A thunderstorm hits the morning of departure and we pack up the van in-between squalls and lightning strikes. We make our way through farmland under a darkened sky. Early afternoon we rock up at the Moree's Mehi River Van Park. Many moons ago I came to Moree on a family holiday and remember leaving unimpressed. Years on, the place still somehow unsettles me. I can't put my finger on why - maybe it's the barbed wire fence protecting the parks perimeter or is it that every available wall space seems to house a sign advising you to lock up your things.
Nevertheless, the promise of an artesian spa bath was too good an opportunity to resist and immediately on arrival Tomoko hit the showers, much to the appreciation of Shaka and myself.
Morning and evening we bathed in the caravan park's artesian spa. It taps into the Great Artesian Basin whose 41 degree, mineral rich waters are renowned for their therapeutic benefits. I gotta say....they are very relaxing and the nights here blessed with the most restful sleep I've had in years. Maybe Moree's not so bad after all. It does have the cheapest diesel we have encountered so far - $1.49 with the 4 cent discount at Woolies, so it's not without it's redeeming qualities.
After a few days in Moree we decide to hit the road again. Despite the post bath rejuvenation, Tomoko & I are finding the continuous packing and unpacking associated with moving camp quite taxing. Once we hit the coast again we plan to find a nice beachside locale and recharge the batteries for a week or two.
The coastal sea breezes hasn't beckoned us yet though and this time we head south through golden pastures of wheat to Narrabri, famous for being the birth place of legendary Manly centre, Jamie Lyon. I pass the local footy field and imagine a young Jamie terrorising the Narrabri Blues defensive line - bewildering them with his deft passing, silky hands and fancy footwork, precisely grubbering into the corners for his wingers to score...but I digress.
Sightseeing was on the agenda for Sunday and we hadn't even made it out of town before being forced to the verge while a wide load passed. They really do things big in the country.
First stop was Sawn Rocks, a towering wall of pentagonal basalt pipes. Formed after a volcanic eruption, the slow and even cooling of molten rock gave the individual crystals time to perfectly align with one another. It's located on the edge of Kaputar National Park meaning Shaka was confined to close quarters in the back seat of the Navara. Tomoko and I took turns babysitting him and keeping an eye out for overzealous rangers while the other took in the spectacular scenery.
I was dozing in the ute waiting for Tomoko to return when a barina pulled up in the car park. I watched with mild interest as a lady of ample size got out, along with 3 kids. She opened the boot of the small hatch and my interest peeked as she pulled out another two juveniles laying down in the back. They certainly do things different in the country.
On the way back to our next stop I snapped a few pictures of Shaka, sitting majestically in the back seat. The two photos are only seconds apart but subtle changes in angle and light transforms him from a virile young squire to a wizened old wizard (apologies for the medieval terminology - watching too much 'Game of Thrones').
24km west of Narrabri, we arrive at CSIRO's Australia Telescope Compact Array - a set of six 22m wide dishes used for radio astronomy. It's heaps cheaper to build 6 smaller ones than one massive one so this is what they have done. The visitors centre is closed but we enjoy a nice picnic lunch, the peacefulness periodically disturbed by the drone of machinery as the dishes change position.
Yarrie Lake is nearby - a 3km saucer shaped lake believed to be caused by a fallen meteorite. We pop in for a quick commando visit as dogs are prohibited. I check out the lake's milky water and decide a swim is out of the question. I later find out it's perfectly safe to swim in but even with that prior knowledge I would baulk at taking a dip.
We continue to nearby Wee Waa, famous for being the home town of newly crowned Dally M captain and centre of the year, Jamie Lyon. As we pass through the sleepy town I have visions of Jamie running out for the Wee Waa Panthers, launching towering bombs into the oppositions 20, effortlessly kicking convers.....oh hang on, better not get started again.
Late arvo we return to the van park. It's been a hot day and I'm dehydrated. In the passing hours I come down with a 'killer' headache (excuse the pun Manly fans). With a couple of mouthfuls of rice and a handful of Nurofen I manage to fall asleep and the headache fades away overnight.
Tuesday, we pack up again and travel 95km to Gunnedah. We planned to stay 3 nights in this prospering country town. Checking into the van park, we find our site too narrow to raise the awning and already there's a question mark on how long we will stay. We spend the afternoon visiting Porcupine Lookout with expansive views over the town and Tomoko is unsuccessful finding an op shop. The professional looking tourist brochure proclaims Gunnedah to be the "Koala Capital of the World", even providing a map of the town where your likely to spot them. The lady at the visitor information centre isn't as confident though and simply advises us to visit the wildlife park. I can't help but wonder if there's a hint of false advertising at work here. Reversely, their fishing brochure I believe under promotes the area. I mean...surely there's more than 4 fish here.
We decide to leave for Tamworth in the morning. There doesn't appear to be enough here to hold our interest and our gas burners are on the blink. They need to be fixed before we arrive at our next free camp destination heading into the long weekend. Until then...nos vemos más tarde.