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Around the campfire
Just outside Cobar.A fairly leisurely start had us on the road by about 9am, we refueled and set off for Wilcannia, our first town on the way to our intended stop, Cobar.
Wilcannia was reached at just after midday and we stopped to buy some fresh bread. Three loaves of white bread was the only bread in the shop, run by the local community, nothing else was available. We were later told that not many people stopped at this town although we felt quite safe even though wary of the many locals hanging around the hotel and street corners.
We decided to make do with what we had and stopped at a cleared area just out of town. Here we met another WA couple, Paul and Dianne. In conversation they told us of meeting another WA couple and that they planned to meet them just this side of Cobar. We decided to check out the site when we got there.
As it was about 4pm by the time we reached the campsite we decided it was a good time to stop for the day and we drove up to a vehicle with WT number plates.
Apostlebird
So named because they always seem to be in groups of 12 or more The gent there was very surprised when we asked if he lived in Armadale, which he does, until we explained the situation. Adrian and his wife, Sandra, were friends by the time Paul and Dianne reached us about 30 minutes later.
We collected firewood and had a great fire going to keep off the evening chill whilst we had a few drinks and got to know each other. A great surprise was when discussing our lives, both Paul and Dianne knew one of Rags' ex-wives, having gone to school with her, in fact Paul was in the same class at school. Small world!
A great evening was had and the chances of us traveling together for at least a short time seemed great.
Tuesday, !7th May 2011 Breakfast and coffee around the campfire was how the six of us started our day. We got away first, needing to be in phone reception so Judy could be in touch with her students. We were in Cobar by about 10am and Judy did her work as we refueled, and bought some supplies from the local IGA.
After a stop at the Information Centre where we picked
Cotton boles
At first we thought it was tissues by the side of the road. This cotton is blown out of the trucks carting the bales to the gin. up maps and used their dump point we met up with Paul & Dianne again and we set off to Bourke, about 195 kms away.
As the latter got lost we drove at 80kph so that they could catch up. Rags was surprised that we were getting as low as 14.2l/100km at this speed. When we increased this to 90kph, which is our normal speed, it increased to 15.2. Still very good for our mass.
We had lunch in a park in Bourke with Paul and Dianne before deciding to stay the night here at a caravan park. Here we met up with Adrian & Sandra, who had changed their minds at the last minute, they staying here rather than bush camping further up the road. We discussed several routes we could take tomorrow, none of us really set on any one. We'll decide in the morning.
The rest of the afternoon was spent looking around the town, which was once a major inland port for paddle boats on the Darling River. We missed a boat tour by no more than 1 minute which was a little disappointing. We all blamed Judy as she was still using
Town entry
Cement mixers were used to mix water with mined rock to identify the opal. South Australian time which was 30 minutes behind local time.
The evening consisted of the compulsory 5pm drinks together, and included a fourth WA couple from Esperance. When it became too cold we all retired to our vans for the evening. The last few nights have been extremely chilly (for us anyway) and we are grateful for our reverse cycle aircons.
Wednesday 18th May 2011 An early rise allowed us to leave by 8.30am, as we decided last night to spend a night at Lightning Ridge. This will be about 160kms out of our way, but we decided to make the detour having heard of the place in the past, and interested in seeing what an opal mine looked like.
The road into the town was very bumpy, even though sealed. We had to reduce our speed quite a bit and even so much was thrown around in the van, the mattress even sliding off the frame. we have been on many rough roads before, but this one certainly was one of the most uncomfortable.
Lightning Ridge had an excellent Information Centre near the entrance to the town and here we picked
up much information.
After checking into the caravan park opposite we drove to the Big Opal, a mine open to the public just on the edge of town. This is still a working mine but the owner also had tourists coming in. Obviously there was more money to be made that way. For $10 each we were given a map, helmet and torch and pointed in the direction of the main shaft. A spiral staircase took you down (113 steps by Judy's count) to the mine floor. We wandered through the tunnels looking for opal, not finding any but still we found it interesting.
Apparently a movie has been shot down there and the set, consisting of a bed, table and some chairs are still there. Old books were slowly deteriorating in the musty atmosphere.
A walk through the town followed, where we bought some fruit from a stall, as well as a visit to several stores selling opals and other touristy things. The best display was the 'Opal Cave', where all sorts of jewellery was on display. One lady gave us a lesson on the different types of opal used in jewellery. We also sat in
Lightning Ridge
Judy searched for opals but with no success on a conversation between the owner and a group of tourists with him telling his story. He was born in Germany and came out to make his fortune mining opals. He did well, he and his partner making $200 000 in the early 1960s. This was a huge amount then and the Taxation Dept was going to get its cut. They hit upon the idea of taking the cash to Wrest Point Casino in Tasmania, buying chips and then converting their non-taxable 'winnings' into a cheque to go home. They leased a plane to take them there. Unfortunately they were introduced to the Australian game of Two-up. In 3 days they lost 3 years' earnings, and were not even able to pay their hotel bill. Luckily, they paid for the plane in advance and were able to return to Lightning Ridge where they took another 3 years to earn what they lost.
Thursday 19th May 2011 An 8.30am start again saw us on the road to Moree about 300kms away. Besides one town where we didn't even stop, there was little to see except farming land. This land did look better than the desert we have
Goondiwindi's favourite
This statue commemorates the local horse Gunsynd, which came 3rd in the Melbourne Cup and four major mile races. been traveling through, with the grass taller and the trees and vegetation thicker.
We noticed more of the cotton bols by the side of the road, the roads bordered by white cotton all the way to Moree. This was soon explained by the fields we went past with their large compressed blocks of cotton lined up, looking like railway carriages from a distance. Empty road train after road train passed us from the opposite direction, these we found were picking up their loads and then taking them to the 'gins' near Moree for processing.
We stopped at the Mehi River Van Park on the edge of Moree, where we received a warm welcome and found an excellently presented place to stay.
After a walk around the township, a nicely presented place but showing a decline in population by the number of closed businesses, we returned to the park and had a hot spa there. The whole district has many artesian wells, many hot, and these have become a tourist attraction. Our spa we found, was not one of these, just a normal one put in to compete with the others. Even so, we found it a nice
The Victoria Hotel
In Goondiwindi's main street way to relax after our day.
Friday 20th May 2011 We arrived at Allora in the afternoon and were met by Jan's partner, Graham, and soon made to feel at home. Jan was at work and not expected until after 5.15pm. The afternoon was spent setting up the van, replenishing our water and generally making our selves at home. We intend staying here for a few days, giving us a break from driving and a chance to catch up with a friend from long ago, before concluding the drive to Nambour.
The early evening was spent with a few drinks on the deck attached to the house and renewing acquaintance with Jan who we hadn't seen for over 10 years. She has only recently come to Allora and has already done wonders to the house and garden.
Graham joined her in January and he has set up a business in the backyard reconditioning crankshafts for vintage motorcycle engines. Rags was very interested in seeing the bikes he is working on, several of which are his hobby projects. He is restoring a 1937 DKW bike, fitting it with a more modern Japanese motor but making
Jan's house
Jan at her home in Allora it look as the original did. He intends racing it at the Philip Island track.
During the evening Graham told of some of his work in the past, showing us photos of his go-kart exploits, his conversion of a Suzuki Mighty Boy ute to a racing machine, and his time with the Toyota Race team. Real 'boy's talk' and lots of fun.
Jan had prepared a lovely meal for us and, together with copious quantities of red wine, the evening progressed in a most social manner.
Saturday 21st May 2011 A bit of a slow start to the day but we managed to do our washing whilst reading the Saturday papers and drinking coffee on the deck. The weather was perfect with no wind and a sunny day. By about 11am we all piled into Jan's car and were taken for a tour of the town and the surrounding areas. ...... the author of the “Mary Poppins” book lived in Aurora in a brightly painted, blue and white cottage on the main street. The main street was also where all the shops were, the town being large enough to support one of each. ie
Overlooking the Dividing Range
Jan, Graham & Judy with the NSW border in the background. a grocer, butcher, deli, draper, hardware, hairdresser, chemist, doctor etc plus 2 hotels.
In January there was much flooding in the area, as had much of NSW and Queensland, even though there was not much sign of it now. Graham and Jan pointed out the flood levels reached in various areas, debris being left high off the ground. The town itself was cut off at one stage, and Graham, who was riding a motorbike coming in to see Jan, had a to abandon it and wade through for some distance to get in.
We drove through a lot of rich farmland on the edge of the Great Dividing Range, then into the range itself. The Qld/NSW border makes its way through these ranges, it being set by which state the water flows into from the ridges above.
We stopped at the Spring Creek Cafe for a very tasty lunch, this cafe overlooking a stream which joins the Condamine River, the headwaters for the Murray and Darling rivers. Just down the road from this we walked through some of the dense forest to see the spectacular Queen Mary Falls.
It rained quite steadily on our return to
the house, easing as we left the ranges and it being dry by the time we arrived back in Allora. This pleased Judy as she'd left washing on the line!
Drinks were had on the deck again before retiring inside to a lovely fire where we devoured the garlic prawns and beef fillet we had provided. It really had been a day of good scenery, good food, good wine and good company
Sunday 22nd May 2011 We were all suffering a little this morning but after breakfast and coffee all was well. Whilst Judy and Jan did their various things Rags & Graham repaired a strut on the van which had been annoying Rags for a while. Rags then found that one of the van's water tanks had a leak where the hoses joined only to have it break off in his hands and all the water poured out. A visit to the hardware store had the needed parts for that and the broken windscreen washers, all the little jobs that needed doing being completed by lunchtime.
Lunch today was a fish soup with kumara that Jan prepared with some fish we had brought
Rob & Jan's home
We enjoyed our meals and relaxation from the verandah overlooking the property with us, we thoroughly enjoying her culinary skills and seeing no need to go to the pub or elsewhere, her food being so tasty. At the end of it, all agreed a simple sausage sizzle would be enough for this evening.
Whilst Jan and Judy took the two dogs into the nearby town of Warwick for a walk and dog wash, Graham did some research on his motorbikes, Rags getting this blog more up to date.
Tomorrow we intend leaving and driving on to Toowoomba. We may continue on to Nambour, Rags rang friends, Rob and Jan and they are happy to have us at any time.
Monday 23rd May 2011 Today we had the first bit of trouble with either the Jeep or the caravan. After a short distance driving into the Great Dividing Range the noise of exhaust gases escaping out of the exhaust manifold occurred, but Rags was unable to pinpoint the exact spot.
After locating the local Jeep dealer we found the local caravan park where Rags left the caravan and Judy (with the facilities the cleanest we have had anywhere so far, in Rags' opinion) before returning to the local
Flood mark
If you look carefully you can see the debris in the tree which shows how high the water was in the recent floods. Jeep dealer. As the heavens had opened up, Rags was happy to leave the car there and have them drive him the 5 or 6 kms back to the van.
Tuesday 24th May 2011 Next morning while Judy worked, Rags walked back into town to find that he was correct regarding the exhaust leak. Unfortunately the dealer did not have a new gasket in stock, this needing to come from Melbourne. Rather than staying in Toowoomba for another day or so, we took the car as it was, the service department saying all the bolts in the exhaust manifold were loose. Rags contacted the service manager of Chellingwood in Perth to complain, he first denying that it was anything to do with the work they had done, but eventually saying that if the proven they would reimburse us. As it could be a full day job where the gearbox needs to be removed to get at it it may be costly. We'll see how good their promise is.
Leaving Toowoomba, we also had the warning light from the electronic accelerator come on in the Jeep and we couldn't increase our speed. This vehicle is starting to
be very unreliable and Chellingworth a swear word between us! It seems that a lot of the work they did before we left Perth appears to have been shoddy for the almost $10 000 they charged us! Luckily when we stopped, turned the motor off and then on again the problem was solved. This happened several times before we reached Nambour. We had problems finding Rob and Jan's place as the GPS couldn't find the address in Woombye. We later found it was because it was on the border of West Woombye. Nevertheless we got there by ringing and Jan came out to meet us. Even though we hadn't seen Rob for 3 years and Jan for over 20, the welcome was most warming and it didn't take long to feel quite at home.
With the caravan set up at the side of the house we renewed/made acquaintances over cups of coffee, these leading into the “after 5” drinks. Sitting on the balcony, overlooking the property and the bush beyond, we all agreed that life was good!
Wednesday 25th May 2011 Today started as Rob and Jan's does, sitting on the balcony for breakfast with the
Tower Mill
The oldest standing building in Brisbane. It was originally a flour mill and later became the signal station for the colony. sun just coming up to take the chill off. With the sound of the birds in the background and the view of the lush, green grass and vegetation it was a very pleasant start to the day. There was a Jeep dealer in nearby Maroochydore and Rags & Rob checked out the service manager there. He really seemed to know what he was talking about and the car was duly booked in for repair, we returning after lunch with another car and leaving the Jeep with them for Rob to pick up when completed.
Judy meanwhile had been catching up on the washing, as we have booked a hotel for Wednesday and Thursday nights in Brisbane to give us a chance to look around and to make it easier for the early departure from the airport on Saturday.
Rob and Jan have an extensive vegetable garden, so instead of going out for a meal, Jan prepared a delicious dish which except for the added prawns, was made from home-grown ingredients.
The highlight of the evening was watching the first of the 3 rugby “Game of Origin” series between Qld and NSW. Rob explained the basics to Rags (Judy
chose to catch up on work instead) and he then spent the evening watching it with Rob and Jan.. Even though Queensland won, as was expected, it was good to see that NSW made them work for the win, as they were in the lead at one time. Strangely, Rob was very quiet during this time!!
Thursday 26th May 2011 Having been made so welcome made us reflect on how good it was to have friends. Back home, where we are having renovations done on our kitchen, we had a friend check on how it was going, and as he was not happy with some of the work done he had them come back and redo some of it.
With the caravan all closed off for the month and our bags packed, we said our farewells to Rob & Jan and caught the train for the near 3 hour journey into Brisbane. We checked into our hotel, the Metro Town Mill, set high up overlooking the city.
Lunch was a pie in the hand whilst wandering around the city, this being an attractive one with many of the old facades being preserved. By about 3pm our
Man of Knowledge
..standing next to the lady of knowledge! feet were sore and we trudged back up the hill for a shower and a nap.
We had decided to have dinner at the casino, set in the old Treasury building in the city. Luckily, one of the “loop buses” was passing as we left the hotel, this dropping us off at the other end of the main mall. As it was now about 6.30pm most of the shops were closed, but there were still many people around especially at the eating/drinking kiosks in the centre of the mall.
This beautiful old building has been converted into a casino, every nook and cranny having some sort of gambling table or machine in it. We kept away from them, instead going into the buffet meal area where we had the choice of piles of crab, prawns, and oysters, as well as salads and a large range of Asian food. Rags pronounced the oysters as being the biggest and creamiest he had ever eaten, dispatching 18 or so in several sittings.
The walk back was needed to settle Rags' stomach, we stopping to watch several activities such as a large Scrabble game on the ground and a game where
it was a competition to balance blocks of wood to the point where the opposition toppled them over. Even though it was only just before 7pm it was interesting to see that the city streets weren't deserted as they can be by that time in Perth, and also to see the predominance of young people about and having a good time without the signs of any alcohol.
Friday 27th May 2011 Today we did the touristy thing and bought a City Sights Tour ticket which enables you to take the bus and the CityCat ferry on a tour of the city and surrounding areas.
The first driver wasn't the best and he seemed to be in a great hurry. Maybe he had a problem as he raced off to the loo at the first place we stopped.
This was Mt Coot-tha where there is a lookout from which you can see Brisbane city stretching out to Moreton Bay and around to the distant mountains. We left the bus at this point to catch the next one 45 minutes later. Whilst we were there we walked around the gardens there which surround a cafe, restaurant and souvenir
Brisbane
Surrounded by water which has now receded. shop.
The next driver was much better, not in such a hurry and full of information. He pointed out the Botanical Gardens, the historic Regatta Hotel (only partly open due to flood damage) and stopped and showed the sights at the City Lookout. From what we saw, most of the flood damage has been repaired, quite a feat as the river rose 6 metres in spots.
We left the bus in Chinatown and after a short walk through it went to a dim sum for lunch. Good food similar to Perth we trying a few different dishes such as pork and ginger dumplings. Good value and tasty.
Rather than wait for the next bus we walked to the next site, ANZAC Square, catching our second driver here to continue into town. Here we checked several places to see if they had the new iPad2, surprisingly finding Myers had one. A little more shopping found us with a bag full of gear, and as our feet were starting to suffer from all the walking we had done so far, we returned to our hotel (situated on one of the highest hills in Brisbane with little bus service) where
Rags rested until after 4pm while Judy tried to set up the iPad. This wasn't possible as we need to be online at the same time and with our Telstra dongle in we can't insert the needed usb.
A return to the city had us with the USB extension we now needed and we made our way to the river. Here we caught the ferry to South Bank where we were told they held markets on Friday nights. It took a little time to find them and when we did we found them much like any other we had been to. A bit of food and a drink followed and we caught the ferry back to Riverside from where we trudged back to the hotel, luckily finding a fairly quick way as we were both feeling tired and our earlier plans of walking through the city where they had been setting up all sorts of stalls and activities were disbanded.
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