Homeward bound

With the sniff of home in the air, we ended up deciding to take the fastest route - we’re rapidly losing our lovely weather and camping isn’t much fun in the cold! So we opened the gate - literally to enter our home state - Dennis & Tops have another border to cross yet. 

The gate is part of the wild dog fence which is now some 5,600km  long, keeping wild dogs out of NSW. Originally it was the rabbit proof fence. We met the boundary rider at the pub, whose job is to ensure the integrity of the fence in this section. 

Once we left Beetoota, we started to meet oncoming traffic - all heading to Birdsville for the Big Bash. We certainly realised we weren’t in WA anymore as the roads - especially from Windorah to Quilpie, were terrible. Narrow, bumpy and rocky shoulders and having to slow down and get off the road for oncoming traffic was problematic! That stretch also presented the worst scenery with dead trees and drought like conditions - and loads of road kill with the hawks, crows and eagles feasting on the carcasses! Previous to this stretch, we hardly saw any road kill. 

We fuelled up at Quilpie then onto Thargomindah. Fortunately, the traffic slowed right down - the road did improve but still narrow.

 We enjoyed our night at Hungerford - another lovely little place with a warm and welcoming pub, where we enjoyed a dinner which was  a tad better than spaghetti bolognaise!! 

We have been travelling along the Dowling Trak - all the way from Thargomindah to Bourke - another track completed. From Bourke onwards, it’s all sealed roads - the cars,  vans - and drivers, will probably rejoice in the smooth ride - but not appreciate the traffic! We had our morning tea at the Fords Bridge Hotel - which is hanging on by a thread as the owner is in a wheel chair and elderly. There’s a business opportunity for someone! 

With the end of our trip in sight, this will be the last blog. Thank you to all the readers - it makes the effort of writing them worthwhile. Our trip has been wonderful. Over 14,000km through amazing country - we loved every bit. We've had no real hiccups with either cars or vans - just little things that when travelling on rough roads you expect. Luckily, we have very capable men folk who are not fazed by any issue. We’ve also been so fortunate with good health - we must be the luckiest people around!  We know that cold and wintry conditions will greet us - but we’ve been gradually adjusting to colder weather. Goodbye from the travellers until our next trip! ❌❌❌❌