How do we get out of here?

October 10, 2022October 10, 2022 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

Have you ever driven your motorhome or RV into a spot and wondered how on earth you were going to get back out? We have.

We spent a lovely three days camped in the driveway at our cousins place on the Central Coast of NSW. Their home is on a hill overlooking a lovely dam. To get there you negotiate a winding, narrow tar road. The area contains lots of homes on small acreages. Just going along the road was a challenge due to the overhanging trees and the narrow road with bush on either side.

Our cousins driveway is a long gravel one which, fortunately, was firm underneath. We’d had so much rain recently across the state that the ground everywhere else was soggy and saturated.

On the morning of our departure, with the motorhome all packed up, it was time to try to turn around. This was expected to be a very tricky manoeuvre making sure that our rear drive wheels stayed on the firm gravel and didn’t end up on the grass. Trying to do this with our large overhang was expected to be difficult.

I was afraid if they went on the grass the motorhome would sink and we’d be bogged for sure. We’d never get a tow truck in there to pull us out!

With me at the rear and our cousin at the front directing, Richard was able to complete the 180 degree turn in 4 moves. I was a bit stunned as I was expecting it to take many more turns. Wow, Richard is a legend!

We could now continue our meander.

Another short break – Tea Gardens & Central Coast

October 10, 2022May 7, 2024 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

Sadly we needed to attend a funeral in Tea Gardens on the NSW coast. Neither of us could recall ever going there in spite of having been to Nelsons Bay, on the other side of Port Stephens, many times.

The twin towns of Tea Gardens and Hawks Nest sit on the northern side of the entrance to Port Stephens.

Setting off from our home town of Griffith in NSW our route took us via West Wyalong, Forbes, Parkes, Yeoval, Gulgong, Cassilis, then following the Golden Highway until we reached the Pacific Highway and turned northwards.

We had a big driving day the first day…530km from home to Cassilis Park Rest Area. What a sorry state rural roads were in. I swear some of the potholes could swallow a small car. We only averaged 75km/h due to the state of the roads and roadworks. Between West Wyalong and Forbes there was water everywhere on both sides of the road and that’s without the big rains that were forecast for the next 10 days!

Cassilis Park Rest Area is on the Golden Highway and has a large area where lots of RV’s can pull up for an overnighter. It’s also a truck rest area with a long tarred section for the big rigs. There’s multiple picnic tables and a toilet block. You can have a fire and stay for up to 24 hours. Although it’s close to the main road the traffic noise dies down after dark.

This was a great spot to pull up for the night and we quickly got a fire going and enjoyed just chilling while the sun went down.

The next morning two council workers were on site cleaning the toilets and keeping the grounds tidy. We were impressed with this great little free camp.

Something to be aware of though if you decide if to park up for the night, please don’t park in the long parking bays for trucks unless you want a huge refrigerated B-double parked right next to you with their compressor going on and off all night. Truckies are working and need their rest breaks at the right time. If their parking is taken up by us travelers they need to go on to the next stop. Just be aware and park your RV out of the way.

We arrived in Tea Gardens and, after a drive around found the only service station was closed off and under renovations. That meant having to drive back to the highway to go to the next nearest Service station. On the way back into Tea Gardens we called in at the Lions Park and made use of the dump point and filled up with water.

We made our way to the Tea Gardens Country Club where you can camp in their carpark for up to 2 nights. One of you has to become a member of the club ($5.50) and the camping fee is $11 per night. Power is also available however you do need to be self contained. No grey water is to be let out on the ground and all rubbish must be taken away.

Check in is at reception inside the club and this was a simple process. Armed with my new club membership we were good to camp for the next 2 nights.

Our friends, Kevin & Sally who have traveled with us previously with their caravan, arrived and the four of us enjoyed a lovely meal in the Club.

The next day we took the opportunity of no rain to get our ebikes off and go for a ride around the area. We rode from the Country Club along the riverside, crossed the Singing Bridge (still can’t find why it’s called that) where we had to dismount and walk our bikes across, checked out Bennets Beach and Jimmys Beach in Hawks Nest.

Under the Singing Bridge across the Myall River you can see the remains of the old ferry crossing.

Our second evening was spent having dinner with friends at the Tea Gardens Hotel following our attendance at the funeral we’d traveled for. It was a very busy pub and served up great fish and chips.

After 2 nights camped in the carpark at Tea Gardens Country Club we set off southwards and traveled down to Central Coast via The Entrance.

On the way we stopped off at Australian Motorhomes at Bennetts Green to check out the current motorhome models and we were very impressed with the current Sunliner Navian range. Do you love window shopping for a new RV?

We arrived at our cousins place in Mardi near Wyong on the Central Coast. Their lovely property overlooks Mardi Dam. The only down side was the long, winding, narrow road and driveway to get into their place.

As everyone in Australia knows, we have had so much rain that the ground is just saturated. Rivers are flooding, dams are over full and the ground just can’t take any more water. This was a bit of a worry as our cousins driveway is on a hill and we were not sure how we were going to be able to turn around without getting our 5 tonne motorhome completely bogged. Oh well. We’d worry about when we leave.

Our cousins had just purchased ebikes so we enjoyed a lovely ride around the area to try them out. We quickly discovered that their motors are more powerful than the ones on our bikes. Our fabulous bikes are 4 years old and the technology has changed so much in that time. Still, we were able to keep up but with more effort up the hills.

We spent three days camped in their driveway. Over that time we enjoyed many lovely chats over dinner, had a lovely night out at the Shelly Beach Golf Club, and generally enjoying catching up.

A short break to Dubbo & Orange

August 28, 2022August 28, 2022 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

We were only home for a few short weeks when we packed up again and headed off for a short break to visit Dubbo and Orange.

What a shocking state the Newell Highway was in, with huge potholes. We know that road has a lot of heavy traffic and the recent rains would not have helped, however, the Newell is a major road from north to south and we were surprised at how bad it was. It’s going to take a lot of funding to fix it!

All the rain had turned the countryside lush and green however there was quite a bit of flooding. Stopping for a lunch break in Forbes we discovered that our usual spot at the free camp in Wheogo Park was very muddy. So we moved further down the lake and pulled up in the bitumen carpark instead. We didn’t fancy getting bogged!

The roadside between West Wyalong and Forbes was mostly underwater. That area is a huge floodplain and we have often driven through that way with water over the road. This time the road was dry but there was water as far as you could see on both sides of the road. It’s truly amazing to think it’s only a couple of years ago this whole area was suffering from years of drought. It’s a lovely time to travel though with fields of bright green wheat and golden yellow canola.

We were headed to Dubbo for a weekend of catching up with family. One of our cousins was appearing in the Dubbo Theatre Company production of the well known musical Chicago.

A large group of our family attended the Saturday matinee show and, what a show it was! Such a professional one. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. Congratulations to the whole team at Dubbo Theatre Company. Well done.

We’ve been to Dubbo many times over the years because we have family who live there but it’s always good to learn something new about a familiar place and this visit we went to the Dubbo Botanic Gardens for the first time. They are lovely. We especially liked watching the brightly coloured Koi in the ponds in the Japanese Garden section. We also loved the beautiful sandstone sculptures of native animals that were scattered around the whole garden.

If you are traveling through or visiting Dubbo with children then a visit to the fabulous Adventure Playground is a must. We loved hearing the excited voices of children as they swung on the flying fox, played in the water, hid in the tunnels and tried out the different climbing frames. There is lots of lovely grass, picnic tables and BBQ’s. There is a toilet block. The Adventure Playground is a fantastic spot for kids let off some steam. The local ice cream van even paid a visit while we were there.

There is a dump point and water available at Dubbo Showground so we made use of those facilities. When we arrived at the Showground there were lots of horse floats camped and we could see a lot of people on horseback in a large covered arena. We wondered what was going on.

After emptying the cassette and filling up with fresh water we wandered across to the arena to check out the horses. We asked a spectator what was happening and found it was a Campdraft Competition. One event had just finished and another was due to commence so we stayed to watch. Neither of us had ever watched a campdraft competition before. It was great to watch the skill of horses and riders as they tried to muster the cows from one pen into the other in the short time allowed. It looked like fun for all involved. There were all ages competing from young children right up to seniors like us.

While in Dubbo we free camped at our cousins place and were very glad of our deisel heater over the cold nights. We had it going all night for each of the three nights we were there. It was lovely catching up with family.

After the weekend in Dubbo it was a glorious day to travel to Orange. The sun was shining. Canola fields glowed yellow and everywhere was lush and green from all the recent rains.

When we arrived at our friends orchard just out of Orange they had mowed a flat spot for us to camp near the big farm shed. It looked like a great spot until Rich drove the motorhome onto the grass where it promptly sank. Oh dear! Richard tried to steer it back out onto the road but the wheels just kept spinning on the saturated ground. The motorhome was going nowhere. We were bogged. Our friend, Rob had to get his farm Ute and tow us back onto the road. We camped near the dam but made sure our back wheels stayed on the gravel road so we’d have some traction the next day.

We had a delightful visit with our friends and enjoyed a delicious lamb roast while we chatted and caught up.

The next morning was freezing cold. It was only 5 degrees at 10am when we said goodbye and headed across town to visit Richard’s sister.
We enjoyed a lovely lunch with Susie and Don and while we were eating I happened to glance outside and it was snowing! Beautiful big fluffy snowflakes were falling. The ground wasn’t cold enough for the flakes to pile up though and the snow melted as it hit the ground. It was very pretty to see it falling while we were snug and warm inside.

We used to live in Orange in the 80’s and we were amazed at how much the town has grown. Whole subdivisions exist now where it was once farmland. Orange has a huge new hospital with lots of specialist services. There is a university campus that used to be the old Orange Ag College when we lived there. There are gold mines around Orange that employ a lot of people. The town has a population of around 45,000 and has really a good shopping centre.

We’d arranged to meet up with more cousins who were on their way home to the South Coast after attending the Mundi Mundi Bash. Mundi Mundi Bash is a 3 day music festival put on by the same people that run the Big Red Bash at Birdsville that we went to in 2021.

It poured rain all the way from Orange to Wombat. We passed through the cherry capital of Australia, Young, and arrived at the tiny village of Wombat. It was still raining and we found Margie and Pete at the pub enjoying the fire. We had a few beers before heading down the road to the Recreation ground. What a great campsite. You pay at the pub. It is $10 per person per night. Power and water are available and there is an amenities block with showers and toilets and a small children’s playground.

I’d put a French Onion Beef Casserole in our little crockpot in the morning and it had been cooking away all day (using the inverter) and we ate our meal inside the motorhome. It was too cold outside to enjoy the fire pit. We loved hearing about Peter and Margie’s adventures with their van.

It was a freezing cold night and got down to only 3 degrees. Thank goodness for the diesel heater!

After saying farewell to Margie and Pete we headed for home. Our route took us via Wallendbeen and Cootamundra where we stopped to use their dump point.

We continued on via Junee, Old Junee and Marrar, before stopping for a lunch break at the Lions Park in Coolamon.

After a short lunch break it was back on the road towards home via Ganmain, Grong Grong, Narrandera and Leeton before arriving home in the late afternoon.

We’d had another fabulous trip in our motorhome. When we purchased our motorhome 6 years ago it only had 33,000km on the clock. During this latest meander we ticked over 100,000km. 97,000km in 6 years! And we love our Avida Esperance every bit as much as when we first bought it.

The Red Centre – Trip stats

August 3, 2022May 15, 2024 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

Camping costs

Free Camps
Cobar Old Reservoir – 1 night
Spring Hills Rest Area – 1 night
Peterborough RV Park – 1 night
Big Aerial Desert Camp – 1 night
Truck Stop Desert Camp – 1 night
Point Howard Lookout – 1 night
Neil Hargrave Lookout – 1 night
Petermann Rest Area – 1 night
Mount John Rest Area – 1 night
Salt Lake Rest Area – 1 night
Hogwash Bend Conservation Park – 2 nights
Balranald Weir – 1 night
Sandy Point Reserve, Hay – 1 night

Low-cost Campgrounds
CMCA RV Park, Port Pirie – 1 night @ $7.00

Caravan Parks
Broken Hill Racesourse – 3 nights powered @ $35 = $105.00
Discovery Parks – Port Augusta – 1 night powered $38.14
Big4 Stuart Range Coober Pedy – 2 nights powered @ $ = $42.00
Discovery Parks – Alice Springs – 3 nights powered @ $ = $116.24
Discovery Parks – Glen Helen – 3 nights unpowered @ $40 = $120.00
Discovery Parks – Alice Springs – 1 night @ = $80.00
Ayers Rock Campground – 6 nights powered = $766.00
Discovery Parks – Kings Canyon – 3 nights powered @ $ = $130.90
Discovery Parks – Port Augusta – 1 nights powered = $88.20
Big4 Renmark – 3 nights powered = $274.24

Total Camping Costs
Free Camps = 14 nights Cost = $0
Low-cost Campgrounds = 1 nights Cost = $7
Caravan Parks = 26 nights Cost =$1,760.72
Total = 41 nights Total Cost = $1,767.72

Fuel
Home – $121.38
Cobar – $130.96
Broken Hill – $153.16
Peterborough – $105.03
Port Augusta – $45.20
Spuds Roadhouse – $86.78
Coober Pedy – $131.43
Kulgera Roadhouse – $204.30
Alice Springs – $170.30
Yulara – $192.28
Kings Canyon – $130.90
Kulgera Roadhouse – $158.61
Coober Pedy – $152.61
Spuds Roadhouse – $144.98
Morgan – $158.37
Balranald – $134.47

Total Fuel = $2,012.71

Wood
Alice Springs – 1 x wood 1 x kindling = $40
Yulara – 1 x $20
Port Pirie – 2 x $15 = $30
Renmark – 2 x $15 = $30
Balranald – $15

Total Wood = $135

Gas
Broken Hill – $24
Alice Springs – $20
Port Pirie – $20

Total Gas = $64

Sightseeing
Cobar – Heritage Centre – $10
Broken Hill
– Line of Lode Miners Memorial – free
– Day Dream Mine Tour Silverton – $169.51
– Old Gaol Silverton – $20.00
– Royal Flying Doctor tour – $40.00
– GeoCentre Broken Hill – $10.00
Peterborough – Sound N Light Show & Museum – $210.00
Woomera – Rocket Park – free
Coober Pedy
– Big Winch 360 Experience – $76.00
– Noble Tours – $405.00
Alice Springs
– Megafauna Centre – free
– Old Telegraph Station – $63.47
– Anzac Lookout – free
– Alice Springs Desert Park – $55.00
– Alice Springs Show & Fireworks for Territory Day – $50.00
– Barry Skipsy Red Centre Show – free
Stanley chasm entry – $11.00
Yulara
– Camel ride – $178.00
– Helicopter ride (Richard’s half) – $270.00
– Field of Light Dinner – $191.75
– Cycling Uluru – $320.00
– Uluru Base Walk (Jenny & Katie) – free
– Uluru/Kata Tjuta National Park Pass – 3 @ $50 = $150
Port Augusta – Wadlata Centre – $37.15
Balranald – Yanga Homestead – free

Total sightseeing = $2,266.88

Other
Bells Milk Bar – $84.65
Stanley Chasm lunch – $47.00
Pub Lunch Uncles Tavern Alice Springs – $92.00
Kings Canyon Pub dinner out – $172.97
Wadlata Centre – $73.60
Seafood takeaway, Port Pirie – $98.00

Total other = $568.22

Total trip costs = $6,814.53

Total kilometres traveled = 6,239

First stop at Goolgowi to check the load

Meals on the road

August 1, 2022August 2, 2022 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

Meals on the road. Often people ask what we eat while on a long road trip. My answer to that is usually ‘the same as we eat at home’. Our motorhome has a full stove with three gas hot plates and one electric. It has a separate grill and oven below. Whatever I can cook at home, I can cook on the stove/oven in the motorhome.

What about a microwave? Well, we did have a microwave but as it could only be used when on 240v power (ie a caravan park with power) and we choose to free camp most of the time, the microwave just did not get used. We did use it to store our bread. Eventually we took the microwave out and my cabinet-maker son-in-law has fitted a cupboard door to the space. Now I have a fabulous extra cupboard above our fridge.

Our recent trip in June/July 2022 was to The Red Centre visiting Broken Hill, Port Augusta, Woomera, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs, the West MacDonnell Ranges, Uluru & Kata Tjuta, Kings Canyon and The Riverland. We were away for six weeks. We were traveling with our daughter and her three children who travelled in their 4WD and caravan. During the planning stage of our trip we decided that we would take it in turns to provide the meal for dinner and we would do our own breakfasts and lunches. This worked really well.

Our daughter carries a Weber BBQ in her van so we made good use of that too. We carry a Biji-Barbi and it gets a lot of use when we free camp and can have a campfire.

Here is our dinner menu for the six weeks.

Week 1
– BBQ sausages in bread (cooked on Biji-Barbi)
– Tacos & Nachos
– Spaghetti Bolognese
– Chicken Burgers
– Lamb roast (cooked in Weber), gravy and roast veggies
– Shepherds Pie (has lots of veggies)
– Chicken Kiev & salad

Week 2
– Tuna Mornay (has lots of veggies) & Rice
– Beef Burgers (cooked on Weber)
– Lamb chops (cooked on Weber), Boiled potatoes with coleslaw, cheese & sour cream, corn on the cob
– Beef casserole (cooked in crockpot)
– Pasta Bolognese
– Dinner out at the Alice Springs Show
– Southern Fried Chicken Burgers with coleslaw and tangy dressing

Week 3
– Apricot Chicken & Rice (cooked in crockpot) & Rice
– BBQ sausages, chicken kebabs (cooked on Biji-Barbi), Boiled potato & salad
– Chicken Schnitzels, Gravy, Mash & Broccoli
– Beef Stroganoff, Rice & mixed veggies
– BBQ Steak, Corn on the cob, Mash, Broccoli
– Chicken Pasta Bake
– BBQ Lamb Steaks, corn on the cob, baked potato

Week 4
– Tacos & Nachos
– Lamb Roast (cooked in Weber), gravy and roast veggies
– Spaghetti Bolognese
– Beef Burgers
– Dinner out at Yulara
– Chicken Enchiladas
– BBQ Lamb steaks, chunky chips and corn on the cob

Week 5
– Dinner out at Kings Canyon
– Chicken Kiev with potato & mixed veggies
– Chicken & Mushroom Risotto (cooked in crockpot)
– BBQ Sausages & Rissoles, Potato bake and veggies
– Salmon & Veggie Pasta Bake
– Takeaway Fish & Chips in Port Pirie (awesome)
– Macaroni Bolognese

Week 6
– Duck Soup (courtesy of our friend George), Marinated Lamb chops (cooked on Biji-Barbi), Boiled potato, corn on the cob
– Crumbed steak, gravy, mash & veggies
– Dinner out for Ben’s birthday in Renmark
– Beef burgers
– Beef stroganoff & rice, veggies
– BBQ Honey soy chicken steaks, baked potato & pumpkin, corn on the cob

Breakfasts consisted of tea/coffee & toast, cereal, scrambled eggs & bacon, fried eggs & sausages.
Lunches were a variety including sandwiches, toasties, wraps, salads and leftovers.

On that trip I also cooked a Chocolate Coconut Slice three times so we always had a ‘nice thing’ for after dinner. 6 year old Maddie was my enthusiastic kitchen helper who got to lick the bowl!

And, of course, we carry ice-cream so Ice-cream in a Cone was a popular dessert.

Home again – what an adventure!

July 30, 2022August 2, 2022 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

What a glorious day we woke to on our final day of this epic journey to The Red Centre and Back. There wasn’t a cloud in the blue sky and the sun was shining brightly.

At the request of the kids I cooked scrambled eggs & bacon for breakfast and we enjoyed it seated at the dinette in the motorhome. It’s a bit squashy but we manage to fit all six of us in.

There was lots of happy chatter over breakfast about our recent adventures and what we enjoyed about the trip. Everyone had mixed feelings about going home. I usually feel the same at the end of a trip. One part of me just wants to keep travelling and the other can’t wait to get home.

9 degrees and sunny, what a lovely day it was to be travelling. The Sturt Highway is a very busy one with lots of B Doubles and road trains. It is the major road connecting Sydney with Adelaide and Brisbane via the Newell Highway. Some sections of the road were in a shocking condition with huge holes on the edges that have been temporarily repaired. Clumps of cotton lined the sides of the road. Cotton harvest must have been recent. All the paddocks were lush and green. It was great to see the countryside looking so good.

After an uneventful trip we arrived at the riverside town of Darlington Point where we crossed the Murrumbidgee River. The river was very full and town beach was fully submerged. Darlington Point has a Public Dump Point and we often make use of it coming home from a trip. There are also rubbish bins and a toilet block in the park. We both pulled up to use the dump point. That’s one less thing to do when we arrive home.

Darlington Point is only 29km from our house and, in no time at all, we were pulling into our driveway. It was good to see that the council had added some gravel to our atrocious road while we’d been away. Mind you it still had some rather big potholes!

What an adventure we’d had. 6 weeks, 4 states, 6,239 kilometres, so many amazing places we’d visited. Now it was back to school for Katie and the children and back to retired life for us. Better get the motorhome cleaned and ready for our next journey, wherever that may be.

Balranald & Yanga National Park

July 29, 2022August 2, 2022 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

To make departure a simpler process we’d packed up all our tables, chairs, awnings etc before we went to bed. We left Renmark nice and early and headed east towards home. After crossing the old lift bridge across the Murray River into Paringa we stopped for a quick look at the silo art and the Big Stump.

Of course we had to stop at the border to get a photo!

We arrived in Mildura at lunchtime and drove down to a lovely park on the riverside where the kids could make use of the playground and we could have something to eat.

It’s a lovely park along the river and every time we stop there it looks like further improvements have been made. We love the coffee shop in a shipping container called ‘Shippy’s’. After our lunch break we crossed the Murray River again and were finally back in New South Wales.

Our destination for the night was Balranald and I found a great camp spot on WikiCmps at the Balranald Weir. What a lovely spot to camp. I have added it to Our Favourite Aussie Campsites page. The Murrumbidgee River was in flood though and the weir was completely submerged. Surrounding paddocks were full of water however the camp site was high and dry.

There was a fire pit and picnic table and we made good use of those. I love a good campfire. We had a funny evening listening to music. Everyone took a turn to choose a song to listen to and I enjoyed listening to the music that the kids like to listen to.

After a great sleep at our very quiet camp spot at Balranald Weir we set off again and drove the remaining 5km into Balranald where we topped up with fuel and did a little grocery shop at Foodworks.

My mission for the day was to explore Yanga National Park. It has been on the list for a long time. I don’t know how many times over the years we have driven past the signs and have never had the time to call in. This time I was determined to check it out.

Our first stop in the National Park was Regatta Beach. The turnoff to Regatta Beach is not far out of Balranald and leads to a 4km good gravel road. Regatta Beach is fabulous. There is a good concrete boat ramp, toilets, a large picnic shelter with gas BBQ’s, and the fabulous expanse of lake. I had no idea that huge lake was there. Usually there is a sandy beach however it was all under water during our visit.

Regatta Beach, Yanga Lake near Balranald NSW

Our next stop was further along the Sturt Highway to Yanga Homestead. Just off the highway at the entrance to the National Park is a free Rest Area where we have overnighted previously. It’s a good spot for an overnighter but is close to the road so you do get road noise.

The drive into Yanga Homestead is a good gravel road and the Rangers Office is also located there. The office remained closed due to COVID though and I was very disappointed to find out when we arrived at the homestead that to view the interior with the audio guide you have to pay at the Visitors Centre in town before you come out. Oh well. We weren’t going to go back in to town so we’d just have to explore the outside.

Wow. I loved it. If you’ve been reading my blogs over the years you will know I love history and Yanga Homestead is a historical marvel. The story of Yanga is similar to many historic properties in rural Australia and it is good to see that at Yanga NP both the pastoral and Aboriginal heritage are being preserved.

Yanga Homestead is built on a hill next to Yanga Lake. When full Yanga Lake is 1,246 hectares with a maximum depth of 5 metres. It can hold up to 55,000 megalitres of water. That’s about 22,000 Olympic swimming pools. The lake is shaped like pair of spectacles formed by two connected basins. The lake has been an oasis for Aboriginal people for over 40,000 years and there is lots of evidence of Aboriginal use of the area. Yanga Lake is linked to the Murrumbidgee River by Yanga Creek which allows flows into and out of the lake back to the river. In 1913 a concrete regulator was built to help retain water in the lake.

Yanga Station was established in the 1830’s by explorer William Charles Wentworth. Most Aussies have heard of him! At the time it was the largest privately owned station in the southern hemisphere at 240,0000 acres. A slab homestead was built on the peninsular overlooking Yanga Lake during the 1850’s by Augustus and Eliza Morris. Eliza established the garden at Yanga. The simple slab homestead was enlarged over time to become the grand residence you can still see. Sir Arthur Sims purchased Yanga in 1919 and along with his other properties in the Riverina, Wyvern, Old Cobran and Cobran Stations he became the largest landholder in Australia at the time. Yanga was passed down through the generations until it was eventually sold to the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service in 2005.

The homestead comprises two ‘wings’, the ‘kitchen’ wing and the ‘main’ wing surrounding a central tennis court that was once the centre of social life in the district. There are numerous outbuildings including stables, gardeners shed and station store. The formal gardens commenced by Eliza stretch down towards the lake. The gardens are lovingly kept by a team of dedicated volunteers.

The Cook’s Cottage houses an excellent exhibition of station life including historic photos and artifacts.

After dragging me away from Yanga Homestead we set off again along the highway. We all decided it was worth a look at The Willows Campground, Yanga National Park and what a lovely place it is. There are multiple camp sites, most with a fire pit and picnic table. There is a separate Willows Picnic Area near the historic Wilga Woolshed for day visitors. Willows Campground gets its name from the Weeping Myall trees in the area.

Next time we go that way a visit to the historic Yanga Station Woolshed is now on the list. You can camp on the Murrumbidgee River at Mamanga Campground which is close to the 100 year old woolshed. The last shearing was done at Yanga in 2005 prior to the sale to NPWS. Definitely want to see that one!

We continued our journey across the very flat Hay Plains and found lots of cotton scraps on the sides of the road. It looked like clumps of snow. In the distance we could see huge bales of cotton, wrapped in colourful plastic, in paddocks waiting to be taken to the gin for processing. Millions of dollars of the valuable resource is grown in the area.

Stopped for a lunch break at a Rest Area on the highway. It was so funny watching the kids using their arms to indicate to the truckies they want them to toot at them. Then they jumped up and down with excitement when the truckies responded.

We arrived in Hay late in the afternoon and headed directly to Sandy Point Reserve. This is a wonderful free camp provided by the Hay Council ands we have stayed there many times. It has also been added to Our Favourite Aussie Campsites page. After setting up camp I set off to check out the amazing silo art that was painted by well known artist Adnate in 2020. The paintings celebrate Hay’s connection to war (that’s a whole other blog post). Ben and Maddie checked out the skate park and we had a great little fire to cook our chicken steaks for dinner. We spent the evening singing songs around the campfire and talking about the wonderful things we’ve seen and done on this fantastic trip over the last 6 weeks. All of us were looking forward to getting home but were also a little sad that our travels would finish the next day.

Sandy Point Reserve, Hay NSW

July 28, 2022August 2, 2022 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

Sandy Point Primitive Camping Reserve is situated on a large bend in the Murrumbidgee River on the southern end of the lovely NSW town of Hay. Sandy Point is a large area and up to 74 campers can stay for up to 72 hours for free.

We’ve camped there many times. You can have a fire but you must bring your own wood as wood collection is not permitted.

There are lots of rubbish bins, picnic tables and shelters with BBQ’s.

A toilet block is located near the beautiful sandy beach. The beach is very popular in summer with swimmers ad water skiers.

A boat ramp gives access to the river and a walking/cycling track can take you along the river or into town.

Water is available at the Visitors Centre and Hay has a Public Dump Point in town.

The Hay Skate Park is located on the corner as you enter Sandy Point from Brunker Street. It has a number of a bowl and a number of ramps. The skate park is surrounded by a large grass area with picnic tables and chairs so you can sit and watch the skaters.

Hay has received a grant to revitalise the Historic Treatment Plant Works which are located opposite the Skate Park at Sandy Point Reserve. The treatment works were only the second town sewerage plant to be built in NSW and the grant will enable the preservation of the ruins.

Sandy Point is a fabulous spot and we recommend it for self-contained campers. Beware of wet weather though. The black soil can become like glue in the wet. Stay on the gravel if it looks like rain.

Balranald Weir

July 28, 2022August 2, 2022 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

What a magic spot but I guess we stayed at the right time. It was July 2022 after there’d been lots of rain and everywhere was green, lush grass. The river was in flood with the weir completely under water. Some of the nearby paddocks were also under water however the camp sites next to the weir were high and dry.

There is a 4km dirt road that leads off the Sturt Highway 5km west of the town of Balranald. The road is a good quality dirt road with a few minor corrugations. There were a couple of spots that looked like they might be boggy if it’s wet or raining.

There are multiple spots to camp near the weir but the main camp is to the right of the weir. There is a picnic table and fireplace. You need to bring your own wood as there was not much lying around. The camp site is flat and you can park without being under one of those huge River Red Gums.

There is room for all types of campers. Even a big rig would fit.

Last day in Renmark, SA

July 28, 2022August 2, 2022 / jennyfletch / Leave a comment

It was a relaxing, reading day on our last day at Renmark staying at the Big4 Caravan Park. Our daughter, Katie, had a uni day and spent the day working in the motorhome where she could connect to the RV Wifi. Education has certainly changed since we left school in the 70’s. Fancy being able to go to uni online AND be away on holidays! The kids spent the day reading, scooting and playing with other kids in the park.

Renmark is large town situated in the eastern Riverland district of South Australia. It has a population of around 7,490, however if you also count the population in Paringa, on the other side of the river, it jumps up to over 10,000. Renmark has quite a good shopping district and a good selection of cafes, wineries, a distillery and a brewery.

Renmark has one of the most beautiful river frontages of all the towns along the Murray and the town has made good use of it with extensive parklands and walking/cycling trails. You can walk/cycle from the Big4 along the river to reach the town centre. You can hire boats and houseboats to explore the river or take a cruise on the historic paddle steamer PS Industry. The river is popular for fishing, kayaking, water skiing and other water sports.

Renmark is only some 250km from South Australia’s capital, Adelaide, and that makes it poplar for weekend getaways. We met a young family staying in the park who make frequent trips from Adelaide to Renmark throughout the year.

The Riverland plays an important role in the agricultural industry for fruits such as citrus, grapes, olives, stone fruit as well as some 20% of Australia’s almond trees. There are over 900 wine grape growers in The Riverland and 323 citrus orchards. Because of this The Riverland is a Fruit Fly Exclusion Zone and no fruit or fruiting vegetables can be brought in to the Riverland. There are quarantine bins where you can dispose of your produce and hefty fines can be dealt out for those that bring in the banned products. The Fruit Fly exclusion zone continues into the Victorian and NSW Riverland as well. Outbreaks of Fruit Fly can have millions of dollars of impact on farmers so it is up to everyone to do the right thing and either eat your fruit before entering the exclusion zone or dispose of it in the bins.

We’ve been through Paringa and Renmark many times over the years as the Sturt Highway runs through them. The Sturt Highway is the main route from Sydney to Adelaide. Although we’ve passed that way many times we’ve never stayed in Renmark before and we did enjoy our 3 day stay at the Big4, although we would probably not have chosen the Big4 if we were travelling on our own. However for traveling with children it’s a great place to camp.

It was my turn to cook and for our evening meal I packed up a basket and we headed to the riverside to make use of one of the free gas BBQ’s scattered around the park. Right next to the BBQ was a large picnic table and we set the table with a tablecloth (doesn’t everyone?) and put out all the makings for hamburgers. Everyone could make their own burger with the fillings they liked. Pa cooked up burgers, bacon & eggs on the BBQ.

What a lovely dinner it was. The family of swans paid a visit too.