November 2014

21 November 2014

After finishing work this afternoon we began preparing to depart from Talwood tomorrow morning to head South to Pinnaroo in South Australia to give them a hand with their grain harvest, and where we hope to find some cooler weather. With an anticipated arrival on Tuesday/Wednesday next week it will be a quick trip.

Our six weeks in Talwood have been quite busy with plenty of work to replenish our bank account. With most of inland Qld in the grip of a severe drought the expectation was a low tonnage harvest, but we were all pleasantly surprised as the trucks kept coming and coming from as far away as Collarenebri, Dirrinbandi, St George as well as closer to town to deliver over 73,000 tonnes of Barely and Wheat, which was over double that expected.

Despite the speed of our trip South we will be keeping an eagle eye out for interesting things and new places to visit as well as those chances to exercise the camera lens.

22 November 2014

Left Talwood and headed South to Moree and then as the heat of the day picked up made our way to Narrabri where we stopped for a few supplies.

Headed on to Coonabarabran where we stopped for fuel and where the heat of the day was turning the bitumen into a black river on the road. Heading on from Coonabarabran towards Gilgandra we passed through the Pilliga Forest where the undulating road turned into a few descent hills causing the engine temperature gauge to climb above it's almost stationary position before we turned off neat the Warrumbungle National Park to take the 3 km trip into the small historic town of Tooraweenah where wikicamps told us we would find a nice little caravan park that welcomes its guests with scones on arrival. With the mercury topping 40 deg C we decided that scones and air conditioning for the night were too good to pass up and so after a short (and I mean short) trip around town we were parked up eating scones.

Warrumbungle Ranges

The Warrumbungle Range

And so after a very pleasant happy hour (that finished around 8.30pm), we enjoyed a quick meal before dropping into bed to sleep the night away as the airconditioner hummed away keeping us cool.

23 November 2014

With body clocks still on Qld time we were up and on the road around 6.30am and after a final trip around town (which took all of 15 minutes even with stopping for photos) we were on our way as the sun and the temperature began to climb. With temperatures expected in the low 40's today and with a very stiff Northerly wind blowing today was going to be a hot one by any stretch of the imagination.

Tooraweenah Old Timer

Like some of the buildings in Tooraweenah, this one has some history behind it.

Skipping along with more of a tailwind than anything else we were listening to Macca on the radio as we came into Gilgandra where we stopped for breakfast. Taking some backroads we passed through a small hamlet called Collie and then the locality of Gin Gin whose only notable feature was the Macquarie River and bridge, though the river looked more like a stream.

The wheat, sheep and drought country continued as we the town of Albert, population 18. Notable for the Rabbit Trap Hotel and being the home of Jason Owen whose voice we enjoyed on the talent show X-Factor.

Rabbit Trap Hotel

If that is the size of the trap, imagine how big the rabbits are out here!

Trappers Hut

Is this the worlds biggest beer can or the smallest Rabbit Trappers Hut, or both!

Moving on from Albert we fought the wind and heat to eventually arrived in the town of Trundle, a town we first came to know about when we watched a documentary on the town who tried to boost it's population by selecting families from a list of volunteers to come and live in old farm properties for $1 a week rent. In the show the hospital, pub and local area seemed to benefit but the end result was that most, if not all of the families left and went back to where they came from. Still, it was interesting to see the town which looks quite nice and boasts a 60m wide main street (so the bullock teams could turn around) and the longest pub verandah in NSW.

Heading on from Trundle we made our way to Condobolin where we fuelled up the tank and our bellies. 44 deg C was the expected temperature there today said the woman who served us for fuel and so after a sort of a look around and a quick bite to eat in the local park under a shady tree we headed on to the small town of Tullibigeal via more wheat, sheep and heat country.

Arriving in town we took up a spot with three other campers behind the Pioneer Park Toilet/Shower block where for a donation you can plug into power and use the facilities for up to 7 days. With the hot wind still blowing we were enjoying the airconditioning when it stopped, the wind picked up strong enough to blow a dog off the chain and then the rain began to fall. A call to the lady at the shop regarding the power going off resulted in our being told the whole town was without power because of the storm, but at least it is only 35 degrees now.

24 November 2014

Thankfully the power came back on last night and we managed to enjoy a good sleep in the cool. Most of the campers were packing up this morning and we were the first to leave.

Passing through more open country and along nice country roads we made our way through Weethalie and onto Barellan where Evonne Goolagong attended Primary School and where a 13.8m replica racquet has been erected in Evonne Goolagong Park in the main street.

Evonne Goolagong Racqet

The Replica Evonne Goolagong Tennis Racquet at Barellan.

Leaving Barellan as the rain began to fall we made it to Griffith where we topped up the food cupboard before heading on across the ever flattening landscape to Hay for fuel and then it was on across the Hay plain towards Balranald, and that was when the fun started.

The wind was coming from the North making the task of driving a bit harder and with every kilometre we covered it got stronger and stronger, and the sky got darker and darker and the lightning show more and more impressive until we were about 2 kilometres past a rest area when the view out of the windscreen looked more like a wave coming over the bow of a ship. With the road in front barely visible and our speed dropping from 90 to 40 km/h it as time to pull over and hopefully ride the storm out, but there was absolutely nowhere to go except into the drain, so we just kept going hoping that any truck coming up behind was not going to plow into us. Thankfully the deluge only lasted for about half a kilometre and before long we were out into the clear, the wind dropping as quick as the rain stopped as we breathed a sigh of relief.

Arriving in Balranald we pulled into the caravan park on the riverbank and settled in for the rest of the day as more rain and thunder passed overhead.

25 November 2014

With no more weather to worry about we spent a peaceful night before leaving first thing and heading off towards Pinnaroo. Stopping in Toolebuc for breakfast we parked in the sun to try enjoy some warmth after the overnight temperature of just 11 degrees, around half of the overnight temperatures we were experiencing in Qld.

Onto Ouyen and then across the border into South Australia and before we knew it we had filled up with fuel ($1.399 p/l) and were parked in the main street at Pinnaroo shopping for fruit and veg that are not allowed to be brought into the State before we parked up in the caravan park, caught up with a worker from last harvest and washed AJ after yesterdays weather left it looking very much in need of a clean.

Mark Twain once said "...years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do that by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - and so we will.