predicted for Western Australia.
We had the wind at either our side or on our rear which made for easy going and the amount of trucks heading north loaded were causing some problems with the amount of road spray they were sending up from their wheels. There were plenty of caravans and motorhome's heading down with us bearing Victorian number plates, though they did not cause us any grief.
We were to see plenty of cattle and sheep, though more of the latter. We made the decision to head for Hay and the Sandy Point camping area, this is the area we actually bogged last year so it would be true to say I have learnt a few things from that.
The rain was picking up as we arrived at Hay and we headed for the campground on the Murrumbidgee River, the sign said dry weather road only now closed. unfortunately I was committed and there was no turning back so in we went with the truck and the car slipping and sliding and Liz not very happy at all about the situation. We parked up where we were last year and set up by pulling out the awning and out with the drums and in no time at all we filled the first twenty litre drum.
We had our lunch and then hopped into Digger and took the other road out. Big mistake we were sliding all over the road and at times going side ways on full lock and it didn't take long for Liz to show disapproval especially when we were heading sideways for the culvert into the river.
We made it to the bitumen with us leaving plenty of slush on the road, there is no doubt about it Digger continues to surprise even after all these years as to what it can do for such a small three cylinder 800 cc engine vehicle.
We parked up and walked the main street of Hay just window shopping before we arrived at the op shop and then into GO-LO the cheapie store. we bought a few things and stopped by the bakery and bought two vanilla slices for our desert tonight. Then out to the show ground where we talked to a couple of happy campers who informed us that the council moved them out from Sandy Point last night at 8pm due the arrival of rain.
I did a U-turn and went off the road a bit and wouldn't you know it, bogged and it took the help of three blokes to push poor old Digger out, we thanked them profusely and headed back to camp where we slid and spun our back to the motorhome.
Being overcast and sprinkling rain I started the generator and charged up our spare Waeco battery and took the load off the house batteries allowing them to charge up with the limited power coming from the Solar Panels. Oh well off to happy hour for we have a little sunshine breaking through the clouds.
We finished our happy hour and around 5.45pm the local council ranger came and told us that we shouldn't have driven through the road closed sign for it may damage the road. He indicated that he should fine us $110 dollars for disobeying the road sign though if we do not move until the road dry's he would only caution us.
So tomorrow we will sit it out and just walk up to town and buy the paper etc. Watch television tonight? not likely for it is a terrible signal for I have not put up the satellite dish. So we will read and then go off to bed early tonight.
Kilometres travelled 140


Sign said it all	How often do you see this?	Barbecue area Sandy Point

Thursday the 18th of August
A cold night and morning with an equally cold south westerly wind greeting us this morning. It would true to say that wearing shorts may well be thing of the past for this morning it was trakkies, pullover, beanie and coat if venturing outside.
There was no rain in the morning and the sun would break through for a few moments and then back to overcast again, Mick and I strolled around the facilities that are substantial. In all they have six gas fired barbecues free of charge and two wood fired with plenty of seating around the area with all having roofs over plus very clean toilets.
It is marvelous how quickly the area dry's though it will take a day of sunshine to allow us to proceed to do the touristy things around town and outlying areas before moving on. It is not a problem for we have plenty of food, water and happy hour drinks all on board the motorhome. A stock up will be required for bread and etc before leaving Hay.
Given there is not much we can do, given the current boggy circumstances, it has given us the opportunity to reflect on our travels to date and make some hopefully guarded assumptions. First we looked at the travel on the coastal areas of Australia and came to the conclusion that these cities and centre's are to commercialised and the people are always in a hurry and reasonably hard to befriend though their cost of living is lower that other areas. There is a lack of freedom camping areas and the caravan parks though in some areas are five star are far to expensive.
Now our favourite the Outback where the people are very friendly and always wanting to help and explain the virtues of their towns and cities. Where you can always find a spot on a river or billabong to camp and catch yabby's, red claw or fish where you can have fires that even warm the mosquitoes and with plenty of firewood available. How can you complain about the crystal clear evening sky's with all those stars and constellations. The place to fossick for minerals, opal and other precious stones are here as long as you are persistent and have a degree of patience. The downside is the cost of living for food, meat, clothing and the other day to day things that we take for granted in the city's is much higher including fuels. Who cares when the sun is shining shorts and singlet are the order of the day and the only grumpy people are a few travellers who think every thing should be as they want it, the locals have a laid back way of dealing with these people to the extent they do not realise what has happened to them.
Now inland cities/towns and their people are still friendlier than coastal people though you need to be more guarded on what you say and do. It is harder to find the soul of these inland towns for they face at times famine or plenty in their cropping endeavors and the economy would appear to be based around farming ventures. They are a happy people though not as friendly or offering assistance in the same manner as their outback cousins. Though we have to say Hay is high on the list of being tops for they have a designated freedom camping area on the Murrumbidgee River with all the conveniences you need. They have a lot of itinerant workers who pitch their camp here as they work out on the many farms with citrus and vegetable crops to be harvested. Though when it rains it bogs dreadfully and people are generally moved to higher ground us being the exception though if we had to get out I am sure we could.
I have set up the satellite dish for the local television stations for some reason aren't all that strong and there appear to be only four available. Of course it is Thursday and we want to watch the Marngrook Football Show tonight, being an area with large red gum trees it took some moving around to gain the satellite signal.
This afternoon we read our books and had a bit of a snooze as the cold wind passed through our camp the chances of setting up the firepot to cook meals etc is off the agenda and it is all being done inside the motorhome on the stove.
We had some wind come through with heavy rain and that moved the satellite dish for I forgot to tighten the nuts thus it swung around in the wind and off the satellite so out and did a quick fix.
Out with the gas heater to warm the place up for we can not rely on the stove whilst cooking to do the job. With all this rain and the boggy conditions it feels like we are under house detention.


Where is the shorts and Singlet?	1878 Cob & Co Coach	Trees in blossom Hay

Friday the 19th of August
The night was a bit rough with a few vehicles coming in and out just churning up the road which may make it hard for us to get out of Sandy Point. I didn't worry about breakfast this morning for I had a bit of a sleep in due to the weather. Once out of bed I walked the road and came to the conclusion that other than two spots we could get out, though Liz is a bit wary of driving Digger out in the currant road conditions.
Liz did a bit of washing and then we decided to walk into town to get bread and have another look around. We did not go in a direct line we took different streets on our way the to the main street. We went to the information centre and perused the books and looked at the artifacts for sale and then onto the hardware store to buy a few items. We had a good look at the old Cob & Co Coach that used to ply between Deniliquin and Bourke in the late 1800's it really is in good condition and I doubt if it would take much to get back in full working order.


1890 Courthouse Hay	Westpac Bank circa 1887

We were to note the fine architecture of the Courthouse circa 1890 and the West Pack bank circa 1887 which originally was called the AJC bank, what the initials stand for is beyond me. Bought the newspaper and then onto the Bakery where we had a cappuccino and sausage roll and a curried chicken and vegetable pie. The pie was only $1.50 for the crusts were broken even given that it was very tasty. I asked the girl where I could get hold of a fox and of course she asked why and I stated "well I need one to track down the chicken or lack of it in the pie". It bought a chuckle all round, it was one of the best cappuccino's I had tasted for awhile.
On to the supermarket and we bought four loaves of Helga's bread for three dollars it was marked down and in a shopping bag, when we checked the use by date it is late next week though I am sure with a few jaffles etc we can use it up and freeze a bit. Cauli for $1.49 and we were on way home with a cold breeze at our back. It was still overcast and cold though no rain which was a bonus. We were to pass flowering cherry trees in blossom and the daffodils and snow drops so we must be heading towards spring, the quicker the better.
We had our lunch sandwiches of course and then read our books, I had to make another makeshift line for the sun was now out and it would assist the drying of the clothes. We at 3pm have a blue sky and plenty of sun so this should dry the area very quickly and if we can tour around tomorrow in Digger we will leave towards Tocumwal on Sunday.
It is not long to happy hour and it will be great to sit out in the sun and lap up the last rays before it disappears, of course tonight will be football with Carlton V Hawthorn which should be a good match.


Hay Weir	Murrumbidgee downstream Weir	Harvesting Lettuce's

Saturday the 20th of August
It was cool when we vacated the bed this morning. When going outside the sun was shining and the sky was blue for a change, we were to cook eggs and bacon for breakfast on the supplied barbecues in the recreation area. We sat and watched the wood ducks plying the river and it was strange to see them fly up into the red gums by the rivers edge. If you had said to me that wood ducks roost in the large trees by the water I would have thought you were loopy.
After breakfast Liz was to use Kay's twin tub Hitachi washing machine to do sheets, doona cover etc, I rigged a line out the front of the motorhome and the washing was drying in the slight breeze and sunny conditions.
Then it was time to drive up into the Hay shopping centre where we bought the newspaper and then onto the IGA for we were short of potatoes and whilst there I purchased a carton of Boags draught stubbies.
We asked a few directions to the Mitre 11 and when arriving they had already bulldozed the rubbish into pits so we were not able to recover any goods. Then we went for a drive out towards Maude, first we stopped at the Hay Weir which is some 14 kilometers from the town centre. The water was spilling over the weir in an obviously controlled manner for they are not expecting the floods until tomorrow.
It is a good camping or picnic area well fenced though you are not allowed to fish near the weir at all. After about thirty minutes we headed back to town for we did not want to travel the extra thirty kilometres to Maude.
We came across workers harvesting lettuce's so I reached for the camera. What no camera! Then I remembered I did something that I would not normally do, I put the camera on the roof of Digger and no doubt I have driven off. On the way out from the Weir I heard a bang and when I looked in the rear vision mirror I thought I had run over a soft drink can. So did a U-turn and went back and luckily there was the camera laying on the road some two kilometres from the Weir, it was wearing a few scratches and dent from where it fell off the roof though it is taking photo's alright again.
Back to where they were harvesting lettuces and took a few shots and watched for awhile marveling at the computer controlled tractor that with no driver was slowly coming down the rows as lettuces were stacked into box's
We went straight to the information centre and paid $2 for a shower conserving our facilitates, we were able to stand under the shower for longer than in our own shower.
Back to camp and a few happy campers came in for the roads are drying quickly and there is no doubt we will be able to depart in the morning. Took the clothes line down and then went and gave Digger a wash for it was in a terrible state due to roads and muddy conditions, again the motorhome just received a wipe down.
Happy Hour arrived and we were joined by two people on horses and caravan and motorhome people as we took in the last rays of the sun and spoke of our travels and where we are going after leaving here. Then the woman bought down three King Charles Cavaliers for us to look at for she runs a stud and sells them off, she did not earn a sale with us when we heard that the dogs were $1000 each.
We didn't come inside until 7pm for our evening meal and to watch the Collingwood V Brisbane Lions match before going off to bed to read our books.


Open flat country	Emu's beside road	Swamp country

Sunday the 21st of August
Beautiful sunshine again this morning as we did our final packing and had breakfast, we were the last to leave the campgrounds with the other happy campers saying their farewells and on their way to there final destinations, some were going north and others like us were heading for home.
We decided to top up the diesel tank again and paid $1.44.9 per litre the cheapest we have come across in the past month. We were soon on our way on the Highway towards Finley the pastures were all filled with salt bush and there wasn't a grazing animal to be seen for the first 60 kilometres with the exception of Emu's and we were to see three groups of them.
We came across several small towns which seemed have an old hotel as the basis of their community and a few sports grounds. We came across land that was all swamp and filled with plenty of water so we must assume they have had plenty of rain recently.


Remembrance Park Deniliquin	Old building at Deniliquin	Mosaic covered utility

The land was that flat that you could see the highway and the vehicles coming at you like a mirage in the distance, they seem to be floating along on a wave of water at least a metre above the road. Then we arrived into sheep country where they indicated this was the home of the pencil merino the first merino sheep to arrive in Australia and supposedly the stock where all merino's have their origins.
Then the canals started to appear and they were all full of water and nearby we were to see silo's that held the rice that is grown in the area, we were to see many paddocks planted out to rice and others to wheat and other grains. There were plenty of sheep and cattle and the land looked quite pristine.
Before we knew it we arrived at Deniliquin and we swung off the highway and parked up and then went walkabout. Being a Sunday there were

very few stores open only the el cheapo's and a chemist and newsagency. So we did a bit of window shopping and then went into a el cheapo shop and bought a few items and then discovered a Chicken Feed store further up the street decked out in those famous chickenfeed colours. Bought a few things there and then had a look at the old building that there are plenty of and then into their remembrance park which is well set out complete with small creek flowing in and plenty of flower displays.
We were to drop by the old Holden that is decked out in mosaic tiles which looks excellent, then up to the rest area where we were to have our lunch before we moved back onto the highway. There was a monument carved out of wood of the dreaded noisy Correla so I just had to take a photo.
The going was easy and we were looking for a rest area to pull up for the night for we did not want to arrive in Tocumwal today. It was only twenty kilometres before we found a suitable area just off the highway. It may be a little noisy tonight with traffic though that will not worry us.
At the moment we are sitting outside listening to the St Kilda V Sydney football game and I do not like their chances of winning and of course they didn't at the end of the day. We had our happy hour and enjoyed the last of the sunshine of the day which went to 5.45pm before the cool of the evening came down and we went inside to have our evening meal and watch a bit of tellie before reading our books, turning on our electric blanket and then off to bed.
Kilometres travelled 174


Large Canal near campsite	Water over weir at campsite

Monday the 22nd of August
We could hear noises last night and it sounded like water falls, it even reminded me of the noise of the engines on the Spirit of Tasmania. When I hopped out of bed this morning I just had to see what it was, down the road about a kilometre and it then became obvious.
I walked up onto a side road and was able to look along the length of the canal and it was sight worth looking at with the sun rising at 7am and the morning very still with not a ripple on the water except when it went over the weir, thus the noise that we could hear. The interesting thing was that it noisy when well away from the weir and a lot less when you are close looking down at it. We had breakfast and then packed and on our way with no wind and a beautiful sunny morning. We were to see the many green pastures and grains fields where they were irrigated and the rest of the land was dry and brown. We also were to see plenty of sheep and cattle.


Beautiful blossom on trees Finley	Road flooded into campsite	Old campsite Finley beach flooded

It wasn't long before we arrived at Finley and we turned onto the Newell Highway. As we drove through Finley we were to notice the beautiful cherry blossoms and they certainly were a treat. Twenty kilometres further on as we drove alongside water channels and cropping land we arrived at Tocumwal. We went straight to the old camp grounds that we have enjoyed over the years and noted signs indicating that the park was closed due to the Murray River being in flood. We walked in and found that water from the river was up over the road thus the camp once again this year was inaccessible and it would mean that we would not get to see our old friends the Koala's.
We unhooked Digger and went looking for a site and after about an hour we selected a site by the Murray River on the Victorian side well above the fast flowing water, bearing in mind that we would not get sunshine for the solar panels for part of the day.
More signs indicated that we were not allowed to gather wood for fires so we drove out along the road to Mulawa and found dry wood which we cut and loaded into Digger and Mick doing likewise, then headed back to Tocumwal and the shops. As it is 1pm we decided to have fish and chips for lunch and a light evening meal consisting of a steak sandwich with onions of course. The locals indicated that they had received four inches of rain in the past few days thus the Murray River being in flood.
Back to our camp and unloaded Digger and then had our lunch and then set up the satellite dish for the trees are blocking the normal television stations.
Then relaxed in the afternoon sun until happy hour and then the fire was lit and we all sat around enjoying the sunset. We did not go inside until after 8pm and watched tellie for awhile before going to bed to read then off to sleep.
Kilometres travelled 48


Original Housing from the 1800's	One of the many fruit farms	Yarrawonga Town Hall

Tuesday the 23rd of August
A wonderful morning with the sun shining brightly and not a cloud in the sky. We lit the firepot and had our breakfast watching the Murray River still in flood flowing by with a glorious morning stillness. We just relaxed and took in our surroundings and the noises usually that you would acquaint with the river and highway coming and goings.
We hopped into Digger and then went down the highway towards Yarrawonga. We turned at the Big Strawberry towards Cobram, we must put this on our to do list for to date though we have passed it many times we have not stopped and sampled their wares. We were to pass many orchards in bloom signifying the coming season of fruit.
There were also olive groves and vineyards were we pulled into one to check the wine on offer and the tasting especially, we made no purchases given that we were not happy with the quality of the wine nor the price.
We then pulled into Cobram and took to walking down the main street checking out the retail offerings. We couldn't believe the amount of people out and about it sure was a busy little town. The girls of course headed for the op shop and Mick and I checked out the price of cartons of beer with Mick making a substantial purchase. We then checked out a few el cheapo stores and made a few purchases. It is interesting to note another Chicken Feed store has opened here. Back on the road and we were to see many water channels and off shoots heading towards the orchards, all were full no doubt taking advantage of the Murray River Floods.
We were to pass many campgrounds and they to were under water so we are lucky we found a spot above the floods. Spring must be on the way for there were blossoming trees of all descriptions along the way.
We finally arrived at Yarrawonga and the first thing we did was to buy lunch, Liz had a Subway and I settled for a steak sandwich with the lot and a piece of fish. Then down to Lake Mulawa and being such a still day with no clouds the scenery along the shore and the dead gum trees in the lake actually looked superb. It gives you a strange feeling to sit on one side of the lake and you are on the Victorian side and the other side is in New South Wales. With NSW owning the border to the high water mark of the Murray river most of the aquatic sporting complexes and boat tours leave from Victoria. One on the noticeable things is that Victoria has not allowed residences to be near the foreshore whereas NSW has allowed houses and units and two caravan parks to control the foreshore with very little access to the public to the shoreline.
After lunch we did some retail therapy with me buying new shoes and Liz and assortment of tops for future wear. Then into the el cheapo's and bought a tool that I have been looking for quite awhile and some fly swats which have been hard to get.
We refueled Digger and it was time to head back to camp some seventy kilometres away, rather than go back over our tracks we crossed

over the bridge into NSW and through Mulawah doing a full circuit.
Again we noted the camp areas along the Murray were inundated though again the water channels and the crops looked a real treat with the greenery of the wheat and grain plus the yellow of the Canola crops being very pleasing to the eye. With no wind Digger was moving along at a nice pace and as it was after 4pm we were late for happy hour. When we finally arrived at Tocumwal again we had to cross the border into Victoria and when we pulled into our campsite there was Mick and Anne had set up and awaited our arrival. After many greetings and explanations of their travels to date we all settled in for happy hour that was very happy and extended for quite awhile.
The fire was lit and once again we admired the sun sinking over the Murray and as the coolness of the evening arrived we just stoked the fire up even more. We had a late meal of Steak and hash browns and washed down by copious amounts of amber liquid. Then we said our good night's late in the evening and off to the warm bed after watching tellie for an hour. It has been a really full on day and Digger performed extremely well out amongst the trucks and fast moving traffic.


Digger full of wood	Murray River Rising	Fallen tree in Murray

Wednesday the 24th of August
There was a slight mist on the Murray River this morning and with the sun rising it looked most majestic. Fires were lit and breakfast cooked and then we sat around enjoying each others company.
The campers up further left this morning so we went and inspected the site and they had taken all their rubbish with them leaving only wood. WOOD! we couldn't get there quick enough and loaded most into Digger and Mick took the rounds in his Suzuki. This should be enough to last us until we leave here to go to Melbourne on Saturday.
Digger was cleaned out by Liz and then Mick and I looked to getting his VAST box operational and discovered that it had not been activated. We decided that it would be best to put a travellers form in after lunch.
Anne and Liz walked into Tocumwal whilst Mick and Kaye drove in with Mick and I going to take the rubbish to the tip which was unfortunately closed until this afternoon. I suggested we drive around to the op shop and sure enough that is where they all were buying books and utensils and a few clothing items for rags.
Back to camp and we had our lunch stoked up the big fire and sat around until we decided to go back to Tocumwal to get a signal for the computers, before leaving we rang aurora and

they indicated that on receipt of the document the television stations would be turned on within the hour.
I loaded up the travel diary whilst Anne sent off the application to aurora. They went off to the tip to unload the rubbish and then back to camp, in the meantime I had came back to camp to discover that a very large tree had been undermined by the flooding river and had fallen in the water close to our camp. Luckily the dry limbs fell away from our vans though we now have more wood to burn. Mick, Kaye and Liz were to describe the horrendous noise it made coming down into the rive with most of it now being under water, they indicated there was no warning before it came down. We just hope that no more trees come down or if they do they fall into the river.
Liz came out of the van and indicated that the stations had not been turned on and when I went in a few minutes later they were all there so when Mick arrived back in camp he was a happy chappee.
We just took it easy until happy hour and then later we had our evening meal by the fire and talked about all and sundry before retiring for the night.

Thursday the 25th of August
How long will this weather hold for again this morning a glorious sunrise over the Murray with just a slight dew though not cold at all really. Breakfast and shower and then we unloaded some of the equipment out of Digger and we were on our way to Shepparton.
The going was easy with a little traffic and semi's and other heavy vehicles making there way to either Melbourne or to other states. We came across many small towns who appeared to be serving the farming community and each one had a wheat silo some larger than others. We first went to the Campbell's Factory and sampled the soup of the day which was chicken noodle and vegetables very nice indeed and then purchased, soup, stock a few other items then moved on.
We finally arrived at Shepparton some 80 kilometres from camp and then went onto Mooroopna to the Ardmona factory. Well it had been re-located to Shepparton and a Woolworths store now occupied the site.
We found the new factory which you could say is nearly in the centre of the city and the mind boggled at what we saw when we went in the door, product as far as you could see. It took nearly and hour just to walk around. As usual we bought cartons of fruit, baked beans and beetroot plus a lot of other product. when we loaded it into Digger the car certainly went down at the back. We spotted a Cheap as Chips store nearby so we went into it and had a good look around though purchase nothing at all.
1pm and we spotted a Hungry Jacks so in we

went for a dose of junk tucker, Double whopper hamburgers, chicken wrap and chips etc. It was quite filling and when we went back to the car I sat there while Liz went into K-mart and made a few purchases.
We have seen Shepparton many times before so we headed for the camp I had pumped the location into the GPS so I let it guide us back to see how it coped with having to go off road. The trip back was uneventful though we stopped in two towns to purchase the paper and both were sold out. There were a lot more trucks going interstate than before and they just overwhelmed poor old Digger and as they went past they moved the car as if it had been hit with a high wind.
We arrived back at camp and found the Murray had risen another 100 mill. and the wind had picked up though it wasn't unpleasant. We unloaded and stacked most our shopping away and we had three cartons that Michael has allowed us to put into his ute to carry back to the Bay for us. Liz kept hold of the clean skin wine for some reason I wonder what it is? It was past happy hour so we lit the fire and sat around doing the usual, Liz and I agree that we are missing the outback already both its scenery and people.
Again having such a large lunch we did not feel hungry so we had just a few crumpets and toast later in the night.
I came into the motorhome at 8.30 pm to watch a delayed telecast of the Marngrook Football Show. Then we retired to bed for it had been a long day and we were all shopped out.


Entrance to Golf Course	Famous Murray Cod Tocumwal

Friday the 26th of August
Yet another brilliant morning on the banks of the flooded, fast flowing Murray River. The river has again overnight risen a further 125 mills and it is not far off overflowing into our current camp site. Being the last day on the river we decided to take it easy and pack things away at a leisurely pace. I had toasted crumpets, spreading avacado on them and washed down by copious amounts of tea, Liz elected to have toast and marmalade plus tea.
Liz showered and then did the washing and hung it out to dry in the very sunny conditions with a small breeze.
We then took Digger to the car wash to remove all the mud that has accumulated since we have been coming in and out of the track then did a bit of driving around the village to dry the car off and then filled the water containers and back to camp. We spotted a caravan with Tassie plates and we had a chat for awhile and discovered they were from Scottsdale and had come off the Spirit of Tasmania this morning. He bought us up to date with the appalling weather conditions in Tassie at the moment. They and a group of fellow Tasmanians are going to the races at Birdsville.
Lunch time arrived and dim sims were cooked before we closed down the firepot to be packed away for the last time on this Journey, continued our packing away and then sat around taking in the glorious sunshine and watching the river flow by. The birdlife is prolific and it adds to the beauty of the area except when you get those squawking Galahs going off their head.

Later in the afternoon I went with Mick to have a look at a trailer though it turned out to be the wrong type. On the way back we pulled up near three caravans sporting Tassie plates and it turned out that Mick knew them from Scottsdale so he chewed the fat with them for awhile. It turns out that they are on there way to the Birdsville Horse Races so they are putting some kilometres on today, considering they came off the Spirit of Tasmania this morning. Then they are back on the Spirit the same day as Mick in September. This is the group the fellow we spoke to this morning spoke about.
Back in camp and just relaxed once again awaiting happy hour though given that we are all travelling tomorrow, tonight will not be as happy as last night.
Liz and Anne went into Tocumumwal around 5.30pm to purchase chinese take away and we are eating our chinese tucker by the fire for our last night and suitably washed down with amber liquid of one form or another. Needless to say the fire has been stoked up and being our last on the Murray River it is very warm and we are sitting well back. Then inside later in the night to watch the Collingwood V Fremantle football game before going off to bed.


Canola crops looking a treat	Fruit trees Shepparton

Saturday the 27th of August
The mighty Murray is still flowing swiftly though it has dropped over a 100 mills overnight. There are trees close to our camp that look as if it wont be long before they fall into the river making for more submerged obstacles for the boating fraternity to contend with.
We had our breakfast and came outside for Mick and Michael were doing there final packing before heading off. Michael strode into Tocumwal and bought the paper for us all then we just stood around for awhile chewing the fat.
We were the first to leave indicating that we would not be going into Melbourne today. Michael and Anne will be heading off later bound for Port Melbourne and the Spirit of Tasmania for the crossing of Bass Strait arriving back in Tassie tomorrow morning, they may also see Gary and Genevene who are on the crossing with them. Mick and Kaye will not be on the ship until the middle of next month and in the meantime they intend to travel further up the Murray and enjoy the camp areas.
So it was we said our farewells for the last time as we headed off in different directions the camp and fires and the company has been great for the last couple of days and how could you not enjoy the happy hours where some were even happier than others, so to speak.
We hooked up Digger and we were on our way along the Goulburn Valley highway with little traffic and no wind with plenty of sunshine again today though you could see clouds in the distance. The going was easy with enjoyable scenery of the farms and plenty of Alpaca's and sheep/cattle along the way, we were once again going through the small towns along the way and the interstate trucks were starting to appear in abundance.
The Canola crops are in fantastic condition with the buttercup yellow with the blue sky's behind them and the green of the trees, we soon took the truck bypass to Melbourne which takes us along the bottom of Shepparton thus avoiding the city. We were to come across the white and pink blossom of the fruit trees and in other orchards that had not flowered they were pruning the new growth and training the branches to make it easier to pick the fruit.
We pulled into the truck stop for diesel just topping up the one tank at $1.43.9 per litre and we were back on the road, as we had plenty of time to kill, so to speak, we pulled off the highway and into the car park of the shopping centre. First of all we went into WOW and had a look at camera's etc and some of the other electronic equipment and avoided the desire to purchase though it was close for a new camera, if the attendant had come along I reckon I would have bought.
Then into B.C.F. and had a look at the camping equipment and fishing gear no purchases and then back on the road. To get back to the highway turn off we had to go through Bunnings for you could not make a right hand turn.
We had easy running with little problem with traffic and before we knew it we had arrived at the Calder/Woodburn Memorial Rest Area at 1pm where we parked up and wouldn't you believe it we were next to yellow canola crops beautiful indeed. We parked against the traffic flow to ensure the fridge did not have the sun beating down on it.
We shouldn't have worried to much for the clouds have arrived and the sun has disappeared for awhile and the cold is coming down as we have our lunch. I set up the television and found that I could get all the digital stations therefore there is not a need to set up the satellite dish. We will watch the football when it comes on later this afternoon the Hawthorn V Western Bulldogs and then later this evening the St Kilda V North Melbourne Game. Go the Saints! It was time for a poppy nap which we haven't had for a week or so.
We reheated the left over chinese food from last night for our evening meal and it was a treat.
Kilometres travelled 117


Our last camp site	Amenities with wheat paddocks	Sitting around the family table

Sunday the 28th of August
Golly gee! it was cold this morning with the temperature in the motorhome only 5 degrees and outside even though the sky was blue and the sun shining Digger was covered in ice. The house batteries were well up so the fridge did not cycle much last night at all due to the cold night.
We had our breakfast and took a few photo's of the last camp site for us on this trip and read the monument to the area and we then we were on our way to Melbourne.
The road was two lane so we were not holding traffic up and for a Sunday there was plenty of it. We passed through a few towns who were catering for tourists and locals and there appeared to be plenty of activity, again we were passing canola and wheat paddocks and plenty of sheep in the paddocks.
We then joined the Hume Highway and the traffic was really humming especially the interstate trucks heading into Melbourne, again there were two lanes so they all just buzzed around us. We were to note the many speed camera's fixed on poles and we noted a few flash as cars went by, it wouldn't be us for we were not doing the speed limit let alone speeding.
We were about 30 kilometres out of Melbourne when we noted the high rise buildings of the city; it was such a clear day with no clouds and plenty of sun though the temperature would not rise above 16 degrees for the day.
The traffic became more dense the closer we came to the city, with all the lane jumping going on I had to be more attentive to my driving. Oh! for the outback and the roads with little or no traffic upon them. We were being guided by the GPS to our destination and was getting plenty of information especially of which lane we should be in. Then we came across the trams which was another added distraction. Then we arrived at our destination and Rob and Jen and the boys were on hand to greet us.
We parked up and unhooked Digger and went inside to have a cuppa and catch up with the latest gossip and see the boys again. We were going over to Rob's parents place for a late lunch early afternoon meal. So we settled in and moved a bit of gear out of Digger to lighten his load and placed it in the motorhome.
We had to go from Thornbury to close to Essendon some 17 kilometres away and the amount of traffic lights, density of the traffic and all the lane jumpers made for an interesting bit of travel, though there were a few who thought they could intimidate poor old Digger and they failed big time.
We met Rob's parents who made us most welcome and made sure we were comfortable in their house, they couldn't do enough to make us welcome. Then it commenced the feast started with a bowl of soup and then onto chicken and pork with chips, salads, baked potato etc, etc, etc, all this over a three hour period. Then the sweets, well what can I say there were a few different types of cake including the national Slovenian cake plus ice cream, all very nice indeed. As it was over a long period it settled pretty easy and then we just relaxed with the children attracting the attention of their grand mother and grand father. It was after 6pm when we bid our farewells and thanking them very much for their hospitality with them both wishing us a safe journey home on Wednesday.
Then we were back into the traffic which had not diminished nor had they quietened down so we were happy when we arrived back at Thornbury where we had a cuppa and evening meal? not likely we couldn't fit it in even if we were hungry which we were not. We watched a bit of Television and then off to bed reasonably tired.
Kilometres travelled 155


Crispy Chicken and Noodle soup	Out over the suburbs and City skyline from Westfield Shopping Centre Doncaster

Monday the 29th of August
Good old Melbourne spring weather with rain falling whilst we were in bed and then around 9am it ceased so we went inside the house for breakfast. The rain disappeared and there were a few clouds and then the sunshine broke through putting power into the batteries from the solar panels. We are not on power and unable to run the generator so the electric blanket was mothballed for the rest of this trip. The top temperature for the day was to be 16 degrees and no doubt another chilly night. Prior to breakfast I went onto the internet and looked for door handles and catches for the motorhome for this is the only thing broken on this trip and it only happened yesterday. I finally found what I was looking for and the postage was more expensive than the items, them's the breaks so I ordered more than I needed in case more break a little later.
After breakfast we went with Jen to the Doncaster shopping centre some twenty minute drive from home, there were acres and acres of shops in the shopping centre and they were over five floors with all the major players and hundreds of small retailers plying their wares.
We were to explore the many shops on each floor and made a few purchases before going to lunch in the food court. Even though there were a lot of eateries on each floor the food court offered many different cuisines. We finally selected the asian food bar and we ordered the Crispy Chicken with Noodles Soup, it took about 15 minutes for they prepared it fresh and it was a treat when it arrived. The aroma of the chicken and spices tantalised our nostrils and this was bourne out in the quality and flavour of the meal, excellent indeed. We sat for quite awhile and enjoyed the sights out over the suburbs and into the City centre, though a little cloudy the sun was doing its best to break through. We wandered around the shops before heading back to the car, in all we spent just on three hours and still did not see everything.
Jen drove us back to her house where we had a cuppa and then I had a poppy nap for a few hours and awoke when Ollie and Lucas had returned home and were playing.
Rob's father came to visit and drop off few items and we chewed the fat for awhile and again we thanked him and his wife for his hospitality yesterday and the gifts presented.
Rob arrived home and we had our evening meal at 8pm which is different for us though with working parents by the time they pick up their children and travel home having a meal around this time is normal most days of the week, we also included red claw for entree and Jen cooked a wonderful chicken casserole.
After our meal we watched television for awhile and then went off to bed. Though we are still missing the outback and the warm weather and it quietness. unlike the noise of the city.

Tuesday the 30th of August
My turn to sleep in this morning and I did not arise until after 9 am, I took a call from Ed who thought we were coming off the Spirit of Tasmania this morning when in fact we arrive in Tasmania and home on Thursday morning.
Liz was to use the washing machine whilst I had breakfast and then we showered then later had our lunch and then went out to do our final retail therapy in Digger.
We first went to Ray's sports store to have a look and came out $200 poorer, we were to buy some gear for our trip to Cape York next year. The store is humongous in size with everything imaginable in camping, fishing and boating, it took us well over and hour to have look down all the isles and their prices were cheaper than we could buy them for in Tasmania and or even off the internet.
Then down to the shopping centre at Fairfield and parked up Digger then went walkabout and of course we could not avoid going into the two dollar shop to make a few purchases. Then we just walked the street looking in the shops and then into have a cappuccino plus a cake, when the cake came it was on a large plate with a scoop of ice cream and dressed up to look fancy. We suspected that the simple price of a piece of cake would have jumped with what they served and we were right though we did not complain for it is our second last day in Melbourne and I should have guessed what would occur.
We checked out the fruit and vegetables, the prices were something we would not see at home and of course we couldn't take any home due to the quarantine requirements, we retraced our steps and started to prepare the motorhome and Digger to travel to the Spirit of Tasmania tomorrow for our journey home. Rob's father dropped over and we chewed the fat also with the Italian fellow from next door who has so kindly let park us outside his house. I was to show them the journey's we have had over the years and they asked heaps of questions and then as it was getting colder we all went our separate ways. Cold? no just a cool 12 degrees with a southerly breeze so we went inside and Liz and I had an early happy hour before Jen and Rob and the kids arrived home.
Tonight we are having pizza for our evening meal and then settle in to watch a bit of television before going off to bed.


"Spirit of Tasmania 2" at berth Port Melbourne	Parked up to await boarding the "Spirit of Tasmania"

Wednesday the 31st of August.
Well, I guess you can say its all over rover! We arose this morning early and went inside to say our farewells to Rob, Jenny, Oliver and Lucas as they went of to play school or work and then we had our showers and before we knew it 10.45am had arrived. We hooked up Digger and we were on our way into the mid morning traffic where they take no prisoners or think nothing of it to just barge in. We were to experience quite a few inconsiderate drivers who thought there is no tomorrow, they would try to force you out of your lane or just stop far to quickly in front of you. I had to use the muscle of the motorhome to stay at least moving forward and one car was that close that the arms of the awning forced his outside mirror in. Amazing to travel 18 kilometres that took just on an hour due to inconsiderate drivers and heaps of traffic lights to go through.
When we arrived at Port Melbourne we could see that tonight we would be travelling

on the "Spirit of Tasmania 2" back to Tasmania. We are a bit disappointed for the Victoria Markets are not open today and we wanted to buy a heap of meat to take home. So we walked along the waterfront boulevard admiring the ships anchored in Port Philip Bay and the townhouses being multi story of course.
We selected D'Lish Fish & Chips for lunch and they were great and we admired the restoration of the Princess Pier back to all its grandeur. It is obvious that no one feeds the sea gulls or other birds for they are not a pest even though they are present, there are plenty of signs asking you not to do so.
We then walked further along the boulevard and saw a couple of Tasmanians parked up waiting to catch the ship no doubt. On our return we noted that Bob and Carol had pulled into the entrance and parked so went and spoke to them about their travels and then returned to the motorhome to have a cuppa and just relax until it was time to go on board.
We moved off at 5.30pm and went through the usual safety checks and then on the ship. Dumped our gear in the cabin and then went back to the lounge for a few happy hour drinks. Then we retired for the night.
Well that is it Folks the end of our journey and few bits of information about the trip such as kilometres etc.

Kilometres travelled
9327

Litre's of Diesel used
1254.72

Cost of Diesel
$1955.00

Kilometres per litre
7.42

Litre's per hundred
13

Miles per Gallon
21

The fuel figures are an average overall for the trip, some trips we achieved higher and on others lower.
Now it is time to plan for our Cape York Adventure in 2012


Happy as a pig in S*** Mate!	Off to Cape York Mate!

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