Cobar to Merriwa

 

On Tuesday, we had our longest day on the road; 460klms from Broken Hill to Cobar. John bought fuel at Wilcannia, it’s a shame an old country town is in such a sorry state. Any old buildings that are left are damaged and barricaded up.

Grand old hotel in Cobar

We saw emus and wild goats on the drive. Cobar was our overnight stop; we have stayed in the caravan park before. We drove up to the mine lookout before we left. Cobar is known for it's copper and zinc mining.

                        
                                                                   Open cut mine

We had an early start after breakfast today, thinking of our drive to Dubbo and an overnight stop.  Our friends from Melbourne were planning on meeting us but unfortunately they couldn’t make it. We had decided now on one night in Dubbo, but got there at lunchtime and decided to drive further to be closer to home. The country side is nice and green, the sheep and cattle look healthy and plenty of water in the dams.  We passed through the towns of Nyngan, Trangie and Narromine. There is a large cotton gin at Trangie.

 

Cattle near the road.

Wattle

 

John drove 491 klms and we are at Merriwa tonight, about 200klms from Newcastle. The caravan park is a council run one at $25 for the night. We should be home by lunch time tomorrow.

 

Wild goats

What a great trip it has been, seven weeks on the road, over 10,000 klms. We have seen every season in that time, from 0c on the New England Highway to 35c in Darwin. We have seen large properties in the outback where it can be 100 klms to the front door over an unsealed road, with giant solar panels on poles near the road to supply the energy needs.

 

We have enjoyed the last thirteen days on the road every day; it has taken that long to get from Darwin to within 250 klms of home. The red dirt, termite mounds and the flat plains have changed to green hills and paddocks. 

 

The motor home will have to be cleaned and we will start thinking of the next trip as soon as we feel the urge to go away again.
Maybe sometime next year.
August 21^st.