7 June – Wongarbon – We drove north around 180kms today and stopped at a little town called Wongarbon, just shy of Dubbo. Technically, we have left the Central West and are now in the North West Region of NSW.
Dubbo is a big sprawling place and we have spent some time there before so we figured a pub stay out of town would do. The Tavern has parking over the road for free, with an expectation of patronage. Having dropped the van off, we headed in to Dubbo to pick up a few things and to swap a gas bottle. Then it was back for a kip, followed by a couple of drinks and a wonderful pizza at the pub. It was pretty quiet, but the publican said that things have been quiet since the fuel crisis, with fewer caravans on the roads and people watching their pennies.
8 June – Gilgandra – Another short move north to Gilgandra, and another pub stay, this time behind the Railway Hotel. It’s a good system, meaning that the money you would spend at a caravan park gets spent on hospitality. Gilgandra is a small town but with a main street with lots of different shops and a few pubs. One of its claims is as the birthplace of the Australian “Cooee”. It seems that a Great War recruitment drive started here in 1915 with 35 men marching all the way to Sydney and calling “Cooee” as they passed through towns, ending up in St Martins Place to a rousing reception and 240 men recruited.
June 9 Warrumbungle – We drove further north to the Warrumbungle National Park. Here we were to meet Coral and David, friends from Kalumburu days who live in Newcastle. The Warrumbungle is an amazing area with fantastic mountain formations, formed when a huge volcanic eruption thrust through an ancient sandstone bed, pushing the whole lot up. When the softer sandstone eroded, it left the hard granite volcanic cores, producing some wonderful formations. The camping areas and walk trails are superb. We had a beautiful campsite, power, amazing large modern ablutions and an interesting information centre.
Coral and David arrived with the rain. It was forecast as heavy for the next day, but we had little on the first day. We spent time catching up, enjoying some great food. There is never a shortage of talk when we are together.
June 10 – Warrumbungle – The expected heavy rain held off, giving us the morning to do a walk. Here, there are some serious walks, both in terms of length and climbing, but we chose a relatively easy walk to Tara Cave, only 3.5km return. The cave was used as a shelter by aboriginal people and was a tool making site, with many splinters of quartz from stone chipping in evidence. Also, there were some flat sandstone slabs that bore the deep marks of many years as sharpening stones. We just made it back to camp before the rain started, increasing steadily throughout the afternoon. We all enjoyed a rest, Coral and David having had a heavy work schedule at their bush shack, before getting together for lots more socializing and excellent food.
The rain continued throughout the night, to the point where I began to wonder about the creek crossings in the park, all of which are marked “subject to flash flooding”.
June 11 – Warrumbungle – We slept late, the rain continuing. Coral and David eventually braved the rain and packed up, a return to Newcastle on the agenda. We farewelled them, thrilled to have caught up again. Then we looked at each other and asked, “Do we need to leave?” We booked another day and settled in for a lazy one. The rain did not stop until after 1pm, the creek rising to the point where it was just below the crossing. I took a long walk after the rain stopped, following a firebreak through the forest. At one point, there were four kangaroos standing on the track in from of me. They didn’t budge. I even had to weave between them, and they simply watched me walk by. They have absolutely no fear of humans here. Another amusing resident in the park is the apostle bird, so named because they tend to live in social groups of about twelve. They are keen on getting campers to feed them, something highly discouraged by national park authorities. However, every now and then, they decide that “there is food over there”. And all the birds descend on a camp, arguing with each other, looking for crumbs and setting of a cacophony of chirping. Then, suddenly, they are gone, moving to another spot.
I walked when the rain finally stopped, spending a lot of time scanning the tree tops for koalas. Finally, I got smart, and “Googled” koalas in the Warrumbungles, to find that they were almost wiped out in the big fires of 2013 and are still a very rare sight as the population slowly recovers. I gave my neck a rest after that.
June 12 – Narrabri – We drove out towards the east, to Coonabarabran. The park road going eastwards is a lot steeper and more winding than the one from the west that we had used to come in. The poor old rig just managed in places, but at least the traffic was light so we didn’t hold anyone up. We stopped at “White Gum Lookout” for some amazing views across the ancient volcanic cores that make up the Warrumbungles to the flat plains beyond.
Coonabarabran was a pretty little town but we pushed on through and headed up through the Piliga Forest to Narrabri. The Piliga Forest is the largest woodland reserve in NSW and when you find yourself driving for around 50kms through it, you appreciate its size. The woods are particularly attractive, with a good variety of trees and understory. I found myself comparing it to New Zealand, where we were disappointed at just how much of the native forest had been cleared or replaced with pines.
At Narrabri, we stopped at the showgrounds. Much of the really boggy ground was starting to dry out, but it must have been bad a few days ago. We have loved using showgrounds, being cheap, safe, and a chance to socialize with others. This one, however, was very much in use with horses being left there, or being exercised. With the horses came the flies, the first bad flies we have encountered since WA. We didn’t do much in Narrabri apart from some shopping, and a few minor running repairs to the water fill pipe. The fill pipe for one of the tanks had parted, and I found that the previous owner had repaired it using an inner sleeve and tape to join to halves. The only problem was that they had used a cardboard tube as the connector. I have no idea why it lasted this long.
13 &14 June – Booni – From Narrabri, we drove 190km north through Moree and on to the little town of Booni (pronounced Boon-eye). This little place is intensely proud of their village, despite having very little. They are part of what is known as the “Artesian Trail”, where thermal bores have been made into spas and hot pools. We were going to stop at a caravan park in Moree that has four pools of different temperatures from 29 to 39 degrees, but the reviews of the management and tiny cramped sites put us off. Instead, Booni offered camping right next to the spa at $25 for a powered site, a communal firepit at night, a co-op with coffee and snacks throughout the day and very friendly people.
We stayed a couple of nights, spending time soaking in the spa and pool. The spa has lots of bubbles, two forceful jets that do a great job on a bad back and water at around 40 degrees. You are warned that 15-20 minutes is the maximum time at that temperature. A shallow “kiddies” pool is around 33 degrees and a 25m lap pool a respectable 29 degrees. There is lots of lounging around, socialization and good cheer.
Booni is very close to the Queensland border, so the next stop will be in another state. The weather forecasts are for mid-twenties, and we are finally able to wear shorts throughout the day.
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