27th October - 2nd November

Monday 27th

It was fantastic this morning. I was sitting out the front of the caravan doing my computer work when a whole flock? of pelicans decided to swim up and down in front of our campsite on the river we were camping on for a couple of hours – it was amazing – never seen anything like it – there were so many of them – what a spectacle!!

We packed up and headed into Goodiwindi for free hot showers at the water park. We did some shopping, etc, then headed towards Moree – mum told us about the artesian baths there so we reckon we might go and check them out.

We found a great spot to camp about 8 kms north of Moree, as we came over a bridge there was a very uninspiring looking rest stop, (turn off at GPS: 29 24 42.0S 149 55 11.1E) but when we looked further, there were tracks leading down to the river (Gwydir I think), so we pulled up there for the night.

Tuesday 28th

We headed for Moree to try out the Artesian Baths - they were fantastic!! It costs $6 each to get in or you can pay $9.50 each to be able to go in and out as much as you want all day. We ended up only going in the once as poor old Boris was waiting for us in the car. There are 2 "spa baths", which are really just little pools with the water being pumped straight from the artesian bore - the water is crystal clear with a slight sulphur odor and the 2 different pools have temperatures of 38 degrees + and 40 degrees + - it was like having a giant bath. I guess the spa part of it is where they jet the water into the pools and you can stand in front of it and get a massage. The funniest thing we thought was that it was full of old people going after the healing qualities of the water (apparently you can even drink it), and then they all sat out in the sun and baked themselves!! You can only stay in for about 10 minutes before you start falling asleep, then you get out and jump in the cold water pool and start all over again!

We then headed for Warialda and stayed at Cranky Rock (funny name eh?). It's kinda like a gorge I guess and there is a caravan park attached to it. I wouldn't pay to stay here again, but I would come for a day visit. The price is too much for what you get ($18 unpowered/$20 powered), which is what you pay in other caravan parks and you get hot showers, laundry, etc, which you don't get here. We also didn't swim (Boris did), because the water looked decidedly green (I'm sure it would be great to swim in when there was more water in the rivers). It is a fascinating place though and the rock formations are awesome.

Wednesday 29th

We packed up and headed to Bingara - a great little town with an excellent information centre. The lady at the information centre told us we can free camp anywhere along the river (heading north out of Bingara, take first right after first small bridge) go along the highway and there are heaps of spots you can free camp there and it's a great place to camp. We found a campsite with a bunch of other campers and settled there. We all had happy hour at 4:30.

Boris was particularly pleased with our campsite as it is the closest we have been to the water so far and we can throw his ball in the water (we found a spare ball) while we are sitting under the awning.

Thursday 30th

We went for a great big walk this morning with John from Tamworth, one of our neighbours, up the side of a mountain!! We took the hand-held GPS with us and according to it we went up 160 m. It was a big walk but a fantastic view when we got to the top!! Boris had a wonderful time of course but there a heaps of nasty thistles here (Lion Pear? Bit like prickly pear but nastier) and poor old Boris had them all through his feet and even his mouth yesterday after our walk, so he had to endure us pulling them out - he was very good about it.

I made lemonade scones and shared them for afternoon tea when we had happy hour. Haven’t caught any fish here, but there isn’t a lot of water in the river (still swimmable). We will probably be here for a couple more days then head off to the least bumpy road home (caravan is falling apart around our ears!).

Ross went for a walk when it got dark to see if he could find any carp by shining the torch in the water and guess what?! He found them, he even grabbed one because they were all sleepy. We headed back to the caravan to grab the spear gun, but by the time we got back they had all woken up and taken off – onya Ross!! We might have another go tomorrow night.

Friday 31st

We went for another walk, this time along the river, according to the GPS we walked a total of 5.6km today - not bad! We found some excellent camping spots along the river, there are so many places you could camp along here, but we still reckon we have the best spot where we are because the river is much deeper here.

Had some more neighbours turn up today, Pam and Ian from Hervey Bay, they also have a miniature Schnauser with them named Gus. Gus and Boris seem to get on okay, so we will see how we go. For those of you who don't know Boris, he isn't the most sociable of dogs, but he is normally pretty good with little dogs. We reckon he never got socialised as a pup and really doesn't know how to play!

Saturday 1st

John went into town this morning so we didn't go for our usual walk. It was quite overcast and we had the occasional shower today. We ended taking the tinny up the river to see what we could see. It was a great little trip and we found some deep holes, so we are going to take it out again this arvo to see if we can catch any fish.

We toddled off in the tinny after lunch with Boris in his usual spot on the prow. Once we reached our fishing spot it didn't take Boris long to get bored and he spotted something interesting on the shore so he jumped out of the boat and was off. After about half an hour or so he got bored and wanted to come back in the boat, so he swam back out. Of course there is no way for him to get back in the boat other than one of us dragging him back in, which we did. Next thing he is shaking to get all the water out of his coat - all over us -we were saturated! Then of course he proceeded to walk all over the tackle box and spill tackle everywhere, not to mention jumping out of the boat again and getting tangled in the fishing line and we had to go through the whole process of pulling him in again and enduring getting saturated while he shook his coat out!!

Once we got back we all went in for a swim, and Gus and Boris played on the shore - that's right - Boris was actually playing like a normal dog - couldn't believe it!!

After awhile Boris decided to come in for a swim with us but didn't have his ball with him so he got bored (doesn't take him long). We all wear our "Crocs" in the water, which float, and I was blissfully floating about with my feet up in the air when Boris (with a little encouragement from Ross) decided that my Crocs looked enough like his ball that he might have a go at them! Unfortunately my foot was still firmly entrenched in the shoe when he grabbed it and started pulling away! It was so funny, I was laughing so hard I nearly drowned and Boris was so determined not to let go of my shoe that he nearly drowned too!! I couldn't get my foot out of my shoe as Boris had such a firm grip on it and I had to get Ross to grab him and wrestle my shoe out of his mouth before we both drowned - it was hilarious!


Sunday 2nd

We went for a walk this morning the other way up the river. There was John, Ross, myself, Boris, Pam, Ian and Gus. It was a lovely walk but poor old Gus has tender feet and kept picking up prickles and had to be carried parts of the way. All in all we had a lovely walk though it was getting pretty hot by the time we got home. It's still a bit overcast and we aren't getting much solar power at the moment.

I made my first cake in the camp oven - turned out pretty good though it was a bit burned on the bottom - will get it right next time!!