Day 19
Tuesday 8 October 2013
Campsite:
Ourimperee Waterhole, Paroo River,
Currawinya National ParkCampsite Co-ordinates: 144.512039°E, 28.8832660°S
Cost of Camping Site: National Parks fee is $5.45/person/night
Distance travelled: 121km
Weather Forecast: Sunny. Winds southeast to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h tending northeast to southeasterly 20 to 30 km/h before dawn then tending south to southwesterly in the morning. Overnight temperatures falling to between 14° and 17° with daytime temperatures reaching around 40°.
![Clear enough!]()
Clear enough!
![The Woolshed]()
The Woolshed
![Woolshed]()
Woolshed
![Communal toilets]()
Communal toilets
![Ye bush showers]()
Ye bush showers
Amenities: Clean, serviced flushing toilets with
toilet paper supplied and hand basin with running water. Simple but functional M/F bush showers. Be prepared to drive from
campsite to amenities. Toilets are communal, but lockable doors provide a modicum of privacy, and are located about 75m SW of Woolshed; bush showers are a couple of hundred meters S of Woolshed down track towards camping areas. Longish walk, or quick drive, to both facilities.
![Shearers Shed and buildings]()
Shearers Shed and buildings
![Ye olde meat shed]()
Ye olde meat shed
![Carwarra Creek, behind Ranger Headquarters]()
Carwarra Creek, behind Ranger Headquarters
Activities: Called in to see the Rangers getting ready to check on the success of their baiting run yesterday. I had heard them earlier(.223 I think), and were about to continue. I then had a look around where the old
homestead was located, and other remains as evidence of pastoral occupation for over a century. With the
Ranger office unoccupied, I decided to drop into the
Caiwarro Ruins just up
Hungerford Road a bit - some 30km of the same dirt road on the way to
Eulo.
![Was this a deliberate act of vandalism?]()
Was this a deliberate act of vandalism?
![Corni Paroo Waterhole]()
Corni Paroo Waterhole
![Corni Paroo Waterhole]()
Corni Paroo Waterhole
![Caiwarro Waterhole campsites]()
Caiwarro Waterhole campsites
![Caiwarro Waterhole]()
Caiwarro Waterhole
Sharing the disappointment that the original
homestead had been bulldozed before the property became part of
Currawinya NP, I would shortly see why it is now protected as part of
Currawinya. If
Ourimperee Waterhole is impressive,
Corni Paroo Waterhole on the Paroo River is breathtaking. Still within
Currawinya National Park, it is a much bigger
Waterhole, and at last, offered a greater variety and number of birds. When I return, this is where I will be camping.
I am told the Lakes to the west of
Corni Paroo Waterhole (
Lake Numalla - a freshwater lake, and Lake Wyara - a saltwater lake) are more impressive again, and promised myself to spend a day or two there, next trip. Each lake supports different communities of waterbirds. This I have to see. Camping is not permitted at these Lakes, and access by 4WD is highly recommended.
![Don't forget to pay, even in this remote camp site.]()
Don't forget to pay, even in this remote camp site.
After a bit of sightseeing in the area, occasionally imagining myself as Banjo Patterson's swagman, I headed back later afternoon. Seeing that the Rangers were still out and about, I resigned myself to enjoying my
camp in the shade of a favourite coolibah tree at Ourimperee, until the mossies attacked just on dusk. It reminded me of a sign I saw in the Royal Mail Hotel in
Hungerford:
"There is not a single mosquito in
Hungerford.
They are all married and have large families."
Enough said.
Tomorrow I hope to find out a little bit more from the Rangers about the history of
Currawinya.