Day 8

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 amazed to see a large number of grey nomads setting up for the night (at 2 oçlock). Not for us this time but we would be happy to come back. The baths are fairly basic but there are toilets and showers available..
While the kettle was boiling I grabbed my binoculars and wandered over to have a look in the adjacent pond. I was amazed to find quite a few birds included a lone Yellow-billed Spoonbill, Red-necked Avocets and Black-fronted Dotterels.
The journey from here to Moree, via Narrabri, was fairly long and boring and so we were very happy to see the bright lights of Moree. We had followed advice and checked in to the Gwydir van park as it has its own thermal pools. We were both feeling rather weary but the  pools looked very welcoming so once settled in we took advantage of a relaxing bathe... that is until you have to get out in to the cold night air for the dash back to the van.

Over the largest chicken schnitty you have ever seen, we reflected on the difference between this park and the friendly one we left this morning. the sites here are very narrow. If you don't park on the line on one side you would not be able to pull your awning out. Luckily Michael is very good at maneuvering the van. No damper round a campfire here...very corporate.

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