Opps! forgot to mention Ruby taking off after a mob of Kangaroo's.
The Australian Silky Terrier was bred for rat catching, Ruby might have thought she'd come across a very large species of rat?
She spotted them, got their scent and began to give chase, Stupid me! not thinking where we were I said...go!...but straight away when I noticed how much speed she got up and was racing away, disappearing into the scrub, that I shouldn't have said that.
The wind was blowing toward me so she couldn't hear me calling for her to stop. I could see the large mob of Roo's bounding off with her close behind them, then I thought, what if they turn and attack her. As time passed I started to wonder if I would ever see her again, the scrub is so vast, thick with dead wood and full of low bushes that she blended into the earthy colours really quickly.
I didn't show panic on the outside, didn't want to show my new bestie (Anne) that I was about to fall apart, kept it under control until I seen a small brown fluff ball, panting madly, picking her way through the bindys, nettles and burr's. She was gone for what seemed a long time but was probably only about10 minutes. I picked her up and carried her back for a long cool drink and the removal of burr's from her paws and fur. I also lost my jacket that was tied around my waist, somewhere out there too!
A hard lesson learnt, never to say "Go" in the scrub to my little rat chaser.
90km down the track from Charleville we pull into Wyandra, a very small town with a pub and a corner store attached to a small caravan park with fees of $20 per night. We opt to enter the pub and was greeted by patrons singing the praises of the $11 lamb roast which we promptly ordered for lunch. These lovely people were staying at the free camp ground two streets away and of course after lunch we headed there to set up camp. There is a great fire here continually burning, the publican replenishes a massive pile of old fence posts to keep it stoked up, a dump point is nearby, a solar shower if you're happy with tepid water, a good sized clothes line and the best TV reception so far.
Parked almost in the middle of the camp area, we're exposed to the wind in all directions, we were parked there for a couple days until Nicki decided she wanted to head straight for home. By her few comments I knew that she didn't think this trip had turned out as she thought, we have very different ideas about travelling in the outback. I felt the pressure of making all the decisions and that didn't sit well with me either, anyway I still have around 6 weeks of play time so I've stayed on to make the best of my stay in outback Queensland. Loving it so much.
I've set up a new spot around the other side that's protected from the wind and in a position to catch all the beautiful sunsets from my motor home. I was out trying for a milky way shot one night when I caught this one, the campers had just thrown another log on the fire at about 9.30pm. The stars are brilliant right now but won't be long before the moon fades them.
A pretty morning sun rise and then Anne arrives and parks kind of in the same area, a lone traveler like me we hit it off really well from the start. We had some things in common.
Anne learnt to Crochet not too long ago, started with a square and now calls it her tarpaulin. I figure she just doesn't know how to end it.
In her working life she was employed by the Central Coast Labour Party (wont hold that against her) and became redundant when the money scandal axed politicians.
We did a long walk to find the Warrigo River and wow! what a fabulous spot to camp if only the ground was a little dryer and so close to the river bank, beautiful gum trees and plenty of bird life.
We walked to the museum one day and the next walked to the pub for dinner and beer (one Hahn premium light for me)
A lovely couple, Graham and Marg (nick name Butter) stopped for a few days before heading to Yowah via Cunnamulla and Eulo after hearing from another couple that there are little huts there like the ones on the beach in Victoria, the difference being they have a Artesian bath in each and are without a roof.
Imagine soaking in a hot tub and looking at the stars at the same time in the middle of nowhere. I seriously considered following them but checked the weather first, with the temp being lower than 18deg over the next week, I promptly declined.
Arriving at Charleville mid morning Nicki speaks to the repair man, arranging for a meeting at about 5pm at the Cobb and Co caravan park on the outskirts of town for the replacement part to the door to be installed. Later, visited the Information Centre/ Cosmos Observatory to book in for the "Aboriginal Night Sky Stories" at 6pm. From there we find the Cobb & Co caravan park and book in for one night, paying $22 each for a non powered site...a bit rich I thought....but is close to the home of the repairman. I ordered a taxi for a return trip from the night sky stories, figuring it would be nice to be a passenger for a change. And there you go again...things just don't work out how you think sometimes.
Another part of Nick's door falls off, bugger! and the repairman was running a little late, I panicked and cancelled the taxi, it turned out we would have had minutes to spare of its arrival.
The door handle all fixed and Nicki happy, I drove the van out to the Observatory for the hour of night sky stories, leaving poor Harry alone in Nicki's van, not really, he was very happy to wait in a warm bed. Ruby got to come with us for the ride.
Needing the focus on the dark sky's and not the stars, looking from the Coal Sack just below the southern cross, that really dark spot is the head of a dream time Warrior and following the dark to the right is his shoulders/arms and the Coal Sack is also the head of the emu with the dark areas flowing to the left of the cross is its body and legs. When the legs disappear at a certain time of year, the male emu is then sitting on eggs and is the time to collect only 2 eggs from a possible 6.
At the information Centre our inquiries were made regarding the road through Quilpi and Cunnamulla to the Dig Tree as these are the two ways to arrive at this destination from Charleville. This being the 'Natural Sciences Loop' covering towns like Eromanga, Noccundra, Thargomindah, and Eulo, would be an interesting trip no matter which way we went.
Luck would have it that there was a big burly police officer with brass on his shoulders visiting the centre, he told us the road had been closed near Eulo about 60ks west of Cunnamulla due to run off and flooding of the Paroo river and Yowah Creek. He also said moving off any of the roads to give way to the trucks would be dangerously muddy. Mmm...I feel a trip change coming on here and have to admit I wasn't happy, I tried really hard to suck it in, though I felt like spitting chips!! Bugger...
The next morning we halted for cuppa and cake for morning tea in the main street of Charleville after Nicki had another problem, the swap and go this time, the new bottle was larger than the last and the holding strap wouldn't fit around to secure it. I think Nicki felt a bit over it and I also gave in to the Universe telling us to turn around and go south on our return journey home. A quick discussion was had and we were out of town travelling toward Cunnamulla.
Luckily for me a hair dresser/barber got his caravan bogged one day, of course there were plenty of helpers and instruction floating about. He was freed in no time and was about to be on his way when a powered site became available so he opted to stay over night, especially when there were 4 people wanting a quick hair cut. At $10 a head I lined up for a desperately needed trim and he didn't do a bad job either, better than most hair dressers charging $30.
It's funny that people are remembering us on our travels. Standing on a Surate corner with the two dogs on lead a caravan comes around the corner and honking his horn and calls out "we've come across you two down south before". Later on...spying a choofer with a chimney, and saying to the owners, that it was really great, the owner says "you should recognize this one because you have a photo of it from Surate camping ground. Bugger! I felt a little embarrassed not remembering these people....well! I did only speak to them for a few minutes and unfortunately my face/people recognition has never been great. Another woman says "I know you, probably met you at a CMCA rally" Not sure about this one, I've been to one rally that was held at Nelson Bay last year and only walked around checking out the vans.
Wash day today...
Nicki's door handle has arrived in Charleville so we'll pack up tonight, ready to leave at a leisurely pace tomorrow morning. We have been here at Morven for about 7 days.
There is so much road kill out here, Roo's, large pigs, goats and emu's. Following the train track and further along there is plenty of water pooled on both sides of the road and spread across the paddocks too, the bush is greening up quickly.
Heading west into Roma, we come across 'Bakearoma' the best bread/cake/eatery on the corner of Arthur and McDowall street where we settle in for a pie and cuppa lunch. I think the whole darned busy store is filled with travelers, maps out on tables and conversation's about what to see in the town. We share a table with a couple travelling in the opposite direction to us and have a wonderful discussion.
The streets of Roma are lined with massive Bottle trees, an unusual sight for me.
Woolworths was our next stop to top up our larders and a chemist for Nicki then asked at Mitre 10 for a cheap fold up chair and they have them for $11. The idea is that Harry might like to sit in a chair instead of trying to fit himself on Nicki's lap. Harry was at home in his new chair and close enough for pats from an out stretched hand from Nicki. I bought one for Ruby as well.
Still on the Warrego Hwy our next stop is Mitchell, continuing on for another 3kls passing the town to the camp at the Neil Turner Weir, a great expanse of camps spread along the waters edge.
There is tap water and toilets situated near the middle of the camp area. If it wasn't grey days we could have stayed there for a few days no problem at all.
Since we left home we haven't set up the solar panels at all but, I'm thinking we are getting closer to the days that power won't be as freely available for a cheap fee therefore we'll be using solar more regularly.
The cloud bank hanging over this state is a bugger as it is impacting on the decisions we make regarding our direction to the Dig Tree, figuring we won't be near the area for at least another week I'm hoping we get clear sky's and dry mud.
We're in the outback now....open expanses....Nicki in the rear view mirror.
Waking up Friday morning...not to early! I had the feeling that we should move out as soon as possible, aiming to arrive at Morven for a $5 a night camp only 90kl away, I've been told to get there early if we want a powered site. We arrived here at about 10.30 and thinking that only one powered site was free we busied ourselves trying to figure out how to share the one power point. Nicki was lucky enough to find another power spot at the other end of camp after a quick walk around, we are a distance away from each other but that's ok.
Saturday night, Nicki's door handle to the motor home broke off and with torches in hand, I tried to open the door with the broken off part and had success after a bit of fiddling. This meant that she could open the door from the inside but not from the outside, so I advised her to keep something in the door jam to keep the door open while she was outside.
Hamburg Creek, originally known as Saddlers Waterhole, is where the early settler Captian T J Sadleir and his wife camped and is the first site of Morven town, later becoming a rest stop beside the creek for Cobb & Co. The area is flood prone so I imagine that's the reason the town is now further away.
The cattle duffer (thief) Harry Redford and two friends stole 600-1000 cattle in the1800's from Queensland and drove them to Adelaide through country that defeated Burke and Wills. The cattle arrived in prime condition.
Harry's trial in 1873 found him 'not guilty' of the crime.
Rained during the night and after lunch Sunday so settled in with the footy, go the Dogs!
Bugger that! they lost....
Monday morning Nicki drove into Charleville to see about her door latch. Returning around lunch time with the news that the guy she called, could fix it, we just have to wait for the part to arrive at his work shop which could take a few days so....we are still here at Morven. Luckily we can stay 7 days, but just on the quiet...I think a few caravan's have been here way over the designated time.
When Nicki was away she lost her parking spot but is now parked nearer to me while she waits for someone to leave to plug into power, a lovely fellow nearby allowed her to double up and use his power socket.
There's panic every morning! when one camper disconnects the power and moves off, another will move into the spot or race over with power lead in hand to connect up before anyone else beats them to it. A motor home larger than mine parked so close to me I could shake hands with him through the side window of my van even though there is no other vans on that side and plenty of room to spread out. Jumping out of bed I said to him "hey hang on! you are blocking my sun" meaning he is to close to my space, he took it to be a joke. Some rude people just don't realise there is such a thing as camping etiquette like, not parking on top of another, it's not the same as a caravan park, all squeezed in like sardines?
Tuesday sunny followed by storms in the evening and I've finally caught up with my blog.
These back roads are great, the passing scenery changes constantly, I had a mob of kangaroos bounding by on my right so I broke into song, 6 white boomers, snow white boomers, racing santa clause through the blazing sun.......then I realise the crash cam camera is recording sound secretly so I laughingly shut myself up. I love being our here, not to much traffic, of course there are big trucks but just keep an eye out for them and move over enough for them not to have to hit the dirt and have stones thrown up when they pass.
I keep Nicki in view in the rear view mirror and far enough behind me that there is plenty of room between us to give motorists space and not have them over take her then find they have to overtake again to quickly. I like at least 600 mtrs or even more between our motor homes.
So its Wednesday and we're in Sarat, we fill the tanks for $1.34 per ltr, the cheapest price so far on this trip.
Surat is Cobb & Co town, the last horse drawn coach left here in 1924 with the last trip being between Surat and Yuleba at a distance of 75kl. At the hight of Cobb& Co they were running 3000 horses at a total of around 10,000 miles a week.
Mmmm! it's bit unusual for us to see a horse and rider on the town footpath while we have a cuppa and cake at the local store. We were considering our camp spot and decided on 'The Fishing and Restocking Club Park' just over the Balonne river, a gold coin donation and a fairly large level area with a clean loo's and water.
I find it easy to strike up a conversation with fellow campers while wandering around in the late afternoon when they are setting up or have their fires going. I take my camera with me and I tell them I am gathering many photos of choofers', it's a conversation starter if nothing else. I often get comical prompts like "Na! ya can't caus I have a patent on this one" or "it'll cost ya" I'm always amazed at the variety/design of the ingeniously wielded pieces for different types of cooking. This one is kinda special.
Before leaving camp I was directed by "Na! its patented" to a spot about 1/2 kl out of town where I would find plenty of timber that was left behind after the wood mill closed down. There were dozens of large white bags left on both sides of the dirt track. Loading up as much as I thought was ok for the rear carry box and Nicki also collected some wood for the spare space she had.
We have decided that we will be as far north as we want to go when we pass through Roma and Charleville and have made our final south westerly destination as "The Burke and Wills Did Tree" Yey!! I'm a happy vegemite.
Turned east from Talwood before turning north again at Bungunya, passing thru Westmar on this very straight long road to Meandarra (me an darra) the town named after a man and his dog. We considered staying overnight here with power and water @ $10 for the first 2 nights and then the next 2 nights free, good value if needing time off the road but we continued on, now heading west to Glenmorgan where we pulled over to enjoy the afternoon beside the gum trees and the old railway station.
The camp area is beside the railway track that was/is 'end of line' and also directly across the road from the general store. I seen they sold some camp items in the store, I rattled around in there for a bit and found 2 really large tent pegs $6 each, just what I need to make a grid atop the choofer. It will balance the kettle and frypan nicely but will have to wait till I'm home to visit the Mens Shed for help drilling 4 holes.
Under the shade of the picnic area members of council gathered to have their local meeting, I couldn't help but quietly listen in to their discussion about Anzac Day. The donation box is beside the gas bbq's and power switches.
This is a quiet, enjoyable spot with the weather being nice and warm during the day. There is fire drum and timber supplied for the travellers. A couple from Tasmania camped nearby and cranked up the fire so, of course we were there to soak up the heat as the cool night set in, What a way to end the day, treated to a fabulous sunset with good company to boot.
