This morning we had a problem hooking up the Bushtracker. When the front of the van was fully wound up, the tow pin would not fit under the receiver. This was probably due to tree roots affecting the relative height of the car to the van.
We tried reversing to the van at an angle, but the site dropped away at the gutter. In the end we reversed close to the van then put a couple of 50mm blocks of timber behind the front wheels. When we reversed up on the blocks, the rear of the car dipped low enough for the tow pin to go under the hitch. We finished hooking up and left the caravan park at 10am
The benefit of staying close to home the final day of our trip is the short drive. There is a lot to unpack, carry into the house or garage, transport upstairs, and either dump in the laundry or put away somewhere in the house. We also have to be home in time to drive to the storage depot before it closes after we have unpacked the van.
After two hours unpacking we drove to the storage unit and unhooked the Bushtracker. We forgot to collect a couple of things so I will need to go back to the van tomorrow. The challenge might be finding the Bushtracker as vans are parked three deep. With the increase in the Gold Coast population, many people live in apartments or town houses and have nowhere to store their caravan, motorhome or boat. Others like us, can no longer park any vehicle on their own residential street due to time limited parking restrictions!
The critters chased each other for hours, running from one end of the house to the other end. They both miss this interaction when we are travelling. They would have a brief rest, then were off again!
I took Bluey to the park to see his friends, and I caught up with some of my friends and neighbours. The sun was setting and reflecting colour on the clouds in the east.
Anita saved enough energy to cook a delicious dinner of fillet steak, hassleback potatoes and beans.
After feeding the critters, we took Bluey with us to Bread Social at Tweed Heads. There was no available outdoor seating, but there was a nearby bench seat, so we ordered takeaway and had breakfast in front of the locksmith shop. Since the locksmith was open, I had two new caravan keys cut.
Anita enjoyed her sausage roll, and my ham and cheese croissant was excellent. Coffee might have been good if it wasn’t too hot to drink! The mural is inside the shop.
We walked to see Greenmount Beach where a lot of preparations were underway for Cooly Rocks. The Gold Coast City Council is responsible for the signs prohibiting dogs from all southern beaches, including dogs on leads. It was a long walk to see the surf, and we couldn’t leave Bluey tied to the fence. I should have driven to nearby Duranbah Beach in Tweed Heads because it is dog friendly!
This is our last day on the road, so it was clean up and packing day. We can only park the van in our street for two hours, so have to be quick emptying the fridge and carrying everything inside. I put most of our clothes in bags on the back seat of the car so they can be unloaded later.
I made a list of things that need repairing or replacing in the Bushtracker. I managed to cross off one of those jobs by changing some hinges. The door under the kitchen sink had sloppy hinges, so I swapped them with the hinges on the smallest cupboard in the van. This seems to have worked, but can’t be confirmed until we have travelled on some rough roads!
A couple of caravans in the park are clearly here for Cooly Rocks On. The decorative vintage Viscount caravan has a tow vehicle and bicycle in matching colours.
A food van set up inside the front gate of the caravan park. The burgers were not very interesting, but saved Anita from having to cook dinner.
It was cold overnight, even with my two furry hot water bottles. I had topped up the diesel heater tank from our jerrycan, so was able to warm us up without any risk of annoying neighbours with heater noise. After breakfast Tilly was able to stretch out and enjoy the sunshine.
We stopped for a break at Ulmarra. Without realising it we had parked outside a shop with an Art Deco tile facade and stainless door and window frames, next to an antiques shop.
Across the road the church roof has been painted, except for one side of the ridgetop turret. The house next door has interesting front windows and paintwork under the gable.
We could only book two nights at the Kirra caravan park because the Cooly Rocks On Festival starts tomorrow and continues through to Sunday. Thousands of visitors descend on Coolangatta for the rock ‘n roll nostalia festival celebrating cars from the 50s, 60s and 70s. We saw a group of vehicles stopped on the highway as one car had broken down. A few are staying here.
We are back in Queensland, but only just – the State boundary is about 100m from our Bushtracker.
This photo came up on facebook. It was five years ago on a trip to WA. Coco struggled to get in or out of the car or caravan so I carried him.
We drove the short distance to Siblings@Kirra for dinner. The rhubarb crème brûlée was exceptional.
I was using Tilly’s pouch bed to warm my feet, but she decided to get in so it must be cold as she has lots of fur! When we get the next warm day she is likely to start moulting.
Early morning fog lasted until lunchtime so we had a slow trip on the Gwyder Hwy. We had a short stop at Warialda where we were above the fog for a short time.
We had stopped opposite the attractive Warialda St Patrick’s Presbytery building and St Patrick’s Church.
Our next stop was at Inverell to give Bluey a pit stop, and for me to take photos. I have added this town as a place to stay next time we are in this area. My favourite building was the Bank of New South Wales from 1890 to 1963. It was used as Council Chambers until 1983, but is now privately owned and is not being well maintained.
In 1902 a fire in Otho St Inverell destroyed 15 mostly timber buildings containing 23 businesses. Many of the replacement buildings were constructed in the Art Deco style.
At Glen Innes the temperature was 9°C, but the apparent temperature was 0°C! The wind was so cold I left the critters in the warm car while I went to the Visitor Information Centre. We refuelled and continued our journey passing through the Gibralter Range National Park and the Washpool National Park.
We were stopped briefly at a roadworks traffic light. This roadworker had done his best to protect himself from the cold wind, using roadwork signs as a windbreak. He was still able to watch oncoming traffic.
Our overnight stop is the Mann River Caravan Park. The facilities are basic and we had to use chocks to level the Bushtracker, but the grassed areas are mostly free of prickles. We walked to the edge of the park to see the bridge and river. Bluey and Tilly rumbled together, and I walked them separately.
There is a track down to the river, but I didn’t venture past all of thse signs!
Anita was worried she would not be able to watch the Matildas match in this isolated location, but we have TV reception that sometimes breaks up, and good wifi to watch 10 play.
After our morning cup of tea, we put a load of washing on in the camp laundry. Anita toddled off to soak in the thermal pools, while I coerced Bluey into walking with me to buy coffee.
As soon as Site 2 was vacated, I moved us from the muddy Site 140. There is a patch of grass next to us which is officially Site 1. Park staff rarely allocate this site because so many idiots ignore, or don’t see, two “no right turn” signs, which can result in large vans driving over tents or other gear on Site 1. Bluey likes to pee on Site 1 as there are no prickles – just grass.
I did have a soak in the 39°C pool, but don’t really like sitting in a large hot bath with strangers, many of whom want to chat.
We spent time considering which shore excursions we want to do on our ocean cruise in September. To make our bookings we will have to register our preferences at 5am on the designated day.
I went for a walk leaving both critters at home. There are lots of big things in Moree, such as this park with over 200 cabins, 141 caravan sites and grass camping areas. The bus stop outside the park is also big.
Nextdoor there is a business that sells big agricultural equipment.
Across the A39 there is a big collection of silos.
Yesterday we saw hundreds of large round bales of cotton waiting to bepacked into 40 foot shipping containers, which will then be hauled to the Port of Brisbane. They were too far away for a good photo, but here is a file photo.
A nearby tavern has what it calls The Big Plane! This plane was delivered to Australia in 1945 and was used by the RAAF until 1975, when it was converted to a civilian aircraft and handed over to the PNG Defence Force. In 1992 a RAAF pilot was flying the plane when it developed a major oil leak in the port engine. He landed it safely.
After repairs in 1993 the plane was flown to Cairns then to Moree. The Moree Regional Airport is near the tavern so it was easily towed to the tavern where three cranes lifted it onto foundations at the tavern as a tourist attraction.
Bluey and Tilly have been spending time close to each other without Tilly getting narky with him. They were cuddled up on my lap when I took these pics.
The rain had passed so we left Nyngan about 8.30 this morning. The road condition of the A32 Mitchell Hwy is much better east of Nyngan than it was yesterday travelling from Cobar. At Nevertire we turned onto the Oxley Hwy towards the north west through Warren.
After Warren the Oxley Hwy turns in an easterly direction, so to continue north west, Google maps had us turn onto a C class road – Warren Rd. We were concerned this would be a long slow trip on a narrow road, but the road widened in parts and was in reasonable condition. It was easy driving as we only saw three other vehicles along this road. We had to slow for two large mobs of cattle that were being moved by drovers. On one section of road a lot of cracks had been filled, and these looked silvery, reflecting the sunlight that came through the clouds.
This painted water tower is opposite the Coonamble Information and Exhibition Centre. Lots of cars were parked nearby because of a local rugby game.
We had planned to stop overnight in Coonamble, but stayed in Nyngan because of the rain. I walked along the main street and noticed several Art Deco buildings. A man was opening the doors to the Monterey Cafe building and invited me in to see the magnificent interior. His grandparents built the cafe and he has done a lot of restoration work. The Art Deco timber and mirror ornamentation is wonderful. It was thanks to the rain that I saw this interior! I hope the owner finds someone prepared to open another cafe in the building.
In 1929 over 40 major businesses in Coonamble were destroyed by fire, including hotels, banks, jewellers and other shops. When rebuilding in the 1930s many of the shops and hotels were designed in the Art Deco style. The famous Art Deco town of Napier NZ was also rebuilt following a disastrous fire triggered by an earthquake. The 1930 Tattersalls Hotel no longer trades and has been acquired by the local council, which is considering its demolition to make way for a supermarket!
As we were leaving Coonamble, we passed this lovely timber church. The St Barnabas Anglican Church was built in 1874. It has many decorative features, particulary on the two matching porches. The bell tower was built in 1915. The dog followed me back to our car, presumably hoping for a feed.
We had a pit stop at Pilliga, and that is where we were impacted by past rain. Up to 9am this morning Pilliga had 34mm of rain, which doesn’t seem a lot, but the land is flat. About a dozen caravans and motorhomes were stopped at the Pilliga Artesian Bore Baths, but they were surrounded by water! It took us 54 minutes to drive 63kms from Pilliga to Wee Waa because about 25 floodways had water flowing across them. I hit this one too fast!
From Wee Waa we still had 196kms to drive to the Moree caravan park with thermal pools. At Narrabri we joined the A39 Newell Hwy and encountered several kilometres of roadworks, included sections that were flooded. Small cars may have got wet feet driving through some of this.
Anita had booked us into the caravan park for two nights on a drive-through site. There was a queue of caravans waiting to check-in, and Anita had to convince one employee that we did want a drive-through site, and we knew it would be too small to put out our awning! We drove to our allocated site and found a truck parked on two sites! Anita went back to the office, but they had no record of the truck entering the park, so could not contact the driver.
We were sent to another site next to a larger Bushtracker. There are no lines to mark the sites but we eventally convinced that camper that his car was parked on our site! He moved it and we backed onto the wet site, which became muddy with our tyre tracks.
Anita went to the hot pools while I connected the power and tried to connect the water. The taps were so corroded from the artesian water that I could not screw on a hose fitting! It was my turn to go to the office and arrange for us to move to a drive-through site in the morning!
We ordered takeaway meals from the kiosk and they were reasonable. The cook told me they provide meals for local prisoners, but they don’t get any choice. The police come and collect the meals.
Tilly and Bluey were so good sleeping most of the day in the car. When I tried to walk Bluey, he chose gravel to avoid the risk of prickles. Tilly had a quick run around our area and when a woman looked at her, Tilly was running over for pats!
It rained much of last night and this morning. I only had to put away the power cord and hose, and fit the towing mirrors, but would have been soaked if I had not kitted up in waterproof shoes and trousers, and worn my red Helly Hansen rain jacket.
We refuelled in Cobar then tackled the wet Barrier Hwy. Lots of water on the road caused us to travel slowly, especially when driving through floodways. After 50kms we stopped at a rest area for half an hour, hoping the rain would stop. The rain did ease and the road condition improved as we drove to Nyngan. The rain had not gone, so we decided to park up at the Nyngan Rest Area, where there is hard standing, taps, toilets, bins, and a dump site.
Yesterday we had an unfortunate encounter with a raptor. It was feeding on road kill with some crows, but must have had too big a feed as it was slow to take off and hit the Toyota windscreen. I doubt it was a happy ending, but it would be dangerous to try to stop as we could be rear ended.
We left the critters in the van and went looking for lunch. Most cafes were closed so we bought a cooked chook from Khan’s SUPA IGA, and gave Bluey and Tilly a treat.
We crossed the railway line via the 1897 overhead bridge next to the 1883 railway station which houses the i and a museum.
I was given help at the i where to find historic buildings in town as most are not on the main road. My favourite is the 1897 town hall and attached 1934 council chambers. The colour scheme is very clever. The false ionic columns that adorn the two buildings are slightly different.
The 1902 court house has an unusual ridge turret visible from the side street. It has features designed to cope with hot weather such as a double height court room, wide overhanging eaves, and surrounding verandas.
The original fire station houses a restored Garford fire fighting vehicle.
St Patrick’s Church is built of bricks with intricate timber roof supports. The metal topping on the brick fence appears to be from the Art Deco era, but the gates are a very different style. The rectory has an identical fence.
There are two Art Deco buildings on Pangee St, but I could not find any information about the history of either of these buildings. The Commonwealth Bank building has extensive Art Deco style ornamentation, while the R.P. Larkin building has minimal ornamentation on the exterior, but has a distinctive Art Deco style ground floor shop front. The window frames are brass and the panels either side of the name are lead light.
Buildings this side of the railway line are in poor condition. The Nyngan Hotel has been renovated and is decorated with this mural. A partially demolished building still has these attractive tiles on the outside wall.
The red sky at night hopefully indicates a fine day tomorrow.
I set the alarm for 7am so we could see the sunrise, and it was worth the early start. The first photo is looking east and the second is the pink sky towards the west.
We were keen to be out of the Menindee Lakes Caravan Park before the rain started, as it would have turned the dirt to mud. There was very little rain as we drove to Broken Hill where we refuelled.
Between Broken Hill and Wilcannia there were some isolated showers, but we must have outrun the rain band that drifted SSE to Melbourne. We refuelled again at the BP in Wilcannia where the only way to pay for fuel is by credit card using the payment terminal. Anitapaid the nominated $200 amount, but we only took fuel worth $120. The balance will be credited to her accont in a couple of days.
We had a short break viewing the sandstone buildings in town. Sadly many of the historic buildings have been vandalised, and businesses have closed. The post office and the building next door appear to have been recently renovated.
These shops have no glass left and are boarded up with sheets of corrugated iron. The pub next door is still trading out of one small bar. The mural is on the pub wall around the corner.
We travelled over 560kms today, but didn’t want to spend the night at Wilcannia. Instead we drove on to Cobar where we are were able to stay hooked-up on a 12m site. After the long drive, Tilly was keen to be outside. Bluey on the other hand did not want to walk anywhere. I think this was due to fear of getting prickles in his paws.
At 3.30am there was loud knocking on our caravan door. Before we were even out of bed or properly awake, there was more loud banging. Tilly was first to respond by jumping onto the bench near the door, but then Bluey barked and she got a fright, knocking over her water and dry food.
I wasn’t going to open the door but pulled aside the curtains to see our rear neighbour standing on our step holding a small blow heater. I had to crack open the window to talk to him. He complained our diesel heater was too noisy for him to sleep. We could have told him to bugger off, but realised the only way to get some sleep ourselves was to turn our heater off.
The idiot was on a large site but had parked his canvas camper trailer about 600mm from the corner of our van where the heater is located. I had encountered him in the late afternoon when I was about to put Tilly inside the van. He started talking and moved in close to touch Tilly, but I told him she had to go inside.
The diesel heater was on from 9pm so we couldn’t understand why it took six hours for him to decide our heater was noisy. We had to clean up the mess made when Tilly got a fright, but it took ages for us to go back to sleep. The idiot had left the park before we ventured out, escaping the tirade I might have directed at him. I spoke to the office staff and they kept the site behind us empty for tonight.
We headed to town for breakfast at The Silly Goat, but the menu was too busy with vego and vegan offerings. I settled for an egg and bacon roll, while Anita had eggs on sourdough toast. We ate inside as there were no free tables outside, so Bluey had to wait in the car.
We took him to a fenced park for a run. Anita said we had been there before with Max and Coco, but I have no recollection of that. I also have no recollection of the 1993 Pro Hart sculpture in the middle of the park.
Back at camp Anita put a couple of loads of washing through our small machine, and I took Bluey and Tilly for a walk with me to the clothes lines. Anita had put a glass of water on the table, but I let Tilly back inside the van with her lead still on and water was splashed all over the floor. We cleaned that up and packed away as much gear as possible ready for departure tomorrow.
We had planned to have dinner at the Broken Hill Pub – BHP, but walked out as nothing on that menu was enticing, with lots more vego and vegan meals. We crossed over the road to The Astra, but only basic counter meals were on offer there. We ended up back at the Palace Hotel and were lucky to get a table without a booking.
A couple of large groups arrived, but we got our orders for steak and salmon in quickly. We had seen photographic equipment set up in the dining room, and finally spotted this sign but could not work out why a group of people were being filmed in a pub for NSW Health.
I managed to take a couple of photos before the dining room was crowded, and a couple of the original paintings near the main entrance.
The hotel was built in 1889 by the Temperance movement as the Broken Hill Coffee Palace. It ran at a loss for the first three years, so by 1892 the lessee applied for, and was granted, a liquor licence for the Palace Hotel.
The first mural of Botticelli’s Venus was painted by the hotel owner, Mario Cellotto. He and other artists painted the many murals that adorn the walls and ceilings of the hotel. One day we will have to stay at the hotel to be allowed to see the full collection of paintings.
Back in our van Anita was rummaging around looking for a bottle of red wine. I suggested she just have a scotch but she wanted wine and finally found a bottle. She poured herself a drink and had it in her hand, when Tilly jumped from the floor onto the bed, spilling the whole glass of red wine on the bed!
I scrambled to contain the damage pulling off the sheet and mattress protector, and taking them to the laundry. There is a sign on the door saying the laundry will be locked at 8pm, but nobody came to do this, so I managed to put our linen through the washer and dryer. Anita did not pour another glass of red wine, instead settling for a scotch!
After toast and marmalade for breakfast, we took Bluey with us to refuel the car and buy some essentials. The parks are covered with lush green grass so we put Bluey on a long lead so he could have a run. There were lots of these drought resistant flowers in bloom.
We had a look at a block of land my nephew and his wife have bought, where they have long term plans to build a new home. As we drove away we spotted two emus feeding on the nature strip. I sent him a photo and he told us there were kangaroos on the block the day they bought it. The little one thinks the roos come wirh the land!
We had cheese and crackers for lunch, then I left Anita to cook food for the critters, while I went exploring Broken Hill – her choice. My first stop was DANNS pet shop to dry buy food for Tilly. Fortunately they had both of her preferred varieties in stock in the large store.
The exterior of this old hotel has been carefully restored and is used as a gym. Down one side there is a section of unrestored wall that demonstrates the change made by good paint work.
The sun highlighted the amazing 1905 Trades Hall building. Even the door knobs were made by skilled workers.
Several murals around Broken Hill were painted by Geoff de Main, a local artist. About 10 different paintings are along a wall of the community centre, improving the outlook for aged care residents living across the road. These were painted in 2002 and the artist did a few touchups before moving to Tasmania. I thought this first painting was framed by corrugated iron, but this is part of the painting. Thankfully there are few signs of graffiti around town.
The 1889 Court House bears the Royal Coat of Arms comprising a lion and chained unicorn. Dieu et mon droit means “God and my right”. The building exterior is in excellent condition.
The 1890s Town Hall has a lot of ornate details. It was designed by Adelaide architects in the Italianate style common to SA in that period. The main hall and offices were demolished in 1974 but fortunately the facade was restored in 1976.
The 1892 Post Office nextdoor has an 86 foot high clock tower. Unusually it is mainly brick construction in what is described as Federation free style with arts and crafts influences. The veranda is supported by pairs of turned timber posts.
As Broken Hill was well established by the early 1900s, there are only a few Art Deco buildings. As I walked past the accommodation entrance to the Royal Exchange Hotel, automatic doors opened so I went inside and asked if I could take photos. Until last month, part of the ground floor of this building was occupied by the RAA office. That business had an office in the town for 100 years.
I found a few other Art Dec buildings but have not see inside any of these.
The other business that closed in April after nearly 130 years was the union-run local newspaper, the Barrier Truth. Fifteen people lost their jobs, partly due to Meta’s decision to remove the News tab on Facebook.
As sunset approached, I drove up to the Line of Lode reserve where the miners’ memorial is located. Several retail businesses in Broken Hill have closed since a couple of mines ceased operations, making about 200 workers redundant. The cafe up on the Line of Lode is one of those affected businesses looking for new traders.
Anita had finished cooking tucker for the critters, so she made a salad while I used the park BBQ to cook our lamb chops.
Committed Travellers 