After the two rallies - first week

Sunday 14 October 2018

This was the day we had to say goodbye.  I filled up with water and said goodbye to Dianne, Yvonne, Lesley, Brian and his wife and the couple next door.

Max rang.  We had a quick chat and said goodbye as well.

After the rallies I am now on my way to Bucca, near Bundaberg, where Patricia is house sitting.  I will stay with her for a few days.

I left at 9.30 am and my first stop for coffee was at Lake Narrabri at 11 am.  In the meantime I had filled up with fuel at Boggabri.

A very dry lake!

Just when I was about to leave Dianne rang and we had a long talk.  So long, in fact, that I had lunch in the meantime as well and left at 1 pm.  After a very short drive I passed the Narrabri Visitors Information Centre and decided to check it out.  I am making a habit of visiting the V.I.C.s as they always have so much to offer besides the general information.  I like their displays and often there is an art gallery attached as well.

Quilts and wall decorations

At 1.30 pm I was finally on the road again.

Afternoon tea I had at Tycannah Rest Area where I stopped from 2.30-3.30 pm and arrived at Kiga Bore Rest Area (#791) where I stayed for the night.

Monday 15 October 2018

I left at 8.45 am and stopped for morning tea just past Goondiwindi from 9.45-10.15 am.

Back on Queensland time from here, so I gained a whole hour! ;-)

Got fuel at Moonie and lunch somewhere between Goondiwindi and Dalby. Stopped for 45 minutes.

The stretch from Moree to Dalby is a bit boring and I was happy to see a sign that pointed to Lake Broadwater Conservation Park (#575).  It's a good 10 km off the main road, but very worth while to stop overnight.  It's not a free camp, but $6.55 pppn is good value as there are toilets and showers as well.  I arrived early, 12.30 pm Queensland time, so had the whole afternoon to sit back and relax.

Lake Broadwater in the afternoon

Lake Broadwater in the evening

Lake Broadwater in the morning

Pelicans

Tuesday 16 October 2018

I left at 8.15 am.  Since I had remembered that Denise lived in the area and I had stayed overnight at her place before I rang her to see if she would be home.  She wasn't, but was staying with her friend, Maureen, in Wondai and I was welcome to join them there.  It wasn't far, so I arrived by 10.15 am.

We had a chat, coffee and lunch together and I was offered to stay overnight, which I did.  We had a late afternoon walk into town and I happened to remember to look for geocaches, which we found.  Problem was, I didn't have a pen, so had to come back to sign the logs.

Ducklings, just emerged

Me, wearing a hat!
(Protection for the attacking magpies.  It's magpie season again.)

Denise and Maureen

The camper parked at Maureen's place

We all prepared our own dinner and had the meal together.

Wednesday 17 October 2018

I woke up very early, at 5 am, and said goodbye to Denise later, who had to go to work.  After breakfast Maureen showed me around town.  She is a 'woodie', so we visited the Woodcrafters', the V.I.C., St. Vinnies, and antiques shop and had coffee and cake at Chris & Dan's Diner.

Fantastic displays at the Timber Museum

A tribute to the resident emu who was killed (like Eric on Bribie Island)

Afterwards we walked back, picking up the two caches while doing so and then it was time for me to leave, as I had a long way to go to Patricia's in Bucca.

I could now add:

#1995 - Wondai Ghost Train (cache)

#1996 - Wondai Wood Museum (cache)

As I had promised Patricia that I would visit her and arrive on the 17th I left Wondai at 1.30 pm.  I stopped for lunch just around the corner, as lunch at Maureen's place would have meant talking more and I had not much time to spare.  After my stop at Dingo Creek Park  I took the back roads to Ban Ban Springs, where I stopped for another break.  Driving on a hot day and in the afternoon is quite tyring.  I prefer an early morning drive, in particular if it is a 3 hour trip.

I arrived at Bucca at 5 pm and was greeted by Patricia, Bud, the dog, Harry, the cockatoo and Mr. Wilson, the horse!  I don't remember if I have mentioned it before, but Patricia was house and pet sitting at Bucca for a few weeks and had invited various of her friends.  I was going to stay for a few days.

Kevin rang later to tell me that there was a problem with the safety switch at home.  It kept tripping.  After a lengthy search and a lot of thinking we discovered that it was the pump for the rainwater tank that was faulty.  So much for the real estate sending for an electrician when I rang them before I left for this trip!

Thursday 18 October 2018

Patricia took me to Gin Gin for something to do and also to a rest area close by where she had found a cache earlier.  Of course my name is in the logbook too now. ;-)

# 1997 - Time to Rest (cache)

We visited also the local VIC (Visitor Information Centre) and a number of shops.  Patricia's favourites are the Op Shops (Opportunity or second hand shops).  I follow duly, because I just want to minimise at home and don't want to buy anything that I don't need.  Although, I must own up that I had visited an op shop with Maureen and bought a pair of plastic slippers for around the camper. ;-)

We stocked up on groceries, because Maureen would also be visiting for a few days, and I bought myself a bottle of wine.  After all that I rang the real estate to find out what was going on and why hadn't they sent for an electrician or a plumber....

Friday 19 October 2018

I don't really have much to tell about Friday.  I had a shower and breakfast and worked on my laptop to update my blog until Maureen arrived.  After that it was an afternoon of chatting and after dinner we played cards: Base 8, I think the game was called.

Saturday 20 October 2018

Patricia left very early in the morning to visit relatives in Rockhampton.  It was quite a drive, so she would stay there till Monday morning.  Maureen and I were left to look after the house and animals (as agreed beforehand).

For breakfast I had Bircher muesli, which I had bought the day before.  I hadn't had that for a long time and it is really nice, in particular with lots of fruit...

Maureen wanted to look around a bit in the area and check out Moore Park Beach, as she would like to stay there a few nights later on.  

We drove past the Bucca Hotel and looked for a cache in the area, however, I was so attacked by a legion of mozzies that I didn't stay long enough to find it.  We drove on, walked on the beach for a bit and bought an ice cream.  

After dinner, when home, I stitched a few cards and we played Upwords together.