As we drove out of a small place called Tomingley, half a dozen bikers suddenly roared past our caravan, seeming alarmingly close! It wasn't the weekend yet, so why weren't they at work? We thought that priority on the roads, on weekdays, was given to truck drivers & grey nomads.
We were passing a lot of caravans on the opposite side of the road - probably Victorians returning home having escaped the winter.
We were now in a thickly wooded area, with a mixture of gums, firs & the occasional wattle. Any cleared land appeared to be used for grazing.
As we entered Dubbo, which was a very big place, we passed a golf club on our left & a sign to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo on our right. Bob offered me a McDonald's for breakfast, but I declined!
We crossed a river into the city centre, then turned out of Dubbo towards Gilgandra. More bikers appeared on the road ahead of us, suggesting that perhaps they might all be meeting up somewhere (not at our next caravan park, we hoped!)
Beyond Dubbo, the countryside lost the fresh green colour to which we'd become accustomed & looked generally drier. We saw a couple of amusing postboxes, one "wearing a hat" & another made in the form of a cow. We loved these humorous touches & regretted that we, in England, are often more formal & serious-minded. I guess life can be tough in this harsh climate & one would need a sense of humour to survive.
We were shocked at the amount of empty bottles lying on the verges, glistening in the sun - thrown from passing cars & trucks no doubt & posing both fire risks & litter problems. Sad, that such careless attitudes prevail.
Next, we arrived at Gilgandra, "town of windmills & home of the Coo-ees" (an aboriginal tribe, perhaps?). I thought of my brother-in-law as we passed a Speedway venue.
We stopped for breakfast at a lovely little coffee shop & gallery, where we had a delicious drink & scrambled eggs. The proprietor made all his own bread, which was so superior to the 'plastic' stuff sold at supermarkets. I bought an attractive necklace from the gallery, where some classy items were on display.
A call came through from our conveyancer, Ken, who reported that settlement on Kadumba Avenue will take place tomorrow (our original settlement date) - hallelujah!
As we set off again, Bob put a "talking book" into the CD player for us to listen to - they are very entertaining.
In the direction of Coonabarabran, some mountains appeared in the distance, creating an interesting horizon of pointed peaks & rounded domes, some of them quite dramatic. The undulating road stretched endlessly ahead, bordered by trees, wattle bushes & a mixture of cultivated fields and pasture land. Fairly isolated farmhouses appeared occasionally & I thought of how heavily the inhabitants must rely on the telephone & the motor car.
By this time, we had climbed to a fairly high point in the hills & had an over-sized vehicle infront of us, which we were unable to pass for some time. It was a relief to reach an overtaking lane.
Suddenly, we could see for miles on all sides as a vast panorama opened up around us! Once again, we were reminded of the immensity of this enormous country.
Another large group of bikers rode towards us as we neared Coonabarabran. Motels & caravan parks appeared as we entered the town, which seemed to be a large one. Just before 1pm., we drove into a Shell garage to fill up with diesel &, there they were - some of the bikers, called "Rebels Australia" - sporting leathers, long hair & beards (frequently grey).
We crossed the Castlereagh River on our way out of Coonabarabran, towards Narrabri &, as we followed the road around to the left, we noticed that the route straight ahead would have taken us to Gunnedah (home of Judy & Tom, the friends whom we met on the French River Trip & with whom we stayed last year).
Somewhere between Coonabarabran & Narrabri, we stopped for lunch in a rest area. After ham rolls, coffee & fruit, we set off again just before 2.30pm., noticing how large & noisy the trucks were, that thundered by us on the highway. Fortunately, there weren't too many of them.
Our talking book, "Tiger Bay Blues", which dealt with the problems of coloureds, like Shirley Bassey, in 1950's Britain, continued to entertain us, the narrator's South Walean accent recalling happy days in Barry & Llantwit Major.
A massively over-sized vehicle, preceded by warning cars, came towards us & we pulled as far over to the left as possible to let it pass. I couldn't resist imagining the situation had we been in one of Devon's diminutive country lanes! (Which caused me to wonder how they actually do manage to transport similar large loads, there - by airlifting them, maybe?)
We passed an enormous dead kangaroo, one of only very few that we'd come across, thank goodness - unlike on our last trip, when they had littered the verges in large numbers.
Narrabri, on the Namoi River, was an attractive town with plenty of wide open green spaces. However, we merely glanced at it & continued on toward Wee Waa & Moree - it would take about another hour to reach the latter, where we were to stay for the night. To my delight, I spotted two kookaburras perched on telephone wires.
Moree is in Artesian Water Country & it would have been good to relax in one of the spas but we were only travelling through. Our caravan park was situated on the banks of the Mehi River & we both suffered from a few mozzie bites. In fact, it was our most restless night yet & we were glad to move on the next morning.
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