After an interesting fire season, we planned to travel across to Port Lincoln to visit Keith (Loryn’s brother). The idea was to go via Broken Hill and then come back via the Hay plains. COVID-19 restrictions resulted in border closures, necessitating a cancellation of our plans. Indications initially hinted at the border reopening from the start of August, so we tentatively pencilled in mid-August as an available date. Unfortunately the border opening did not eventuate, so again the plans went out the window.
Alternative options were explored, for example Tasmania or Queensland, but again border restrictions came into play and negated these ideas. We then looked at completing a Darling River run instead, which is what we based this trip on. You will get a laugh as you read through the trip report, as rain changed our plans through the middle portion of the trip – although I will say the rain is great news for those out that way.
Anyway, please grab a drink and enjoy at least the pictures of a pretty good 12 days away from normal life 🙂
Day 1:
Departing home at lunchtime after finalising loading the vehicle, we headed west along the Oxley Highway. The weather was wet and windy, so we weren’t setting any land speed records along the way, but it was quite enjoyable because the road was relatively empty of traffic. Driving through Long Flat, Mount Seaview and over the range was quite uneventful other than an occasional reaction to a branch on the road due to the wind.
We dropped into Aspley Falls, just short of Walcha, to have a break. We were also hoping that the recent rain would result in some water flowing, as recent trips during the drought has been heartbreaking.
Continuing along the Oxley Highway, we travelled through Walcha to the intersection with the New England Highway. Turning south we headed to Moonbi Lookout with the weather just being clear enough to get some photos.
Arriving in Tamworth, we headed up the hill to the Oxley Scenic Lookout before checking in to our accommodation for the night.
We finished the day with a nice quiet dinner
Day 2:
First night on holidays, great plans to relax/rest and enjoy ourselves – and a certain 2 year old little girl decided it was the perfect night to be a little cow!!! Thankfully we had a short day planned as we wanted to look around Tamworth before heading up the road.
Heading over to the Australian Country Music Hall of Fame, it was disappointing that it was closed due to COVID restrictions.
Heading towards Gunnedah, we saw a sign for Lake Keepit – so we figured we would take a look. Unfortunately the usual access places were closed due to works, but it was something different to the Oxley Highway (which we were still following).
Arriving at Gunnedah, we started a very regular theme of stopping at playgrounds for Miss Ellie.
After a play and lunch we drove up to the Porcupine Lookout – well worth the 5 minute detour
We then headed across town to Pensioners Hill Lookout, again well worth a look. It would be a great lunch stop as well.
Hitting the road we said goodbye to the Oxley Highway, and turned towards Narrabri. We also started slowly dropping away the last of the traffic, and I started relaxing more and more.
Arriving in Narrabri, normal life kicked in for a little while, with Loryn needing to do a uni video conference whilst I ducked off to do some shopping for the days ahead.
Day 3:
The original plan was to head to Burren Junction to soak in the hot springs, however Loryn asked a bloody good question – can Ellie (2 years old) go in the hot spring. Well after checking, the answer was no, as the hot spring is approximately 41.5 degrees. Bugger! We could have taken turns, but decided it’d be a pain in the ass and wouldn’t be worth the hassle – it gives us a reason to go back again 🙂
As a result we decided to punch straight through to Walgett, a couple of hours up the road. Going past Burren Junction it was amazing to see the amount of caravans parked in there – we might have dodged a bullet after all.
Arriving in Walgett we took a quick look around, before I set up in the park for a video conference myself. It is pretty cool that technology (and Telstra reception) now allows us to do sessions like this from practically anywhere.
After lunch we headed north towards Lightning Ridge, enjoying a nice quiet drive. Double road-trains were becoming the norm, with the occasional triple about. Stopping into the Information Centre, we picked up the ‘car door’ maps and associated information. Travelling around, we found that it was the towns/places that did/had something different that got our attention. I have to say that doing short tours following ‘painted car doors’ is certainly different – we really enjoyed it.
Wandering around we came across the Opal Adventure Mine. We actually considered not stopping, but thought why not – bloody glad we did stop!
We then found a ‘Cactus Garden’ – seriously Lightning Ridge has some weird and wonderful places (and people!)
We figured we better set up before it turned dark, and then went wandering on foot exploring the middle of town
Day 4:
I snuck a surprise in for Loryn and booked her in for an underground tour of the Chambers of the Black Hand. In short images have been carved and painted in the sandstone walls and pillars over 18 years.
Meanwhile Ellie and I continued exploring through town and via the ‘car door tours’. We came across the most ‘eccentric’ people – at one stage Ellie was looking at me with a look that said ‘what the hell are you doin’
Eventually it was time to hit the road, with tonight’s destination being Bourke. The run through to Walgett was relatively quick, and we decided to continue on whilst the going was good. Arriving in Brewarrina we stopped for a bite to eat, and found arguably one of the highlights of the trip. The recent rain has made a huge difference to the area, and the river was flowing well.
This particular part of the river contains the aboriginal fish traps which are heritage listed. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring along the river, and the camera certainly had a good workout.
The run across to Bourke was relatively quiet with the road in good condition. There is certainly quite a lot of cropping out this way, and I had forgotten how much goats are now an alternate option to cattle and sheep.
We set up at Kidmans Camp and spent the rest of the evening exploring the locality. This was hands down the best place we stayed throughout the trip, and the facilities were excellent.
