Homeward bound - and the end of this trip
The Spirit of Tasmania has just pulled out of Station Pier with our car and caravan squeezed in down below, for our homeward trip. We enjoyed some lovely family time with the other Mallett’s today before the drive into Melbourne for tonight’s sailing. I managed to find parking for the car and caravan at Station Pier so we were able to buy Delish fish and chips for dinner, which we enjoyed in the caravan and watched the sun set over Port Phillip Bay and this year’s trip.
Day 42 - Cohuna (Burke’s Bridge to Macedon)
Knowing we didn’t have to hurry today, I once again enjoyed looking out over the river while I had my coffee in bed. But we did get up at 8am to farewell Neill and Jude, who had the biggest drive of all of us today, and other jobs to do. We so appreciate our travels with these lovely friends. After we waved them off, it was back to bed to finish the coffee and plan breakfast, which ended up being scrambled eggs eaten in front of the campfire, which had burnt all night. By 11ish, we farewelled Rhonda and Peter and started the drive to Stu and Eleanor’s. Lunch was beside Bear’s Lagoon on the Loddon Highway and we pulled into the lovely new home of other Mallett’s just after 3pm. Catch ups, coffees, appraisals of newly finished additions to the brand new home before we sat down to a lovely dinner with the family.
Day 41 - Moulamein to Cohuna (Burke’s Bridge)
Back to where it all started!! Our first night in the caravan on this trip was here and now its the location for our last night together. We had a nice slow start to the day this morning as Peter had an 8:30am appointment in town to do some mechanical tweaks to his hitch, so I totally enjoyed watching the sun rise over the river with my coffee in bed! We headed off just after 9:30am as we certainly didn’t have a big drive today. First stop was Koondruk for elevenses in the cafe we have all been to before, but which was closed when we tried to have elevenses there on our first day. Then to Cohuna for the all important dump point and then to our camp. We were all set up by lunch and had the fire going at the same time, as we are certainly noticing the cooler temperatures even though the days are lovely. Our afternoon was spent mooching around the fire, reading, drinking cuppa and generally relaxing before we put on our glad rags as we were going out for our last dinner together! Together with Rhonda and Peter’s daughter and family, we all met up at the Gunbower Hotel and enjoyed an excellent steak in front of an open fire washed down with plenty of wine! The past six weeks have been so lovely, we greatly appreciated the company and support of our travelling party - Neill and Jude and Rhonda and Peter. We’ve been to some new places, back to some familiar places, caught up with family, eaten very well and laughed a lot. But, all good things must come to an end.
Day 40 - Caleb's Rest to Moulamein
It was only 3C when we left this morning - it's like training for Tassie! We actually hit the road early, as we were aiming for elevenses in Hillston and that was 189km away. We accidentally found a nice little cafe on the banks of the Lachlan River and enjoyed our morning tea as we learned about the Telstra outage across much of south western NSW. It certainly affected us for the rest of the day so it was widespread, but interestingly there was nothing on the ABC News, despite affecting so many businesses across NSW. Lunch was in the sad remains of what was once a nice little town called Gunbar. It was interesting to read about some of the history of the place. Then it was back on the road, heading for Hay as we needed fuel. People were still talking about the Telstra outage so it was definitely widespread. Given we have camped in Hay before and it was nothing special, we decided to keep going and found this campsite on the banks of the Edward River in Moulamein. I was last here in 1996 when I was mapping tomato farms! It was a big day of driving so it was nice to stop, even if the road is a little close for comfort (although it has gotten quieter as the night progresses). I cooked a delicious pork and prawn soup for our last cooked meal (we are going out for dinner tomorrow night) and we enjoyed another roaring fire.
Day 39 - Bourke to Caleb's Rest
Such a cold night, we ran the diesel heater all night - just enough to keep the chill at bay. Of course, we then turn it up in the morning before I get out of bed to make a cuppa! We were on the road by 8:30am to get to the Back O’Bourke Visitor Centre, which we last visited on our 2014 trip. Peter and Rhonda wanted to see it and the exhibition had some new elements so we spent a couple of hours there, culminating in elevenses. Then it was time to hit the road, driving south on a very straight, very flat road. We stopped for lunch in a rest area then onto Cobar where we fuelled up, as the next fuel wasn’t available for another 259km. The others did q quick trip up to the lookout over the open cut mine but we didn't bother, having done it recently enough. Then it was down the road to this little rest area which looks peaceful, tucked in among the bush so you can't see the highhway, but it is also on a road to a mine so we did have mine traffic for a while. We went hunting for firewood and collected a good stash so we had a roaring fire, which was most necessary on this very cold night - possibly our coldest night of the trip.
Day 38 - Wandilla Station to (back of) Bourke
Up early, not helped by even earlier vehicle movements - the first caravan left at 6am!! It was also very cold - now I know why we haven’t been getting up early. We were on the road by just after 8:30am, leaving in a continuous convoy of caravans down the red dusty road. Everyone was very responsible, leaving good gaps between all of us because it was quite difficult to see the van in front with the clouds of red dust. In Eulo, the little hamlet had been taken over by caravans! We had already decided not to try a d use the dump point and instead kept going to Cunnamulla. We did have to pull over to clean the windscreen though - that dust made it very hard to see. Back in Cunnamulla, we went to our friendly ladies at the Mobil (the younger one even recognised me and we swapped notes on the festival!) for diesel, then the dump point, then water and finally elevenses at the Showgrounds. On the road again, it was down south along very straight, very boring roads. We stopped for lunch in Berringun where Neill made bubble and squeak with our leftovers.
Then back down the road aiming for Bourke. We had heard of a good free camp on the Darling River just before Bourke so headed in there. The road was very ordinary, with lots of corrugations. The recent floods meant we couldn’t get through to the river itself so we have pulled up stumps back a bit. We managed to collect lots of firewood that the floods brought in and have had a great fire, in front of which we enjoyed our silverside dinner.
Day 37 - Music in the Mulga
It might be Sunday, but the atmosphere here today was just like the second Tuesday in November in Victoria - but instead of the Melbourne Cup it was the Wandilla Cup. And instead of racehorses, it was yabbies. For those who have never been to the yabby races, (nor had we - because, who has?!) it is quite thrilling! There was even a fashions on the field!! So a couple of days ago was the yabby action, where attendees got to bid on a yabby, which would be their entry in the Wandilla Cup. Some of the yabbies went for more than $300! So today all the owners lined up in the owners ring for their race. There were six heats, where the winner of each went into the final, being the Wandilla Cup. The cheers for the various yabbies was quite extraordinary, complete with protests, allegations of drug cheats, interference and requests for stewards inquiry. The final six lined up amid much enthusiasm and the winner was declared. The gracious owners donated the prize money back to charity.
Approximately a quarter of the people moved out of our mini city this morning, as we watched on while enjoying our Sunday morning fry up. That quickly turned into elevenses, because we all know we do a lot of eating on these trips! A bit of washing and housekeeping, lunch, the yabby races, and then afternoon tea of scones with jam and whipped cream back at camp. I started dinner preparation not long after as we had to have dinner completed before this evening’s entertainment. Fresh ricotta gnocchi with a creamy bacon sauce went down well around the campfire, allowing plenty for time for those who did want to see the entertainment to make their way up there. Greg and I stayed back at camp, did dishes and stayed warm in front of the fire before the others came back for tea and Bailey’s. Tomorrow we hit the road, for the drive back south. We know it is going to get colder and of course, it signals the end of the trip.
Day 36 - Music in the Mulga
Today was the biggest music day of the festival - bands kicked off at 11:30am and went for approx 12 hours. It was another cold night so the day started with the diesel heater until the sunshine was suitably warm for shorts and T-shirts. Our first duty was a trip into Eulo (16km of red dirt roads one way) to visit the dump point - essential caravan travel when staying put for more than 4 days. We took the opportunity whilst in town (tiny little town with a pub, general store, museum and police station) to upload the blog as we have such limited service here. Back before lunch to set our chairs up in front of the big new stage (as opposed to the much smaller stage that has been used for the last couple of days) and avail ourselves of lunch from one of the food vendors. The music was good, some bands were excellent, others less so but it was nice to sit in the sun and listen to it all. We pre ordered our pizzas for dinner and wandered back to the van for warmer clothes before the sun set - and the really good bands came out. The evening’s entertainment was very good, the pizzas were excellent but it was pretty cold. The most interesting act of the evening was a band called the Hillbilly Goats who were very energetic, wore interesting outfits, played very eclectic instruments and made weird music!!
Day 35 - Music in the Mulga
Another cold night, another sunny day although the wind was up a bit today so it seemed cooler. By the time we ventured out, the sun had good warmth to it which was handy as it was time for a haircut for Greg again. We had early elevenses as Neill and Pete headed out for firewood collection afterwards. A lazy morning around camp, then lunch as we contemplated our afternoon. Entertainment wise, there wasn’t much on the program until tonight’s bush dance. We did head up to the entertainment area mid afternoon and visited Bumpa in his Burrumbuttock Hay Runners truck. Bumpa started this program years ago to coordinate hay relief into drought affected areas. In 2016 he led a world record breaking convoy of 265 trucks to Ilfracombe all loaded up with hay for the local farmers. I have been donating to him for most of that time ($165 per bale, which includes the hay, the truck, meals for the volunteer drivers etc) so it was lovely to get to meet him. He was quite taken with Greg, and had a great chat about overcoming adversity. That was probably the highlight of our afternoon, as the coffee we got from one of the food vendors wasn’t! Back to camp for an early campfire and early dinner, as we listened to the yabby auction. One of the fundraiser activities is a yabby race on Sunday so today you got to bid for your entry into the race. We had heard our neighbours pooling together their money and they were prepared to bid up to $370! Most yabbies went for the $200 mark. We took our chairs up to the entertainment area for the first band at 7pm, which was a little ordinary. The second band were much better - we had seen them on one of our country music cruises, and the third band were awesome. They had us up dancing (in a COVIDSAFE way, of course!) and singing along! We had so much fun that we weren’t ready for bed when we got back to camp so we restoked the fire and cracked out the Bailey’s.
Day 34 - Music in the Mulga
Red dirt - it’s the iconic image of the outback, the colour of popular desert photos, and synonymous with central Australia. Little do they realise that it also infiltrates EVERYTHING! You can sweep and dust but it is so fine that it’s on the floor, in the shower, on benches, on skin and just gets blown around more whenever the wind picks up or a vehicle goes past. But hey, we are in the outback. Which means it is also cold at night - the inside of the van was 10C this morning so the diesel heater came on before we did anything. But by the time the sun had some bite to it, we were sitting outside enjoying it. Because we had roasted so much pumpkin the other day, I chose to make some pumpkin scones for elevenses. Did another walk around this mini city and introduced myself to another Sunland owner. By lunchtime, Greg and I headed to the entertainment area to check out the merchandise and see the new vendors who had set up. We both bought some Music in the Mulga attire as this is part of the fundraising efforts. We also got ourselves some lunch (to save me cooking/preparing) and make it worthwhile for the vendors. They are expecting 2050 people here although that includes artists and volunteers as well. We spent a quiet afternoon back at camp, soaking up the sun before taking our chairs to the entertainment area for tonight’s performances. Jude was very organised and pre-prepared most of our dinner (enhanced by Michele’s tomato chilli jam!) for when we got back although we were able to listen to the rest of the acts from our campsite anyway.
Day 33 - Eulo to Wandilla Station for Music in the Mulga
It was all about timing today. We said we’d leave camp at 9am today so we could visit the dump point and fill up with water in Eulo - which we did and timed it perfectly because we were the first vans in there. We, and Peter and Rhonda filled out water tanks quickly but Neill got the slow tap so that took a bit longer. By the time we left there, there was a queue of 8 vans! We took the dirt road out to Wandilla Station and the red dirt made great clouds of dust so it’s fair to say everything is covered in it now. It was only 16km on the dirt and when we arrived at the concert ticketing booth, we were right there! We were convinced there was going to be a long queue. So we checked in and were assigned a “Parker” who led us to our camping spot on a quad bike. We were all set up by elevenses, during which we were able to see the road coming in, and noticed that there was quite a queue forming. So once again, we timed it right. Over the rest of the day, we watched the queue wane and form again, and watched some inept drivers trying to set up. Neill, Jude and I went for a walk this afternoon to check the lay of the land. We found six Patriots (one more then expected) but no one was home so I didn’t get to chat. Back home for afternoon tea - Jude whipped up some pikelets which were delicious! I was on dinner duty so started prep for that and we enjoyed the creamy chicken ricotta casserole around the fire. There was some impromptu music happening on stage tonight so we were able to listen to that. The nights are cooling down considerably - we even had the diesel heater on this morning! Must be because we are closer to the desert!!
Day 32 - Cunnumulla to Eulo
It was my Dad’s birthday today so we had a bottle of bubbles around the campfire to honour him. This morning was pack up time so we were all busy with the rigmarole that goes with that, which for me, included a quick trip to town to pick up the bread we had ordered yesterday because most bakeries in this part of the world don’t seem to bake wholemeal bread!
We were on the road by just after 9:30am for the 64km drive to Eulo. We suspected the free camp here might be quite busy with people getting ready to go into the music festival so we wanted to get a spot early. A quick stop in the thriving metropolis of Eulo (which has a pub, a general store, a museum, a giftwares shop, an airport and a one man police station) before we headed to this spot on the banks of the Paroo River. Although we didn’t get a spot overlooking the river, we did find a decent spot and were set up for elevenses in the sun. It seemed cooler than the last few days but then the sun got really warm. We didn’t think one night warranted us putting up our temporary gazebo in lieu of our awning so instead we rolled out the car awning - after all, the idea is to try and use everything on every trip or why carry it?! It was a pleasant day reading and chilling in the sun, preparing the fire, collecting more firewood and other exciting activities until the fire was lit and we enjoyed dinner around it, listening to more music!
Day 31 - Cunnumulla
Even though it is Monday, we pretended it was Sunday and had our fry up for breakfast. It was beautifully orchestrated - Peter got up early as he had to take his car for a service so he resurrected the fire and it was burning cheerily when I lifted the blind to watch the river while having my morning cuppa in bed. Jude then went to pick up Peter while Neill and I got the food on and we all enjoyed our breakfast in the rapidly warming sun. The others headed into town for a few jobs, as did we. First stop was the mechanic to see if he could do anything to help our windscreen not crack any further. He did a great job although “no guarantees”! Then the local IGA for the last few groceries for a week, then the bakery for lunch (including a special order for wholemeal bread which actually isn’t very common in this part of the world), then fuel (driveway service, even! And we’re not in Tassie!!), then the hardware for an expensive gas refill, then the bottle-o so it wasn’t until mid afternoon before we got back to the van. I did a quick load of washing as we wont have access to that (or much else!) for the next week. The other Patriot owners came over for a chat and before we knew it, dinner was being prepared. While Jude especially crumbed sausages just for Greg, I captured tonight’s stunning sunset Part of our musical repertoire at nights around the campfire has been Slim Dusty with the famous song in these parts - the Cunnumulla Fella.
Day 30 - Charlotte Plains Station to Cunnumulla
Jude and I had an 8:30am date at the hot baths and it was the best - perfect time of the day when it was still cool enough to enjoy the warmth of the artesian bore water but late enough and warm enough to walk the 50m to the baths quite comfortably! I had been doing the dishes prior t
o walking over - not something I often do in my bathers! So we really enjoyed the half an hour or so we spent soaking and watching the sun get further up over the steaming water. A quick shower afterwards and final pack up and we were on the road by 9:35am. Just as we turned back onto the Balonne Highway from the Station, a caravan passed us going the other way and flicked up a large stone which not only made a massive bang but left two large chips in the centre of the windscreen which soon started forming star shapes and moving outwards! We soldiered on for the 50-odd kilometres into Cunnamulla. On our big trip in 2014, we free camped at the weir at Cunnamulla (search for it on this blog!) but that doesn’t come up on WikiCamps anymore so we aimed for a caravan park near the weir. Turns out it is pretty great - we are right on the river in the unpowered area away from everyone else. After elevenses as we all retreated to the shade due to the heat, we did a few housekeeping jobs and then headed to to town for the famous Cunnamulla Camel Burger for lunch! Greg and I had had this when we passed through a couple of years ago so it was fitting to introduce it to our travelling companions! And it was as good as we remembered and everyone enjoyed it. We headed back to camp via the weir and we found where Greg and I camped 7 years ago. There sure is plenty of signs telling you there is no camping now! A nice afternoon back at camp with a bit of firewood collection and I had a lovely chat with some fellow Sunlandians who have a bigger version of our van. We got our campfire started (again, more for ambience than warmth) and cracked a bottle of Clover Hill to celebrate Mother’s Day. We enjoyed this as the sun set over the river - just beautiful! Another lovely evening around the fire with music blaring from the caravan speakers.
Day 29 - Charlotte Plains Station
We slept with all the windows and door open as it was so mild. Which of course, had me wake early due to the light so I read quietly for an hour before the need for the toilet got me out of bed, and putting the coffee pot and kettle on. It’s Saturday so bagel day, with smoked salmon and cream cheese. Then we were indecisive as to whether we should go on the station tour - for an extra $32 mind you! The others all decided to go but we stayed back. So I washed the floors, went for a swim while Greg fixed the Bluetooth connections with the van stereo and listened to music. We enjoyed chicken schnitzel for lunch and soaked up the warmth. The water from the bore was still too hot to comfortably swim in, to the point where I had a cold shower when I got back to the van! The others came back at about 2ish, filled with sad stories of the decline of the station. The current owner took them on the tour - she is fourth generation but likely the last. She has de stocked and is clearly relying on campers sustaining her. None of her children are interested in taking over and she has no one to help her. Most of the farming side is in decline so all quite sad. We got the fire going as I had planned a casserole in the camp oven tonight, the clouds rolled in but no rain. Still a very mild night - the only reason I have long sleeves and long pants on is the mozzies. It was a yummy casserole and we enjoyed the fire although again, it’s not for warmth.
Day 28 - St George to Charlotte Plains Station
Ahhh, the warmth has arrived! The day dawned warm and sunny, and just got better as we drove west. We did our housekeeping at the caravan park this morning, and I got to chat to a fellow Patriot owner who is also going to Music in the Mulga, and left the caravan park before 10am - because WikiCamps told us that Ivan (the Terrible) was a bit of a Nazi when it comes to leaving the caravan park on time. Admittedly, the day’s new bookings were arriving before we left. After a quick stop at the butcher, we were on the road by 10ish and heading west. We crossed the weir of the Balonne River that we had heard all about last night on the cruise and kept going. Elevenses were in Ballon, a very small town that had an amazing camp site at Wallum Creek. There was even another Sunland caravan in there! We continued down the Balonne Highway, stopping for lunch at this beautiful gravel pit on the side of the highway. It was only another 60km down the highway to the turn off for Charlotte Plains Station. After a bit of deliberation on which track to take, we arrived at the hot artesian bores and indeed, the campsite! The water pumps out of the bore continuously at 42C, pumping into a couple of creeks and then you can turn a tap to fill a series of baths with the naturally hot water. So after we found a suitable campsite and got ourselves set up, bathers were on and it was off to the baths. But given it was a beautiful 27C afternoon, the 42C water was a bit too hot! So I didn’t last too long in the bath, choosing instead to float down the creek seeking the cooler temperatures. It took a fair way to get suitably cooler. Back to camp to cool down in the shade and rehydrate before drinks and nibbles. And watch the bird life, which is quite prolific given the water. The clouds of green budgies were something to behold. The campfire got lit although it certainly wasn’t for warmth, as it was quite warm until late at night. But the ambience was great, we enjoyed a lovely meal courtesy of Jude and downloaded music played through the Patriot speakers into the evening.
Day 27 - Nindigully to St George
You can tell it’s cotton picking season up here! There’s fields of white fluffy plants or brown stubble, there’s rows of yellow plastic wrapped bales lined up as far as the eye can see, and there’s plenty of trucks moving just a few of the giant bales at a time passing you on the road! Today’s drive was short, straight and dry and apart from cotton trucks, very easy. We arrived into St George before 10am and found our caravan park (there are no free camps in this town) and had the first load of washing on before 10:30am! Plenty of housekeeping to do, multiple loads of washing, grocery shopping, fuelling up the cars - and we had to have all of this done before 4pm as we were booked on the sunset cruise along the Balonne River. It made for a busy day but thankfully the cruise departed from just behind our caravan park. Brett took about 20 of us upstream describing the wildlife, the characteristics of the river particularly between the two weirs, the floods, the fauna etc. We journeyed approximately 8km before we turned around, and got to witness a spectacular sunset en route. Water is pretty critical in this part of the world and the river provides a lot of that - hence why the weirs were built for farming irrigation. There are also two artesian bores here that supplies water - and occasionally, it rains. We were back to camp by 6pm and as I was on dinner duty tonight, I leapt into action (whilst also chasing the last of my drying washing). Satay beef was on the menu tonight which was enjoyed by all sitting outside, although it would have still been nice to have had a fire. As we drank our tea, and the clock approached 9pm, we realised we were the only people still out and awake in this caravan park - which is chockers! More housekeeping before bed, ready for a much bigger drive tomorrow - but there are artesian baths at the end of it - which should be very nice in the 27C forecast for tomorrow!! (No service where we are going so it will be a few days before the blog gets updated again)
Day 26 - Texas to Nindigully
There was a fair bit of rain last night but nothing like the previous flooding. We had agreed to a 9am departure but due to our indoor activities last night, there was next to nothing to do outside so we certainly didn’t hurry our morning cuppa in bed. First destination once we were on the road was a trip through Texas itself, a nice country town with most services and very few vacant shops which was a good sign for the local economy. Then we started the drive to Goodiwindi and noticed the clouds getting darker and darker. About 50km in, the heavens opened. It was so dark, the rain and hail was bucketing down, there was wind and lightening - it was horrible. Although technically on a highway (the Bruxner Highway, to be precise - same as when we left Andrew’s), it was narrow and not in great condition from previous flooding so there was nowhere to pull over. I slowed down to 40km/hr but it was still hard work. This went on for awhile before easing a bit the closer to Goondiwindi we got. We were aiming for
a bakery for elevenses in Goodiwindi, so were pleased to find parking and head to Batesy’s Bakery. The coffee was OK, the raspberry scroll delicious, the sausage roll OK. Although the rain had cleared, it was still cold, with quite the southerly wind. This is more Tassie weather than Queensland weather!! On the road again, we had to negotiate more flood damage, dead pigs and a very alive big roo in the middle of the road. Lunch was in the hamlet of Toobeah before we trundled further down the road to the Nindigully Pub, on the banks of the Moonie River. This is a bit like the Daly Waters pub - good food, camping out the front, very rustic. We got setup and enjoyed tea in the sunshine although the wind was still very cold so we did have to re reat indoors before we headed up to the pub for dinner. One of their famous menu items is the “Road Train Burger” which can feed up to 6 people (see picture below). We passed, but we did see a table of four people sharing one!
Day 25 - Ewingar to Texas
We had instructed Neill to give us an update on Jude’s condition by 7:30am, in case she would have preferred to stay put. But she said she was OK to drive so we started the pack up. We were on the road before 9:30am but the drive out of there and then up the hill to Tenterfield took two hours. The Showgrounds was our destination for water to fill our tanks, dump Point and our morning tea location. Then we found a fuel station so it was after 12pm before we left Tenterfield. Heading north again (we drove this road a couple of weeks ago) we didn’t go too far on the same road before turning off onto the Bruxner Highway again and heading west. It was tricky to find a spot to pull over for lunch so it wasn’t until the hamlet of Mingloo where we propped in front of the local school. Back on the road for the last 60km into Texas and we crossed the Dumaresq River into Queensland for our free camp on the river banks. There were plenty of others camped here, and big black clouds bearing down so we found a quieter spot builder up the river bank and made it inside the vans just before the rain and wind hit. We all caught up on news and social media after four days off grid until our Uber Eats dinner appeared at our door, courtesy of Rhonda and Peter. Even the TV works here so we all enjoyed nights in our own vans. But we continue to keep an ear on the rain as we can see they have had a fair bit of rain here in recent times - judgng by the debris caught in this tree next to our van, the water level was pretty high!
Day 24 - Ewingar
Given we were here for an extra day, some day trips were planned. Neill and Jude, Rhonda and Peter wanted to make the big trek to Byron Bay so they set off quite early. We had an easy morning around camp and then headed up to the house to pick up Andrew for our outing. Andrew suggested a round trip via Bonalbo including lunch at the pub, then out to some waterfalls and then back. Bonalbo is a quaint little town with a very fancy new looking police station - which we then learned was empty because they don’t have any police officers! Unfortunately the pub doesn’t do lunch on a Monday so we had to head to a cafe in the hall. It has a very limited menu but was Ok and it was nice to sit in the sun. Onwards we drove, past one waterfall that Andrew said was a bit ordinary so we kept going. After awhile we got to the turn off for the Tooloom Falls to find that the local Aboriginal people had closed it until the end of June! Disappointed, we headed for home - on a road that deteriorated terribly. After careful negotiation of rock, washouts, ruts and corners, I pulled over for a wee break - and with my limited mobile service, determined we still had 37km to go!! It took a while, I was pretty tired after battling with the steering wheel, but eventually we made it back to Tabulam because we needed fuel. And then they wouldn’t give us more than $50 worth! I negotiated up to $60 but at $1.53 a litre, that still wasn’t much! We made it back up the hill before 5pm but discovered the others were still an hour away so I lit the campfire and we had a cuppa. Upon their return, we discovered Jude had hurt her back and was moving very gingerly. She was tucked up into her van and Neill brought me the dinner ingredients so I could cook dinner, which turned out really well. We enjoyed our meal in front of the fire, Andrew and Courtney came down for our last night together.
Day 23 - Ewingar
It’s Sunday, so that means a fry up for breakfast. Peter had been instructed to get the fire going nice and early so there were plenty of coals for breakfast at 9am. And he had his work cut out for him, as it had rained overnight. But it was all good in time for our eggs and bacon. There was still a few drops of rain but pretty soon, the sun was shining and we were getting hot. We did a bit of route planning as we have been very agile and flexible in our itinerary to date, and still need to be! Route decided for the next week and a half meant we could stay an extra day here. We all had a pretty quiet afternoon around camp, interrupted by the odd shower of rain. Tonight’s dinner was roast pork which I had to get on early. So that was put into the Weber at 3:30pm and veggies prepared for both camp ovens from 5ish. Careful cooking, some steamed veggies to accompany and a crisping up of the crackling under the grill we had us enjoying a perfectly cooked dinner before 7pm. The rain had cleared, the fire was roaring, the tunes were playing and we had an awesome night under the stars.
Day 22 - Ewingar
It rained during the night but the day dawned quite brightly, which was contradictory to the weather forecast. We had planned scones for elevenses and Andrew came down in time for that, as we sat in the sun. Then as part of the organised activities at this very excellent campsite, Andrew took us on a walking tour - with the two dogs of course! The regrowth since the bushfires of October 2019 is remarkable, considering our campground burnt, and Andrew’s house was surrounded by fire at the time. They have had a lot of rain this summer so everything is very lush and green. Hence, we were doing some bush bashing on our walk as most of Andrew’s place is virgin bush. Back in time for lunch, also in the sun. We all spent a quiet afternoon in the sun (although the clouds did cover us a bit - still a lot better than the rain they forecast) before heading up to the house for dinner. Andrew wanted us there before dark so he could show off his new tractor. It was lovely to catch up with Courtney too and she cooked us a delicious dinner.
Day 21 - Burpengary to Ewingar
The day dawned wet, which we had been expecting. Our run of warm, sunny weather was coming to an end. Thankfully, it didn’t interfere with packing up too much. We were on the road just after 9am, hoping the majority of Brisbane traffic would be gone by the time we got closer to Brisbane. For the most part, this was the case and we were sailing along, although it was harder to keep our convoy together with so much traffic. There aren’t many (read, any) rest areas along the M1 out of Brisbane so we had to pull off to find a suitable park for elevenses. Unfortunately, as soon as we pulled back on, the traffic was horrendous and we were at a stand hill for at least half an hour. We had already planned to have lunch in Bangalow so it was a bit late by the time we got there. Hence, we consciously ate quickly so as to keep driving - we didn’t want to set up in the dark at Andrew’s. Next stop was Casino for water and dump point. Greg and I got there well before everyone else - apparently they took a wrong turn courtesy of their sat nav. It was also raining so we were worried about what conditions would be like for set up at Andrew’s. Back on the road, through more rain, up the hills of the Richmond Ranges and down into Tabulam where I let Andrew know we were on the home stretch, although expecting to be cutting it fine before dark. We, of course, are used to the road to Andrew’s but Peter and Rhonda were potentially a little concerned!! Sure enough, my little brother was waiting for us at the front gate and guided us through to our personal campsite. A quick bit of digging and back and forth on ramps to level up and a bit of rain but we were all done before 6pm. Beers were cracked to celebrate sibling togetherness - thanks to CoVId, this is the longest we have gone in our lives of not seeing each other. We huddled together under Neill and Jude’s awning while I cooked up a one pot wonder of dinner. Courtney came down to say hello until we all got too cold and went out separate ways to bed.
