National Park Adventures

The morning was once again something special and its hard to tell the difference between the sound of water falling or wind. The wildlife is everywhere and its has become far more attached to us than we thought, while we watch them they attach themselves to us. This we found out after a simple sock change scared the shit out of both of us when a leech was found bloated after a good nights work, luckily attached to Tina’s leg. Greenies we may be but we are not quite ready to share yet. We stoked up the fire and boiled some of waterfall water for coffee had some breakfast and headed off again

A good 4WD practice track but then another new road obstacle, this time a fallen tree. Luckily a local Cocky was there, Chainsaw in hand and it was soon moved. We spent 10 or so minutes like we so often seem to do talking to the farmer and his wife, (who was actually giving orders as to which bit to cut) about government, the local environment, and just about bloody life as we see it in general, say goodbye and drive off. 10 in the morning and we have done all this stuff already.

We were going to do the National Park stuff today starting at Boonoo Boonoo falls. We walked to the falls which is 210m drop, 1,200m above sea level and is the same type of granite stone country that we seem for the last few days and it is very spectacular.

Basket Swamp Falls

Up early and packed up into town for supplies and now we are heading of to one of the many National Parks. The NSW Parks are more expensive to stay in than a caravan park, so free camping spots were on the menu.
We left Tenterfield and headed off towards Thunderbolt’s hideout, it seems like just a few well positioned rocks but it seems to have some sort of strange feeling when you go there. We headed off to see the tank traps set up in WW2. This was to be a frontline against the Japanese should we not be able to stop them from invading PNG.
Next stop Basket Swamp falls. It is suggested a 4WD is recommended but I would like to see anyone in 2WD try this road. Lucky it isn’t wet because the overloaded Tojo would have even been a challenge. We drove down the mountains until we came to a sign post. It looked like we could drive down further so we did. What a magnificent spot this is less than 20m from the actual waterfalls and just outside the national park (so another free camp). We are still a little nervous about just camping anywhere but we are certainly getting used to it. There was evidence of other campers so we decided we would camp here tonight.
After some time convincing Tina we decided that rather than take the track we would descend to the bottom of the falls by Andy’s track. A near shear drop of some 100m was completed with only minor scratch injuries. As the photo’s show it was well the effort and you don’t often get to sit around such a beautiful place completely alone. This would be some waterfall when it rained. We decided we would follow the swamp at the bottom by jumping from rock to rock and this went fairly well with only a minor fall from us both, wet shoes and some scratches to show for our efforts.

For the walk back we decided to take the track. Mountain Goat skills here were invaluable as this one hell of a steep track and we will both be sporting sore calves in the morning. A couple of other people rocked up for a look in the afternoon and all had trouble getting their 4WD’s back up the hill. Can’t wait to drive the Tojo up there. A very still night enjoying BBQ sausages on the fire listing to Triple”J” which we have had for last 3 days, surprisingly strange when we are still really out in the middle of nowhere. Just a note if you are going to park within 20m of a waterfall you are going to need to Whizz more!!

Andy's Manzear

The Hawk's win and a couple of lazy days in Tenterfield

Grand Final Day today, we had a quick breaky and packed up once more, gee we are really starting to get the hang of this, packing & unpacking, it is almost down to a fine art.
We needed to find a town with a pub showing the Grand Final not to mention some where to camp for the night. At about 10am we arrived at Tenterfield, quite a nice town on the top of the Great Dividing Ranges, we found the local information booth and asked if you could still camp at the Show Grounds as we had heard from a fellow traveler the day before, and sure enough you can! It is much cheaper than a van park and you still get water, electricity, flushing toilets & a hot shower. We soon discover it was not much of a walk to anywhere around town from the Show Grounds, which is good cause once the annex is up and attached to the Tojo, it does make it a little hard to move, not impossible but a little hard.
We found the Royal Hotel (you can see the big neon sign from our campsite) and asked the bartender if they were showing the AFL Grand Final, she was very gracious, if we wanted to watch it we were welcome, gee the country folk are so laid back & friendly it is really nice. After a few beers and some small talk with a few of the other people who also rocked up to watch the Grand Final, I looked out the window and saw some smoke billowing for the near by hill! I quickly asked the bar folk their thoughts of this plume of smoke which did seam to be growing larger by the minute, well….. apparently none of them lived over there so they were not bother by it much at all! Hence I was getting a little worried myself. When the footy finished “Go the Hawks!” we strolled on down to the car and I noticed right next to the Show Grounds is the Country Fire Service, and after seeing them not bothered by the fire, I relaxed. We went back to the pub for a counter meal, only our 2nd for the trip, a very nice T-bone & pasta dish. It was an eerie walk back to the camp with all the streets filled with smoke.


Well it seems we drank a bit more than expected yesterday during the footy, the beer was so cheap only $3.80 per scooner (in Adelaide that is what we call a pint) so today we had a sleep in and just had a lazy day hanging around sleeping, eating, relaxing.
We did work up the effort to go for a walk around town & find that launderette we had seen on the way into to town, the car is getting a bit stinky, so I bought a magic tree to hide the smell, well I was shocked at the price at this place $4.00 a load! last time we used a launderette it was only $2.40, but I suppose that may have been because it was in a caravan park I will have to keep track of this. I know Andy told you about the washing machine the other day, and it works really well but it took 3 days to do the last load, so plenty of dirty things have built up since.

Mona Lisa Village Macintyre River

A nice night although a little cold. We have no plans for today so we packed up and headed back to town to find the tip. We decided we would go to the Macintyre River just out of Ashford and try our luck there. There was a noticeable change of scenery as we drove towards Moree which is quite a large town on the Barwon River. We fueled up got supplies and some fishing gear to aid us. We headed off as usual guided by the GPS. We stopped to watch a Crop duster at work as well as a quick fish near a weir no luck but lots of dead carp around.


Theres always something to dodge on these roads

After 9 days of driving on the flats we finally came across some hills. We slowly kept getting higher up as we got closer to Ashford. It was nearly dusk when we got to our intended destination but there was really much of a spot, 5m next to the road. No sooner had we pulled in when the local farmer approached on his Quad bike. We were both expecting to be told “You can’t camp here” but Peter invited us over to his property where he said there was a good spot for fishing and canoeing.
So we followed him past the farmhouses and down to the water. Peter says we were more than welcome to say in any of the three houses he has there which are kept prepared for family drop ins. It’s extremely heartening when you come across this type of generosity from a complete stranger. We dropped in some lines and made some tea. Are we really good cooks or is it the surroundings and freedom that make every meal taste so good? A bit windy and a little cold but next to the river in doesn’t get much better.



Another beautiful morning greats us and a wake up to several of the cattle who are a little intrigued as to what we are doing in their paddock.
We headed off canoeing not really knowing how far we could canoe. The water is so clear you can see the bottom up to about 2m. It was just fantastic and we canoed at least 2km before our first shallow section. We dragged the canoes over and carried on.
There are large lizards on the bank about every 100m scurrying away when we approach. Tina nearly fell in the river and just to be fair I nearly fell in as well. There was practically no rubbish on this river at all probably because it runs mostly through private property. We went about as far as we could get maybe 3-4km upstream before heading back for breakfast. Baked Beans on cheese & parmesan fried damper.
Packed up and wished Peter and his farm all the best the “Mona Lisa Village” and country hospitality.





Once again we have no plans today so we drove the last 17km to Ashford and decided we would head out to Pindari Dam which is only 25km away.

Collarenebri Day2

Up early not much rain overnight so we were off for a morning canoe. Down the river past some rapids (well that’s what we called them they were our first ones) We collected rubbish from the banks as we went and we got quite a collection of hand lines today. Always looking for free sinkers the rivers have enough of ours. .
It has rained all day and we are sitting under the annex before moving into the car for some story writing and reading.
We collected a huge pile of rubbish from here but did pick up a full bottle of Soda Water and two Hahn lights which we can use for Damper. We’re not sure how we are going to get the pile back to town?



We got a big yabby overnight so we boiled him and had him for morning tea.



We packed up and moved 100m around the river closer to the weir which seems to have a good flow going

A nice night although a little cold. We have no plans for today so we packed up and headed back to town to find the tip. We decided we would go to the Macintyre River just out of Ashford and try our luck there.

Collarenebri

Another fantastic night this time with the mozzie net of the back of the open doors and it worked a treat. Met a fellow traveler Dennis from Tassie whose kids work on north QLD on a cattle property he had just gone to visit his new grandchild and looks like it will take him some time to get back to Tassie. Lorne station was nice a growing number of stations turning to tourism to help survive. Most of these stations have already got laundries, kitchens and some accommodation from cattle musters and shearers quarters. Clean enough for most people. We were off to Collarenebri on the Barwon River which is really the Darling but at some point it changes name.

Some left over water from recent rains

We found some camp spots on the river just out of town and picked our site. We went for a bit of a canoe and fished using some worms and maybe even a Shrimp if we could catch any.


Tina caught a shrimp checked it on the line and hey presto a fish. A beautiful little Yellow Belly (Callop) so we set him free. Then using some meat another hit. This time it’s a Cod, Tina’s first out of season and under size so back he went hook and all.

Then just because we didn’t put up the annex it started to rain. We had a great Lightning and Thunderstorm and off course we parked down near the river on some slippery river mud to escape in case of danger. Most of the weather seemed west of us which is where the river comes from and radio reports were talking of rain and possible Hail. So we surveyed the area to try to find a way up the bank which was now completely slippery rive mud. So we checked the BOM site using the laptop and decided we would ride it out.

Back Of Bourke & Beyond

6.00am wake up because we are driving 480km today on outback tracks. They maybe called roads and even highways on the map but they certainly aren’t. We stopped for a lunch time beer at the Shindys Inn at Louth a nice little town on the Darling 100km from Bourke. They had some great photos like most towns of the droughts and floods and great pictures of Big Cod caught years gone by. Also a photo of the biggest Road train towing 29 trailers. I would have liked to see him drive over the one lane bridge with that. We stayed at Kidman Camp in Nth Bourke a beautiful place still on the Darling. This place covers paddock camping up to luxury 5 star villas but all in harmony with the surrounds. However for a place with no water this place is amazing the gardens are just magnificent buts its no wonder they never turn any of the sprinklers off. But they weren’t the only ones it was 33’c and every one was watering their lawns and washing their cars a bit strange seeing as how I thought everyone had water restrictions.
We went down the local pub which was packed full of Truckie’s and locals in the hope of a good feed and a Doggies upset. This is NRL country and so we were a little worried. Tea was made by the shop next door so we ordered some Steak sandwiches. Well a 50’c size piece of steak on a bit of toast is what we got. Anyway went pack to the pub and had some more Toohey’s New on tap. Beer is cheap on NSW on the bar (not in the Drive through) anyway all of a sudden the lady from the shop enters the pub with the best looking front bar meals we’ve seen for ages. Should have seen the look Tina & I gave each other. We must have both thought why didn’t you see that on the menu. They had the Geelong; Bulldogs match beamed in on the Big Screen and the NRL on the little TV in the main bar much the disgust of some of the locals. It was a great night and although the Doggies didn’t cause and upset the Kiwi guy was more than happy that the Warriors came through. As Usual great friendly locals who are all asking where ya from and where ya off to. Off back to camp a 2km walk in the dark with well lets say more than 4 pints of Toohey’s New under our belts with no street lights maybe an injury coming up here. We had a bit of sleep in after another 22+ night sleeping with the back doors open to keep us cool. We headed off to Bourke to do some tourist stuff and get some supplies. Although quite a few shops had closed in town it is still quite a big place. We went to the Super IGA and did some shopping but the Boozer outlet didn’t open till 11 so we left with only some food. Went to the local Butcher and picked up some replacement sunnies for Tina. Had a pretty cruisy day just tidying up. It doesn’t seem to have taken long to work out what gets used the most. Didn’t go to the pub for the St’s and Hawks match I can only how bad it looked on TV it was bad enough on the Radio. Had quite few of those Toohey’s, well over our allocated quota of Booze but have got to say we have done well in this so far. We have Big Pond coverage everywhere so far and this is great considering some of the off track roads we have driven down it is like a step back in time. Another 33 day and a warm night awaits.



A weir on the Barwon River (Darling)



We are off to Lightning Ridge once only a short drive today but still over 100km of bush tracks. If you pass a sign that says Rough road ahead that means bloody watch out because that sign should have been along the entire first 50km of this road. I laughed when I saw it, how much worse can it get. Silly thing to think really, lucky it was Tina’s day to drive what with jumps as cattle grids and two foot holes in the ground where the grader had ripped a boulder out of the road it was quite challenging. Good driving Tina. Lightning Ridge is Black Opal country but nothing like Coober Pedy well except for all the bloody Holes in the ground, shanty town style housing and rough roads. Apart from that it is completely different. We went for a dip in the Artesian bore just outside of town a pleasant 40°c dip. 33 outside 40 in the water hardly refreshing but certainly different. We did a bit of the local tour which is found by following different coloured number car doors. Not much really to see unless you like looking at holes in the ground. We were of to Lorne Station just out of town to camp for the night.
More bush Highways













Amigos Castle

Day 5 off to Bourke

I wonder what people must think when they see us canoe past with a load of rubbish on the back. I must report though that 1 pair of Steve Waugh sunnies are currently floating down the Darling so I hope someone rescues them. We had Steak, eggs & chips for tea and it was a beautiful evening and we even got 6 drops of rain (well maybe only 3 because we maybe both counted the same drops) Off to bed early start next day.




6.00am wake up because we are driving 480km today on outback tracks. They maybe called roads and even highways on the map but they certainly aren’t. We stopped for a lunch time beer at the Shinnys Inn at Louth a nice little town on the Darling 100km from Bourke. They had some great photos like most towns of the droughts and floods and great pictures of Big Cod caught years gone by. Also a photo of the biggest Road train towing 29 trailers. I would have liked to see him drive over the one lane bridge with that.

Just one of the many locals trying to derail our trip


And they call this a river


There is not much dirt left on this road most of it is in the back of the Tojo

Menindee lakes

We skipped breaky this morning as we were eager to get to Menindee to see the lakes, and stake our claim on a nice camp ground for the next couple of days. As always we dropped into the local information centre to find out the best spot to stay and were surprised to hear that the Menindee Lake has been dry for about 8 year now! One of the higher lakes called Pamamaroo Lakes is currently being drained for SA!
We found camp site #7 in the Kinchega National Park and parked the “Tojo”, again we dropped the canoes in for a paddle, the Darling River is much wider at this spot. A long the way we did a spot of rubbish collection, but I will write more about this in the environment section. All in all if all states adopted the refund on bottles & can there might not be so much rubbish everywhere!

So much for being up at sunrise, its surprising how easy it is becoming to stay in bed for an extra ½ hour. All the preparation work we did seems to be paying off, well except for my brilliant solar shower which is completely useless. We will have to rethink this idea when we get back. We have been very good at using up left over’s each day. We drove around the Menindee lakes today and it is quite depressing to see how this has been allowed to happen. Droughts aside this is a bloody disaster. We stood on the outlet where the excess water drains back into the Darling I wonder if we will see this again. So we drove around to where the water fills Menindee lakes and that was a real sight. To look out over this great expanse of land as far as the eye could see and it is bone dry. It is really hard to imagine that this could ever be full again. We then drove round to Pamamaroo Dam which they filled up in February 08 with some water that came form QLD which they started to let out to give SA some water. The photos from Weir32 shows how little water is flowing to SA and this is only because they are actually letting some out Shame on you Howard!! We stopped and had a beer at the local which is common each day around lunch to meet some local folk and find out where to go next. It is as we expected and the local people are really nice. Back off to camp for an afternoon canoe and more rubbish

Dry Lake Menindee



No Water as far as you can see


Water inlet to Lake Mendiee


Pamamaroo Dam being emptied to SA


Weir 32 Darling river once they started letting water in

We re-adjusted our trip planer today and headed straight for Pooncarie again along side the Darling river. Along this drive we came across numerous vineyards! We drove along side the river most of the way, well if that is what you can call it along this stretch its fairly narrow at this point. Still enough water for a canoe, although at some points our bums did drag along the bottom!
We stopped in at the local for a nice soothing ale and bumped into a large group of miners, that were headed for the local camping ground. We bumped into 2 guys doing a fund raising Kayak trip “40 paddles in 40 days” we may bump into them further along the way. See their web site on our links for more info. After a look at this camping ground, although the facilities were quite nice, you could have power & a hot shower; we decided knowing that about 15 drunken blokes were headed this way we had better go back to that nice little spot near a bridge we had seen on our way into to town.
We popped the canoes in for a spot of exercise, and there was enough water for a canoe, although at some points our bums did drag along the bottom! It was quite nice expect for all of the dead animals that was a bit off putting for me. Overnight we caught a Golden Perch large enough for a meal for 2(our first fish of the trip with hopefully many more to come).
I must admit that the camp ground at Pooncarie was very messy and I became quite depressed, due to the amount of crap people leave behind. However by the time we left I felt much better, as we made sure we cleaned up the place, I left feeling like we had made a difference.

Day 3 Pooncarie

The Two Rivers meet

We arrived at Wentworth around 4.00pm and our first job was to pick up our fishing license, I hope they will come in handy. The camping spot marked on the map was not very nice and the toilets were broken so we decided that we would be soft and take refuge at the Willow Bend caravan Park. A nice place on the Murray, Darling junction, which although is just a joining of two rivers is quite spectacular. We thought we better celebrate our first day so we headed off to the pub for a couple of beers. Back off to the camps site where thankfully the wind had died off slightly. Kransky dogs for tea and a bit of reflection of our first day.

It will take quite a bit of getting used to not having any deadlines and just being able to stay where you like for as long as we like. We are off this morning in search of a good camping spot on the Darling.

Day 1 We are off to Wentworth

There was many times when we did not think that today would come. A mad rush on Sunday to pack everything up for our departure on Monday morning. It is all in there well except for the dish washing liquid that’s the only thing we have found missing so far. A stormy morning greeted us and that made packing up the van before we left a bit of fun. Not to mention that the caravan would not move. That is of courser because Andy towed it around Michael’s yard with the breaks on.
Anyway all packed up ready to go at 8.20am we went through the Willunga, Meadows to the freeway and then followed the Murray. Most of the crops looked good and it rained all the way to Renmark then it stopped and it was just a huge dust storm. We battled the fierce winds and luckily they were not a head wind. We took the old road to Wentworth which was dirt and this provided some good driving training for Tina. We stopped at Lake Victoria which certainly is not different to the lower lakes, with very little water in it. There were plenty of remains of car tyres on this road so I was a little worried but didn’t want to bring up the subject.

Two Week Countdown

The last week has been a tough one, we got a new alternator, Windows tinted, made and fitted a rear door drop down table for $10. Fitted the fridge draws for $100 and completed the Canoe Roof racks. The cost of these was around $ 200 most of which was for some really expensive hose that the guy cut 20mm to short. The Aluminum was only $ 37 thanks to the really helpful guys at Smarts Aluminum who deserve a special mention. Snowy did a great job with the welding and so I have decided to make a list of all the suppliers who have helped us to customize the “Tojo”.

It is still great when you rock up at a store tell them your idea and they actually try to help. The support and service we have been given by nearly everyone has been fantastic regardless of the size of the sale. The Tojo is now nearly fully customised even down to the no name brand Tupperware Drink holders.

We had our one and only practice of putting up the Tojo annex which looks great. We will certainly find out just how good any of this stuff works next week.