Monday 11th July Today we headed towards Coonabarabran but decided to stay at a small caravan park at Tooraweenah about 80klm before Coonbarabran on the road to the Warrumbung National Park. Tooraweenah is a very small county town (only about 6 streets) but still has quite a few of its old buildings still in use and kept very nice. This park is very small and old style but very clean and very nice and very friendly owners. Tuesday 12 July - we spent the day checking out the National Park - did the treck to Tara Cave to check out the aboriginal carving and spectacular views over the vulcanic range. Checked out the Canyon walk and the friendly Kangaroos having their afternoon tea. Then drove up the very windy road to the Siding Spring Observatory. The ... read more

Friday 8th July Last night was very cold (-0.6 degrees at 4.30am brrr brrr) and it stayed cold all day, can't wait to find some warm weather. We travelled from Gol Gol to Hay about 300klms and arrived about 1pm. Booking into the Hay Big 4 caravan park - 28$ per night (Big 4 dic 2.80 - $25.20). Nice little park. Went to check out the Shear Outbank Centre - a museum about the shearing industry of the area. Saw a sheep being sheared in the shearing shed. The Hay Shire has the distinction of being one of the flattest sections of land in the world with a difference in elevation of only 17 metres between the highest and lowest points and is located on the vertally treeless Hay Plains and is on the Murrumbidgee River, ... read more

Wednesday 6th July Booked into the caravan park for another 2 nights. The weather was very cold and windy so we went for a drive to Wentworth where the Murray and Darlings rivers join. The car being the best place to be on these windy and cold days. Very pleasant little town but not much to see, the main attraction is the joining of the two rivers. Drove out to the Perry Sand Hills - very modest compared to some of the white sand hills in WA. In the park where the rivers join is the amazing toppery of the plants with the name Wentworth and the tractor (Fergie). ... read more

Friday 1st July 2011 Today was retail therapy day - John had to have the Exhaust system checked as it was making a noise - is booked in on Monday to have it fixed while we do the paddle steamer cruise. Mildura is a large city and we have just found the Centro Shopping centre and the main street that has all the other big shops like Bunnings, Harvey Norman, BCF etc, etc and also Spotlight and had to call in and so some shopping for Lily. She is being a flamingo for her Artware Show this year and needed some pink feathers for her costume and we found them at Spotlight, so Granparents can shop anywhere in Australia for the grandchildren especially those that live in Exmouth with very limited shops. Had fish and chips ... read more

Tuesday 28th Decided to stay an extra day in Berri and went for a short drive to Renmark and Paringa. Renmark has a lovely forshore on the Murray River with an old paddle steamer parked next to the Vistor Centre. The "Industry" paddle steamer is open to the public for inspection and goes out on the river once a month with passengers, it was once a derelic steamer until volunteers restored it in 1990. The Renmark hotel is a spectacular old Art Deco hotel overlooking the Murray River. Paringa was a small town just on the outskirts of Renmark with the amazing Paringa Black Stump - a huge Red Gum root which had been dragged out of the river after falling down during a flood. It was minus 2.6 degrees last night in Berri - we ... read more