GOONDIWINDI
Are we there yet, are we there yet. Not quite as still doing catch up but I'm not too far away now so should be back on track in a few more weeks.
Left good old Scarborough for Goondiwindi which we deemed the first leg of us heading to Melbourne, had to stay 3 nights here as I had pre booked the car in for it's 30000 service
We stayed at the Goondiwindi Top Tourist Park; the park has quite big sites and most are drive through, the sites alternate in & out (one van in one way and the other in the opposite way). We had plenty of room even when we had neighbours; the park caters mostly for passing through overnight stays which seemed to be the norm all the way down the inland highway (Newell), same as us really but we were in less of a rush.
Pricing at the park was okay at about $28 p/n; amenities were clean and tidy and kept that way throughout the day, park facilities were of the basic type, laundry, BBQ's etc. The park is about 6km out of Goondiwindi township so not really walking distance for shopping but it is in a quiet location, one problem in some areas of the park is power tripping out even just using 2 appliances at one time, it does need some work done on the electrical supply to power heads to accommodate today's power hungry vans.
The park is good for one or two nights (longer if you need) but as with most of the caravan parks down the Newell they are mainly used as overnight stays to somewhere else. Short term managers were in place during our stay but were very helpful and polite.
Our site; as you can see plenty of room even when unhooked.
NARRABRI
We stayed at the showgrounds in Narrabri for one night and glad we did, these places are fantastic for one or 2 night stays as you can stay hooked up and most grounds are in walking distance to town, as usual tons of room with power and water points everywhere.
Cost was $14; the amenities were okay toilet wise but we opted to use the shower in the van. There were around 15 vans when we arrived and some had been in the grounds for a week or so, give me showgrounds any day for overnight or even a few nights stay (cheap roomy and very friendly places).
Shows where we parked within the grounds; every van had about half an acre so no noisy neighbours.
The showgrounds had a race/trotting track so in the afternoon some locals came with their horses for exercise; even if the horses did not want to go they had no choice as they were tied to the back of a commodore (above)
GILGANDRA
We stayed in Gilgandra 3 nights, the main reason was for us to head out to Gulargambone on one of the days. Nice little town with the main shop being an IGA which is about all that is need for a population of around 3000; it has the normal array of small shops, pubs & clubs so you won't do without.
We elected to stay at the Gilgandra Caravan Park which is located on the northern side of the bridge into town on the highway; the park is situated back far enough from trafic noise and after looking at the other parks in the area would (in our opinion) be the best.
The park has good basic facilities including a pool which in the warmer periods would be most welcome; amenities were good and the sites were once again very roomy. Site fee from memory was around $26 p/n; good place for one or a few nights stay.
Above is our site; no complaints about room and shade is good without having trees directly over your van.
First time I have come across this; for those that have eyes as bad as mine the sign on the laundry dryer says” This dryer is free to use. Please do not overload”. Good to see something like this and for those just staying overnight and wanting to get laundry done and dry before leaving the park it's a godsend.
GULARGAMBONE
Well I hear you say “what is so important about Gulargambone”, for you probably nothing but for us it was a significant (but not lengthy) part of our lives. Dad bought the lease on the hotel and us in a moment of madness we agreed to help run it; so it was me off to West Ryde Tafe to obtain the publicans licence.
We drove from Gilgandra to Gulargambone without the van (50km) just to have a look around to see what if anything had changed; you guessed it in one, not much at all.
We did find the Gulargambone Caravan Park which is not bad; we had a look around and the facilities were quite good for a small town and the park was clean & tidy. Not a bad place to stay if you are heading out west via this route. Price for the park was at the time $22p/n. There is a bowls and golf club along with the pub, a small grocers shop and a few take away places but be aware you are limited and it is expensive so best stocking up as best you can before heading west.
Above is the Gulargambone Caravan Park; quite tidy when we had a look around.
No star rating here but note the sign; this is a 6 (Galah) rated park.
The caravan parks camp kitchen; a real bushies paradise. They also had a large fire pit external of the kitchen which was still smouldering from the previous nights cooking.
At the side of the camp kitchen is this great looking “Dinkum Dunny” so the sign on the door says; not sure if it is a working loo or not as I did not have a look inside.
Above is the inside of one bar at the Gulagambone hotel; as soon as we walked in all the memories of this place flooded back, some good, some bad and some really horrid. Can't remember too many weeks without there being at least one fight either inside, outside in the beer garden or in the pub car park. We worked with my mum & dad for 6 months whilst they got going but it seemed like 6 years, start time for Lin & I was 6.00 am and I would be closing up and stocking the cool room as late as 1.00am (18 – 19 hours a day). Don't miss the place one iota.
DUBBO
Sorry but we did not take any pictures of Dubbo; the place is just like a mini city, very busy and lots of shops and traffic.
We stayed at the Dubbo City Holiday Park for 2 nights which prides itself on having the best security in town; seems like some of the parks are targeted by thieves, they did tell me the main culprits involved but best I not put that on here or I may get sued. First time I had seen this; the park had a fully planted herb garden with a sign saying “These herbs are for the use and enjoyment of our park guests”, nice touch with several fresh herbs available for you to pick and use in cooking.
The park was clean and tidy and the amenities very good; the park is surrounded by a high fence with barbed wire at the top; entry to the park during daylight hours is as normal, after that the security gates close (security gates not boom gates) and pass codes are required to enter or leave the park.
Dubbo is a very big town with everything you would be able to get in a city centre so it is a good place to stock up on reasonably priced food and grog.
PARKS
We only passed through parks on our way to our next stop, West Wylong but we towed the van out to the Dish. Some of you would have been here or would remember the Australian movie of the same name. They have plenty of room for parking cars and vans and a lovely cafe so it is well worth the stop, it is only about 15 minutes off the main highway.
Linda is the little dot just to the right of the bush. Just a couple of statistics for you; it has a diameter of 64m, weight of the dish alone is 300 tonnes and it has a total weight of 1000 tonnes above the control tower, it cannot operate in winds greater than 35 km hour.
In front of the entrance they have 2 dishes called “The Whispering Dishes”; they are situated about 100m apart. Lin stood at on and me at the other and if you whisper into the dish your partner can hear you at the other end, very weird when you first do it (whisper, that is).
WEST WYLONG
Stopped here for a couple of nights at the Ace Caravan park; it is just about in town on the left heading in but it is back enough off the road that noise is at a minimum. Most of the sites are drive through but no slabs and it can be a little dusty if the wind picks up.
The amenities were good, nice and clean and the showers were separate from the loos, nice to have a shower without listening to someone having a s#*t, top marks for this. Everything was clean & tidy both park and facilities wise; the park did have a pool so in the hotter months would get a fair bit of use. Site fees were $22p/n so once again good value. The town has a population of about 3000 and does have an IGA which is sufficient for shopping needs, the usual shops exist and “Her Indoor's” managed to sniff out a small scrapbooking shop, it was at this point I headed for the pub.
The sites at West Wylong; plenty of room to stay hooked up and town was an easy walk.
Could not resist taking a photo of this building in town; as you can see on the top of the place it says “Thoms Corner 1894 – 1923” and the front facia says “ Thom, Dick & Harry's”. Not sure what it all means but it was just an unusual name and made for a good picture.
TOCUMWAL
After leaving West Wylong we headed for Tocumwal which is just on the NSW/VIC border; classed as NSW as it is just north of the Murray River. We stayed at the Boomerang Way Tourist Park and they were kind enough to give us 2 sites (one in front of the other); It allowed us to stay hooked up and wonder in to town for a look around.
The park was very good and the upkeep of the grounds & amenities first class; the park has a pool so once again good for the hotter spells. The town does have some quaint buildings but little in the way of shopping; has the usual foodworks, pubs & clubs along with a few cafes & take away places. Great for an overnight stay.
Above our site at Bomerang Way Tourist Park; a slab for the van and another for the car. It was good for us as no unhooking and a walk to town.
Had to stop at the Big Strawberry; yes it is Linda with her head through the cutout.
Okay all that completes this post; next stop for us after here was Seymour; we decided to stay here for a few nights before heading into Melbourne (on a Sunday).
Hope you have enjoyed the read of this section of our travels; the next post will have Melbourne (and our exit north). Tassie or bust did not happen and I will cover the reasons why next time.
Until then keep well, stay safe and if I don't get another post up beforehand have a great Christmas & New Year. We will be bedded down at Scarborough Holiday Park from the 16th December to about mid Jan to avoid the road warrior's and Richard Cranium's.
Love to all our family & friends and hope to see you somewhere, sometime soon.
David & Linda – The DavLin Rig
