INVERELL - POPULATION: 9,347

MON 1 - WED 3.08.2016: Drove through Moree (known for their artesian waters), a town that Carole just a few years ago, had visited for school swimming competitions. What a difference time can make to some areas. We were planning on a drive through, but ended up completing the shopping and washing. The fossicker (Carole that is), having visited Lightning Ridge has renewed her passion for finding her fortune through stones! Decision was made to revisit Billabong Blue Sapphires and try our luck with sapphires. It was great to catch up with Leigh Curwen who is still overseeing the fossicking site. Took it easy the first day, settled in hung out the laundry, Carole took a stroll down the road to see if there was any 'colour' and we enjoyed the mandatory fire - excellent.

Day 2, sun was shining, birds were singing and grass was growing so we were down at the site by 9.00am. Except for the morning tea and lunch break Carole soldiered on till 4.00pm and yes found colour, but not yet rich! Well may you ask what Leigh and Carole are doing rummaging around in the dirt - quite often the people that have visited on the previous day may have missed seeing the sapphires either due to a lack of sun or inexperience. The stones deemed unworthy are tossed onto the ground and there are times when sapphires are inadvertently discarded, hence the reason for the rummaging!

Leigh invited us back for 'Happy Hour' which was thoroughly enjoyed and as we parted he made mention that "there may be a shower tomorrow". As we had booked in for four days we were somewhat disappointed, but did not think there would be too much of an issue. Rained most of the night and as the roads are gravel, with the main one having just been graded, there was a concern over our ability to exit the camp without becoming bogged.

Leigh visited and advised that rain had been forecast for the next day and there would be no fossicking. We made the decision to leave, but had to do so via the back road, with an agreed to plan with Leigh that if we did become bogged we would just keep blowing our horn till help arrived! Poodle Palace (the off road van that isn't), set sail assuming that the tractor would be needed to tow us out, but no, we drove through water, road ruts and slid our way down parts of a very sodden road to make it onto the bitumen. The Leyland Sisters were somewhat 'chuffed' with their achievement till they went to say goodbye to Leigh and were almost bogged in the front yard of the residence!

JUST A LITTLE WET!

CAROLE & LEIGH

Drove to Guyra (Population 1,947), and were planning to stay in their free camp. Rain sodden grounds which we would have definitely not been able to exit. Plan B - frequented the local Bowls Club and asked if we could stay in their car park. Positive response and best of all - we are on bitumen!

TELLERAGA REST AREA

SAT 30 - SUN 31.07.2016: Need to make mention of a couple that we met at Lightning Ridge. Sat at the same table for lunch and started talking . The couple had been visiting 'The Ridge' for 18 years and finally made a permanent move 8 years ago. They related a priceless story - one of the miners had passed away and the mining fraternity attended the funeral. All were gathered round the graveside and the mourners (miners), starting scuffing the ground with their feet - yes, looking for opal. Then came the time to throw their handful of dirt onto the coffin, again, each person examined their handful searching for opal before throwing it onto their mate!

Meanwhile, back at Collarenebri, we were finally leaving the camp (midday exit, no need to rush), and the football field opposite started to buzz with overlay, microphone testing and incoming cars. As we exited we wished the 'gatekeeper' all the best and he replied that today they were hosting a Junior Male, Female and Seniors football game. Mainly an indigenous community supporting the day, with a very positive anticipation of the day's activities. Next stop Telleraga Rest Area, 50kms west of Moree. Have to say that since our first emu sighting we have been fortunate enough to see our feathered friends every day since.

COLLARENEBRI - POPULATION: 386

FRIDAY 29.07.2016: Question, why does a 120km drive take 5 hours to complete - answer, when you stop at the Lightning Ridge Information Centre so that Carole can have a fossick in their just replenished mullock heaps! Finally extracted the digger from the hill and set sail for the Collarenebri Primitive Camp Ground. Originally spelt "Collarindabri", Collarenebri is located near a shallow rocky ford on the Barwon River, which provided a hard bottomed shallow river crossing for stock and pioneering travellers. In 1860 William Earl settled near the Collarenebri crossing and established "The Squatters Arms" to capitalise on the increasing traffic through the area. Earl and his pub later became famous for having been held up by bushranger Captain Thunderbolt. The camp turned out to be anything but primitive - allocated parking areas, garbage bins, showers and toilets.  

LIGHTNING RIDGE, NSW - POPULATION: ?

TUES 26 - THURS 28.07.2016: On the road to Lightning Ridge people have established the 'Teddy Bear Highway' - all forms of teddy bears strapped to the trees. Certainly makes the trips enjoyable when you have these types of diversions. One would think by now that one would check before driving into a town if any major events were taking place - too easy!

The best we managed was to remark on the H-U-G-E amount of tourists making their way into Lightning Ridge. Of course 'The Ridge" is known for its' opal mining so it would stand to reason that the 2016 Lightning Ridge Opal Festival might well attract visitors to the area! There were stalls, Award Dinners, a Final Night Ball and did we mention stalls! Fortunately we were staying with friends Gale and Roger Collins so we were out of town most of the time.

Did visit the festival and of course partook of the atmosphere - Gale introduced Carole to her form of fossicking which equated to visiting the opal vendors and picking out 'rock with colour'!

Tried the curries, marinades, peanuts, bought vegetables and of course, some rock! We have had a lovely time relaxing with Gale and Roger - big thank you for everything.



BEAUTIFUL SCULPTURE IN GALE & ROGER'S GARDEN

NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR!

HEBEL - POPULATION: 149

HEBEL HOTEL

MONDAY 25.07.2016: The next major stop is Lightning Ridge, but decided to first spend an evening at Hebel. Stayed at the caravan park behind the Hebel General Store ($10.00 Unpowered and $20.00 Powered), and were able to catch up with the Managers, Barb and Ralph. Completed the domestics and as always felt entitled to some reward for our effort.

Returned to the Woolpack Restaurant (part of the General Store), that we enjoyed so much on our last visit and again had a lovely evening. Hebel is in central western QLD and as you would appreciate, nowhere near the sea! We ordered the seafood platter which had both fresh and cooked seafood and it was absolutely beautiful.

DIRRANBANDI - POPULATION: 711

SUNDAY 24.07.2016: We headed for Dirranbandi, a town located in the Shire of Balonne.  It is notable for the population variations each year as seasonal workers come to work on the extensive cotton fields. Due to the low annual rainfall, irrigation is used extensively. Cubbie Station, the largest cotton producing property in the southern hemisphere, is close to Dirranbandi. In 1885 one hundred housing allotments were first set aside, followed by land for a police station, a state school, and post office. As always, there is something to entertain when on the road and today was no exception - cattle being transported down the highway, love it!

CAROLE & THE DIRRANBANDI DANDY

THE DIRRANBANDI DANDY

.......Yes, I was the Dirranbandi Dandy

Now in my moleskin trousers and my Williams boots

Aboard an outlaw as we leave the chutes

In my goose neck spurs I rake their fiery hide

And the girls all shouting around the ringside...........

From "The Cunnamulla Fella" - Words by Stan Coster (1950's)

Created by Duncan Banks at Mobile Ironwork School, Quilpie, July 2012.

Frequented the local establishment and then settled in for the evening at the Dirranbandi free camp.

NINDIGULLY - POPULATION: 6

FRI 22 - SAT 23.07.2016: We set sail along the road that had been described as "normal in some places and narrow in others"  and frequented by LONG road trains! Only had one close encounter with a road train that drove well over his allocated road space - it led to Sybil's eyes being shut as she prepared for the crunching of the road train on the motorhome. Fortunately we all took a huge breath in and passed without collision - love the narrow roads! Encounter No 2 was with what looked like drover's quarters being transported onto a property, with washing machine still in place on the balcony. Saw two emus today - always a bonus! 

The pub crawl is continuing with the next stop at the Nindigully Pub. Saw that Adam Kilpatrick is to perform on Friday and Saturday nights so looked forward to viewing the live entertainment. Nindigully Pub is Queensland's oldest hotel located in its original condition and position on the banks of the Moonie River. The license was issued in 1864 after operating as shearer's accommodation for the Nindigully Station. The Gully, as it's affectionately known, brewed its own beer and spirits before XXXX and Bundaberg Rum even existed. Today the boom town of approximately 50 people and 15 houses of the early 1900s have been reduced to two houses, the pub, the old General Store and the Town Hall with a population of six! On arrival it was evident that there had been some serious rain falls which made it difficult to find a space that would ensure a safe exit without fear of being bogged.

Found a 'safe park', set up and of course paid a visit to the pub! Returned to watch Adam Kilpatrick - a well known QLD country music performer. The pub provides food and on the menu 'The Road Train' for $60.00. Actually saw one ordered, "excuse me, do you mind if I take a photo?" Serves six, three people had ordered it!

BARBECUE BY THE MOONIE RIVER