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The Lap

January - December 2023
A 330-day adventure by Therese Read more
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  • TravelerThe Lap
    Day 1

    Wallangarra

    January 6, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Free camp behind Driver Reviver
    Railway Station at Wallangarra, one side for Queensland with Qld gauge lines, and the other side is NSW with their gauge lines.
    It's quite a pretty place.
    Drove from Wallangarra to Tenterfield. Quick walk around town and a visit to the Tenterfield Saddler, interesting history of leather work and references to Peter Allen. Short drive to McKenzie lookout where all of Tenterfield could be seen and you could see Queensland in the distance. Another interesting feature was the Cork tree that was planted in 1861 and has never been harvested. It is still growing strong. A quick walk along the river discovered a few interesting sculptures.Read more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    1
    11111
    Day 3

    Inverell

    January 8, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today's journey was from Wallangarra to Inverell with a short detour to Glen Innes. We are camped on the edge of a river on Brodie's Plains about 10ks north on Inverell. We sighted the Windmill farms on the way, quite spectactular. Inverell was larger than we expected with a large business centre. Sapphire mining is a large industry for the town, didn't come in my price range (0-$10) so didn't buy one. Drove about 20 ks to Lake Copeton where fishing and camping happen, dogs were allowed and there were water play etc for the kids This afternoon we went kayaking (yes they are not just decorations for the ute) in the McIntyre river, so beautiful and peaceful.. Off to Moree tomorrow.Read more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    Day 5

    Moree

    January 10, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    Today, we moved on to Moree staying at the Moree Showgrounds. We made a short stop at Warialda to have a look around and grab a coffee😀. Love these old country towns, people are so friendly and they ooze history. The Court House was built in 1882. Next was Gravesend, this name rang a bell but I don't know why, town was a little bit like it's name and a bit unloved. We arrived at Moree, which is known as the Artesian capital, which also has the largest pecan nut producer in the southern hemisphere and is a big cotton growing area.
    This afternoon, we visited the Aquatic centre for a swim in the Artesian thermal pools. We were surprised at how hot the pool was, about 37 degrees, 10 minutes in, and then cool off and get back in. Bruce agreed that I looked 10 years younger afterwards, so I might go back for another dose tomorrow. Discover day in Moree. Very pretty town. They have olive trees on their medium strips and grape vines in pergolas around town. The showgrounds entrance is a row of lemon trees, quite gourmet. Checked out all the historic buildings and the murals. Moree has a lot of green space, particularly along the river, where you can follow it for kilometres. They even have a pub with DC3 attached that you can walk through. Love the ingenuity in the Outback. Day of rest here today while we deal with Mega. Mega had surgery in Toowoomba on 3rd January to remove a foreign object (possibly grass seed) from his neck, which had swollen up the size of a cricket ball. The surgery failed to find the object, and a drain was inserted in the hope that it would find its own way out. The drain was removed after 3 days, and stitches were due out today. Yesterday I noticed another hard swelling very near the surgical site and took him to the vet here in Moree where he had his stitches removed only to have to have it done again today in hope of finding the elusive object.
    Well, it is now 3.30, and Mega is home safely. The elusive object has been found, thankfully. we were thinking that it was a grass seed, but it is massive, and I have no idea how it wasn't found the first time. Hopefully, it will be onwards and upwards for Mega now 💓
    ,    Read more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    Day 8

    Lightning Ridge

    January 13, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Describing Lightning Ridge is going to be difficult. We arrived at lunchtime after an interesting drive from Moree, lots of emus sighted which always makes me happy to see in their natural environment.
    We set up camp just across from the giant emu called Stanley that sits on the ridge that Lightning Ridge was named after. Drove into town and while there is a lot of normalcy in the main part of town with its opal shops etc as you dig deeper and follow the Door tours ( special drive by tours through areas marked by coloured doors) you can see the eccentricity of the Opal miners with their Castles and houses made of bottles, beer can or flagon s definately a unique area. Most of the claims are 50 metres X 50 metres, but they are also a few massive open cut mines. The town has an awesome aquatic centre and is building the Australian Opal and Dinosaur Centre in the next few years. We swam in the Artesian bore pool and had dinner at the Bowls Club.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    Day 11

    Brewarrina

    January 16, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 31 °C

    Drove from Lightning Ridge through Walgett to Brewarrina today. It was 30 emu day yesterday, and they are obviously thriving at the moment. The roads showed the signs of the recent floods, but the landscape is so green and beautiful. We arrived at Brewarrina intending to stay at one of the 2 caravan parks but we arrived and it did not impress at all so we went back to the free camp on the river which was much more appealing. Boys had a quick swim, and it rejuvenated them for the afternoon. Today was discovered by Brewarrina Day, and that took about 30 minutes. The sculptures and indigenous art were interesting, as was the Weir with the ancient fish traps used by our First Nations people to trap the fish for spearing. The traps were not obvious as the river (Darling River) was still a bit swollen from the recent floods. We used the rest of our morning to take the boys swimming and kayaking down the Barwon River where we are camped.Read more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    Day 12

    Bourke and Cobar

    January 17, 2023 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Well, we have now been to the back of Bourke and have the t-shirts to prove it. We were very surprised with Bourke, main street was very pretty and clean, research had named Bourke as the crime capital of the world with 46 police staff for a population of around 2000. We visited the wharf area, which overlooks the Darling River, saw the silo art of Percy Hobson, first indigenous aussie to win Olympic gold, and several sculptures created by indigenous artists. After Bourke, we travelled further south to Cobar, where we set up for a couple of days at the old reservoir, a beautiful spot where the boys can go swimming and cool down.
    Cobar is a mining town, gold and copper. Had a look at an open cut mine and an old mine site, massive areas, and very impressive. Went to look at Devils rock, which was a little underwhelming. Apparently, the indigenous believe it is an evil site. Cobar has developed a miners park and memorial to miners, which was very interesting, and some of the stories were very moving. Lots of feral goats coming into Cobar, apparently, farmers are making money on them by exporting them.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    1
    Day 14

    Nyngan

    January 19, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Arrived in Nyngan this morning and found a beautiful camp on the Bogan River, only one other caravan here, so quiet and peaceful. Nyngan Information centre gave us a booklet on the town and it was so interesting with history, production famous people raised here as well as the to-do list, wish every town had similar. We added 3 more Bogans to Nyngan, did the river walk, and checked out the solar panel farm. Town was nice, with a few historic buildings, the old Cobb and Co mail coach, and wool dray on display as well as a helicopter similar to the one that was used to evacuate the pop. during 1990 floodsRead more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    Day 16

    Dubbo

    January 21, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Arrived in Dubbo via Nevertire and Narromine. We are camped at the Red Earth Estate Winery just behind the zoo. The winery has seen better days, but the vines are full of grapes, and the site is rustic and private and has a Dumpling House attached, so guess what we are having for dinner.
    Day 2: Rain, that's it just rain.
    Day 3: Managed to get to the zoo today. It's great to see the animals not behind fences or on cages. The zebras made me think we were back on the Serengeti for a moment. We did half the zoo today and will return tomorrow to do the other half.
    Day 4: Dubbo Zoo part 2.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    Day 20

    Orange

    January 25, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Drove from Dubbo to Macquarie Woods Recreation Area through Molong and Orange. The Rec area is huge and lovely, right in the middle between Orange and Bathurst. We had some visitors this afternoon, love being this close to nature.
    Day 2 : Drove into Orange, had a quick look around, visited Lake Capobolas and winery, then on to Millthorpe, a quaint little town with a lot of history and some lovely shops Met up with Bruces's second cousin Wendy and her husband Peter, who have an antique store there.    Read more

  • TravelerThe Lap
    Day 23

    Katoomba and Leura

    January 28, 2023 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    2 days in the Blue Mountains, not nearly enough, but we did see some beautiful views at Echo Point and the Three Sisters at Katoomba and Evans Lookout at Blackheath.
    Met Andrew, Sam, and Ethan ( Bruce's bother and family) for a lovely lunch at Leura. Very quaint little town with eclectic shops and plenty of people reminded us of Montville and Mount Tamborine. By the way, the Blue Mountains are blue.Read more

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