Holiday Trip Year 2002
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Holiday Trip 2002
Left home at 8.30 on the 6th May and the first port of call was M/Bridge to top up the ink cartridge for the computer printer and then buy a few stores for our trip.
Our intended first night out was going to be Patchewollock and we arrived there at about 3.30, this little town is south of Ouyen and it is one of the sad stories of the farming areas, a beautiful sports centre was built in 1990 which would have cost well in excess of $150000 and today the town is all but deserted the sports centre slowly being vandalised, the pub is closed and all that is left open is a little deli/store and I am sure that they fight for survival. We stayed on the oval.
The next morning we left about nine and ended up at Koondrook where we spent 2 days camped in the Gum Bower Forest, this spot is about 26 Kms from Kerang and is right on the Murray River, we spent about 4 hours in Kerang before going to the Forest. The chap at the servo where we filled up with petrol told me that they have had below average rainfall at Kerang for the last 7 years and it is shaping up to be another one. A really nice spot where we camped on the river,(did you expect me to say anything different)
Left here at about 9 on Thursday morning and we are now at Deniliquin NSW, the camping area here is right on the edge of the town and is in the Deniliquin State Forest there are no facilities but if you do not have your own it is only about 1 km from facilities at Memorial Park showers toilets etc , we are camped about 30 feet from the waters edge on the Edward River which is very low, opposite where we are camped there is a houseboat sitting up high and dry.
Very good shopping centre here in Deniliquin, it is a fairly rich district well known for the fine wool growing and the Peppin blood Stud ram properties, will stay here until Monday and then push on to Jerilderie which is not all that far up the road, we will be away for 3 and a half months so there is no hurry.
Both going very well, Brode has had a couple of bad days with being dizzy but has now come good so hope that she will be ok from here on. Van and Pajero not giving any problems so let's hope that that keeps on that way too.
Monday today, left Deniliquin this morning and after arriving at Jerilderie it started to rain so we decided against staying there on the river as it gets rather muddy underfoot, actually that applies anywhere along the river when it is raining, so continued along to Narrandera and then on to Leeton. Spent a couple of hours here looking around the business and shopping area and then continued on to Griffith and came out to Lake Wyangan for three days. we stayed here last year and it is a very nice spot.
Griffith is a big city and is a hive of industry, very little unemployment here, has a very large shopping centre and is very busy, likewise with Leeton. This area is in the MIA area which is the Murrimbidgee Irrigation Area and is one of the areas that take too much water out of the river system to the detriment of the Murray. Have had a nice amount of rain today which is going to be well received by the wheat farmers in the area.
I (Brodie) have started doing my quilting, I managed to get quite a bit done yesterday and I can see it will look pretty good once it’s finished. Colin is keeping an eye on it, he even had me unpick a couple of pieces that didn’t look quite right and I’m glad he did.
Thursday today and we left Griffith about 10 o’clock after going to the Theatre and viewing a massive quilt that was made by the ladies of the City it is the backdrop to the stage and depicts a scene from the area and it looked terrific.
Our route from here was up to Rankine Springs then on to Lake Cargelligo and then on to Condobolin, was very surprised at what is at Lake Cargelligo it is a very nice town very tidy, on the banks of the lake, we had lunch there
We are now camped at Gum Lake at Condobolin, a very pretty setting with magnificent toilet block with hot showers etc, the local council actually encourages travellers to come out here and stay hoping in return that they will spend some money in the town .
The council overseer came out this morning and said that anytime that we call in and the toilet block is locked drop in to the shire office and pick up a key, he also told me that they are going to put power points for travellers to use at no charge so that should encourage a few people to detour via Condobolin and spend a couple of dollars in the town.
Brodie was talking to a lady who owns the craft shop and she told her to come out here and then she told Brode that she and her husband run the local caravan park so there you go, not all park owners hate people who do not go to caravan parks.
Will probably leave here tomorrow (Sunday) after visiting the local markets and will go on to Mendooran which is in between Dubbo and Coonabaraban, very cold here today will probably have to keep moving up to Queensland where it is a bit warmer.
Monday now and we are at Moree, arrived at Mendooran yesterday as planned and was going to stay 3 0r 4 days but it has come in very cold in mid NSW like as in below 10 degrees and we decided that there was no point in sitting in the caravan with the heater going we may as well push on up to Queensland where we know the weather will be warmer so we left Mendooran at about 8.30 this morning and arrived here at Moree at 3pm.
Wednesday, decided to push on Tuesday and get up to Glebe Weir where we know it will be nice weather, spent a bit of time in Goondiwindi, had a look at a camping spot but decided it was not our scene so we drove on through Moonie, Miles and finished up at a very nice town called Wendoan and stayed there the night, done some shopping and arrived out here at Glebe Weir at 10 o’clock, not as nice here as previous years, starting to look a bit run down and as it is so dry the camping area is very dusty.
Monday today and we are now at Theodore which is 80 kms on from Glebe Weir, stayed at the Weir for 5 days mainly so that Brodie could do a bit of sewing, there is 240 volt power there and as Brode is making patchwork quilts for the beds in the van it was an ideal time to make use of the power.
There is hardly anybody at the Weir this year, they are now charging for the power and as the water is that muddy in the river that you cannot use it even for washing dishes and unless you carry a fair bit of water you have to move on.
Started raining here when we arrived and it has now been pouring for over 4 ½ hours I would think we have had well over an inch, a really great start for their season.
Wed today and we are heading home, Brodie does not appear to be enjoying herself and wants to go home so that is what we will do, if the little lady is not happy it won’t be long and I won’t be enjoying the trip either so best we go home and see how next year goes.
As you can imagine I was NOT HAPPY JAN so we came home rather quickly, only taking a shade over 3 days to do the 2150 kms and if I thought it was cold in NSW it is nothing like it is here, bloody freezing.
Aug 12th Today we left home again to head off to the West Coast, object is to go to the Field day at Cleve and then over to Streaky Bay and then down to Pt Lincoln.
Called in to the Burra Gorge and pleasantly surprised at the work that has been done to the Camping Ground, looking very nice, went on to Burra for a couple of hours and then headed on our way. Had rather a nice experience here, as we were going past Booborowie which is of the main road about 2 kms I decided to detour in to the town and show Brodie, well we were driving slowly past the Institute where I used to go dancing nearly 50 years ago when a ute came around the corner and pulled up alongside us and this old Fella (a bit older than me ) after saying G’day said “are you looking for somewhere to camp” to which I replied “well yeah” so he said “just go over that ramp there and in behind those cypress pines there is a toilet block just help yourself to the power point on the wall”
After a bit more chatter I told him I used to live at Burra and after telling him who I was he asked “any relation to Frank Foster” and when I told him that he was my Dad he became quite emotional and said that he knew Dad very well and used to play in dance bands with him, it was great and we will call in again when we are in the area. When my dad came out from England in 1922 he went to work at a farm in between Booborowie and Spalding and Mum and all her family lived in the area and that is where they met and were married.
Next day on to Cleve finding a very nice camp ground 5 km from Cleve called Yeldnuckie Weir, really nice spot with very clean toilets, BBQ, rain and mains water, TV and phone reception, so we ended up staying 3 nights and spent a day at the Field Day which was very interesting, there were some 540 sites and as the farmers on the West Coast are having a reasonable year they were all doing good business.
Friday we headed over to Perlubie Bch 20 Km N of Streaky and spent 2 days there, another nice little spot right on the beach.
From here we went on down to Dutton Bay which is about 40km N of Pt Lincoln spent a night here and then went on down to Pt Lincoln staying at the Caravan Park for 1 night (a bit of a body blow having to pay) catching up with an old shearing mate the next day who drove me all around the area showing me the beautiful new homes that are being built in Lincoln
We then went out to Louth Bay and stayed for 3 nights at a very nice camp ground before moving on to Elizabeth Bay which is 35 km on from Whyalla, a very pretty area.
We then moved on to Wirrabra for the night and then I decided we would leave the van at Hallett and go out to Braemar Station 100 kms east of Hallett where I worked as a cowboy then station hand in 1947-48,well it was a great day and the present manager and his wife Vic and Ann Breeding where so pleased to have someone drop in who had been there 55 years ago that they could glean a bit of history from. A lot of things have changed although most of the old buildings are still there and apart from the mens quarters they are all still being used, hardly any staff employed there now so no need for the men’s quarters.There has also been a very substantial managers homestead built.
It is a sad reflection on our times that when I was there the property employed up to 10 permanent employees and in those days the property was about 300 square miles in size, today the property has nearly doubled in size by the acquisition of neighbouring properties and it employs 2 men I lad and the managers daughter on a part time basis, unbelievable! .it was a really great 3 and a half hours that we spent there and we are both very pleased that we took the trouble to drive out there.
Stayed at Burra that night and came on home the following day a most pleasant 18 days away.
Next trip will be up to the Mildura Country Music Festival which starts on the 26th Sept although we will not be going up until the 30th as on the 29th Sept I am driving a 37 Plymouth in the Bay to Birdwood Vintage Car Rally for a friend, next year is the Classic Rally and I will be entering my TOY the 71 ZD Fairlane, looking forward to that.