Menindee Lakes.

We have travelled nearly 7000 km, been from rivers, mountains, sea and desert to finally arrive at where we initially wanted to come when we set off over 10 weeks ago! Seems also that we saved the worst roads till last and unfortunately have struck cold winds! And it also seems lots and  lots of people had the same idea as us, as all around the lakes are dotted caravans, campers and tents. The road from Wilcannia to here was pretty rough, corrugated and very slow going. You really can’t believe the green around in what is usually dry and barren scenery.

Our first peep at the big Menindee Lake really hit home just how much water there is here as this lake is huge! We drove down Sunset Strip - for years these shacks have had a dry lake to look out but now it’s amazing to see water lapping the boat ramp. A once desolate place is now buzzing with life - fantastic to see.

The weir is open to let water through - and we couldn’t believe the weed above the weir. 

We are camped along Pamamaroo Lake in a secluded spot by ourselves - and we just saw a flock of pelicans fishing! There must be fish in the system but the fisher people aren’t catching many! 

Copi Hollow us a very popular park with lovely green lawns down to the lake - the caravan park was booked out. We also liked seeing these relics of the past steam train era in Menindee township. 
So we are pretty happy that finally we’ve been able to see the Menindee lakes full and hope this isn’t the last time we will be able to witness such an event. We look forward to seeing the Darling downstream from the weir and assume it’s pretty full too. 

Our little Mitzi is a little underpowered for this new van, but has performed very well. However, this will be her last trip with us as we have a new Ranger on order - fingers crossed it’s delivery isn’t delayed too much.

We have enjoyed a marvellous trip and probably only have one or two nights more on the road before we get home. Our supplies are rather low and we’ve found supermarkets in these outback towns being very hard to source. But as we sit here by our campfire watching another wonderful sunset over the lake, we recall just how privileged and fortunate we are to be able to travel as we do. 

So this will be the last blog - thank you to our readers for following our travels. Until our next trip, love from us ❌❌

Going solo.

Heading south across the border, the temperature decreased, we’ve put away shorts & tshirts and pulled out long pants and jumpers! 

At Bourke, we marvelled at the height of the Darling River and loved seeing all the backwaters full. It’s amazing to think that the rains which we witnessed in St George, are probably flowing past us now! It’s a wondrous system which we just love. This is their 3rd flush this year which is so good to see after some hard dry years. 

We stopped at the Bourke cemetery to see Fred Hollows grave site - he was an exceptional man and loved Bourke as much as they loved him. We travelled along the east road towards Louth and the water lying around is wonderful to see. Some roads between Bourke & Menindee are however closed due to flood waters. 

We stayed at Rose Isle Station right on the river, which is a lovely spot. Some campsites are under water but we were in a grassed area near amenities. Samantha puts on a morning tea each week day - which we enjoyed. Her spread rivalled any of those provided by the CWA  - cakes, slices, both sweet & savoury scones and sausage rolls. It was coincidence that their pet dogs are dauschunds when Kristian & MJ have just taken possession of their little one. 

It was here that Dennis & Tops learned of another funeral they would like to attend, so they made the decision to leave us and head home, whilst we have continued on alone, along the river.

Our first stop after Rose Isle was  at Trilby station - our 3rd visit and how terrific it is to see the river full plus the billabong! To give you some idea of the difference in river level, the photo on the left was 2017 & the right yesterday! 

We camped right on the banks with no one else around so Darryl could play loud music! We had a ‘loo with a view’ which previously was just dry, but this time we had water views! 

The billabong is full and a haven for hundreds of water birds. We did tackle a canoe with success - but it was cold and windy so we didn’t enjoy it as much as we would have in sunshine. 

We are now at Wilcannia - again on the river which is creeping into the park. Along the road to Tilpa, we had a water crossing - which will close that road if it gets much deeper. As it was, we had to detour 130kms from Tilpa to here as both the east and west sides of the river run are closed. 

Our next destination is Menindee - and we can’t wait to see those lakes full. From there we’ll head home to end our journey of over 10 weeks. We are getting used to colder days and nights so it won’t be a huge shock for us when we arrive home. Till next time, love from us ❌❌❌

South west Queensland.

Our time at Quilpie was very pleasant by the lake and we enjoyed a tour of the town and spoilt ourselves with very nice pies from the bakery. We even found Old Man Emu at the information centre.

We travelled south past the Toompine pub which is in the process of being renovated. We hope they don’t spoil the uniqueness of this pub without a town! 

We camped at Alroy station which is a working cattle, sheep & goat property, nestled on the Yowah creek. We can’t speak highly enough about this station stay - friendly owners, lovely setting, rustic but very clean amenities and firewood delivered daily for the campfire. There were yabbies in the creek so a delicious yabby meal was enjoyed.

We’ve carted around our swimming gear this whole trip and have only used them twice - once at Goodooga and today here - both in artesian waters. This area is well known for its hot artesian waters which sometimes bubble up from under the ground or they are tapped by a bore. On this property, the beaut old steam engine was used to sink the first bore.Today we are travelling through to Cunnamulla then we’ll sadly leave Queensland behind. The little place of Eulo is well known for its mud baths - we didn’t indulge but did see the springs which act as a release valve for the artesian basin. 

We’ve loved this part of the outback - it’s not particularly pretty country but has its own charm and the people are friendly and must be very resilient as they endure some tough times. We’re starting to see much more traffic - it’s school holiday time plus many we suspect, are on the way to the Birdsville big bash. We trust everyone is well and those on holidays have a happy & relaxed time. ❌❌❌❌

Heading south

After a relaxing day at Lake Dunn, we headed off and now just 3 days later, we are at another lake - this time at Quilpie. We were very tempted at Lake Dunn to do the whole sculpture  trail of 200km, but erred on the side of caution as we were getting low on fuel. Just as well we didn’t do the whole circuit, as when we arrived in Aramac, there was no fuel until the truck came later that day. Luckily we saw several sculptures along the way and marvelled at how clever the artists are. These are a couple of our favourites. 

Muttaburra is also the home of many sculptures and we enjoyed touring around this town seeing the different structures. They have claimed to be the centre of Queensland and have a wonderful monument by the old hospital. Most effective is the rainfall records depicted on a bar graph made of pipes. Very cleverly done and interesting to see the fluctuations over the years. 

Muttaburra is a tight community, working hard to make the town attractive and suitable for tourists. We can certainly recommend the Thompson burgers purchased from the store and we were most amused when we learned the laundromat was housed in the post office! 

The shearing sculpture is still one of the best - we admired this many years ago on our trip northwards. The road from Muttaburra to Longreach provided us with prolific bird life - and the country was lush and beautiful after excellent rains. We stocked up on some groceries at Longreach then headed south to Stonehenge. This cute little place has a population of 10 and a very astute hotel owner as the deal was,  you’d save $10 off the camping fee if you dined at the hotel. So of course we did that, saved $10 but spent $81!! 

Today we felt very privileged to cross the Cooper Creek at Windorah as you wouldn’t believe how green everything was all along the floodplain. The desert has blossomed into a green oasis which is amazing to see. We are now at this beautiful spot out of Quilpie - it’s so tranquil and here we are sitting enjoying the scenery. 

We had a laugh as once more we’ve been sucked into parting with some $$ as the owners send their children around with produce and home made meals to sell. So we’re now $25 poorer but richer with figs, lemons, mandarins and a goat curry!! We’ll have a relaxing day tomorrow then study the  maps to work out our next moves. Seems funny, but once we head south, our thoughts of family and home become to the fore so I suspect we’ll be home soon. Don’t know if we’re ready for the cold as we’ve enjoyed sone glorious days of late. 

Trust all is well and we send our love to you all, ❌❌❌

Leaving the coast.

In the space of a couple of days, we are now in what seems like the middle of the outback. We are at a fresh water lake on the Lake Dunn station - sort of not far from Aramac, Muttaburra & Barcaldine. To get here we left the bitumen and big towns and travelled through some very quaint places. Our lunch stop at Mount Coolon was very different - no shops only fancy accommodation and this helicopter pilot flew in to have lunch with friends. 

We stopped overnight at the roadhouse at Belyando Crossing which is between Emerald and Charters Towers. Our site was really only on a roadway but that fact was made up by the beautiful meal we enjoyed that night at the roadhouse. Best salmon & steak ever!! From there we used a mud map we copied from a fellow traveller and travelled 300km on a dirt road which was not much more than a track in places.

The navigator (me) only made one mistake and we had to back track a little. The cattle along the road were just lovely and very inquisitive. One silly one ran straight towards our car and the brakes were tested! 

Our van has now really been tested for off road travelling - dust, corrugations and all. Nothing moves inside, it tows well and no problems at all. This lake is known for its sunsets and sunrises and didn’t disappoint last night. 

It’s a rest day for us today after the big drive yesterday. We’re going to look for the heaps of bird species found here. We trust everyone is well and not too cold. It’s a bit windy here today which is making it a bit cooler. I’m not sure if this will post but will try! Till the next blog ❌❌from us.