Distance traveled = 2270 km
Week 7 dawned to our chilliest morning of our trip, our
swags had a good coating of frost while the car temperature registered 1deg
at 7am…. Thankfully the sun soon provided some warmth and we could slowly pack
away our ice covered camping gear. After grabbing a few more pics of the Farina ruins
we were soon on the road. It was a short drive into Lyndhurst where we fueled up and some phone reception minded us civilisation was looming before heading out along the Strzelecki
track. We found the track to be in remarkably good condition which allowed us
to chug along at a good pace. We made a few stops at various icons which included
the “dog fence” and a “thermal bore” however the track offered little else to
see and by early afternoon we were driving past our intended overnight spot so
we pushed on towards Innamincka. The oil n gas fields of Moomba rose as an
oasis on the horizon. We stopped for a brief look and were surprised to get full
phone reception at such a remote location, continuing further north we finally
arrived in Innamincka. We had a quick look around town before heading to the
common area for a lovely night by the creek under the stars.
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| Innamincka Trading Post and pub |
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| Montacollina thermal bore |
Sunday dawned well before sunrise as the local feathered
fauna providing us with a beautiful chorus of early morning squawks and chirps.
With such an early start, we were packed up and over at the pub in time for
breakfast... All too soon we were back on the road and retracing our trek back
down the Strzelecki track. A few kilometres south of Moomba we turned off towards
Cameron Corner (NSW/SA/QLD border). The track into the corner was windy and
narrow with plenty of rolling sand dunes that made the trip feel like a ride at
Luna Park. Getting out at the corner, the first notable change was the drop in
temperature which ensured a frantic dash for warm clothes. After the obligatory
photos with us in 3 states we had a warm corner meal before
pushing east into Tibooburra for our first night back in NSW since leaving home.
There was no respite to the chilly conditions which reminded us "it was
still winter" even though we’d been living in t-shirt, shorts n thongs for the past 6 weeks….. With it
being one our group’s last night before heading home we enjoyed a night
filled with plenty of nostalgia and some bush cooked brownies.
Just after breakfast on Monday we bid farewell to Mike (captain
Gyro) as he headed for home, for the remaining families we had a quick look
around town before heading south towards Broken Hill. Strong winds buffeted our
progress all day which made getting out of the car unpleasant but we stopped at
the historic town of Milparinka and the Packsaddle Roadhouse, the latter being known
in SES circles as one of NSW’s remotest SES Units…. By mid-afternoon we’d made
it to Broken Hill where a quick stop for some much-needed supplies were obtained before we decided to head out to the historic town of Silverton
for a few nights. Checking in at Penrose Park the kids fell in love with the
place as they went off feeding the array of animals and playing on the yesteryear
playground equipment while the oldies enjoyed another well-earned ‘happy hour’. Our
night concluded with another campfire under cold skies.
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| Tool tree |
Domestic chores and minor maintenance on the car filled
our Tuesday morning, we’d developed an infrequent noise in the front of the car
which couldn’t be pinpointed but after tightening and checking a few bolts/bearings
etc we hoped had been fixed. Mid-morning we headed out to a few attractions
around Broken Hill. Pro Hart’s home/gallery, the Line of Lode Miner memorial
and the “big picture” to name a few. By mid-afternoon we were back at Silverton
for a look around, the art galleries seemingly out-numbered the tourists so
we didn’t stay for long. Another stop was the Mundi Mundi lookout, where
it’s said you can see the curvature of the earth’s surface (clearly whoever said that has better eyes than us). Once back at our campsite R&R consumed the rest of our Tuesday.
Wednesday was moving day but little did we know that we
wouldn’t get nearly as far as we’d planned. We fueled up in Broken
Hill before heading towards Menindee Lakes, however by the time we arrived at the
town of Menindee the noise in the front of óur car had returned and was getting
worse all the time. With too much distance and rough roads ahead we chose to
return to Broken Hill where parts and support would/should have been more
readily available. The trip back to B-Hill seemingly took forever as the
noise had reduced our driving speed…. What could the noise/vibration be? my mind was in overload with various possibilities and Leonie frantically googled ideas that I’d throw her way. I finally narrowed the issue down to the
independent live axle, dust and grime had chewed out an idler bearing..... Back in town my first
port of call was the Holden dealer but they were as helpful as an umbrella in a cyclone so
we tried a few other mechanics where an array of options were tossed our way.
The least favoured being “our holiday could be over as parts could take a week
to arrive from Melbourne”. Thankfully option 74 sounded the simplest temporary
fix – install an aftermarket free-wheeling hub kit which thankfully one mechanic had on the shelf. Some 3 hours later we were on the road again and heading
south towards Mildura. However, with light fading fast and the wildlife coming
out to play we decided to just head out of town for a
roadside rest area for the night, but not before we played “chicken” with the many kangaroos,
goats, sheep, cows, rabbits and an echidna that wanted to walk the lonely road….
By 8.30pm on what was a very exhaustive day we were tucked in our swags hoping never to repeat the days’ events
again.
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| Murray & Darling Rivers |
Thursday started with another icy frost and temps hovering around
zero. Our overnight roadside camp had been relatively quiet with minimal
vehicles stopping throughout the night, we were soon packed up and on our way towards
Mildura. The car hassles of yesterday seemed a distant memory with no apparent
impact on our current driving. An hour down the road we’d arrived in the town
of Wentworth, which is where the Murray and Darling rivers join. We took a bit
of time to look around witnessing the art of “river locks” before continuing
onto “Orange World”, this had been a favourite with us on our last trip so it
was a lot of fun to return where we enjoyed a laugh with the host Mario and Maria. By
mid-afternoon we’d crossed into Victoria completing a small feat of visiting every
mainland state within 8 weeks. Taking time out we checked out the luxury
houseboats which dock along the river, at one point we had a tour on one
of the luxurious boats on the assumption we’d be making a booking down the track – yeah right!........
The remainder of our day / evening was spent relaxing around the van park,
getting regular updates on the NRL as the Eels smashed the Broncos.
Friday saw us on the move once again but not before another
chilly start to our day. Winter in a swag in Victoria was becoming a struggle,
our warm nights of WA seemed so far ago…. Changing our driving plans, we continued
further up the Murray River towards Swan Hill, the following 2-hour drive weaved
its way along the side of the river offering picturesque views of the river and
surrounding Mallee. Just after lunch we’d setup in Swan Hill, our campsite
adjacent to the jumping pillow and playground was perfect for all the kids which in turn was perfect for us as we didn’t see the kids again for hours. Late in the day we
headed out to do a bit of sightseeing of the area. Our night saw temperatures
drop to chilly levels forcing us to spend the evening in the TV room watching
Friday night footy….. dam shame!
Week 7 on the road had been somewhat of a challenge, car
troubles and chilly nights.
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