Adventures with Tug’n Joey

Wednesday Homeward bound After another podcast, this time comedian Matt Okine, we stopped at our usual morning tea spot at Crooked Creek near Drake. Today's trip was a good hour longer than usual as there were multiple stops for roadworks, most of which were the 'turn off the engine' length. We reflected on things we have learnt on this trip west: the new back on "Tug"is fantastic. So much easier to access than the previous canopy. The next step will be to fit out the interior with drawers etc. buy hot water bottles! The metal drink bottles are ok but not as good as the old rubber kind. taking my gumboots was a great idea. Very useful for a walk on a cold damp morning. like a good boy scout...'be prepared". Michael now has nearly all the requirements for a successful campfire. He just needs to add a tomahawk. Probably the worst part of getting back is having to unpack the van. We have to do this in Lismore and transfer everything to Ballina so...

Tuesday You definitely have to exit this park by 10am so no dillydallying this morning. We had decided to stay away an extra night as Michael was keen to have one more campfire so our target was the campground where we had spent night one of this trip. We did a little detour to check out Pallamallawa...got to love that name...perhaps a spot for another visit.It appears on the Moree bird routes brochure. Another podcast, this one a conversation with Jackie French. Interesting that someone who suffers from dyslexia has become a well known author. We stopped in Inverell for fuel, for both the car and us, and it was obvious the temperature was considerably cooler than when we set out this morning. Within 10 minutes of arriving at our campsite Michael had the campfire blazing and we were both well rugged up. While Michael was checked out by the resident sheep I went for a wander in a different direction to last weeks walk. Plenty of kangaroos and wallabies and a few birds still out and ...

Monday A day out in downtown Moree beckoned so we ventured forth. We parked in a side street and as we headed toward the main block we passed the local art gallery and found that the 2019 travelling Archibald Exhibition was currently showing so in we went. As usual I found I liked most of the non-winners more than I liked the actual winner. The 4 below were my favourites and I especially liked the way the "Girl in the Pearl Earring"inspired work was displayed. It was the lone work in what had been the darkened bank vault, very striking. Then it was time for some exercise..but only as far as the nearest coffee shop, before a stroll around the vicinity. The town has a scattering of wall murals and a pleasant trellissed main street. After that we felt the need for a bit of exercise so we followed Bird Walk No. 1, a 2km circuit  which started at the tourist centre. The Moree Town Walk took us along the rivers edge through both Parkland and Woodland. At one end we foun...

Sunday As we knew we had a longish drive ahead of us we were on the road by 9 but our first stop was only half an hour up the road at Coonamble. Once again the galah appears in art work on the water tower.  This mural is a combined effort from Lightning Ridge artist John Murray and Indigenous artist Sooty Welsh. The other galah is from a shop wall in Gulargambone. As radio reception is fairly intermittent out here we entertained ourselves by listening to a few podcasts, the first being Vika and Linda Bull, the singers whose concert we missed out on earlier in the year. It was interesting listening. We had a short morning tea break at a roadside stop, very convenient having the kettle  boiling within 5 minutes of stopping. Then we passed through Walgett, nothing to stop for there and on to Burren Junction. It was once a busy railway junction but now its main claim to fame it its Artesian Bore, a couple of Kms from town. We pulled in there for a lunch break and were ama...

Saturday After discussions with a number of different people, we have had a change of heart regarding out route home. The plan was to go via Lightning Ridge, but with only 3 nights left we have decided we wouldn’t be able to do it justice. We will just have to come back another time, so we decided to spend another night in Gular, before heading to Moree. We started our morning with a walk around the various murals on walls and the water tower. Gular has an active and creative community who are trying to create a place that tourists will visit, and maybe stay a while. It seems to be working as some of the people in the van park have been here for 8 weeks! The obvious symbol for the town is the Galah as there are hundreds of them especially in the morning and evening. They feature in many of the street art works. The water tower painting, titled ‘Lucky Dip’ by Jenny McCracken was completed for the Pave the Way to Gular event in 20.  Many of the other murals were done at the same t...

Friday Today we were headed for Gulargambone via Coonabarabran and the Warrumbungle Range. First stop was Coonabarabran for a meander and a coffee. The last time I was here was over 40 years ago when my parents lived down the road in Binnaway. I clearly remember catching the Greyhound bus in the middle of the night for my first visit to Michael’s family in Lismore/Ballina. Time has not been kind as there are many empty shops and the whole place has a ‘down at heel’ feel to it. Onwards towards the Warrumbungles, with the first stop at Whitegum Lookout where a 500m walk takes you to a spectacular view of the whole Range. There are many beautifully patterned tree trunks and I was particularly impressed with the resilience of this burnt out tree. (below) The area experienced a severe bushfire in 2013 but this tree has found a way to regenerate. Currently the Observatory is closed (and is not accessible with van attached anyway) so we moved on to the Visitors centre. We took advice ...

Thursday I was up bright and early to meet Julie, who was taking me on a bird walk through the scrub. We had a pleasant morning clocking up about 40 species including a couple of new ones for me, common Bronzewing(below) and Yellow Thornbill. I was surprised that we saw no kangaroos but sadly Julie said they had all died during the long drought they have experienced intermittently for the last 20 years. The last drought was broken with a flood event in February! Michael spent the morning sleeping in and poking about his campfire before we met up for our 10am pottery session. The only potter working this morning was Col who works on the wheel. Just like skiing, those who can do it, make it look so damn easy! After a demo from Col it was our turn. We both felt our first efforts were our best. Michael was much better at it than me but after 3 creations we had had enough. They will now fire/glaze our items and send them on when done. They might be ok for bits and pieces in the...

Wednesday 17th June The workmen building Bingara’s new pool were our alarm clock as they were about 50m away from our back door! We checked out the newly installed jetty on the river across the road, as did a number of curious locals. Apparently it only appeared a day ago and a few of them were looking forward to a new fishing base. One local told us, that as a child, he could remember playing under the roots of this amazing tree. Bingara is a village of about 1500 people and  is one of the few places in Australia where diamonds have been found so is part of the Fossickers Way.  The site of the Myall Creek Massacre is in the area, a very sad blot on our history.  There are a number of Art Deco buildings including the very attractive Roxy Theatre. They are even looking for someone to run the Retro Cafe if anyone is interested.  Michael found a statue which stirred him to reprise his MM outing in Singapore...what a pity he didn’t have his outfit with hi...

Tuesday 16th June Despite it getting down to a rather chilly 2 degrees overnight, we were very snug tucked up in Little Joey. We were greeted to white covered frosty grass when we opened the door but a very clear  day.  We spent a couple of hours exploring the surrounding bush/farmland and found the rather unique dump point. After    ‘borrowing’ some burning coals from our neighbour last night we realised we need our own fire-starting gear so a quick stop in Inverell was called for. We pulled in to the lookout we visited in January for lunch and were pleased to see a much healthier looking landscape. The temperature was much easier to cope with as well. We headed in to previously untraveled territory booking in to a van park in Bingara. Alas no campfire, but a very tasty meal at the local pub. Michael’s turn to win at 5 Crowns.

Ballina to Inverell,   Glen Innes,   Bolivia Michael was up and off to Lismore to attempt to remedy our electric problem. When he arrived he had to listen to the auto electrician tell him how sick he was and in need of a massage and was heading home. You can imagine how impressed Michael was! After a bit of persuasion he was told they would call him when the boy returned from the doctor, which they did about 9.30. Car back over there, called about an hour later with the news that the electrical connector was broken ( a casualty from a previous incident perhaps.😬) We needed to buy a new one....something that only comes as part of a kit for $250. Purchased on the way to get the car but auto electrician had gone home. Back to Mazda where they agreed to fit it, free of charge. Things starting to look up. Meanwhile I had packed the Astra and transferred everything to Lismore and set the van up for departure...which we finally did at about 12.30. Better late than never, but it h...

After three long months in ISO, the word had passed around That travel barriers had all come down But not to sunny Queensland- they were holding ground It’s time to explore many an inland town Lightning Ridge and Narrabri, Moree and Inverell Little Joey hitched and ready Westward bound for a short exciting spell Exploring new arenas, binoculars held steady With thanks to Banjo, and that was how things were meant to go but.... The truck has been repaired with a new back, after our previous misadventure!  The new tray and canopy were finally installed on Friday so we could head west on Sunday. Michael collected the car then hooked up Little Joey and all looked good. Final check before pulling out of the sheds is the lights on the van, but what’s this? No blinkers, brake lights or taillights! Unfortunately the installers don’t work on Saturdays so after an auto electrician in Alstonville confirmed the lack of output from the vehicle, we have to wait til Monday, and a revis...