Sunday, February 6, 2011

Thursday 5/8/2010 Tamworth to Lake Macquarie...The End.

(Tamworth to Lake Macquarie)
Busy morning, everyone off to work and school.
Bye Peter, Anthea, Madison and Haley. So wonderful to see you all. Miss you guys!
We left at 0900hrs for the last leg of our trip. Driving east through our beautiful mountain ranges.
Jack's excited that he didn't miss his Wednesday night soccer game as he found out it was washed out.
Poor Phoebs will lose a house. Thanks for house sitting Phoebe.
Lisa and Stuart will be pleased to lose a dog. Thanks for minding Jet for us.
I spoke with mum and apparently she has even more photos than me! ie 1600 to 1200!!
So sad. 5 weeks absolutely flew by.
Stopped at Singleton Maccas, saw acouple of kangaroos at Branxton and were home by1330hrs.
Home sweet home...
Started the unloading and washing, all had a shower and checked the mail.
Jordan and Jack were desperate as their school reports weren't there.
Apparently Bob next door had collected the mail until Phoebe arrived.
We were visited by Larissa only 2 hours after getting home, giving us the social update.
Then we were off to Lisa and Stuart's to pick up Jet, buying them some wine and beer on the way as a thank you.
Jamie and Michael were pretty happy to have their big cousins back.

Jet was also pretty excited to see us!
I have such a huge job ahead of me, sorting the photos, making a book and hopefully a travel documenary once Jordan gives me a lesson on video editing.
I hope you enjoyed our trip, and hope to see you on our next big adventure!

Total kms:                     10,891km
Total fuel:                      1,410L
Total fuel cost:              $2,220
Average Fuel Economy 13.5L / 100km or 7.4km / L

For itinerary, planning and stats, see the "pages" contents in the sidebar index. I have also added many photos to earlier entries.

If you are interested in any of the photos, they are for sale (in their original size) as framed photos, posters, canvases, cards or calanders at www.redbubble.com/people/parkes for very reasonable prices, delivered to your door. Cheers, Cheryl

Wednesday 4/8/2010 Tamworth

(Tamworth)
Anthea left early to go to work, but poor Peter and Madison felt too sick to go to work or school and were forced to keep us company.
Peter drove Col in to pick up his clutch kit ($45). Col then spent most of the day fixing the clutch.
I did some blogging, Momento and photo editing, then Peter took me to the shops so I could get Madi a birthday present. I also picked up a few grocery items and a bottle of wine as we are eating them out of house and home.
It was 1 degree celcius last night. No wonder we were cold in Bourke.
Madison loved her new trendy jacket. The kids all put on a play they had been working on since we arrived. Ended up having a very late lunch at 1530hrs. Anthea was home from work and the car was fixed. Good one Col!
Therefore nobody really felt like tea, especially after all the nibblies and wine.
Poor things. They were then subjected to torture by photos and videos.
The wine helped soften the blows.
Col and Peter then played playstation until all hours of the night.

Tuesday 3/8/2010 Bourke to Tamworth

(Bourke to Tamworth)
A big drive ahead of us today. Up at 0700hrs. No breakfast, just packed up the swag and tent and left by 0720hrs!
We'll stop at Brewarrina for breakfast and check out the fish trap.
I'm reading about it now. Amazing. Apparently the Darling and Barwon Rivers flow through what is thought to be the oldest manmade structure on earth!! They are estimated to be about 40 000 years old and still work today!
Hmm sounds more interesting than it looks, but amazing all the same.
Stopped for a scrumptious breakfast in a rustik cafe called "Muddy Waters Coffee Shop" from 0900hrs to 0930hrs. Delicious.
Now we're stuck here. The clutch has died!
Jordan and I walked a couple of blocks to the petrol station to get some clutch fluid. There were a lot of Aboriginal families along the street and Jordan was very clucky, smiling and waving to all of the beautiful children and babies.
Col topped up the fluid and tried bleeding it with no luck. Col thinks it will be the master cylinder.
There is no signal on our phones so Col walked around to the servo to ring NRMA and get assistance. They told him there wasn't much they could do and to try the local mechanic another couple of blocks away.
We wanted to drive there rather than waiting a day for NRMA or paying for a tow truck.
Col did well. He managed to start the car uphill with no clutch, kangaroo hopping, to get to the mechanic.
The mechanic also bled the clutch plus suctioned and pressurised it with no luck and no parts in stock to replace it.
He let me use his phone (telstra only here) to let Peter know and gave us a number to ring to check for parts in Tamworth.
Wow. He didn't want any money for his time as he "..didn't fix it". Thank you for your wonderful attempt and friendly hospitality. Very kind. The mechanis was across the road from the local school. I thought they didn't have a uniform, but he said the kids are just slack and won't wear them.
We managed to leave Brewarrina at 1140hrs.
Col's going to drive to Tamworth with no clutch!
Jack's laughing, saying that this is just like on "The Gods Must Be Crazy" where he also can't stop.
Sheep, galahs, emus, cows...almost made us stop! All screaming at the cows.. "get off the road, it's too hard to start again!"
Then Jack announced he had to wee. We considered letting him jump out, driving along slowly while he caught back up and jumped in again (don't worry just kidding). That would have been a scene off the above mentioned movie.
So we stopped for all to have a drink and toilet break and had a lot of trouble getting going and up the gears again.
Luck was with us though, managing to coast through towns in 2nd or 3rd and not having to stop.
It's amazing to see green mountains again coming into Narrabri, and the creek was about to break it's banks.
We've phoned a place in Tamworth called Woodleys and they've ordered in a master cylinder kit for the clutch which should arrive tomorow. Lots of entertainment ahead for Col.
We arrived at Peter and Anthea's at 1800hrs. Madison and Haley were so excited to see Jordan and Jack.
So lovely to see family again. After showers we had dinner, then relaxed in comfy recliners watching Discovery channel and chatting about our trip.




Monday 2/8/2010 The Darling River at Bourke

(The Darling River at Bourke)
Aahh, slept in and then had a hot shower!
Today we mostly relaxed and read.
I went for a walk to the river which was 10 minutes each way to where the PV Jandra is docked. We're actually camped on the levee bank behind a large flood zone area.
At 1500hrs we all walked down there and went on the PV Jandra for an hours cruise along the Darling River. Very relaxing and quite educational.
Hundreds of corellas. They pick a tree and strip it bare.
There used to be 15 million sheep here, now down to about 50 thousand. It was the largest inland port in the world in it's time, with the record for the highest number of wool bails transported.
The Darling River floods approximately every 2 to 3 years, but had no flood between 2000 and 2007. This year was the first time on record that they have had 2 floods in the one year, and there are still 5 months to go! The water level was up by about 8 metres.
Along the bank are huge river redgums, with coolabah trees further back (with the silvery green foliage). The redgums survive for 9 months in flood before they drown.
The bridge was made in England back in the colonial days. It was shipped over then transported to Bourke up the river.
Very cold wind, and no firewood tonight. We just had scrambled eggs for tea and then cereal as desert.
Jordan and Erin entertained us for a while with their video chat.
I checked in with Peter about staying there the next two nights, and let him know that we wouldn't get there too late as we were able to do the river boat a day early.
Off to bed early to keep warm and read.
Col got a bit of a head start and packed up the chairs and kitchen stuff before coming to bed.


Sunday 1/8/2010 Yowah to Bourke

(Yowah to Bourke)
Up at 0800hrs and left by 0910hrs! Wow, how good is that?
Took a short cut on a dirt road that was 23km in place of 100km by tar.
Saw emus, 3 kangaroos and hundreds of goats. There were 2 goats and a kid on the road. The 2 adults jumped the fence leaving their baby behind. The kid was screaming it's little heart out.
Col caught it and put it over the fence with it's mum.
Jordan was crying because the kid was crying so loud from being left behind and from being chased by Col and Jack. It was so scared.
Saw lots of kites. Passing Lake Bindegolly saw galahs, ducks and large white water birds.
Our next stop was at the Bulloo River at Thargomindah. A couple we met at Quilpie told us about the pelicans here.
Lots of water in the Bulloo of course.
We saw our pelicans, in the outback breeding. This is one of their stopping points on their journey back to the coast. There were lots of different water birds here. Had lunch by the river.
After getting fuel, we headed east across the river, then south on a dirt road (closed) to try to get to a lake area where huge flocks of pelicans seemed to be landing. There was an emu with 8 babies right next to the road. I guess it has been closed for some time.
So cute! Apparently it is the male emu that sits on the nest.
Had to turn back. It was too muddy. Clay slide. Like driving on ice. Therefore heading back towards Cunnamulla as the roads to Hungerford are closed from all directions.
We stopped for a while at the newly huge Lake Bindegolly. The locals had never seen it this large. Again, such a haven for birdlife. Even swans.
Just passed a bearded dragon on the road.
There is a property for sale, 127 000 acres. Doesn't have the price.
Drove through a cute little town, Eulo, right on the river. There were three trucks set up for boar shooting, and passed a dead boar on the side of the road (road kill).
Just drove through Cunnamulla. It is a big town on a very wide deep river, Warrego River.
As we can't go to Hungerford, we're going straight to Bourke instead to stay 2 nights. We've also decided to skip Lightning Ridge (similar to Yowah) and stay 2 nights at Peter and Anthea's in Tamworth. "Yay!!!" say the kids.
Left to their own devices, Jordan and Jack are playing "comprehension". Jordan is reading anything (for example the info off a chip packet), then testing Jack with questions.
They are also studying the ingredients on everything.
It's been a very educational trip.
I think they now have both the travel and 4WD/adventure bug.
They're now playing spelling test.
Seeing emus, galahs and lots of kites.
Arrived at Bourke at 1830hrs, then turned back to North Bourke to find Kidman Camp. Booked in for 2 nights and were setting up by 1900hrs.
The kids cooked tea (rehydrated some pasta and 2 minute noodles). I downloaded photos and checked emails and the bank account. We have a powered site.
Off to bed late. Freezing. Slept with a beanie on.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Saturday 31/7/2010 Cooper Creek at Windorah to Yowah

(Cooper Creek at Windorah to Yowah)
It poured overnight.
Up at 0700hrs, leaving by 0900hrs.
I am wet, covered in mud, all our gear is covered in mud, and the last part of our adventure washed out!! Great way to end the trip.
There is no escape from the mud. I got as much off my boots as I could and am now sitting in the car with a plastic bag on each boot to protect my gear.
Yes I lost it this morning. Strange. I usually love playing in mud. Either it's hormonal, or the dreading of our trip finishing and having to go back to work.
Hmm. I think we should head north from here. Sooo hard to go back home!!
We're aiming for Yowah today, near Cunnamulla, via Quilpie. About 400km.
It's a single lane tar road. It's all swampy with water lying everywhere. There are a lot of dead kangaroos, 3 dead cows and a dead boar. Roadkill from the roadtrains. Several powered through yesterday evening. The kites are having a feast!
I can't believe there is still the occasional red sand dune ridge.
Almost hit a flock of galahs.
Just passed our Birdsville neighbours.
Only just left the Simpson desert for real at Quilpie where the ridge is now rock and covered in trees.
Stopped at Quilpie for lunch where we had the rudest person serving us!
It is a town of cattle, opals and famous for a dinosaur dig site. Col says Peter was here for training in the army as well.
Apparently they discovered bones to a new species of dinosaur: Titanosaurs (26m) discovered on a property near here in 2006. Cool! The pictures in the brochure show red desert fields. Looks a bit greener and wetter at the moment.
Crossed the flooded Bulloo River, heading south to Toompine (only half a metre above the road but flowing strongly). It was blue sky from Toompine onwards.
Lots of emus and kangaroos, 2 frilled neck lizards, 1 wedgetailed eagle and 1 ferral cat (ginger with a big head).
At 1600hrs we ended up at a strange hicklety picklety town called Yowah with falling down shacks. We're staying the night at the "campground" for the night for $10.
First we borrowed a sieve and pick from the very funny and friendly guy from where we are staying, and went fossicking for opals. We have a bucket of rocks we are cracking open and are getting rich (just kidding) with a little bag full of opally rock pieces.
Then we had a nice long soak in the baths.
There are concrete cubicles with no roof and two bath tubs in each, with hot artesian water piped to them. It is 58 degrees celcius, bored from 850m bellow ground, with 1 million L/day pouring out into the town.
There is a warm creek running past our campsite that Jordan and I had a little walk along before sharing one cubicle while the boys shared another. What a beautiful relaxing soak while looking at the stars! The minerals really do a great job of relaxing those muscles.
Even better. I'm now sitting here writing my diary with a glass of wine, while Col's cooking tea. Aahh!

Friday 30/7/2010 Birdsville to Cooper Creek at Windorah

(Birdsville to Cooper Creek at Windorah)
Overcast and drizzly. Breakfast in the Birdsville Hotel.
First we checked out flight prices. $660pp to Lake Eyre. Bugger. Too much for four of us, plus the cloud cover is probably too thick to see a lot anyway.
Ran in to Brians crew again this morning. They didn't get to Birdsville last night. His mate got bogged at Eyre Creek which held them up too long and they had to make camp out there.
Checked out where the town gets it's 95 degree C bore water from 1200m down. This supplies Birdsville with electricity, hot water and (cooled) cold water. Wow, great natural resources!
Diamantina River is very full of very brown, muddy water, with thick, gooey, grey clay along the banks. On the south bank we visited a Burke and Wills tree, reading the historical information as our lesson today.
Left at 0910hrs.
I took a photo of the famous Birdsville Racetrack under water.
Heading east on a gravel road, with sections of tar occasionally to cut through the ridge of sand dunes, which are very sparse but still present.
Driving along the northern edge of the Sturt Stoney Desert it is treeless except where a creek bed cuts through.
Jordan and Jack are both engrossed in a James Rollins book each.
It's 1130hrs and we've just passed Cordillo Downs Road which is closed. It is raining. Today we have already driven as far as yesterdays entire trip. (Much quicker off sand).
We just ran into our Birdsville Hotel neighbours at our lunch stop. Fellow 4WD travellers all become best friends out here!
The road south through Arrabury is also closed, so we can't go anywhere near Innamincka at all. We have no choice but to continue east, to camp on the Cooper Creek at Windorah.
There is actually still the occasional red sand dune but over 20km apart.
When almost at Windorah there were sand ridges, spinifex and kites. It felt like a mixture of the Gibson and Simpson deserts. Drove past a flock of about 15 kites, then through a locust swarm which sounded like hail hitting the windscreen.
The town of Windorah is green!
It is the catchment area forr the Cooper Creek, the cause of the floods at Innamincka.
So instead of camping on the Cooper Creek at Innamincka we are camping on the Cooper Creek at Windorah. It is beautiful.
Windorah is a tiny town. We had stopped at the information centre that also doubles as a very small museum. There was a huge photo on the wall showing this part of the Cooper flooded, with all of the multiple branches joined up to form a 1km wide river.
It's not quite that flooded here, and receding. We are camped between those branches. There are a few other campers well scattered along the banks.
We set up camp in light rain at 1600hrs, right on the river bank (but it was 5m above water level).
As soon as the rain stopped we explored a bit, collected wood and made a lovely fire. The kids are keen for a card night.
It is very humid and warm enough for T-shirts at 1830hrs. Whenever we walk we get 3 inches of clay under each boot.
A lovely evening. Dinner, damper with m&ms made by Jordan, then cards by the fire.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Thursday 29/7/2010 Poeppel Corner to Birdsville

(Poeppel Corner to Birdsville)
Packed up in drizzle this morning. We didn't leave until 0930hrs as Brian was talking to Col this morning for about 30 minutes. We headed north along the western edge of the next lake over. It was very wet mud and had to occasionally head off the lake  when it looked too boggy. It went for ever. Longer than it seemed.
We then had to turn east, straight across the centre of the north half of the lake on the QAA Line to Birdsville. It was such a long crossing. Deep ruts, water and mud. After our previous experience we were pretty worried about getting bogged half way across. Staying in the ruts, we kept our speed up and went flying across with mud and water spraying everywhere. The longest claypan crossing we've done, and the recent downpour made it scary but fun with it getting deeper on the eastern side. I think it was getting close to needing to divert north around the top half. Brian contacted us to check if we'd made it across so he knew whether or not to try.
Wildlife galore. A black kite, 2 brown falcons, lots of budgies and gidgee trees in most swales.
There are some beautiful flowers that look like budgies. They remind me of orchids.
We've passed 2 groups so far. Everyone stops and gets info on the track ahead.
Brian's group are about 8km behind us. Lots of radio chatter.
We're seeing lots of red-tailed finches. They are big wide swales now with gidgee forests. The track seems firmer now with a clay base, with sand on the dune peaks.
Jordan had another drive, going across another small clay pan, a side track around deep mud and through some water.
Then Jack had his first turn. He did a donut off the left of the track (in slow motion). They are both brilliant drivers and would be able to get us out of trouble if needed. I think they are both pretty keen to save up for a 4WD now!
Almost at Eyre Creek. Galahs galore!
Eyre Creek is flowing. It is wild with birdlife here. Cockatiels, four kites, budgies, martins (swallows), galahs.
We stopped and chatted to an older couple camped on the eat side of Eyre Creek. They were living in a 4WD bus. She told me that the flower I saw was called "birds beak".
Further north on the creek it was crowded with campers.
It wasn't much further to Big Red.
It really was big and spectacular and really is very red sand. We drove up it without any problems, but it also probably helped that it had rained.
Most things I've read say it is steeper from the east, but it seemed about the same to us.
There is currently a massive lake on the eastern side of Big Red, with a flooded forest of trees and again, birds galore.
Ducks, doves, piwis, white cockatoo, galah, kites, other water birds and a giant eagles nest. It was a huge detour south around the lake.
It was a well graded road and a speed of 80km/hr for the remainder of the trip to Birdsville, arriving at 1700hrs, then changing our watches to 1730hrs their time.
We decided not to set up camp in the mud (clay) next to the Diamantina Billabong in the drizzly rain. A relaxing night in the Birdsville Hotel instead. It was a lovely, clean, spacious 2 bedroom apartment with a loungeroom, out the back of the Hotel. You could park right at the door and the laundry was a couple of doors away.
Showers all round (Aaahhh)! I put the washing on, then we all headed to the Hotel for dinner.
Such a nice pub. Lots of old country charm.
Apparently Innamincka is closed, even to flights at the moment due to flooding. The airstrip is underwater.
The Birdsville Track and Cordillo Downs Road (through the Sturt Stony Desert) are also closed.
The gravel road east is our only option. We aim to head for Arabury Station, then Innamincka if able.
Cameron's Corner is also closed so we may miss the Strzelecki Desert as well.
Looks like we'll have to come back out here again!