'Wherarwee' in Oz: Log 17-03 Casino

Monday: Liz drove again today & as we left L.R. we took a 20K detour as we were told that the floods had left a lake approx. 10K by 50K which at first cut off the main highway North but now had dropped a metre. We were to drive 10K then take a dirt road to the lake. After driving 20K we found the road but decided we didn’t like the looks of it so instead of turning back for Moree we continued on another 40K to Hebel in Qland. The road North from L.R. was surrounded by fields of waving green grass, just amazing to see, with ponds of water lining the road.

When we hit the border the scene changed from green to fields of rotting grass, fences were covered in debris & the road was badly damaged, strips of road were just gravel in some places & had been resealed in others. We drove through Hebel (6 houses & a general store) & on to St. George, a further 173K. Fields of cotton lined the highway, some just starting to bud, Liz thought it was very beautiful. A beautiful little town once again. We stopped for lunch & visited the local emu egg carver. Paid $3.00 to check out his work. It was just fantastic Liz was very enthusiastic & he gave her an egg he had carved. While at the butchers he (the butcher) suggested we drive another 45K to Nindygully Pub to stay for the night. It’s a nice big open area by the side of the Moonie River & Q’lands oldest pub, originally a staging point for Cobb & Co.

Happy hour at the pub was 4:30 to 5:30, $2.00 pots of beer. We stayed till 6:30 talking to the locals while Liz kept running back to the van checking the corned silverside she was preparing for dinner which we ate outside. We retired about 10:00 P.M. still 30º in the van.

Tuesday: Liz drove first again today as we set off for Texas Q’land. It was a good run to Goondiwindi but the amount of road kill was enormous, averaging about 1 every kilometer for much of the distance. Goondiwindi turned out to be a large town with all usual facilities, we walked the length of the main street, took photos of the Victoria Hotel in the middle of town. Filled up the truck & left about an hour & a half later. The Bruxner Highway turned out to be anything but, pot holed, rutted & generally lumpy & bumpy. By the time the Texas highway appeared we had travelled 270k’s. About a k out of town we stopped at a free camp site where you are allowed to stay for up to 14 days. In town is a dump point, free hot showers & water. Talk about visitor friendly. Met another couple at the campsite, Norm & Rose, been on the road on & off, for 32 years. Gave us a lot of information on places to stop. There was about 6 motorhomes at the camp, more than we have seen in the past fortnight, & also about 10 caravans. At 4:00 PM we were invited to happy hour, anyone who wanted to just got together & chatted about their experiences. Another great night.

Wednesday: walked into town did some window shopping then back to the van, final cuppa then off to Wallangarra, near Tenterfield.

So today it didn’t go well, punched co-ordinates into the GPS in Degrees, minutes, seconds (normaly degres.XXXX) & off we went, only 76 k’s according to the GPS. Well, it delivered us into the middle of nowhere, when I punched in the name of the place we had been going in the wrong direction & now had 105 k’s to go. Finally, hours later we arrived. Tonight’s stop turned out to be a roadside nature stop with a park behind, ah well, it is a nice park, kids flying kites, mothers with children in the playground. No other vans of course. To make it worse I just set up the TV …… no reception.

Next Casino.

Thursday, finally, a good nights sleep! After a hearty breakfast we set off for Casino. It was over the great dividing range today so it was a bit slow at times but no problems as we stayed on the highway. We continued on past Casino to Lismore as we had some business to attend to. Lismore is huge, pop. 52,000, another major country city. There are many interesting examples of old architecture, and all in good condition. Back to Casino which is large in itself, pop. 11,000, even has an Aldi. We did a bit of shopping & then proceeded to find the motorhome village. We have booked in for 4 nights, hope we have plenty to do & I’m sure we will as there are many natural features in the area. By the time we booked in & set ourselves up it was mid afternoon so we just relaxed for a while & the walked around the complex. The idea behind this place is that everyone living in the village owns a motorhome/caravan & this is the common denominator. The complex is owned by the Campervan & Motorhome Club of Aust. & you have a house built or buy one already there. I don’t know annual costs but the cost of purchasing a place has doubled in the past 4 years. There is a clubhouse, pool, BBQ area, & lots of open space. We were surprised by the size of some of the houses as plans we have seen have been very basic. More to follow.

P.S. found problem with GPS ..... user error!