Got back to
Bathurst last Thursday after one of the best trips I have had in Australia. I won't
bore you forumites with all the details but here is a brief outlay of our trip:-
Sat 27/8- Left
Bathurst in the Terracan towing my
Camp-O-Matic Camper loaded up with all the goodies and plenty of homebrew. All up about 1200Kgs. Overnite stop at
Nyngan.
Sun 28/8-
Nyngan to
Cunnamulla for overnite stop.
Mon 29/8-
Cunnamulla to Noccundra Pub for overnite stop. The girls at Noccundra served up a great meal and a few nice cold beers as
well.
Tues 30/8- Noccundra to
Windorah via
Eromanga (Cheapest diesel on the whole trip - $1-21 a Litre - Do realise that tax is less in Qld). Drove thru a dust storm all day so was glad to be in the car all day. Had a few nice cold Apple Ciders at the
Windorah pub. Would have liked to stay for the Yabbie Races but we went on to
Birdsville that morning.
Wed 31/8-
Windorah to
Birdsville. Had my only puncture in the Terracan about 150Kms out of
Birdsville. The road was very stony but driven at the right speed it was OK. Arrived
Birdsville about 2.00pm and dropped the tyre off to get a new one fitted. I run Bridgestone A/T Duellers and they had a brand new one in stock. Only $290 fitted which I thought was a damn good price for way out there. Got a
camp set up on the Diamantina River and settled down for a few cold homebrews.
Thurs 1/9- General look around
Birdsville. (My first time there). Went out for a run to Big Red and had a "play" in the sand with the Terracan. Had a good look around the town and soaked up the atmosphere which included a cold XXXX at the
Birdsville Pub. I did briefly meet Ruth from the Caravan
Park and introduced myself but as is was race weekend she was very busy and I never had another chance to catch up with here. Anyway "Hello" again Ruth as I am sure you will read this. I will be back to
Birdsville one day so hope to catch up another time. Hard to admit I had a XXXX when I am such a passionate homebrewer. But when in Rome you do as the Romans do.
Fri 2/9- First day at the
Birdsville Races and had a great day, Nice and warm, no wind and not a lot of flies. Never backed a winner but enjoyed the atmosphere. Went to the dance in town that night but not a huge crowd. Listened to "Saddletramp" and then off to bed for the BIG day on the Saturday.
Sat 3/9- Woke up to a howling wind. Yes, it is race day and I have been told that a dust storm is not unusual.
Well, we had one. It did ease down thru the day and we had a great day at the races. Still couldn't back a winner but really enjoyed the whole thing. Even had another couple of XXXX's at the races. Went up town at night and had dinner at "The Big Red Cafe'.Got to meet Karsten and Jackie who really looked after us.Also checked out the pub and Fred Brophys Boxing Tent. At 56 years of age and nearly 140Kgs I decided that a round or two in the ring was past me so it was in to the pub for another cold XXXX.
Sun 4/9- Rest up day before we head off tomorrow. Went to the
Birdsville Working Museum. I have been to a few musuems in my day but this is the best ever. The best $7 I have spent in years. A must if you go to
Birdsville. Great way to spend a couple of hours. Spent some more time with Karsten who said to me that "Walkers Crossing" was the way for us to head to
Innamincka the next day. Thanks Karsten for all the good advice and your food is great.
Mon 5/9- Packed up after a very memorible trip to
Birdsville and headed for
Innamincka via
Walkers Crossing. The road is good. You just have to drive to the conditions and all is OK. Got to
Innamincka on dusk and set up
camp just below the town for the night.
Tues 6/9- Set up a
camp for the next 3 nights and generally just looked about
Innamincka and along the
Cooper Creek. No wonder they named Australia's greatest beer afer the
creek:) A most beautiful spot and we spent the day just checking out all the spots along the
creek and a few cold "Coopers" at the pub as
well.
Wed 7/9- Did the round trip via
the Loop Road to
the Dig Tree. Must have been the worst road on the whole trip out to
the Dig Tree but we got thru with no punctures in the Terracan and was worth the trip to absorb such an important of Australia's early pioneering history. We just took our time and once again some great outback scenery in its own right.
Thurs 8/9- Went out to Coongie Lakes for a look. The road was a dirt highway. Once again a nice drive with plenty of scenery to take in again. Now I must say that during our stay at
Innamincka the meals at the pub were FIRST CLASS and very reasonably priced and the people who own the "Trading Post" were very friendly and the prices in that
shop were "CHEAP". When the lady told me what it cost to get goods freighted to
Innamincka I could not believe how reasonable their prices were in general. If I ever here anyone complain about the prices of anything in that part of the world then all I can say is "GET A LIFE". Us poor suckers in the populated areas are the ones getting ripped off with fuel prices and the cost of all goods in general. For instance a stubbie of Coopers Pale Ale here in
Bathurst would normally cost around $4.50 to $5.50 over the bar at a pub and at Innaminka a stubbie of Coopers Pale Ale was $4.00. Diesel was $1.61 a litre at
Innamincka which I was quite happy to pay considering how far away it is. My wife and I spent a small fortune in
Innamincka and I was pleased to do so to support them as I want to go back one day and still be able to buy some supplies and fuel. Now I will get off my soapbox and get on with my story.
Fri 9/9-
Innamincka to
Cameron Corner via the "OLD"
Strzelecki Track. Had mostly all been graded and was another dirt highway. Drove thru another dust storm and we nearly got blown away at
Cameron Corner. Had another Coopers Pale Ale at the pub and camped overnite in the wind and dust.
Sat 10/9-
Cameron Corner to
Tibooburra for an overnite stay. Checked out the Family Hotel in
Tibooburra and had a few more Coopers Pale Ales. With all these Coopers Pale Ales I am saving on the homebrew I took and will probably take some back home. The publican at the Family Hotel was a character. If anyone calls there just ask him if he has any cheap pumpkins.
Sun 11/9-
Tibooburra to
Broken Hill for overnite stay. Stayed in the Caravan
Park on the
Adelaide Road. Had lunch at
Packsaddle on the way to
Broken Hill.
Mon 12/9- Got some supplies and headed off to
Wilcannia for a few days relaxing and fishing on the banks of the
Darling River. I have a private property I go to about 30Kms out of
Wilcannia. Did a spot of fishing for a couple of Yellowbelly and just sat around the campfire listing to the birds (mating season) and consuming some of the homebrew I still had on board. Left
Wilcannia on the Thursday morning and arrived back in
Bathurst about 9.00pm on the Thursday night.
Summary:-
Travelled 4643Kms in the Terracan towing the Camper. Fuel cost for the trip was $812. Averaged around 12litres to the 100Kms on the whole trip.
Only the one puncture and the Terracan performed way beyond my expectations. Towing was a breeze(sometimes very bloody windy).
The people we met we all very friendly and as I said earlier the prices of things in general a very reasonable.
If anyone wants any more details on the roads, etc then E-Mail me at lagerman@tpg.com.au and I will only be too hapy to pass on any info.
Hope I haven't bored you reading this but I did really enjoy the whole trip and now have to think of where to go next year.
Cheers
The Bigfella
PS. I am only a 2 finger typist so please excuse any mistakes.