June 21st...DAY 5

John at the edge of a water hole in the Warrego River

Before we left our overnight camp this morning we walked along the dry riverbed of the Warrago River. The night temperature had lowered to 3 deg so the sunny morning was welcome. It is amazing how the day has warmed to 25 deg. Tonight is the longest night so maybe another 9 hours of sleep!
Onward north we have travelled through Cunnamulla and Charleville. Tonight we have parked at a commercial Bush Camp just out of Charleville. There are only a few facilities... potable water, rubbish disposal, toilet dump, a huge mown area to park on and a community camp fire which we joined  at 5.00 pm with BYO drinks.
The country side today has been very dry again but Mulga, Bimble Box and Pine trees line the road. We were lucky enough to see a very healthy looking echidna crossing the road.

June 20th...DAY 4

We began the day with a walk of about 1 km to see the Mulgowan Aboriginal Art Site. It was well worth the time and effort as the path way was very pretty through rocky bush country.
Lunch was enjoyed at the 'Back of Bourke' Cafe. Bourke's town population is mixed race who seem to be happily working and shopping together.
The day became much warmer registering 25 deg as we crossed the border. The NSW Mitchell Highway turned into the Matilda Highway in Queensland.The countryside is very much dryer although there is evidence of recent rainfall. There are many goats to be seen as we travel, as well as a few emus and kangaroos.
Tonight we are camped by the very dry Warrego River. It is much warmer so it will be more comfortable
 by our camp fire. This evening's sky is clear and brilliant with stars.

Mulgowan Aboriginal Art Site

 There are dozens of caravans, camper trailers, motor homes and 5th wheelers on the road, big rigs, little 
rigs, low rigs and high rigs. You can see from this photo we are actually travelling in a match box toy!

June 19th....DAY 3

After a 4 deg morning we travelled north all day on the Kidman Way which was an excellent road but
marred by the constant rubbish on the roadside. It was good to travel through Mallee style country again,
 good to see the Mallee Eucalypt trees interspersed with Native Pines, Bimble Box Eucalyptus trees and Currajong trees.
One feature we had not seen before was rows and rows of harvested cotton rolled into bales, presumably waiting to go to the Cotton Gin for processing.
In Cobar we were pleased to find a good Tyre Repair Service Station to repair a slow leaking tyre. The tyres on EC are big and heavy for John to change and repair. The correct equipment made the job easy and cost only $30.

Tonight we have camped in the Gundabooka National Park which is known as The Stone Country. The temperature is much more acceptable. We sat around a campfire with some new friends.

A tyre repaired is a good one!

Artistic entrance to Cobar

18th June 2014........DAY 2

We had a wonderful long walk along the Murrumbidgee this morning after rising at 7.00am to about 4 deg.
The reflections in the still water were remarkable.

At 10 am we called on Roly and Trish Desailly whom I had not met before. They have lived in Hay for the
last 7 years after managing Riverina sheep stations for many years.
My great great grandfather, Edwin Desailly and Roly's great great grandfather,
Francis William Wisdom Desailly, were brothers.
 It is fascinating to meet a family member who has descended from the same couple who came to Australia  in the early 1820s . Dr Desailly and his wife, Nancy Sophia (Ann) settled in Hobart. I found it fascinating to meet Roly, who has descended from a different line of the family. There was much to talk about.

Early ,morning reflections on the Murrumbidgee River

Roly Desailly and June

Lunch time soon came around and we enjoyed this at the cafe at Shear Australia which is a wonderful record
and information display of shearing in Australia.

Early afternoon we continued north toward Hilston. We are camped north of there on the Lachlan River...another well known river of Outback NSW.
 We look forward to sitting around a camp fire this evening. It is cold though..I have 5 layers of clothing
 on with more at the ready!

June 17th 2014 ..........DAY 1

We drove out the gate today at 10.25 am. The only aspect I felt sad about was the fact that my new Kangaroo Paws are coming into bloom. They are so happy in their new pots.
Travelling west over the Warby Ranges was really pretty as autumn rains have strengthened the growth of crops and everything else. In fact all the way here to Hay the countryside looked magnificent. We lunched on the banks of the Murray River in Tocumwal after driving out to Langunyah, north of the town to see the homestead called 'Oakbank' where my Grandparents Rosa and Ormond Desailly lived with their young family during the early 1900s. My mother, Lurline, was the 2nd eldest of their six children.
From Deniliquin to Hay the  Cobb Highway runs through a wide Stock Route or as many know it 'the long paddock. We noticed 2 large mobs of cattle grazing as they travelled south. Water tanks and troughs were  placed at very regular intervals.
This, our first night, we are camped on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River near Hay.

Pink Kangaroo Paw at 'Kyamba', Milawa

'Oakbank' Homestead at Langunyah

Safari 2014

Plans are well in hand for our departure on June 17th. General gear, food and clothes are being packed. The Earth Cruiser (EC) has been serviced this last week. Small damages have been repaired. We are really looking forward to exploring some new country. Far north Queensland will be our focus. We did go to the tip of Cape York in 1990 but we will not go this far again..instead we plan to explore some areas which we hurried through at that time.

EC leaving Service Centre, Wangaratta

Much later..November

This map shows Safari 2013 in red. The remaining dark lines indicate our trips from previous years.