Mud and Horses at the Showgrounds

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It rained until 2am yesterday and everywhere was boggy and full of puddles so we had a lovely lazy day hoping it would be better the next day. Today the area was still muddy but we decided to move on. I walked around trying to find the least boggy way for Barry to turn around in and came across the showground arena grandstand area, which was full of young people on horses again. One mother was walking to it carrying some tack. She told me that the three days of activity had been three different things. Friday had been an Inter-Schools Riding Competition; Saturday was “Show” day and today was a Gymkhana, which is held every few weeks in different locations. The wet ground and mud didn’t deter them, it seems.

Once we left Narrabri, we found the going rather slow as there was quite a brisk head wind hitting the brick wall at the front of the van. Barry was getting very frustrated but there was nothing we could do.

All along the road we could see cotton bols that had blown off the fields or the trucks, not sure which. It looked as if it had been snowing. One field we passed still had its crop, which was strange as everywhere else had already harvested theirs and some had even plowed and then planted a different crop that would grow in the off season. We also passed an enormous cotton gin (processing plant) with huge yellow plastic wrapped rolls of cotton stacked around it. We had felt a compressed bale of cotton at the Tourist Information Centre display in Narrabri and it was as hard as rock so there must have been hundreds of tons of cotton lying there.

We passed through Wee Waa (pronounced War) and headed to Burren Junction, where we’d been told there was a free camp next to a hot artesian bore bath. I love hot baths so we stopped to have a look. There were loads of RVs parked on packed red dirt in a totally barren landscape with a bitterly cold wind howling around it. The bore bath had algae all across the bottom and mud all around the entrance to it. I decided I didn’t want a dip after all! I did stick a couple of toes in to test the temperature and it was pleasantly lukewarm but nothing like the advertised 41.5 degrees Celsius. Time to leave.

After a quick lunch in the van we continued down the highway to Walgett, where there is another free camp. We kept seeing dead kangaroos and wallabies all along the roadside. Birds were feeding on them, mainly crows and a few pied butcherbirds, and we were very surprised to see two Wedge-Tailed Eagles on one. They flew off but one landed on the fence next to the road. It’s not often you see them at ground level and we enjoyed the close look, brief though it was. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my camera out in time, as we swept past at 70kph, so it’s another one for the memory.

We also saw a few emus in the scrub and a small reddish-brown predatory bird sitting on a post right next to the road. I think it was a Nankeen Kestrel. Closer to Walgett there were large groups of a range of birds feeding from grain or something in the middle of the road, too, including Crested Pigeons, Galahs, Magpies, and Noisy Miners. This is definitely Bird Paradise!

On arrival in Walgett, we pulled into the free camp that was in Andrew Trevallion Park. There were only about seven spots for camping, some with good gravel as a firm base. Unfortunately, we were too late and these were all gone. The last two spots were on boggy ground with large ruts. We didn’t have a choice so Barry backed into the better of the two, and got stuck. He had to put the ute into 4 wheel drive before he could move!



The view around the park was quite pretty and there were two imprisoned farm machines there, too - an old tractor with caterpillar tracks around the wheels and a Wolseley Ditch Digger that looked like a waterwheel (only for dirt) which was dragged by a couple of horses. They really like captive machinery in this region!

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Photos

Narrabri Showgrounds
The ground has started drying out but there are still muddy puddles everywhere.

Narrabri Showgrounds
These young people are taking part in a Gymkhana Day. There have already been two days of other equestrian activities for kids.

Past Narrabri on the Kamilaroi Highway
We passed one cotton field that doesn't seem to have been harvested yet. It looks like a snow field.

Wee Waa NSW
The 100 year old Imperial Hotel with its 3 tiers and lovely wrought ironwork dominates the main street.

Burren Junction, NSW
The Hot Artesian Bore Baths didn't look inviting with algae all over the bottom and thick mud all around the entrance. I gave it a miss.

Andrew Trevallion Park, Walgett
The "captive" Wolseley Ditch Digger that was designed by him to make irrigation channels for his crops.