Winter had arrived in Lemon Tree Passage so it was time for us to head warmer climes for a few weeks. Ian and I had actually done a bit of planning for this trip, which is not like us, so we headed for Nundle Caravan Park. We don't use caravan parks much but wanted power to run our little heater as we have learned from previous trips that it gets a great deal colder when first heading north before reaching the warmth of Queensland.
This was the first time we had towed the van with our new car, we had also never towed with an automatic so why we chose the really hilly, bendy route through Stroud, where the signs were up for their annual Brick and Rolling Pin Throwing Championships, and around Gloucester Tops instead of going straight through Singleton I don't really know. We reached Nundle eventually and set up in The Fossickers Caravan Park $37 with power, water and spotless amenities. There were a few other vans and we gathered around a communal fire at wine/beer o'clock and shared the usual stories about where people had been and where they were heading. Although it was extremely cold, the park was very friendly and pleasant. Outside the camp kitchen a guitar was hanging near the big fire pit for the use of any guests who fancied a strum, fortunately nobody did during our stay.
After a very cold night, we continued on our way. Our careful planning was tossed aside when we realised our next planned stop (Barraba) was not far enough and the one after that (Mungindi) was too far. Before our departure, a friend had told us about one of his favourite spots, Cranky Rock in Warialda, on looking at the map it was about the right distance so we headed there instead. Stopped for a coffee in Manilla at the Warm Conversations Manilla Folder Cafe which was great and in a charming little town.
Passing through Bingara we noticed the beautiful Art Deco Peter's Cafe was open again after years of closure. The whole of this lovely little town looked like it was having a new lease of life after really struggling in the last drought. We pressed on to Warialda and Cranky Rock Nature Reserve $15 (cash only) with power, toilets and one shower. The vans were a little squashed together, in warmer weather I would probably choose to stay in the unpowered area because it was more spacious. The reserve was very pretty, lots of trees, chickens running around, a communal camp fire and a walk to the Cranky Rocks. They were amazing! Huge boulders balanced impossibly on top of one another,
Warialda itself was a medium sized country town with an IGA supermarket, decent pharmacy, art gallery and the Big R2D2 so we had a bit of a look around after our two nights at Cranky Rock as we headed off to our next destination. Ditched our careful planning again as we were aiming to stop at Mungindi, a little town which straddles the New South Wales/Queensland border. We stopped there by the river last year and loved it but campers at Warialda told us there had been heavy rain and the river camps were very boggy. So, we turned to our trusty Camps 11 atlas and decided to spend a single night in Thallon, where we knew there was plenty of cheap camping. It was beginning to dawn on us that the weather was not warming up very quickly as we travelled ever northward. We were hot in Mungindi last year but there was a distinct nip in the air as we drove through this time although the sun came out by the time we reached Thallon.
The council have made a real effort to bring money into the tiny town. They have provided a huge area for caravans at only $10 a night (pay at the pub) with power and toilets. Beautiful painted silos overlooked the camping area and the town was dotted with attractive sculptures as well as being the home of The Big Wombat. A very successful wombat protection programme has been underway over the past few years in these parts and the number of wombats in the wild has increased considerably.
The neighbouring van ran an incredibly loud generator all night so nobody in the vicinity got much sleep, they drove off early to much scowling and dark mutterings from our fellow campers. There is not much to do in Thallon so after a coffee in town we set off again. Only about a kilometre out of town we got a flat tyre on the van. Ian had fitted pressure sensors to the tyres which I had poo pooed as unnecessary but they did their job and alerted us straight away, just as well because I was driving and felt nothing. It was the first time we had ever had a flat on a caravan but it couldn't have happened in a better place. The road had wide flat areas on either side so we were able to pull well away from the other road users and everyone who passed stopped to offer help. Ian was up to the job though and changed the tyre with little fuss only needing the help of one fellow caravanner who had an air pump and we were back on our way in no time. Our route was taking us to Surat (actually on the original plan) but we diverted via St.George to buy a new tyre. That task accomplished, we reached Surat in the late afternoon.
Surat sits on the Ballone River and was an important staging post for the Cobb and Co stagecoach There is a fascinating Cobb and Co museum in the visitor information centre which also, thankfully, had free wifi as this part of the country is a Telstra black hole. I discovered later that was only because I have a cheap phone package, if you pay full Monty Telstra it is OK. The town is built quite high above the river because it floods regularly. There is a floating jetty because the water level can change so dramatically and the depth markers go to 10 metres, it is hard to imagine that level of flooding but it happens. Our chosen camp spot was Fisherman's Park donation camp, quite pleasant and a nice, easy walk into town but crowded. There were plenty of toilets at the camp and a great free shower behind the pub in town.
We have been wanting to visit Carnarvon Gorge for some time and it was next on our list but we knew booking was essential so took advantage of the town wifi to make a reservation. There were no vacancies until the following Tuesday which left us with three days to kill, we had seen enough of Surat so checked the map and decided to try Mitchell.
What a brilliant choice! There were a couple of different camps and we looked at the weir camp first but it was crowded so we chose Fisherman's Rest, a beautiful riverside donation camp, very quiet, probably because there was a dirt road in which puts some people off. Lots of bindis but there were plenty of prickle free areas if you checked properly, we didn't so Harvey ended up covered in them and we moved to a bindi free pitch the next morning.
Mitchell is a splendid town with a hot springs spa, cafes, some decent shops, a fair sized public school and nice little touches like mosaics in the pavements, we will definitely come back again.. The birdlife at our camp was fantastic too and I saw my first Plum Headed Finch, the photo is not very clear but, take my word for it, that is a Plum Headed Finch.
