Bourke to Wilcania 1 June

We had toast for breakfast in the van then drove into Bourke at 9am to refuel, go to the bakery, find coffee and buy a few groceries. An hour later we were on the road to Cobar. We didn't stop in town but drove on to the Lilyvale Rest Stop on the Barrier Hwy. 

While Anita made lunch I did my regular checks of the Bushtracker wheels and connections. I also casually checked the wheels on the Toyota. My casual inspection changed when I realised the rear left tyre was low in pressure. I pulled out the compressor and pumped it up. I tested the valve to make sure it wasn't leaking, and ran my hands around the tyre but could not feel any obvious source of a leak.

The Barrier Hwy is sealed but the shoulder is mostly very narrow or too steep to pull over. The prospect of possibly having to change a wheel beside the road was particularly concerning so we decided to do that while safely stopped at a secure rest stop. Anita pulled out the Toyota handbook to make sure we did this safely. As I was getting organised I spotted our problem - a screw embedded in the tyre!

One of the trickiest jobs is to wind down the chain holding the spare wheel under the Toyota. Before jacking up the car I was attempting to loosen the wheel nuts. Before I resorted to standing on the long wrench handle I carry, a couple of blokes offered to help. We exploited their superior physical strength but kept control of the process. I had to crawl under the back of the Toyota to position the jack under the axle. We soon had the wheel off and the spare on - fortunately it was properly inflated. We thanked our helpers and hoped they benefitted from a random act of kindness.

We continued our journey to Wilcania with no further issues, keeping an eye on the clouds building in the sky. A council run caravan park beside the Darling River has reopened so we decided to stay there. The sites fan out from the one way circuit. We easily backed onto the concrete strips that prevent cars and caravans from sinking into soft soil. 


A week ago the river peaked at 9.5m and topped its banks in some places around the caravan park which are still very muddy. Lots of animal footprints are cemented into the mud crust. One very large dog has left its footprint.


Water is still flowing over the low weir. A small white sign halfway up the side of the toilet block shows the height of the 1976 flood at 11.6m. At that level our van would have water up to the windows. Anita was concerned about the river flooding during the night as there was thunder and rain, but it is way down at 2.1m. The river gums will appreciate the increased flow of water.

The only drawback staying at this caravan park is the almost non existent phone and internet connection.


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