Week 4 – All good things must come to an end (for now at least)

It was time to head home, leaving our friends and family in Queensland. A quick trip to the Bundy Markets to stock up on fresh fruit, veg and eggs. Brunch with Leanne and Robbie and we hit the road. We were planning a shorter travel day today due to the late start and planned to camp at Murgon. We did indeed camp at Murgon but it was a very slow trip. The drive was lovely up and down over the hills, everything is so green. The recent rain definitely has made a difference. The down side was we were climbing the hills at around 30km/hr. We stopped a couple of times for Fred to take a look, he initially thought it was a problem with the exhaust brake and then perhaps the muffler being blocked but it was neither. Once we parked up at camp he set up with the torch under the bus and found it was in fact a broken clamp on the turbo hose. Next morning we were able to pick up 2 new clamps (now have a spare) for $5, fixed and good as new! Handy travelling with a jack of all trades.

The free camp at Murgon was a caravan park that is no longer in use. Plenty of sites and there were a few for us to choose from so big rig friendly. It is a maximum 48 hour stay but some looked like they were happily parked up for much longer. There were toilets and showers, a dump point and potable water at every site. I reckon we will be back to explore the area as the return trip home doesn’t allow us time to sightsee.

Monday saw us travel from Murgon to Tookey’s Rest Area just south of Moree NSW. We decided to put in a couple of big travel days to allow us a little breathing space towards the end of the week. We are due home by Thursday for Fred to return to work on Friday so we covered almost 600kms (glad the turbo was fixed).

We took in some wonderful sights but no time to stop for a photo! Fred is like a horse, turn his head for home and he is full noise. I must admit though, this time he isn’t keen it is just a necessity.

I was particularly impressed with the road trains carrying round bails of cotton. The bails were so big that only 3 fit on the semi and 2 on the dog trailer – amazing. This was the first truck we spotted carrying the cotton, it was in Wooroolin. We were in the South Burnett area on the Bunya Highway and I must say all the small towns are very well maintained, it is obvious that the local Councils contribute generously. I also noticed the South Burnett Rail Trail and after research found it is 89kms Kilkivan to Kingaroy passing through several quaint towns. We will definitely be back to give it a crack.

As we approached the mountains to cross from South Burnett to the Western Downs we noticed heaps and heaps of wind towers. They are bloody huge and some are turning ever so slowly, or so it seems from so far away and others don’t seem to be moving at all. As we were travelling along we passed 4 fire vehicles. The inside goss on the truckie channel is that they were headed to a damaged wind tower which was going to be destroyed by blowing it up, detonated via a drone. Funny thing was that we noticed a tower which appeared to have fallen over and we dismissed it saying it must just be the angle – maybe not!

Once we crossed the mountains into the Western Downs we could not help but notice just how green and lush the country was. It was flat as and the properties were huge. While it was beautiful county it was very much the same km after km. As I have a short attention span I begin to look for things to stimulate my little mind. Such as the black cat that ran across the road in front of us (all good no bad luck – well not yet anyways). Another great was the chap who was driving the ginormous sprayer with his Toyota ute hitched behind. We assume wherever he is going he isn’t intending to bring the sprayer back – he was fairly hooking in as well!

We also passed 4 trucks with what appeared to be train engines on the back. We couldn’t quite work this out but eventually it all unveiled before our eyes. Due to the major flooding the railway line had been washed away. These “trains” were in fact the machines that lay the line. While everything was green there was definitely a toll to be paid with roads, the railway line and parts of paddocks damaged immensely.

The cotton and grain (perhaps Milo to my untrained eye) paddocks around Dalby were amazing. Most in bloom getting ready for harvest. Also the dams were massive, I mean seriously massive and all full to the top thanks to the rain.

The one downer for the day was the cheating buggers at Moonie Crossroads. Here we fuelled up and me being me, I take note of all our expenses, litres of fuel etc etc. I note down the number of litres of diesel, the price per litre and total cost on the bowser. Once we were back on the road I entered the numbers into my spreadsheet. The cheating buggers have the bowser rigged as we pumped 144.11 litres @ $1.359/litre. Do the maths folks this should total $195.85 but the bowser showed and we were charged $202.64. What a great little scheme they have going, imagine how much extra profit they are making daily considering we were ripped off almost $7. Note to self – don’t fuel up at the Puma Moonie Crossroads. I just wish I had taken a photo of the bowser.

Then last thing about today is the difference in quality of the roads between Queensland and NSW. Queensland have a lot of slack to pick up! The minute we crossed the border the roads were wider and much smoother. We did pass a sign that stated they were spending $23 Billion on the Newell Highway. It wasn’t all smooth sailing though so I hope they still have some of the $23b left.

Tuesday we travel onto West Wyalong. It was another day of just travel and we look forward to when we don’t have deadlines. Not a lot to report, a highlight for me was seeing a mob of wild pigs feasting on grain in the fields near Narrabri. There were 4 full grown and heaps of bubba’s following – super cute to me, probably not so to the farmer.

The other bit of interest was the Pilliga Forest and it’s story. In 1993 the Pilliga Princess was struck by a truck and killed. The Princess was an aboriginal woman who apparently wore a red fishing hat and a camo jacket pushing a shopping trolley between Narrabri and Coonabaraban. The reason the story attracts such a lot of interest is due to the fact that it was unusual for aboriginals to be in that area as they believe that the land has evil spirits so they avoid it. The other interesting slant is that since her death she continues to be seen by truckies and others, still walking the Newell Highway. In case you are wondering, no we didn’t see her.

We finished our day camping at Cooinda Reserve in Wyalong. This is a cool spot and we will be back as there seems to be a lot for us to explore. There is a 5 km walk to West Wyalong which I would love to do, Fred said sure as long as we are riding our bikes!

It’s now Wednesday and our second last day as we are due home tomorrow. We continue to head on the Newell Highway though the Riverina Country. The country is flat as far as the eye can see with mountains looming on the horizon. We are probably seeing the country at it’s best over the last few days due to the rain they have had. All dams are full and the country just looks happy. Grain silos and piles just everywhere. Even at the rest stop the grain spillages are deeper than your hand. Getting close to the Victorian border we pass through small country towns including Jerilidrie, the home of the Jolly Swagman. We have our permits ready to return to Victoria as the check point is at Tocumwel. Or is it?? Nah we didn’t see any checkpoints at any stage in our 4 weeks travelling 3 states. Well we are back in the state and join the Goulburn Valley Highway to tonight’s camp spot in Numurkah on Broken Creek. We stay at the Lions Community Park, free camping at it’s best. We had collected firewood on the way today so enjoyed a fire on the bank of the creek. A perfect last night away.

I’d like to share the wild life we experienced today, we watched a hawk disappear in the shrubs on the irrigation channel only to reappear again with lunch (not sure what it was feasting on). We passed emus on the plains and Broken Creek where we camped was abundant with birds, fish, bats and even a water rat.

Thursday and we are on now on our last leg to home. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to drop into Nagambie, particularly Tahbilk Winery, my most favourite winery. Cellar door specials too good to pass up! I’m not going to reveal my purchases but lets just say it took two trolleys to get it to the bus. This definitely made the fact that today is our last day of holidays much easier to swallow lol!

Fred and I have had a fantastic 4 weeks living in De Busta, we both agree that it just feels right. Our home has sold so our focus over the next couple of months will be to pack up house and prepare our block to store the things we can’t part with ready for our full-time on-road adventure. We can’t wait!

Stay tuned for our progress……