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Published: October 20th 2011
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Tuesday 18th October - the poor weather didn’t materialise overnight but, the advanced preparations Graham had done just in case, stood us in good stead. Without really trying we were ready to leave Goondiwindi soon after 8:30am.
As we left ‘Gundy’ we felt a tinge of sadness as we were about to leave Queensland after meandering around the state for the last 2 ½ months. It’s a state with an incredible range of climates, flora and fauna and we have loved all of it.
Our journey to Moree, our next destination, was only about 130 kilometers so we weren’t in any hurry. However, we had to allow for a change in the clocks as, unlike Queensland, New South Wales, just across the river from Goondiwindi, adopts a “daylight saving” strategy, a bit like our British Summer Time, and clocks are put forward by one hour. The same system applies in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania so we are unlikely to have to change our clocks again on this trip. We also had to allow for a series of wide loads and numerous road-trains as we made our way south but we still managed to reach Moree in one go,
arriving at about 11:30, NSW time. We stopped for our cuppa and cake just past the town centre at a lovely picnic area which we had used a year ago. It’s adjacent to a small lagoon and has a huge variety of bird-life and a colony of flying foxes (fruit bats). After our break we made our way to the Gwydir Carapark which is well known in this area for its thermal pools (Gwydir is Welsh and apparently means ‘field of blood’ but we’re not sure what the connection is with the Aussie ‘Gwydir’). Our allocated site wasn’t brilliant but it was adequate and handy to all of the facilities including the four thermal pools, each with a different temperature, and a huge heated swimming pool. The park was quite a large one and very popular, especially with sun-seeking Victorians who spend months of their winter-time in this area escaping the cold Victorian winter and taking advantage of the benefits that the thermal pools boast.
After a quick lunch we went into town to top up with diesel and to do a big shop at Woolies. At about 3:00pm we decided to check on what it is that makes
the thermal pools so attractive. Already our observations had confirmed that Gwydir Carapark was a “pensioner’s paradise”. The average age of the patrons seemed to be about 110 as people staggered by our caravan, some of huge, wobbly proportions, in a variety of swimming gear, many with varying degrees of infirmity, often supported by sticks or zimmer frames, as they made their way to or from the pools. We were probably the youngest to enter the pools at that time, and by a long way!!! The other most noticeable thing was that by far the most predominant language was of Eastern European origin, perhaps Russian. We could only assume that it was the Sydney Russian community’s annual pilgrimage to Moree to ease their aching limbs. There appeared to be hundreds of them. But it was easy to see what the attraction was and to understand why people thought the pools had therapeutic values. It was tremendously relaxing. The pool we entered was at 37 degrees and the other three were at 39, 35 and 34 degrees. The swimming pool, which we used later, was heated and extremely comfortable for swimming although a few people also used that one as a
lounge pool. Fortunately it was big enough for that not to be a problem. All of the pools stay open until 10:00pm so it may have to be a relatively late night for us. Dinner was a recipe that I took (more or less) from a cookbook that David had recently given to us – it was a very tasty chicken risotto. It was nice to be able to sit outside eating even at 7:00pm - because of the change in clocks it wasn’t really dark until about 7:30pm. That’s something we prefer as, in Queensland, we were never up early enough to take advantage of the early morning light and at the other end of the day it got dark far too soon for us.
Overnight it was quiet and we both slept well – we had forgotten to put our little bedside clock on so when I looked at it I thought that it was still early! Eventually the penny dropped but it was nice to have a casual start to the day. At about 9:30am, Daphne rang from Melbourne. We spoke at length about our future plans and whether it might be possible to get away
with her for a week or two when we’re back there. We left her to ponder over our suggestions and to consider other possibilities she might think of but we’ll speak with her again when we get nearer to Melbourne. After a very lazy start to the day, and with no other firm plans in mind, we joined the many people making their way to the pools and had a good, long soak – this time in the 39 degree pool, with the occasional swim in the big pool. There are plenty of pool-side loungers provided so we sat a while to dry off. Often it’s interesting to “ear-wig” on other people’s conversations and even join in but, as our Russian is not particularly good, we could only imagine what they were talking about! The skies are absolutely clear and the temperature is at about 30 degrees – just about our maximum to remain comfortable - anything over that and we begin to melt! We decided we ought to see a bit more of Moree while we’re here so after lunch we drifted into town for a bit of a mooch about. We strolled along the main streets and photographed
In 1997 the owners of the park sunk a bore to a depth of 720 metres to tap into the Great Artisian Basin
two pools were installed onsite and the park was developed. The natural temperature for the water here is 39 degrees C a couple of impressive buildings. We then went looking for a “bird-watching trail” but although we found a nice lagoon-side walk we didn’t discover the trail. Back at the caravan park we couldn’t resist another soak in the thermal pools which was heavenly. Part of the big pool was being used by a local swimming club so we didn’t have a swim – just a good, long soak in the lovely soothing thermal pool. Once again the change in the clocks caught us out and it was quite late before we had our evening meal, and it was still light. Graham put a few things away ready for our journey tomorrow and we had a pretty early night, still wondering if we should be taking advantage of this relaxed atmosphere by staying a while longer.
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