Bourke Continued

TUESDAY, 31 MAY 2016

The beautiful, clear blue skies have continued now since Sunday – our vitamin D levels are rising very quickly!

Yesterday morning was time to catch up on some laundry and house duties (so nice to hang the washing on a clothesline in the sun) before driving to May’s Bend, about 15 kms north of here on the Darling River.  After leaving the highway, the corrugations in the road rapidly realigned our spines and found a few things to rattle in the car.  However, it wasn’t long before the gravel turned into dirt, both red and yellow, which had recently been very wet.  By the many deep ruts in the dirt, it was obvious that there had been a number of free campers at May’s Bend who had left when the rain started.  Our destination was a pleasant campsite on the banks of the Darling, which was mostly covered in duck weed.  After talking to some happy campers, watching the parrots and a hawk of unknown variety, we headed back to town, shaking all the bones back into place.  Bourke has some magnificent old buildings, owing to its heritage as an important town on the Darling River trade route south – it is nice to see them so well maintained.

Today, we have mainly been relaxing and enjoying the sunshine, apart from a walk along the river and a trip to the Visitors’ Centre.  Cat is starting to enjoy his holiday now that the sun has been shining for a few days.  Although there were quite a few empty sites here last night, tonight should be nearly full, given the number of caravans driving around looking for sites.

Bourke

SUNDAY, 29 MAY 2016

Swimming pool area

PV Jandra

Darling River

Reflections in the Darling

Yesterday’s cold, wet and miserable weather was replaced by very thick and cold fog this morning for our departure from Nyngan.  Once again, I breathed a sigh of relief for the Macpac thermals.  Fortunately, we left the fog behind after being on the road for about half an hour and then had clear, blue skies – and no wind – all the way to Bourke.  The road was good, there were only a couple of small bends at each of the two villages we went through, and there was very little traffic.  Ideal conditions for very good fuel consumption.

We arrived at the Kidmans Camp, North Bourke, well before lunch and had a good selection of sunny sites to pick from.  This caravan park is a good as ever, with large and grassy drive-thru sites, beautiful roses and bougainvillea, and plenty of flowering trees to attract the birds.  Although very inviting looking, we decided to give the unheated pool a miss.  However, we are enjoying some warmth and sunshine - it is so nice to finally open some windows for fresh air.

Following lunch, we walked down to the Darling River and the mooring of the PV Jandra.  There is still a fair bit of water in hollows and the river was a very thick looking fawn colour.  The park has been rapidly filling during the afternoon – all happy little nomads heading north for winter.  We will have four nights here before hitting the road again.

Nyngan Museum

SATURDAY, 28^th MAY 2016

Well lit

Honour Roll

Very cold station platform

Thank goodness for 7Mate, which broadcasts the AFL games – we were able to watch Sydney Swans wallop the North Melbourne Roos last night.  J

The rain returned during the night, along with some strong wind gusts.  It is always amazing how some people can sleep through very noisy weather!  The rain/drizzle continued this morning, along with plummeting temperatures; this meant that the washing only had about 15 minutes on the clothes line before being placed in the dryer.

Late in the morning, we returned to the museum at the old station and met a wonderful 88 year old lady who acted as our guide.  We were first shown to a small theatre to watch a film of the 1990 floods, which inundated and devastated Nyngan.  Our guide made this film very personal, by recounting her experiences in the flood and how it had affected her life as a recent widow living on a large property and running a business in the town.  Following our tour of the museum, with special admiration given to a handpainted and scribed Roll of Honour (such amazing work deserves to be in a national war museum), we joined our guide for our Devonshire tea and continued to listen to her stories about her life.  Edna really made our morning very special.

Nyngan

FRIDAY, 27^th MAY 2016

Helicopter which took part in flood evacuations

Old station, now the museum

Amenities block (urinal on the left)

A horse without any legs

With clear skies overnight, we had a very brisk start to a crisp morning as we packed up and headed to Nyngan.  We drove east as far as Bogan Gate, then due north.  The road surface left a little to be desired for the first 10 kms (very bouncy!) but improved after that.  As the map showed that part of the direct road to Nyngan was unsealed, we planned on returning to the Mitchell Highway for the latter stage of the journey.  However, after talking to a local at one of the towns we passed through and learning that the road was sealed for the entire length, we continued on the direct route and cut over 50 kms from the drive.

The country was mainly flat, with a few small rises, and very, very green and also very, very wet in places.  This regions obviously had more rain than we did at Condobolin.  We saw a number of emus this morning, as well as two brolgas.  Of course, there were lots of wheat paddocks and silos, as well as sheep.

We arrived at the Riverside Caravan Park at Nyngan shortly after noon (there was a camel in the paddock next to the gate!) and were checked in by a young lady who asked as where we had come from.  “Condobolin.”  “Where’s that?”  Have you had a lot of rain?”  “I think it rained sometime between Wednesday and Thursday.  I don’t start work until noon, so I didn’t see it.”  This is a lovely, large and modern park, all the cabins are made from corrugated iron and the amenities block is like a shearing shed, even to the slatted floor.  It is also an interesting building in that the showers are in an open area at each end (bit draughty around the knees perhaps), and the urinal is on the front of the building and doesn’t have a door!

This afternoon, we checked out the Visitors’ Information Centre and discovered that Devonshire teas are served on Saturday at the museum and the admission price is included.  After thinking hard for half a second, we decided to visit the museum tomorrow instead of today.  Nyngan is in the Bogan Shire and situated on the Bogan River and boasts the "Big Bogan."

We will have two nights here before heading to Bourke.

Condobolin

THURSDAY, 26^th MAY 2016

Lachlan River

Reflections in the weir

Weir and boogie board in a neverending cycle

Fluffed up zebra finch

Puuurrrr

Horses can be a problem

So can escaping picnic tables

The bowling green needs a roll and the mushrooms need picking

With the awning extended yesterday for the first time, Himself was able to christen his new LED rafter lights – they certainly lit up the awning area and made cooking the evening roast so much easier.

The rain commenced last night and continued until after lunch today; the temperature certainly dropped as well!  It has really been a good day to sit by the fire, in fact, Cat hasn’t moved from his cushion in front of the heater all day!

Not only do the managers of this caravan park provide nibbles for happy hour, either inside by the wood heater or outside around the campfire, they also provide scones, jam and cream every morning for morning tea.  We were quite happy to don our coats and head to the camp kitchen at 10.00 am.  When the rain eased for a period after lunch, we set off for a walk through the park beside the river and back along the main street.  As the afternoon rush of new arrivals commences, the weather is starting to close in again.

Utes in the Paddock

WEDNESDAY, 25^th MAY 2016

GodzillaUte

Uteopia

Ute of Arms

Clancy Stops the Overflow

Emute

An interested spectator

A rather chilly and foggy start to the day, but as we only had a one hour journey today, there was no hurry and we were able to enjoy the heater for a little longer than normal.  The road to Condobolin was very good with very little traffic – I didn’t even need to remove a shoe to continue counting the passing traffic!  The countryside was mainly sheep and wheat, with cotton closer to Condobolin.

We are staying at the Riverview Caravan Park, on the banks of the Lachlan River and an easy walk to the main street and shops.  It is another lovely little country caravan park, with grassy sites, sealed roads and kerbs; the amenities are very good and clean.  The friendly manager makes scones for morning tea every day and lights the campfire every afternoon for happy hour.  We will have a couple of nights here, as rain is expected tomorrow.

This afternoon we drove to Lootha to see the “Cars in the Paddock” art installation.  About 24 Holden utes have been turned into works of art and are displayed in a sheep paddock behind a large, barbed wire fence.  Unfortunately, I can’t remember all individual names of the utes.

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.

Home to Jerilderie

23^rd May 2016

Ashgrove cow and Cat

Compulsory windmill

Highway Patrol have big guns in Jerilderie

War Memorial

Red rumped parrot

Jerilderie Lake

Pelicans and Swans

Lake view

Gum blossum

A man ...

... and a goat

Ned Kelly visited

Yesterday, the time came to say goodbye the new member of our family, Jezza.  Jezza was abandoned last year by our next door neighbour when she moved house and he sort of ended up adopting us.  He is about 15 years old and very affectionate; we were quite sad to leave him in the care of a kind neighbour.  He and Cat have become firm friends over the last few months.

Our trip to Devonport included a stop at Ashgrove Cheese for a few supplies, and a photo opportunity for Cat, before we arrived at the home of Les’ sister and her husband.  Sally had kindly invited us to have a meal before we sailed and had asked more members of the family to join us.  We were lucky in that we didn’t have to wait very long before boarding and were right in the bow of the ship.  The ship may have been refurbished and look very modern, but none of the passengers looked like the ones in the advertisements.  The sailing was quite smooth and uneventful, until Telstra decided to wake us up at 2.20 am with a message about a missed called at 6.30 pm the previous night!

We were disembarked by 6.35 am and made the big mistake of following iPad directions, not experience directions.  We did end up wandering, in the dark, through the back streets of South Melbourne before having to cross a major road without the benefit of traffic lights.  It was a relief to eventually get onto CityLink and the motorways.  We stopped at Wallan to breakfast before changing drivers and continuing along the Hume Highway to Benalla, then turning off towards Tocumwal.  The countryside was very green, with sheep and cattle before we reached the Murray irrigation region.  From then onwards, it was grain crops, possibly canola just through the ground, fruit orchards, dairy cows and even a liquorice farm.  We crossed the Murray River at Tocumwal and continued to our overnight stop at Jerilderie.

We are staying at the Jerilderie Motel and Caravan Park – very nice, very grassy and sunny with nice amenities.  After setting up and having lunch, we decided to do the sights and made it all of about 50 metres before the car “died.”  A call to the RAC resulted in a nice man from the NRMA visiting us, taking one look at the engine and diagnosing air in the fuel line.  Evidently, a line into (or out of?) the fuel filter had come undone.  A quick tighten with some pliers and we were mobile again.  We had a lovely walk around the lake, with its pelicans, swans, ducks and billy goat, before looking at a couple of places that Ned Kelly visited.

A lovely place for an overnight stay.