Day 6

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 on a good picnic spot and settled on Canyon Picnic Area. After lunch we did the spectacular Canyon Walk which gave us our first kangaroo sighting and I was treated to a good look at a Golden Whistler. The second half of the walk included a fair number of steps up which proved to be painful on my old knees. As the downhill was over bare rock (luckily dry) Michael took great care, not wanting a repeat of his Bald Rock incident a few years back.

As we travelled towards Gulargambone, which include 8kms of dirt, we reflected on the different perspectives of city vs country drivers. Locals considered this road to be ‘real good, fine for vans’ ...we thought some city dwellers would beg to differ.

When we arrived in Gular, as it is affectionately known, we were welcomed by the park owners and invited to the daily happy hour....bring your own drinks and they provide fresh damper for everyone. 
So once we settled in, we did exactly that... where I recognised one of my U3A walking group! Wendy is one of the people who was impacted by the Lockdown, having let her Ballina home for 12 months with the intention of travelling Australia. She has spent a few months as a cook in a BlazeAid camp and is now meandering throughout NSW, waiting for some borders to open up.
There was a bit of consternation in the camp, as the cook who usually comes from Dubbo on Friday and Saturday nights to cook Chinese at the local club, had called in sick. In true country town spirit the committee, which includes the van park owner, banded together to cook up a variety of meals to serve at $10/head. After happy hour Wendy joined us for a stroll to the club for dinner, followed by a Cook’s tour on the way home.



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