Gidday
I’d planned to go up to
Weipa this year for a bit of relaxation and get away from the winter in
Melbourne for a while. This altered a bit when one of my mates was having a problem on the home front.
I suggested he come along for part of the way, at least to Burke. So we decided to go up through Ivanhoe,
Wilcannia,
White Cliffs and
Wanaaring. At Burke then he’d return to
Melbourne and I’d continue on up North.
The country north of
Echuca had a fair amount of rain before our arrival, and more was predicted.
On arriving in Ivanhoe we camped behind the service station which is not much more than a back yard but has the basc amenities. The mate suggested we go to the pub for a drink, but I opted out because of some work to do.
He came back after an hour and told me the local copper was bleep off his face and looking for trouble.
The next morning we were up at 4.30am and on the road to
Wilcannia. The 180 K’s of dirt is in good condition, but we were mind full of the looming dark clouds and the possibility of being stuck for a few days in the bush.
Up there they usually close the roads after 10mm.
We arrived in
Wilcannia and it was nothing like I expected. Just a road side stop with historical buildings left to rack and ruin. I knew it was run down, but didn’t expect to see that level of decay. Another town buggared!
For those coming from the East, there is a BP
sign on the left hand side after crossing the bridge. The fuel there was $0.14 cheaper than the Shell Roadhouse.
After leaving
Wilcannia we turned off to
White Cliffs and headed into howling winds that must have been in the order of 100 – 110Klms.
The
White Cliffs caravan
park is on a slight rise with no grass and it was an interesting process setting up for the night in those conditions.
For about an hour and a half it was like being in a sand blasting chamber. Once things settled down a bit, we went up to the
hill because I wanted to buy the daughter an Opal.
After the transaction had taken place, the shirla grabbed me, and declared ‘we’re got a traditional’. The Following hug nearly broke every bone in my body.
After the mate came out, I asked him if got a hug? 'No mate my bones are still in place'!
After that we went back down the
hill and decided to call into the pub on the corner. Now I’ve been around the bush much of my life, but have never come across a more narky bar maid.
We spent a few minutes inspecting the interior of the pub, and then moved outside to finish our drinks. The mate had barely put his empty glass on the outdoor table, when she came out of nowhere, and gave him a fair serve for not bringing it inside.
We then had to go back to the caravan
park for a few drinks to calm the nerves. LOL
The next day saw us heading north to Tilterwiera Station just south of
Wanaaring. The country was completely
water logged and I lost count of how many
creek crossings we went through. The northern section then turns to sand and the travel is easy after that.
The lower section is rock and pretty easy if you take in slow, even with a van. The
creek crossings were no problem when we went through, but many of them were chopped up on both sides. So slow was the go.
On arrival at Tilterwiera, we met up with a few shooters coming out of the bunk house, and asked if they knew where the Manager was. They didn’t know. So I said to the mate ‘he could be half an hour, or two days away...we’ll move on.
On arrival at
Wanaaring, we met up with a few locals, and I’d have to say this is one of the friendliest towns I’ve come across in the bush.
The dirt road from
Wanaaring to Burke was in very good condition when we went through.
On arrival in Burke we stayed again at the caravan
park about 7klms north of the town. This is where things started to go wrong. The back played up big time and I was feeling a bit crook.
I’ve been through Burke many a time and lament at its deteration over the years.
I abandoned any thought of going north, and decided to head back home. After a bit more driving we arrived in Coonabarabran, and camped on Doug’s property for a few days rest.
Neither of us got much out of the trip and I probably wouldn’t do it again. However it may be of interest to others
Regards
Kim