A slight hiccup.

We enjoyed our rest day at Cloncurry and caught up with some jobs, had a look around the town and even had time to cook a roast dinner. Cloncurry is a mining town, a bit rough around the edges but has good facilities in two supermarkets and plenty of pubs. We drove out to Chinamen Creek Dam which was pretty, saw a long train loaded with ballast we assume is for repairing the tracks affected by flood waters, saw the lovely equestrian centre, the Mary Kathleen centre, the stockyards where some cattle were being loaded and some waiting! We have seen so many cattle trucks on the roads so there’s a lot cattle being moved around.

                              

The drive from Cloncurry to Mt Isa is beautiful with the picturesque and rugged Selwyn range reminding us of the Kimberly’s.

How Burke and Wills managed to cross these is mind boggling! 

We hit Mt Isa and went to vote at the pre-polling centre which had just opened that morning. So the process was pretty slow but we’ve done our duty! It was good to get that done as who knows where we’ll be by polling day. We went to the funniest  Bunnings store to get a couple of essentials then headed to this spot at Camooweal. It’s a beautiful spot with plenty of bird life and the water lilies are so pretty. We’ve sighted the brolgas known to frequent the place but are waiting for them to present for the perfect photo opportunity. 

                                       

This is where the slight hiccup occurred - Dennis broke a tooth!! It was sensitive to hot and cold so it obviously needed attention. Luckily, he managed to get an appointment in Mt Isa today at 11am - just a 400km round trip! He and Tops unhooked the van and left early this morning and we are here minding the fort! This was the best outcome as where we’re heading to next, there’ll be no dentists at all and a tooth ache could spoil a trip very quickly. We are quite happy to have a rest day at this pretty spot. A broken tooth didn’t deter Dennis from cooking an apple pie last night - the Master Chef was at it again! He scored very highly too!

We are probably two days away from Lorella Springs - we’ve made very good time to get so far. We’re about 3800km from home - and we’re enjoying 30 degree days too!  We hope the rains we sent your way are going to eventuate tomorrow. 

Trust everyone is well, 

Love from Darryl Marg, Dennis & Tops. ❌❌❌❌

Illfracombe Longreach and Winton.

Things were so damp underfoot at Cunnamulla, we shouted ourselves a very fancy breakfast rather than puddle around in the water - and what a beautiful breakfast it was! The skies were still very heavy but we were still marvelling at how green everything is! 

After a pleasant night at Blackall, we packed up early Anzac morning and attended the local service which was very well done. We took the tourist drive through this quaint place called Isisford where we had our picnic lunch - we liked the Clancy Of The Overflow pub! Along the way Dennis whipped out his neat chainsaw and we refilled our wood boxes - just before a shower of rain came!

                             
We arrived at Illfracombe where we set up in the caravan park and raced over to the laundry - did heaps of loads, got it all out on the line .......and you guessed it, it started to rain!! So now we’ve been back and forth to the dryer and finally it’s all done!! We’ve been through this place a couple of times and Dennis has longingly looked at the feature of the Mile Machinery Run so this time, he was able to have a good look at all the old machinery on display.  

We popped into the gorgeous old pub next door to have a coffee and a look around - what an iconic pub it is!

We stopped in Longreach as there were a few things we wanted - I wanted nothing actually, but I am rather hopeless at shoe shops and I came out with a pair of boots and a pair of walkers! Tops got new walkers as well so we helped the local economy! Actually, Longreach was bustling as they were gearing up for the annual horse races today - all locals are much happier to have feed in their paddocks again after long years of drought! Winton also was extremely busy with a music festival - people were everywhere, so we found a camp spot out of Winton and enjoyed a night with the flies 😳.

We detoured a little to Julia Creek and along the road, a chap working on the road told us the farm we were passing, had buried 1000 head of cattle and still had more to do! So very sad to think of the heartbreak & hardships that rain event bought to the farmers & communities. We have noticed some restocking on properties - mainly young stuff like this fellow: he said hello to us along the way.

                                
We could see the debris on the fence so it was pretty deep water. We decided to help the Julia Creek community a bit by purchasing fuel and lunch there - and what a delicious burger they cooked!  This is a creative statue at the cenotaph at Julia Creek. 

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We’ve been travelling for a week now with only overnight stops, so we are giving ourselves a rest day and staying here two nights in this nice little park at Cloncurry.  It’s quite warm - about 30 degrees and a bit humid, but no rain. We are probably a couple of days from our turn around spot at Lorella Springs where we will rest and enjoy the place. 

We hope this finds everyone fit and healthy - we are all good and enjoying every bit of the trip. So till our next blog, we send our love and best wishes. ❌❌❌❌

Leaving the rains behind.

We have experienced some of the wettest days so today drove nearly 500km to reach dry land!  We’re set up now in Blackall - and have things out to dry - shoes, socks, towels, mats .... everything was saturated and it’s nice to be dry underfoot and see some sunshine! After Cobar, we had a comfortable trip to Bourke but from Bourke to Cunnamulla it was awful! We’ve not seen so much  rain - nor have we seen so many smiling faces!! We all hope these are the drought breaking rains they’ve been desperately waiting for. The paddocks and roads were awash and lucky it wasn’t a busy highway with lots of trucks - it was pretty slow travelling.

Once at Cunnamulla (where they had 100mm) we struggled to find a place to stay and settled finally on this lovely park we stayed at years ago on the Warrego River - however this time it was under water - we gave up trying to keep our feet dry and just waded through puddles - it rained the whole time we were setting up and unfortunately for Dennis, it became a bit of a drama when he managed to get a little bogged!! However, the Mitsubishi came to the rescue and pulled the rig back enough to enable Dennis to unhitch and get the car out then rehook and get in position. (The Mitsubishi was a little too powerful and pulled the new van into the bush 😳)

 All this was happening in the rain so a hot shower was very welcome then the boys took us out to the local pub for a nice meal as cooking outside was impossible.

    

Not much tennis happening here at the tennis courts! And it was great to see the artist at work on the water tower in Cunnamulla. 

We were still undetermined which route we would take but the rains and road closures made up our minds for us. All roads to the west were closed so we couldn’t go to Thargomindah or Quilpie but instead had to come north to Charleville, Tambo and now Blackall. This is the same route we took years ago on our trip to Cape York - we never imagined we would be on this route as we were wanting to be much further west in more outback territory - but we can’t control the weather! This time we had a look around Charleville and what a lovely old town it is.

Just out of Charleville we stopped to see the memorial to the terrible truck accident in 2014 - we remember hearing about that and hearing of the detours that were in place for ages. 

As we headed north we were immediately struck by the greenness and how lovely to see paddock feed - plus a few brolgas and later some cattle. Charleville had 30mm in this rain then they were lucky to get some from the remnants from the cyclones. So 5 years ago it was dry so great to see it lush now. We will head from here Longreach and Mt Isa way - all Tops and I want is a laundry!! 

How we wish we could send some of this rain down south - did Kerang get .2mm?  

We aren’t sure of our next movements but no doubt wherever we are, we’ll be very happy 😊😊. 

Till the next chapter, love from the travellers ❌❌❌

White Cliffs & Cobar

We came to White Cliffs in a cloud of dust .......we left all muddied after the forecast came up with the goods and we measured 30mm overnight. We experienced the most amazing thunderstorm which made us happy we were in a van and not a tent! We thought something was coming when we saw this cloud formation:

                                  
So this Easter was a very happy time for these outback areas which were in desperate need of rains. White Cliffs were on stage 5 water restrictions and only had about 4 weeks of water in the town left and were looking at having water carted in from Broken Hill. Accordingly, all unsealed roads out of White Cliffs were closed so we headed on bitumen road to Wilcannia. It was strange to see the road-side wet and towards Cobar we even had several water crossings! 

  

We even saw these poor sheep huddled under a tree - wondering what on earth this wet stuff was! 

                                      

Since we’ve been in Cobar, it’s been raining gently all the time so we made the right decision to be on a powered site on a cement slab - heaven!

It was lovely to see reports of everyone enjoying Easter - and to know Easter Bunny found everyone. He even found us.

                                      

Now, back to White Cliffs - we were recommended to do the tour of the area and we are so happy we did it as we learned so much about the history, opal mining, and best of all we visited an amazing dugout house and the underground motel. The house especially was amazing - and what an unusual concept to just dig a bit more if you want another room. There’s no building rules or restrictions - everyone is a jack of all trades and no inspections - so different to our regulations!  Sometimes there is a bit of strife when you dig into the neighbours bedroom!! We weren’t able to photograph the private home but did take a few photos of the motel - it was lovely and how different to be underground! 

Also of interest was the solar farm which was established in 1980’s as an experimental solar steam generation plant. Sadly, it’s not in use now but they are hoping to keep the site as a museum to solar exploration. 

                                     

Before the rains really set in we strolled down to the pub where Dennis kindly shouted us a drink! It was pretty busy there on Easter Sunday.

                                           

White Cliffs has a tight knit community and they are all so friendly and happy! But we didn’t even find an opal - sorry Ell!

We’ve learned more today about Cobar - we got such a surprise to see this open cut mine - last time we didn’t see anything as we just had an overnight stop and didn’t sightsee. 

 

Now, would you believe, we’re in our vans with heaters on as it’s cold - and wet!! Things are really damp seeing we’ve had non stop light rain since we arrived - wish we could send it home!! 

Tomorrow we head north through Bourke maybe to Cunnamulla? We wonder if the rain will follow us!! 

We wish all the kids returning to school a very happy term - and sorry you workers have to return to work!! 

Hoping you’re all well and we sign off till our next blog.

❌❌❌❌❌❌from Marg Darryl Dennis & Tops.

Mutawintji National Park

We left the  Murray region and headed north through Broken Hill through to this National Park which is about 130km north east of Broken Hill. It’s a typical Australian range with rugged gorges and beautiful rock formations.   

Usually the water holes are permanent but with this prolonged drought, the only bits of water are stagnant and littered with dead animals. However, it’s a paradise for walkers, with several walks of varying lengths and levels of difficulty - Darryl and I did a couple and walked many steps! 

                     

The campground is very outback with just red dirt and the trees seem to have a disease and are struggling a little. Further along the water courses the trees are very healthy. It’s a pretty popular spot and our entertainment at times has been to watch the new folks come in and set up. The amenities left a  bit to be desired and we’re very grateful we were able to enjoy our own en-suites. 

We set off this morning and travelled along a dusty, and at times, very rough road to this park at White Cliffs. It’s not very busy here so can’t be a popular Easter holiday location!!  

They have rain forecast here tomorrow and Monday so our plans are a bit up in the air! The roads all get closed if it’s wet so we could be here for a bit - or we’ll get to Wanaaring and maybe Hungerford before the rains - or if all else fails, there’s a bitumen road to Wilcannia.  First we’ve got to find some opals and explore the town. 

We can’t wait for tomorrow so we can finally get to enjoy Macy’s Easter gifts!! 🐣. We were pretty happy to hear the footy results - I’d even forgotten they were playing - with no mobile service you lose touch with what’s going on. We hope everyone is enjoying their Easter and special mention goes to Greg who’s celebrating a special birthday and to Hannah who celebrates tomorrow. Happy birthday you two ❌❌.

So from this part of the world to you, we send our love and best wishes.

❌❌❌❌❌❌🐣🐣

On the road again heading to Gulf of Carpenteria

The time has come for us to hit the road again on our annual trip. This time our goal is to reach  Lorella Springs Wilderness Park  which  is up near Borroloola. We had planned our route but we may have to amend it to avoid floods in north west NSW,  so it’s going to be very interesting.

We’ve been busy and have had some very happy times catching up with family and saying goodbye - we will certainly miss everyone. 

                    

                    

Our first morning tea was at Boundary Bend and were spoilt with a glazed plaited donut from Grays (thanks to Dennis & Tops) 

                                             

From there we called into the Euston Weir and were pleasantly surprised to see Lock 15 as a very pretty picnic area.

                                     

We found the cruskits and enjoyed our picnic lunch at the junction of the Darling and Murray Rivers at Wentworth and saw Lock 10.

                    
And now we are set up at this very peaceful park at Fort Courage - we have been hearing about this place for many years as Dads Army syndicate (Dennis Darryl Des and Tim) have been going to come here on a fishing trip using their winnings from the players auction. It’s never happened so Tops & I are here instead of Tim and Des (and we’re much prettier). 

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon on the river bank and a rod was thrown in but only snagged! Today Darryl crossed an item off his bucket list as we went to see Lake Victoria about 47kms from here towards Renmark. This is a storage system in the Murray Darling Basin and is operated by SA water. There was water rushing out and the birds were having a feast. It’s presently fairly empty - it was 29% earlier on so could be less now. We were surprised at the infrastructure as there seemed to be several houses, sheds and a great information and viewing area. We couldn’t find the Lake Victoria hotel so Dennis didn’t have to fork out for lunch - instead we had our usual cruskits and salada biscuits! 

    

                                      

                             

Tomorrow we’ll leave this lovely spot and head north through Broken Hill to Mutawintji National Park. This has been a prefect spot to start our trip and we’d highly recommend it - though with Easter coming, it will be very busy. So the travellers sign off on this first blog - wishing everyone a very happy and safe Easter 🐣

❌❌❌❌