Lake Cargelligo

24th May 2016

With neither frost nor fog, and a temperature of 12 degrees, we had a fairly mild start to the day.  The weather remained fine and partly cloudy all day, reaching about 18 degrees.

This morning we departed Jerilderie and headed north along the Kidman Way to Griffith and then continued to Lake Cargelligo.  The country was sooooo flat until nearly to the lake, and we saw our first emus of the trip shortly after leaving Jerilderie.  We also saw a lot of wheat, cotton, rice, citrus trees – and chook farms!  Not to mention vineyards, of course, in the vicinity of Griffith.  The recent rains have certainly left the countryside looking very nice.  As we left the Newell Highway behind, someone made a statement that we wouldn’t have to worry about trucks now – WRONG!  However, we hardly saw a vehicle on the road between Griffith and Lake Cargelligo, so that made up for it.

We are staying at the Lakeview Caravan Park in Lake Cargelligo (the town, not the actual lake), which is a small park near the shores of the lake.  The sites are generally grassy, the amenities certainly adequate, the manager was very friendly and we even have entertainment at a campfire tonight.  We enjoyed a nice walk around part of the lake, watching the ducks, pelicans, darters and herons, before checking out the local war memorial and memorial trees.  The town is small and apart from a large wheat depot, there doesn’t seem to be much else happening.  Unfortunately, the lake is suffering from blue-green algae and the only fish in it are carp.  However, it is a pleasant spot to spend a night.