First Adventure with the New Caravan!

 Mar/Apr 2013

Finally the new van arrived and we set off on Easter Friday heading south for our first shakedown trip.  We knew that the Easter break would mean that most freestays would be chokkas; so we headed south for the Pioneer Park at Woodenbong ($10 per night for power) for our first overnight stop.  Woodenbong holds great memories for both of us and we actually camped on top of the old outdoor Basketball courts, where we both played in tournaments well over 40 yrs ago.  From there we did some day trips and after experiencing the road between Woodenbong and Legume we were glad that we'd decided to detach the van.  Some bikers had passed through on the Friday and had warned us about the condition of this road, but it really had to be experienced to be believed.  Luckily we arrived at Queen Mary Falls intact!  In short, we quite agreed with the poster displayed in the park which stated - "One of the worst 'highways' in Australia".

Queen Mary Falls

Mark on the walk to the Falls

River above the Falls

From Queen Mary Falls we continued south-west towards Urbanville, stopping along the way at a great freestay.  At Toolum Falls you can camp very close to the falls and above the falls there is a swimming hole.  We were also interested to note that quite a few people there had kayaks so you could probably venture further up river.  Very crowded at Easter but well worth a visit at another time of the year.

Toolum Falls

After two nights we left Woodenbong and headed for Kyogle.  Unfortunately so did the rain!  It was very wet.  We did however check out the local dam, but after seeing the conditions the campers were experiencing and checking out the weather forecast (more of the same) we headed WEST in search of the SUN!

Toonumbar Dam, Kyogle

Morning at Kyogle

 Our next stop was a tiny town called Mallanganee, which encourages visitors by allowing free camping / parking on their oval.  Mark enjoyed a beer or two at the local pub and we both loved the peace and quiet of this little place.  However sometimes it's the unplanned things that make your day and when we stopped at a roadside park for morning tea the next day, we were both very impressed with the wooden sculptures that had been carved by the local aboriginal school children.

The rosellas in Mallanganee were beautiful

So were the sunsets.

 A little way further along the highway, halfway down one of the ranges we came to our stop for the next night at a place called "Crooked Creek".  Some fellow travellers had recommended this freestay to us and the location definately reminded us of many similar freestays we'd enjoyed in W.A.   It was great to have a campfire and get out the camp oven once again.  But most of all we enjoyed sharing this bush setting with a group of like-minded travellers.  You meet some lovely people on the road.

Crooked Creek

Campsite at Crooked Creek

Fireside drinks again

From Crooked Creek we continued west to Tenterfield.  The beautiful sunny day that greeted us ended by 4 o'clock in a sudden hail storm.  Mark and I could only sit in the caravan and cross our fingers hoping that both the car and van were not pitted too badly.  Luckily the hailstones were fairly tiny and while we've noticed a few very small dents in the van, we don't believe they're worth bothering with insurance.

Of course we paid a visit to the saddler of Peter Allen fame, but also found the cork tree extremely interesting. Neither of us had seen a tree like this before and we were gobsmacked!

Saverne River

 After Tenterfield we continued travelling west and made our next overnight stop at another freestay - Wells Crossing.  This is another stop that we would do again if we were travelling through this area.  It is beside the Saverne River- great for catching yellowbelly and cod - and excellent for kayaking.  It's a really beautiful spot and we stayed for 2 days and only moved on because we had other places to visit this trip.

River narrowed about 1.5km upstream

Mark kayaking on river

Donna couldn't stop smiling

The iconic "Early Morning Visitor"

We crossed the Dumaresq River which creates the natural border between NSW and Qld to reach our next stop - Texas.  Donna was keen to visit this town as she remembered it fondly, having lived in Texas for some of her early schoolyears.  They say you should never return and that may well have been correct in this instance.  Even though Donna could remember the directions to her old street and school, neither the house they lived in nor the small two room school had stood the ravages of time.  Obviously fifty years can be a very long time - especially in Texas!

Lots of birdlife at Coolmunda

Coolmunda Dam, near Inglewood was our next destination.  Another chance to paddle the kayak and explore an area we've driven past many a time but never taken the time to stop.  Once again a spectacular sunset ended a wonderful day.

 From one dam to another - Lake Moogerah. We knew how spectacular this spot could be from a previous visit with John and Kathie and it certainly didn't disappoint.  A perfect afternoon for kayaking and making memories.

Donna kayaking in the distance

Our final night on this tip was spent with good friends, Bruce and Rose Stokan at Peak Crossing.  The countryside between Moogerah and Peak is beautiful, a lovely drive.  Makes you realise just how lucky we are to live in such a diverse country.

If you follow our journey on a map, you'll notice we only just tipped our toes briefly into NSW and did a loop back through the south of Queensland.  There's so much more out there to explore and we're looking forward to more adventures soon. This trip was a shakedown trip for our new caravan and we were both extremely happy with how it went.  By the end of the time it really felt like our home away from home.