Committed Travellers

We stopped in downtown Charleville for Merlo coffee. The crew from last night's opera/country music show were having breakfast at the cafe before driving to Cunnamulla to perform at the Shire Hall. The indoor show should be warmer for the cast and audience. We considered stopping overnight at Cunnamulla to see the show, but decided to push on to Bourke, a drive of about 450kms.  There are so many travellers and caravans on the roads that it can be hard to get into a caravan park. Our friends arrived in Bourke before us and were able to book a site for us. When we arrived before 3pm the Park Full sign was in the driveway. As we have stayed here a couple of times before, we just had to update our details. Yesterday afternoon I was walking Blue near our caravan. I saw a man approach our van with his Silky Terrier on a long lead. Anita said he put his hand on our door handle preparing to open the door. He said he wanted to ask about our Bushtracker, but Anita was getting re

It is impossible to keep Tilly off the kitchen bench in such a small caravan. I had to make a cover for the cooktop to stop her damaging it, or worse turning the stove on! She is fascinated by water so hovers by the sink. I bought coffee from this little van parked in Miles. The local kindergarten was raising money selling cakes and coffee. There are many sections of the Warrego Way being repaired, or needing repair, which slowed our journey. We drove just over 400kms from Miles to Charleville, stopping for lunch at the bakery in Roma, called Bakearoma.  At the Cobb and Co Caravan Park in Charleville we found a site where we didn't have to unhook. We are back in a dusty environment so had to lay out mats for the playpen. I walked Tilly around the park on her lead. She was keen to say hello to a few people and get pats. One couple mentioned an opera/country music show was on tonight at the Charleville Showground. Anita didn't want to go so I h

We are back on the road headed for Adelaide to see shows at the Adelaide Festival. Blue went to the groomer yesterday for a trim before our trip. He met cartoon Bluey and rubbed noses. The most direct route from the Gold Coast would take us through areas in NSW badly affected by the mouse plague. Plan A was to drive all the way along the coast stopping in Melbourne for a few days to visit relatives. The latest COVID outbreak ended that plan. The mice have also reached some coastal areas in NSW so we may have avoided meeting the rodents ravaging parts of the country. Plan B is to head west to Charleville, turn south to Cobar, then west towards Broken Hill. This route should avoid areas with high levels of infestation and it will be worth driving the extra 300kms.  We were packed up by 9.30 this morning and decided to head for Dalby. As it is Saturday there was not a lot of traffic so we revised our destination to Miles. We are doubling back on the route we took i

After our final dinner and concert some Roadies were continuing their celebrations near our Bushtracker. We could hear the noise even though all windows were shut and the van is normally soundproof. As it was after 10pm I ventured out to negotiate with them. While one person accused me of being the fun police, other Roadies supported my suggestion they turn off the amplified music and keep the noise down. The general expectation in caravan parks is noise stops after 10pm. There were non Roadies trying to sleep in tents, and I suggested their activities would reflect badly on Aussie Road Crew and Beccy who might not be able to return to this park on future tours. Fortunately there was very little noise after my visit. We drove out of the Crows Nest Tourist Park just after 7am looking for a MacDonald's in Toowoomba for coffee and brekkie. Instead we spotted Valetta Cafe in time to park the van across the road. I bought a take away brioche egg and bacon roll and coffees. The cafe is i

This photo shows four of our lovely ARC friends - Chris, Beccy, Bill (Bumcrack) and Libby. It was taken before our final dinner and concert at the Crows Nest Tourist Park. It's a shame the backdrop building is the laundry and toilets 🤔 This is the last day on this ARC tour. After our final Beccy Breakfast we drove into Crows Nest. As it is Sunday not much was open, but we did get newspapers.  This fabulous old building has recently been sold. It was a well known antiques store. There is a village green in this small town with an avenue of colourful trees. Crows Nest is said to be the only town in Australia named after an Aboriginal person - Jim Crow. Some Aboriginal cultures don't like to hear the name of deceased persons, or see their images, so naming the town after him and having a statue might be seen as inappropriate in some circles. The upright hollow log represents the type of home he lived in during the 1800s, known as Jimmy Crow'

We put on a load of washing before breakfast and hung it on the outside lines, hoping the rain would hold off. Anita had a nail appointment in Toowoomba, 42kms away so while she was having pink glitter applied I walked Bluey and explored the historic buildings in the city. The tops of many buildings have been well preserved but the street level shop fronts are less attractive. Russell Street is blocked off as the road surface is being replaced. Autumn is evident in this garden city with attractive deciduous trees in fall colours. We got back to Crows Nest just in time to rescue our washing. On the way back to Crows Nest we had to refuel. I told Anita we would probably take about 100 litres. This was the reading on the pump so I was 50ml out in my estimate! In our newly ascribed role as Gold Roadies we had a catch up with Beccy and Libby. This photo was posted to Facebook- not sure what I thought I was doing when it