Gismo Queen and her King

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.

posted by Tracey @ 10:43 pm