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Published: June 16th 2009
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11-6-09 We packed up & said our goodbyes to Rusty & Ros & swapped email addresses & hope we can catch up with them later. We started on our way, with more rocky outcrops, red soil, termite mounds & scrubby bushes. Not much traffic as off the beaten track a bit now. We thought we might stay at the Bourke & Wills Roadhouse, but when we got there we were so disappointed it was so commercialised , you could stay out the back but it was not inviting & you had to pay. We could have stayed over the road but it was only lunch time so we had a bite to eat & went onto Gregory. The road is not great, only one lane & you had to get off the road for the Road Trains & it got a bit hairy at times as the side of the road was not graded. Gregory is a one horse town but very friendly. There was a caravan Park behind the Gregory Pub, for $15 a nite, no power but nice hot showers, water & you could run the generator & there was grass ( yes grass ). We went up to
pay at the pub & of course had to have a couple of drinks , keep the town going. ( that’s my excuse & I am sticking to it ).We noticed all these caravans parked at the park that looked empty & the manager said to us that people would not take there vans to Adel’s Grove or Lawn Hill as the road was too bad. It’s 80k’s of dirt, the first 40 are not bad, but the next 40 are not good & there are dips that would tear the bum out of our caravan. We did not know what to do , one poor guy & his wife had had an accident & written off their car & their camper trailer & were trying to fix up the trailer to get going ( which Den & about 5 other guys , all different trades helped him that afternoon ) They were incurred with AAMi & they were unreal & within 5 days had paid them out & had gotten a new car . We are with them , that’s good. We decided as tomorrow was Friday & we were not booked in till Sat for a week we
5 Between Bourke & Wills & Gregory
Notice how wide the road is started like this but did not last long would take a run out there & see what the road was like. We had tea & another early night. We did 325 k’s today.
12/6/09 We threw the tent ( yes the tent) & a few supplies & the dogs in the back of the car & took off about 8.30am well you know us, took the wrong dirt road & ended half way to Burketown, what a terrible road, Den said if this is the good road what’s the other half like. Anyway we found a homestead & asked so we had to go back 30k’s ( not happy Jan ). We started off again & saw a road train coming at us with all this dust billowing behind it , we stopped the car & let it pass then could not see a thing, a bit scary. We pushed on & true to everyone’s tales the first 40 k’s were not too bad , wide roads & you had to drive carefully on the dirt. This section is maintained by the mines which is graded regularly, the next 46 k’s were not too bad , we had seen worse in our day, except very dusty. There
was probably 1 dip that we would not have got the van through & also we would have shaken all the screws out of her. ( I can see an off roader van next if we keep doing this ). Well we finally arrived at Adel’s Grove to a little piece of paradise & we decided to stay one night in the tent to see how we would go. We set it up & the campsites were great, we had a bite to eat, but we had forgotten the chicken so it was bread & cheese , it was still good though. We took the girls for a long walk & went down to the river to see where we could put the Kayak in & the river was so green, it was magical, it looked like an oasis. We took the girls back to camp & drove the car to the river & put the Kayak in & saw lots of birds, water lily’s, & just beautiful scenery, They said there was a resident Fresh Water Croc in the river but we did not see it , thank God, ( I would have walked on water ). The girls
stayed in the car & there was not a peep out of them. Jessie is not even barking at the birds. We went back to the tent & we were reading the Adel’s Grove pamphlet & I nearly had a fit . EXACT WORDS ( Kara are you taking notice ) Insects - we Have quite a few poisonous spiders, centipedes, scorpions & caterpillars - Reptiles you might see Whip Sakes, Western Brown, Ingram Brown, Tree Snake ( Ha, Ha ) Black Headed Python, Macleay’s Water Snake, Arafura File Snake, Olive Python & Myall Snake as well as Roo’s etc. Well I really wanted to stay in the tent then, on the ground & in the dark & no power, but I braved it out & I lasted the night. We had a BBQ for tea & it was yummy, had our showers & Den took the girls for a walk & Jessie tried to have a go at a Cane Toad, but that was all the night life we saw, went to bed at 7.30pm . We had a bit of a restless night, the girls never moved or barked at anything but we had gone to bed so
early we kept waking up. But nothing crawled over us, I had sprayed the tent with fly spray pretty good. We did 86k’s ( felt like 186 though )
13/6/09 Awake at 6.30, pretty cold on the ground, but Merry & Jim thanks for the mattress, it did not go down, thank God & the birthday blanket has been on the bed since we left, its great. We had bacon & eggs for breaky & by the time we packed up the tent & put things away & washed up it was 9.30 ( I think we like packing up the caravan better )
We went & had a look at. Lawn Hill National Park & Den went to look at part of the gorge & facilities while I stayed with the dogs as we were not supposed to have them with us. He said it was just beautiful & we will come back one day when we can bring our ( off road ) caravan in Ha, Ha !! We made tracks back on the dirt road & took it east to Gregory Hotel Caravan Park & decided to stay an extra night as we had to unpack
all the camping gear & re-pack the car, I had a nana nap & Den took the girls down to the river for a swim, we organised a fire & then the couple that had the car accident in the car were having trouble with their second hand car so Den went & helped them fix it & they were ever so pleased. He came back & we had snitzell & veg for tea, Annie rolled in a dead Cane Toad ( little Shit ) & we sat round the camp fire for a while. Chris & Flo came over to thank Dennis for the help, give us some chocolates & get our phone no as they were heading to Alice Springs for the Camel Cup & might meet us there. Well time for a shower & bed ( good to be in ours tonight). Off to Cloncurry or Mount Isa tomorrow. There has been no phone or internet service here , so I hope no one wants us urgently .We did 106 k’s today.
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warwick margariete
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wish that you didn't put so many pics on as starting to get travel bug but no van as yet looks great warwick marg