Number of Days: 147
Total kilometres travelled: 24,518 kms
Average kilometres per day: 167 km/day
Total petrol consumed: 2,922 litres
Average fuel consumption: 11.9 litres/100km
Total petrol cost: $4,644
Average petrol price per litre: $1.59
Average petrol cost per day: $32
Average petrol cost per km: 19c
Total accommodation cost: $1873
Average accommodation cost per day: $13 ($20/day excluding free camping)
Petrol costs were clearly our main expense, being two and a half times our accommodation costs.
We free camped 53 nights - more than one third of our trip.
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Sep 1-5 The final days
From Mendooran, it was only a 70km drive into Dubbo. There were a few things to do in Dubbo (like the zoo), but we decided to keep moving. We had a look around town and found it too busy; too many people. We drove on to a place called Toongi and nearly set up camp there. Alas, no internet and no TV reception. On we went to another lovely little town 70kms south of Dubbo called Yeoval, which offered powered camping sites at the disused showgrounds for a bargain-basement price of $8. Both TV and internet reception to be had, making us happy campers.
The following day we set off for a big day in Parkes. First stop was the Dish - an Aussie icon after the movie really put it on the map. Interesting place to visit. We were lucky to see the dish move from vertical to horizontal.
The other famous attraction in Parkes that we wanted to see was the Elvis Museum. We had planned to go to Parkes earlier in the year for the Elvis Festival, but we didn't make it (maybe next year?). The museum was really well done, and entry includes access to a vintage car/motorbike museum. Learnt a few things about Elvis, like Priscilla was only 14 years old when the romance started, and he was still writing love letters back to his fiancee. Scandal!
After Parkes, we drove onto another small town called Gooloogong. They provided powered camping for a donation (we gave them a tenner). Yet another friendly and interesting little old town that we enjoyed walking around.
The next day we travelled through a few more towns that were nicely presented - Grenfel, Young, Cootamundra. Each were good looking towns with a real sense of history. Our direction was towards Wagga Wagga, as neither of us had been to this town before and we felt that we should. We found a free camp on the banks of the Murumbidgee River near Wantabadgery (about 40kms east of Wagga Wagga). Plenty of room; lovely site; would come back again.
Our day in Wagga Wagga was a little tarnished by the cold, wet weather. We managed to enjoy our morning tea at a town park - with a power point for toast and coffee - just before the rain set in. Judith was keen to see the Glass Art Gallery, which was exceptional. The art gallery and museum was next door so we visited them as well. The museum had a PowerHouse photography exhibition called Train Spotting which was impressive.
We stopped at Jerilderie and nearly stayed the night, but the free camp area was a little too suburban for our liking (we could see houses in several directions), even though it was right on the river. We found a caravan park in a small town called Berrigan for the night. Sleepy caravan park, with only one other caravan with us, in a sleepy little town. Sounds good, except for the boguns across the road playing their 80s music at full volume. At least they turned the music down at 10pm.
The following day, we explored the area where my mother grew up. In between Berrigan and Cobram is an almost non-existant town called Lalalty. All that remains today is a public hall and a school that is now a residence, unfortunately very badly renovated.
Once we got over the border and into Victoria, we worked out how long it would take for us to get to our home base of Talbot. A couple of hours and we'd be home before dark. So we kept driving and arrived safely back at our little cottage, the end of our big trip - for now...
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| Princess checked out the facilties at the Toongi camp site |
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| Interesting artwork in the park at Yeoval |
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| Impressive sculpture at Yeoval |
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| Walking down the main street of Yeoval |
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| Lovely spring blossums |
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| Our camp site at the Yeoval Showgrounds, next to the Men's Shed |
The following day we set off for a big day in Parkes. First stop was the Dish - an Aussie icon after the movie really put it on the map. Interesting place to visit. We were lucky to see the dish move from vertical to horizontal.
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| View of the Dish from outside the complex |
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| The dish, in all its glory |
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| Judith at the Elvis museum |
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| Elvis and his Cadillac |
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| A stunning old church that was for sale - very tempting |
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| The camp site at Gooloogong |
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| The beautiful country scenery near Wagge Wagga |
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| Great camp site on the banks of the Murumbidgee River |
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| The happy couple at dusk |
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| The wonderful Glass Art Gallery at Wagga Wagga |
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| The camp site at Jerolderie that we didn't stay at |
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| The old Lalalty school, badly converted into a dwelling. This is where my Mum went to school |
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| The Lalalty Public Hall Not sure what my Mum did here |
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| Under the eaves of the Lalalty Public Hall the swallows have been very active |
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| Our little cottage at Talbot |
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Aug 29-31 Narrabri, Coonabarabran, Mendooran
From Moree, we drove on to Narrabri and checked into the Showgrounds. Lots of space, away from main roads and powered site for only $14. Enjoyed a wander around the main street of Narrabri and thought it a nice town.
The Australia Telescope Compact Array is located 23 km to the west of Narrabri. The following day we went for a visit. I found it quite interesting. Not so sure about Judith. I think she's looking forward to seeing the Dish at Parkes though in just a couple of days time.
The telescope array is in the middle of almost nowhere. There was one place on the map nearby called Yarrie Lake so this became our destination for lunch. There was a camping ground but unfortunately dogs are not allowed. We thought it was a lovely spot for our lunch and a bit of a play.
We got confused (the GPS as well!) on the way back from Yarrie Lake and got stuck on about 20km of dirt tacks. Nothing too scary, but it did cause the shelf in the van to fall off the wall. (My fault for not putting it up properly in the first place.)
The next major town was Coonabarabran. The most notable difference for us was the blossom trees lining the streets. We haven't seen such trees for a long time; certainly not on our trip so far. After a shared coffee and apple turnover, we decided that we didn't want to stay in town and drove on further.
We stayed the night at a free camp site in a little town called Mendooran. We thought the town and the camp site was great, so we stayed for another day. No power, but with our new battery and solar we are fine.
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| The Narrabri Showgrounds |
The Australia Telescope Compact Array is located 23 km to the west of Narrabri. The following day we went for a visit. I found it quite interesting. Not so sure about Judith. I think she's looking forward to seeing the Dish at Parkes though in just a couple of days time.
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| Judith enjoys whispering to me about 20m away in front of another parabolic dish |
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| Two of the six 22 metre dishes that move along a railway line to track radio wave emissions from deep space |
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| A scale model to help one understand how the Compact Array set-up works |
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| The very pleasant Yarrie Lake, about 30kms west of Narrabri |
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| Our lunch spot on the shores of Yarrie Lake |
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| I found a rope in good condition and went for a swing. Not quite hot enough to let go over the water though... |
The next major town was Coonabarabran. The most notable difference for us was the blossom trees lining the streets. We haven't seen such trees for a long time; certainly not on our trip so far. After a shared coffee and apple turnover, we decided that we didn't want to stay in town and drove on further.
We stayed the night at a free camp site in a little town called Mendooran. We thought the town and the camp site was great, so we stayed for another day. No power, but with our new battery and solar we are fine.
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| The campsite by the river at Mendooran |
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| Our morning view from the van |
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| Our first night, in the shade of the beautiful trees |
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| Second day, we moved into the sun - for warmth and solar charging |
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| Mendooran is known as the mural town |
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| Another mural on the side of an old shed |
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
Aug 27-28 - Across the border to NSW
We know we are heading south because it's raining. Actually it was pouring! We drove through Condamine, which was flooded 6 months ago. The current rain was the first decent rain that they've had since. Good for them; bad timing for us.
The rain just got heavier as we made it to Goondoowindi. Too wet to get out of the car so we kept going into NSW and stayed at a van park at Boggabilla. Nothing special, in fact pretty run down. Woke up to a heavy mist in the morning, but cleared enough that we could go back have a look around Goondoowindi.
Then we headed further south towards Moree. Stopped in Moree for a look around and then went on to find a camp spot about 20km out of town - Gum Flat Public Reserve. Not only was the site good, the weather cleared and we were the only campers there. The only downside was the rubbish left behing by previous campers. We lit a fire and collected a load rubbish for incineration. We could have stayed longer, but we did check out rather late the following day.
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| The Big Cow Bell at Condamine - very wet! |
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| Brrr, waking up in Boggabilla NSW |
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| The centre of Goondawindi |
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| A good-looking hotel in the main street of Goondi |
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| Nice art-deco buildings in Goondi |
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| The only thing that Goondiwindi is famous for |
Then we headed further south towards Moree. Stopped in Moree for a look around and then went on to find a camp spot about 20km out of town - Gum Flat Public Reserve. Not only was the site good, the weather cleared and we were the only campers there. The only downside was the rubbish left behing by previous campers. We lit a fire and collected a load rubbish for incineration. We could have stayed longer, but we did check out rather late the following day.
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| Our camp site at Gum Flat Reserve |
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| Nice grassed area on the banks of a river |
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| Interesting reflections on the river at dusk |
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| Despite being the only campers, we were woken up by something rubbing against the back of the van |
Aug 24-26 Inland to Chinchiila
We left our roadside stop early and went first to Miriam Vale for a coffee and then on to Gin Gin where we stopped for breakfast in our van. We stopped for lunch at Biggenden - a quintessential small country town. We enjoyed our stroll around the town.
We drove on to Murgon, another small country town and decided to stay in the council-run caravan park. Nothing special. The caretaker had an annoying dog called Coco who continually intimidated Princess.
The following day we were keen to check out Kingaroy, the home of Former Qld premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson. We were disappointed - not a statue to be found. No pumpkin scones anywhere either. They did name a dam after them though but that was about the extent of it. We spent some time at the Information Centre come Museum and learnt a bit about peanut growing. Had no idea where peanuts came from before that.
On the way to Kingaroy, we stopped at a small town called Wondai. We enjoyed the art gallery there as well as an art project around town called Blue Poles. Commissioned works of art were mounted on blue wooden posts. Clever! This was also the first place in all of Australia where we have been warned by a shire officer for having our dog off the leash. Princess, the criminal! He was quite nice about it though.
We were on our way to Chinchilla when we found a camp spot about 5km out of town. After a nice quiet night, we decided to stay the next day and another night. No facilities so we roughed it - and enjoyed it. Back to lighting fires and digging toilet holes. The second night was punctuated with a visit from the local hoons who decided to use the nearby area for practicing their rally driving. They didn't last too long though.
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| Fancy sculpture in a park at Biggenden |
We drove on to Murgon, another small country town and decided to stay in the council-run caravan park. Nothing special. The caretaker had an annoying dog called Coco who continually intimidated Princess.
The following day we were keen to check out Kingaroy, the home of Former Qld premier Joh Bjelke-Peterson. We were disappointed - not a statue to be found. No pumpkin scones anywhere either. They did name a dam after them though but that was about the extent of it. We spent some time at the Information Centre come Museum and learnt a bit about peanut growing. Had no idea where peanuts came from before that.
On the way to Kingaroy, we stopped at a small town called Wondai. We enjoyed the art gallery there as well as an art project around town called Blue Poles. Commissioned works of art were mounted on blue wooden posts. Clever! This was also the first place in all of Australia where we have been warned by a shire officer for having our dog off the leash. Princess, the criminal! He was quite nice about it though.
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| The old shire office at Kingaroy |
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| And the more modern shire council building |
We were on our way to Chinchilla when we found a camp spot about 5km out of town. After a nice quiet night, we decided to stay the next day and another night. No facilities so we roughed it - and enjoyed it. Back to lighting fires and digging toilet holes. The second night was punctuated with a visit from the local hoons who decided to use the nearby area for practicing their rally driving. They didn't last too long though.
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| A majestic old pub at Jandowe on the way to Chinchilla |
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| We found a pretty and peaceful camp site just before Chinchilla |
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| Our bush camp site |
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