MEETING UP WITH FAMILY

17^th October, 2016

We've travelled south from the Atherton Tablelands to Lake Wuruma (just to the north of Eidsvold) where we have met up with our nephew Greg and his wife Helen. We are going to spend a few days free camping here before moving on.

Our campsite at Lake Wuruma

Greg has his 'tinny' with him and we take a run in it around the lake. The lake is popular with the fishing fraternity for catching 'red claw' and Greg and Wok set off to check and reset the crab pots that Greg has already put in place.

Greg and Wok setting off in the 'tinny'

The following morning the pots yield a sizeable catch of red claw and Greg, Wok and Helen set about cleaning them and packing them in plastic bags for freezing.

Greg, Wok and Helen hard at work cleaning the 'red claw'

After a few days at the lake Greg and Helen head home to Gympie and we head east to Hervey Bay for a few days. There is a late afternoon thunderstorm the first day and when it passes by the whole sky gets an eerie pink glow as the sun sets and lights up the rainbow that has formed after the storm.


After the storm at Hervey Bay

We enjoy our time at the beach and then head west to Swinging Bridge Park at Cooyar where we meet up with our nephew Wayne (Greg's older brother).

Our campsite with Wayne at Cooyar

We are going to travel out west together for about five weeks before heading back to the Sunshine Coast in early December. From Cooyar we travel on back country roads to Jimbour where a few kilometres north of the town we stop at the Dingo Barrier Fence.

Wok and Wayne at the Dingo Barrier Fence

This fence originally ran for thousands of kilometres across the country but is now only maintained in sections. We are still unconvinced as to the effectiveness of the fence as dingos are not the dumbest of creatures and we are pretty sure that they would find a way around this obstacle.

Which way do we go, which way do we go ....

There is a slight disagreement as to which way we should head next but a consensus is reached and 'west' won out. By mid afternoon we were pulling into a free camp at Judds Lagoon near Yuleba. The boys were quick to get the camp chairs out and throw a line in the lagoon accompanied by a couple of stubbies.

Wayne and Wok downing a few 'stubbies' and pretending to fish

Needless to say – no fish were keen to jump on the end of the hooks so we had to make do with food from our vans. In the morning we headed into Roma where Wayne got friendly with a local bottle tree.

Yep - that bottle tree definitely needed a hug

We stayed overnight at the Gun Club where Wayne met up with an old police buddy and we had dinner at their 'on the verandah' barbecue and watched some clay pigeons trying to escape being shot to pieces. In the morning we headed south – through Surat and St George to the small town of Hebel on the Queensland/New South Wales border. We pulled into the camping area behind the General Store and discovered that our Crusader van seemed to have a definite lean to one side. A check underneath confirmed our suspicions. Another broken spring – on the opposite side to the last one. Luckily we were still carrying the spare spring that came with the one we got before. It was hot and dusty work but an hour and a bit later Wok had us up and on the level again.

Wok working - Wayne supervising

In the morning we continued on our merry way to Lightning Ridge.

Wok and Wayne at Lightning Ridge

We checked into one of the caravan parks and set about exploring. Although we have been this way before Wayne has not, so a revisit to many of the places we have seen was in order. Who could forget 'Stanley' – an extremely tall metal sculpture made out of old VW's which stands guard on the Castlereagh Highway just outside Lightning Ridge.

Wok and  Wayne with 'Stanley'

Then a 'must see' visit to the opal mine 'Chambers of the Black Hand' for a wander around the underground tunnels admiring the many carvings in the walls and ceilings.

Wayne poses with one of the many carvings

Wayne was going to take a dip at the Hot Springs but with daytime temperatures soaring into the high 30's … having a soak in hot water didn't really seem like a good idea.

Man that's hot ... think I'll just soak my toes

Now if only those hot springs had been cold … we would have all gladly jumped in. Back at the caravan park 'happy hour' was accompanied by complementary pizzas cooked in the pizza oven by the owners. A nice way too finish off our two days in Lightning Ridge.

We enjoy our slice of pizza and a cool drink

It's south to Walgett and then west once more. The countryside is dry but there have been recent rains and the rivers have been in flood. At Brewarrina we pull up under a shady tree at a picnic area beside the Barwon River.

We are looking for any bit of shade that we can get as it is blistering hot, but after checking out the sign we realise we have forgotten the cardinal rule of not parking under gum trees.

Whoops ... should have paid attention to the sign before I parked

Wok quickly moves the rig to a better position – a little bit of shade but not under any tree limbs. We have seen what a falling branch can do to a vehicle parked under it and it ain't a pretty sight. After lunch we will be continuing our journey further west and will definitely be looking to stop at a caravan park so we can have electricity to run our air conditioners. It is HOT HOT HOT !!!