Category: Roadtrip 2022

We arose to the first mild morning since leaving Leongatha. After brekky we departed Lightning Ridge for the northerly drive to St George. It was quite apparent that there had been heavy rain around these parts with road signs advising you ring to see if water was still over the roads. Being the daredevils that we are we chose not to ring the number (but then again all the traffic coming the other way was a fair indication that the road was fine) but continued on and only found one spot where water was still laying partially across the road. Quite a few places where the road had been damaged and we had to slow down.

The trucks were missing for the most part today (I guess they have a rest on Sunday) so our journey was at a steady rate of knots but a bit more wind today with bursts of sunshine. The temperature is in the early twenties so a very comfortable day all up. We’ve booked into the caravan park here for two nights just so we can head down the town tomorrow and check the sights out in this remote place. It still a surprise that the mobile service isn’t that flash out here and we have to use the Caravan Park’s wifi to get a decent internet connection.

The Caravan Park we are staying in is rather old but well maintained but the sites are certainly jammed in. We are okay as we have room beside us (and a park behind us) but the caravanners are squeezed in cheek to jowl with the awnings almost touching the van next door. But then again its less than half the price we paid at Lightning Ridge last night. Sadly the park manager informed us that happy hour is not on tonight but we were free to enjoy ourselves if wanted to (??)

Had a sleep in this morning seeing that we were only just going up the road to Lightning Ridge. By the time we arose the frost had disappeared under sunny skies. Rather than having a dip at the Walgett Artesian baths we decided we could wait until Lightning Ridge so we set out for the short but very rough road trip from Walgett to Lightning Ridge. Some poor old tourist came to grief while heading south. According to the reports coming over the radio he had had a heart attack and ended up running off the road. Fortunately car and caravan remained upright although we didn’t hear the prognosis for the driver. There was a large support group in attendance. We met the ambulance coming from Lightning Ridge followed quite some time later by the Road Rescue Unit. Hope it all ended well

We arrived in Lightning Ridge in time for a stroll around the CBD but, as we weren’t in the market for opals, we could only manage coffee and cakes at a very nice cafe on the street. We made our way to the Opal Caravan Park which is just 200 metres from the hot springs. After setting up camp we ventured down to the pools for a couple of hours, moving between the hottest and the not so hottest pools. We were suitably defrosted so headed back to camp to dry out in the sun. Even though its only 12º its very warm out of the wind. Finally some warm weather.

We are heading north tomorrow, probably stay at St George for a couple of nights for the usual weekly routine of laundry and replenishing water tanks etcetera.

Now that was cold! Dropped to -2ºC this morning, had to put my socks on in bed! Another beautiful morning though, standing in brilliant sunshine cooking the porridge. The caravan park was emptying en-masse today. We headed out a bit later than usual seeing we didn’t have far to go. A lot less trucks on the highway once we got past Gilgandra. Just meandered up the Castlereigh Highway to Walgett, where we had intended to stay at the Showgrounds but they are closed at the moment so it was back to the freecamp on the main drag. There were obvious signs of heavy rain around about. Road damage and several huge paddocks that had been inundated as well as some that were still under water.

Tomorrow we will head to the Artesian Baths before moving on to Lightning Ridge for a night (and more hot springs) Another -2º night forecast for tonight but as we only have a short trip to Lightning Ridge we can afford a lay in until the sun is well and truly up.

Well we had our first real frost of the trip. Below 0º today and the vehicle was covered in ice and crunchy grass underfoot. Beautiful clear skies so while it was cool outside cooking the porridge for breakfast it was certainly sunny.

We took our time before heading out to the Western Plains Zoo for our tour around the animals. Really much better than Taronga Zoo with numerous animals of each species. We enjoyed sitting in the sun eating our picnic before going to view more animals in the afternoon. We highly recommend a visit.

We left the zoo and drove around the CBD of Dubbo, then headed out the road to the Bottle House and had a chat to the owner while we were there. He was keen to know about motorhoming but doubts he can get his missus to leave the grandkids for a couple of months. We did our bit to spread the word.

Pretty slack day today just dawdled up the Newell Highway to Dubbo 260 kms up the road. The heavy rain in these parts was very evident, particularly between West Wyalong and Forbes, with rivers and creeks brimming with dirty brown water and vast areas of paddocks covered in water.

The river at Forbes was lapping the footbridge as we drove through town. We had rain overnight and drizzly rain while driving this morning. The Newell Highway is undergoing a lot of roadworks at the moment so it was a bit of a stop and go trip. We still managed to average in the low 12 kms per 100 kms so we are happy with that. Mind you even with those good figures it still cost us over $200 to fill the tank at West Wyalong ($2.36 per litre)

The number of trucks and caravans increased noticeably today. Overcast skies and pretty cool all day, didn’t get higher than 9.5º for the whole trip. Things look a bit underwhelming in this weather, but hopefully things improve tomorrow for our visit to the Western Plains Zoo (I’m getting homesick ; ) )

We left Seymour after a leisurely breakfast and headed North along the Newell Highway. The traffic was relatively light, mainly trucks (B doubles mostly). We stopped for morning tea at Strathmerton then back on the road before stopping roadside at Bundure Rest Area, a nice freecamp but to early for us.

We pushed on to West Wyalong where we had our first refuelling stop since departing Leongatha. Pretty happy with that, averaged 12.2 litres per 100 kms today. Overall its been 12.75 litres per 100 kms including the wind and travelling through Melbourne.

So here we go again, back on our annual pilgrimage to some place other than cold South Gippsland. We are on our lonesome as the Willies have opened a Bric a Brac shop in Mirboo North. Check it out if you’re after antiques or collectibles.

We didn’t set sail till after lunch as I had a medical appointment so then it was through Melbourne before setting up camp at the Highlands Caravan Park in Seymour. We’re not silly, it looks like it will be freezing tonight, so after last year’s -4º at Lockwood South, we thought a camp with power might be the way to go this year. We are getting soft.