This Adventurous Age

Adventures travelling and working around Australia.


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2019 Life and Travels July 16

TUESDAY JULY 16     YOUNG

John slept late. A cold, grey day.

After my breakfast, used the camp’s sink to wash out the extremely yukky frypan.

I did a lot of reading of the local tourist material picked up yesterday. Suggested to John that we abandon the idea of going to the coast and just spend time exploring around this central part of eastern NSW. We have to be home in less than three weeks now, for John’s next medical appointment, so it would be too much of a rush for us to do what had originally been envisaged. John agreed. He decided to extend our stay here for another couple of days, and went up to the office to do that. Whilst there, he negotiated a free night for a week’s stay, so we are now booked in here until next Sunday morning.

John then sat down to check his emails. Was an unpleasant one from his daughter, feeling let down because we hadn’t gone to Broken Hill. Oh well, those who do not respond to phone or email messages do not get visited. Simple as that.

I sent a message to our friend H, saying that we were in the approximate area of their weekender home and could visit them for a night, if wished.

John took the gas bottles to be filled. One was out of date and could not be filled. When he put both the full and empty bottles back and connected them up, there was a strong smell of gas about, and a hissing noise. He fiddled about but no improvement. The gas bottle compartment was a small and difficult area in which to work. He decided to leave the lot turned off. This meant no gas for cooking. He decided that, after we left here on Sunday we would just head off back towards home and get the gas sorted out back in Bendigo.

John messing about with gas bottles

This trip was not going to plan – vague as those plans had been.

After lunch, took Couey to the park for ball game exercise.

With dog suitably tired, and asleep on the back seat of the Terios, drove to the big old former school building that houses the Lambing Flat Folk Museum. Cost us $5 each to enter.

I am not a great fan of museums, generally, but found this one really worthwhile. There were really comprehensive displays – quite an eclectic lot and thus more interesting than many. Had a long chat with the volunteer attendant – but about the share market, rather than the museum. He was working on his laptop and told us he’d just bought shares in a new gold mine and the share price was rising nicely. He really knew his shares!

Spent well over an hour browsing the exhibits before heading back to Bus, via supermarket. I had to slightly revise meal plans, now there was no stove.

Tea was ham steaks, pineapple slices, fried egg, also some sliced potato for John.

I messaged our travelling neighbours to see where they were in SA. I’d recommended that they visit Mt Ive – thought they’d enjoy the station campground, the outback environment and remoteness. And so they had, spending four nights there. Because of rain and track closures, they’d had to go via Iron Knob to leave rather than the more direct way to Minnipa.

Watched Masterchef on TV. John had a couple of other programs he wanted to watch, without disturbance, so it was 11pm before I could go to bed.


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2019 Life and Travels July 14

SUNDAY JULY 14     MULWALA TO YOUNG   365kms

I had the usual early morning start, courtesy of dog. John stayed in bed until 8.30am. Given the still damp conditions outside, we did well to be ready to depart the park at 10.15. Only a little after the regulation departure time.

The annexe matting was wet, muddy and most unpleasant to pack up. My problem ankle chose this morning to be unusually painful, which didn’t help at all.

We had decided to head roughly NE, staying on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range, to intersect the Golden Highway around Dunedoo. That would then take us east to the coast at Newcastle, thus avoiding both Sydney and the steeper gradients to the north. We were not in a great hurry, and some of this country was new to us, so it wouldn’t matter if we took a week or more on this part.

Stayed on the NSW side of the Murray, taking Spring Drive towards Corowa. Even in dull weather conditions, this was a pretty way to go, with the trees of the river reserve to our right, all the way.

Following the Murray River valley towards Corowa

Refuelled in Corowa: $144.9cpl.

From Corowa, took a meandering way north, firstly through Howlong, then back roads to Culcairn, via a little township quaintly called Burrumbuttock. This was new country for us, interesting, and the back roads were quite good. This was good looking farming country growing crops and sheep, mostly. One lot of really frisky lambs briefly entertained us.

There was some mizzly rain on and off through the day. Saw lots of parrots flitting about the roadsides, and then apostle birds made their appearances.

Stopped in Culcairn – toilet stop for us and dog. Admired a beautiful old hotel there, and were able to give Couey a run and ball chase in a side street by the hotel.

Hotel at Culcairn – and nice quiet street for doggy ball games

From Culcairn, we were on the Olympic Way, which I think we might have travelled before, but ages ago. On through Henty to Wagga Wagga. From Culcairn to Wagga the highway was paralleled by a railway, maybe the one slated to maybe one day be the main inland north-south rail route.I had thought we might stay here for the night, but John was enjoying the driving and wanted to continue, so we took the bypass route around that centre, crossing the Murrumbidgee River – for the umpteenth time in our travels over the years.

Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga

Ate our packed lunch at a roadside stop north of Wagga, then continued on through Cootamundra towards Young. Around Bethangra went through a low range of hills, an interesting change from the rolling farmland. The gradient was sufficient for there to be stretch of highway with passing lanes. Encountered one of the railway crossings where the road has been engineered into a big, sharp, S bend – to slow traffic right down – in this case, to 35kmh.

I hadn’t realized, until we came into large areas of orchards, that the Young region is a major cherry growing one.

John decided this would be far enough for today, so I did a quick scan in my caravan parks reference book and found the Young Tourist Park – the only one in the town.

The caravan park was not the easiest to find. We had to negotiate the centre of town, roundabouts and all. I was pleased it was a Sunday afternoon and not a weekday.

Having misread the caravan park book, I was pleasantly surprised to find the park had some en-suite sites, so we booked in for two nights. $50 a night was a bit on the high side, but there was no competition.

It was after 4pm by the time we got onto our site, which we were able to drive straight onto. By now John was tired, so we left the car hitched up for the night. The site had drive through wheel strips to park on, and a small paved area. The solid brick ensuite was spacious, clean and nice.

Took Couey for a quick walk, on lead, around the park. It was not very busy. Guess mid-winter would not be peak tourist season in these parts.

I made John a hamburger with the lot for tea. I had the same, minus the bread roll.

Watched MasterChef on TV, then had an early night.