White cliffs to Tibooburra

Luckily there was no further rain overnight and the road to Tibooburra was open although a bit damp in places. A heavy vehicle had obviously been through and the road was chopped up and rutted in places. They told us in the pub at Tibooburra that it cost $10,000 to grade the road.

We drove the Williams Peak Road which was very rough in places and mostly flat at first. Further along we called it the CCC rd... crests, corrugations and curves. We saw the Coturaundee Ranges on the horizon after passing the turnoff to Mutawintj NP. and later turned onto The Silver City Hwy which is sealed in patches.

We Drove into MILPARINKA hoping to camp by the river but "no camping" signs were there and the only place to camp in the 'town' was near the river on a levelled site for $10pn with no facilities at all. We looked around the old gaol. It seems to me, that if the town wants to attract tourist dollars it would be wise to offer free camping sites in the very real hope that people would eat and drink at the pub instead of moving on as we did.

We camped about 10 kms out of town on the banks of the dry Warratta Creek and cooked on the campfire. We had a relaxed night under the stars with a brilliant full moon.

Queensland trip 2014.

Wamberal to Dubbo.

As usual, there was a mad rush to get away on Wednesday 4th June as planned. So many last minute things to do. We hugged Pete and Helen and made a dash to Newcastle for my special birthday dinner with Cush, Matt and girls who spoilt me beautifully with gifts and good food.

Next day we drove to Dungog to drop quilts for the Quitarama exhibition to Dorothy Davis who is the organiser. We had a great pub meal while listening to the local Ukelele group who were playing there and then spent the night with Dorothy and Barry in their fabulous house overlooking the valley.

After a delicious brekkie we said goodbye to our hosts and drove through the really beautiful Hunter valley to Singleton and beyond. I think this part of the world has some of the most wonderful, undulating, green and beautiful hills and valleys anywhere, ( except maybe the Manning Valley of my childhood).

We drove to Dubbo, the pre-destined meeting place for the "Three Supremes", where we met our fellow travellers, sister Nanette, Ken, cousin Paul and Kerry. We had two days there and spent one day at the Western Plains Zoo, pedalling our way around and seeing all the animals. We really enjoyed the day despite rather bruised bums from the unaccustomed bike riding. We free camped a few kilometres north of the town at Terramungamine Reserve at Brocklehurst and Glenn cooked one of his famous curries on the campfire and even produced a yummy chocolate cake and champagne to complete my birthday dinner.

That's some Hippo tusk!

This creature, the Bongo... had the loveliest markings of any animal we saw.

From there we drove to Cobar, a small town where Paul lived for a few years when his dad was the Rural Bank manager. Needless to say, he managed to follow up on a few old contacts. We had a memorable night at the Golf and Bowling Club eating our way through a very good banquet dinner, washed down with a few reds. Alas, there was no big win on the Keno!!

It was cold and when we went to fire up the old blower heater, it failed us. Glenn attempted a repair job but all the bits were loose and it ended up in the bin! We put our beanies on about that time.

We left Cobar and saw hundreds of goats in small groups with young along the roadside. Then a number of notable trees, each one with different decorations. The first was a furniture tree, followed by one with bras, then tinsel, bottles, stuffed toys, shoes and beer cans hanging from their branches. They were about 80 kms east of Wilcannia. Shortly afterwards we crossed the MacCulloch Range following the long straight 'blacktop'. The vegetation is mostly low scrub and grasses, with uninterrupted 360 degree views of the horizon visible from the car. The open skies were stunning.

Of course there was the necessary wood collection along the way. We all loaded up the roof racks for firewood for the cooking fires.

Suddenly, the ground rose up and there was White Cliffs in front of us. We drove into town, asked at the pub about where to stay the night and ended up at the caravan park on the hill. $20 pn with power... Cheaper than most. The hot showers which required a dollar in the slot, were excellent. Hot and plenty of pressure.

We highly reccommend the opal mine tour with did with Graham from the Red Rock Gallery. It was a value packed, informative and entertaining experience which took us into the depths of his working mine in the historic area of the town.

The amenities at his home were hand built and the garden full of citrus trees. We helped ourselves to some Kaffir Lime leaves ( thank you Graham) on the way out.

Glenn on the mulloch heap, with high hopes!

Looking down one of the many mine shafts. The ground is so stable there is no need for shoring up.

The colours of the stone are intense and I collected some ochres to grind for paint.

Amongst most of the stones in this arid environment there are courageous little plants adding their vibrant colours to the palette.

A view from the lookout across Potch Gulley, over the muloch heaps.

Underground.

Graham Douton talking about his hydraulic digger which makes the job underground easier than the old pick and shovel method of the early miners.

Can you believe it????? it's RAINING in White Cliffs...... Again!

Last time we were here we were driving the Darling River Run with friends Peter and Helen. They went ahead to Mutwindji National Park while we stayed to experience a night underground in what was the P.J.'s Hotel. Overnight there was the first steady rain for months and the next day the road we planned to take was closed and we had to detour south towards Broken Hill, and then north, miles out of our way, to meet Peter and Helen in the NP. Hopefully the rain today will stop so we can drive tomorrow on the dirt to Milpirinka!

 

LAUNCESTON

LAUNCESTON

The next day the drive to Old Macs Farm was a short one. It is not advertised except for 'word of mouth' and we heard about it from our neighbours from Queensland, the previous night. It was only 3 kms out of Luanceston and a peaceful and convenient base for us.

Great wood pile too!

Our first day was spent in Cataract Gorge, an amazing natural feature, smack in the middle of the small city which is hilly as a consequence.

We walked the high side of the gorge first and returned on the easier walking track on the other side. The views along the cataract were stunning and the house built cantilevered from the cliff edge took full advantage of them.

We shared our lunch with the peahens roosting in the trees above us in the garden cafe. It is a haven of greenery and tranquility designed and built for genteel pursuits in a less frenetic age than ours.

The cable car across the river provided extensive viewing of the area and a welcome rest for our weary legs. It was just a short walk uphill to our car and a short drive 'home' to our little van.

Boag Brewery.

Friend Robert requested we buy some glasses at the brewery so we did and had a beer while we were there, as you do! There were a few young chefs there experimenting with adding beer hops to pork sausages and they wanted some tasters so of course we volunteered. They were delicious with the underlying bitterness of the hops adding an interesting depth of flavour.