Day 313 / 2015 - Roma to Port Stephens

We didn't hang around in Roma long not fond memories of here as this is where we lost our awning last year and didn't want to tempt fate. We did stop long enough to get fuel and pick up a new fuse holder for the 12 volt side of the fridge. At the previous camp I had discovered it had melted and the fridge no longer worked while plugged into the car.

Leaving Roma we turned east along the Warrago Hwy. If I though the previous roads were bad this one was the pits. There is a section of road near Dalby which was quite smooth but it wasn't very long. We found a camp spot by the Oakey river just off the Bowenville Norewin Rd. This was a popular spot by the number of campers there. There was also a reminder of how things go badly while travelling in the form of a burnt out caravan. We didn't know its story and hope the owners got out okay. (We found out later this van was only a month old when it caught fire all the occupants were safe as luckly they were outside the van when the fire started).

We stayed one night here contemplated another but there were to many flies and heavy rain had been forecasted so we decided to move onto Toowoomba. We planned to stay in Toowoomba for a week. We had booked the van in for a service and the earliest we could get in was the 2nd of November. Toowoomba is located on the Tableland above the Lockyer Valley and is about 120Km from Brisbane and is the intersection of the New England and Warrego Hwy's.

We took a day trip into Brisbane driving to Dinmore catching the train into the city centre. We walked around the city streets then walked across the bridge to Southbank Arts complex where the Wheel of Brisbane is located. Here we took a ride to get a senic view of the city skyline. We went back into town had lunch at Big Macs before returning to the train for the trip back to Dinmore and Toowoomba. On the way we spied a rather large black cloud and though that looked like rain. Later on the news we heard that it had developed into a mini tornado ripping of roofs and belting the area with hailstones and rain.

The weather was a tad ordinary at best with showers and thunderstorms some of the time we were there. We did visit some of the local attractions such as Picnic Point where this is a coffee shop which has a great view over the scarp towards Brisbane. There are a number of walks you can take which lead to several lookouts. We also took a drive north along the New England Hwy to Cabarlah where the Black Forest Cuckoo Clock Centre is located. In here the walls covered in all shapes and sizes of Cuckoo Clocks from Germany. Anne was in her element and spent an hour just looking around. 

The day we left Toowomba our first stop was the caravan service centre. While caravan was being serviced we caught up on the shopping before returning to the service centre to pick up the van then headed south towards our next destination Moree to soak in the hot pools. That night we stopped at Millmerran a small town which offered a place to camp for the night.

Next morning we left Millmerran and headed south towards Moree via Goondiwindi. Just south of Goondiwindi is the border where we crossed over from Queensland into New South Wales and had to wind our clocks forward again 1 hour for daylight saving. In Goondiwindi we joined the busy Newell Hwy  through Boggabilla and followed this Hwy untill we reach Moree.

We olnly stopped in Moree because of the hot springs and warm Artesian Pools. The big 4 Caravan Park we stayed at had its own hot pool which we sat in to warm our chilled bones as the rain was still falling while we were there. Next morning we left for Narrabri 100 Km south of Moree. In Narrabri we setup camp in the showgrounds. The grounds were fairly flooded from the heavy rain but we did manage to find an island of dry land. During the night a couple of heavy thunderstorm passed through dropping more rain and we were hoping our island hadn't also gone under water. Next morning when we awoke we were relieved to find we were still on dry land but our island had got a little smaller.

A few kilometres west of Narrabri is the CSIRO Compact Array Radio Telescope I did want to have a look so we took the drive out there. The 6 radio telescopes can be seen from behind the fence and can be move around on rails wich is approximatly 3km in length. There is also a visitors centre which is proberbly a little underwelming compared to Parkes but still interesting enough. There are also interactive displays outside. Narrabri itself is a country town supporting the surrounding farms including the cotton industry. At the tourist centre there is a full size harvester which you can climb up into and sit in the drivers seat.

The rain in Narrabri had stopped and we could see our island getting bigger again as the water started to drain away. We spoke to the caretaker and he said it was normal for the water to  drain quickly where we were as drainage had been put under the ground.

Next morning we left Narrabri and headed for Hunter Valley and Port Stevens. While driving the New England Hwy passing through Willow Tree we could see this large black thunder head passing in front of us so close you could se the lightning forking to the ground but strangely enough didn't affect us. We decided to stop in Willow Tree for lunch and wait for the storm to pass. After Lunch and when the storm had passed we continued on and stoping overnight in Muswelbrook at the showgrounds.

This was a great spot as we managed to secure an undercover site as the occasional shower was still passing through. We had planned to stop for 2 nights but there was a car show the day after 2nd night. We asked what time they were starting and he said 6am. We said if we promise to be out by then was it okay to stay the second night. The caretaker agreed and kindly didn't charge us for the second night either.There was not alot in Muswelbrook but it did give us a chance to dry the caravan out a little. We did visit Hunter Belle Cheese which manufactures cheese from local dairy. There is also a coffee shop where you can enjoy a delicious selection of cakes and coffee. Pukara Estate was also worth a visit about 15 Km south of town. Here you can taste and purchase locally grown olive oil products.

Leaving Muswellbrook we headed east through the Hunter Valley passed through Singleton and Maitland ending up on the motorway M1. Following the M1 to Newcastle We changed over to the A1 crossing over the Hunter river turning off the A1 at Raymond Terrace then finally arriving at Salt Ash where Annes Cousin Monique lives with her Mum Anja. Anne wanted to see Moniques new baby so we stopped over night there.

Next morning we headed towards Nelson Bay following Anja and Monique we stopped at the Cookabarra Resuraunt and Function Centre for a coffee before saying goodbye and heading off to Nelson Bay and our next stop for a week Halifax Caravan Park. Since we were going to be here for for a while we decided to setup the Annexe this would give us some shelter from the elements as the weather was sunny one day raining the next.

Nelson Bay and indeed the whole Port Stevens area is geared up towards tourism. There are lots of places to coffee, eat or just sit by the beach. The number one activity would have to be boating with such a large body of protected water and there is a mixture of holiday and permanent residents in an around the various bays. There are walking trails and lookout points on some of the high peaks dotted around the bays. Anna Bay was an intersting place as the eastern end the largest mass of sand hills in New South Wales. There is a Cafe you can sit at which overlooks the sand hills where you watch the busses taking tourist out on excursions or just admire the blue ocean beyond the sandhills.

While in Nelson Bay we caught up with Al and Irene and went out for dinner to at the local club. We walk there as it wasn't far from the caravan park but it wasn't such a good idea as on the way back another thunderstorm hit wetting us to the bone. The bright side is we were going home not there.