2022 - (Almost) Lap of QLD

Day 5: Sat 30 Apr - Yelarbon 15 – 28°,    Partly Cloudy, light winds and a little humid. A cool change came through in the late afternoon. We had a great sleep last night, and it was nice waking to a beautiful clear morning and the sound of birds singing. I headed out the door at 6am for another walk through town back to the silos and around the lagoon to take photos in the morning Sun. The Yelarbon Recreational Grounds also has a small but interesting collection of old farm machinery and railway equipment. A shed containing old hand tools brought back memories of some of my uncle's old hand tools from when I was younger.  After doing our washing and a few other chores, the rest of the day was mostly relaxing, with the afternoon cloud providing some welcome relief from the sun. Late afternoon, I jumped on the bike for a quick explore. I found a marker for the end of Dingo Barrier Fence in Yelarbon, which at 8,320 km was  the longest man-made fence in the world when c...

Day 4: Fri 29 Apr - Narrabri to Yelarbon 16 – 30°, A mostly sunny day with light Winds - glorious QLD weather. Towed 275km  We averaged about 16.7lt /100km towing our almost 3 tonne caravan from home to Narrabri, and on less than one tank of fuel (670km). The long range tank has certainly proved its value not having to fuel at every stop. The solid NE wind from Narrabri to Yelarbon today did push our fuel consumption up slightly to 17.4lt/100km - but it is still very respectable. Our overnight stay neighbours for example are pushing almost 22lt/100km in their BT50. We got away from Narrabri  by 8.30am, and after a couple of rest stops, we were at our destination at Yelarbon. Our stay is at the Yelarbon Recreation Grounds, a small and tidy park, costing $20 per night with power and water. Interestingly, the showers and bathrooms are setup in an old refurbished railway station.  Located halfway between Goondiwindi and Inglewood, Yelarbon is a very small town, with a pub, a ...

Day 3: Thu 28 Apr - Narrabri 15 – 25°, Cloudy & light drizzle in the morning, clearing to a partly cloudy day.  Despite being noisier then expected from passing road traffic last night, we both had an excellent sleep and a nice sleep-in. Just what the doctor ordered - a quiet and relaxing day followed. I went for a short bike ride into the surrounds of Narrabri in the afternoon, then we both walked into town to find a butcher to get our hands on a piece of good old country steak - and the verdict.... it was the nicest piece of steak that we've had in a very long time. As i write this, it's so nice sitting in shorts and t-shirt feeling comfortable with even warmer days ahead. Morning walk along the river   Sports oval Morning walk through town Afternoon ride into the surrounds of Narrabri Nearby cotton fields Happy Days.. . Narrabri has a lot of heavy transport passing through - this piece of machinery was bigger than the average size

Day 2: Wed 27 Apr - Wellington to Narrabri Towed 320km 12 – 17°, Rain, rain and more rain. 20mm overnight from about midnight through to the morning while packing up, and continued all day. The 320km drive along the Newell Highway to Narrabri was  much more like a drive along a goat track. Apparently there is a shortage of heavy truck drivers in Australia....I reckon we shared the road with every one of them in the country today - it was ridiculously busy.  The combination of poor road conditions, poor visibility and endless big trucks made for a very tiring drive. After a few rest stops, we were safely setup by 3.30 pm in the Big Sky Caravan Park in Narrabri. Nothing flash - but walking distance to town, clean, spacious and it's home for two nights. After a strong coffee, we set off for a short walk through town to stretch the legs (and take a few photos) between showers, then  we returned for dinner and a relaxing night at home - listening to the raindrops tapping again...

Day 1: Tue 26 Apr - Home to Wellington 9 – 20°,       Partly Cloudy & light Winds Towed 338km Thankfully, it was a much milder morning than usual for this time of year in Canberra. We took a bit longer than expected to finish packing but we were eventually on our way by 0930. After the events of the past week, it was very emotional leaving home, but glad to be finally on our way. It was a relatively easy and uneventful drive - the combination of suspension upgrade and new all-terrain tyres making an amazing difference to the handling. It was nice driving and seeing the countryside looking so green and the autumn colours in the country towns. We had a short break for coffee and a piece of Noel's homemade ricotta almond cake at Cowra before continuing on to Wellington. In regards to coffee, the new Inverter got a big tick, and is a great addition to the van (thanks for your help Steve Nixon).  Our stay tonight is in a small but a very spacious and well maintai...

The time has come to head north for the Canberra winter again. It doesn't seem like almost 6 months ago we returned from our last caravan trip to QLD. We expect this trip travelling further into the outback with friends Greg & Wendy, and Kev & Jo from Howard in QLD, will be a lot more adventurous.   Our preparations haven't been ideal though - last week Tyson, the 11 year old family Staffy became unwell. After a few visits to the vet he started to show signs of recovering, but deteriorated quickly overnight on Thursday. Another trip to the vet on Friday, and following x'rays, he was diagnosed with having very bad arthritis which was affecting his spinal cord and causing him immense pain. With only days or weeks left to live, he was put to rest.  His sudden and unexpected loss deeply affected the whole family.  Tomorrow we depart to meet our friends across the QLD border near Goondiwindi on the weekend. It’s particularly hard leaving home this time, but we are...