Bound for South Australia

Just 20 km after leaving Warren, we joined the Mitchell Highway at Nevertire, where they are constructing the most extensive solar array alongside the Mitchell Highway. There must be over a hundred people working on this project, judging by the number of cars parked there.
 
We refuelled in Nyngan at $1.49.7 after covering 976 km, with still another 60 litres remaining in the tank. We also purchased some technical screws to replace the rivets that had come loose on the strap securing the grey water tank tap to the van's chassis.
 
From here, we joined the Barrier Highway as we continued further west. We stopped briefly near the Florida Rest Area to gather some disused wooden railway sleepers lying beside the track. They make the most incredible coals, so we carved some up with the chainsaw.
 
Our plan before leaving home was to ensure we were parked for the evening by about lunchtime or soon afterwards each day. Today was no different, with a total of just 273 km.
 
Our drive took us further west towards Cobar, where we stopped briefly to stretch our legs before continuing for another 63 km to spend the evening at the Meadow Glen Rest Area. It's a large area, and being the first to arrive, we managed to get the best spot away from the highway and behind some trees.

By 5:30, another seven vans had arrived to spend the evening, and the road noise from passing trucks also diminished just after dusk.
 
Another relatively short day's drive today for our fifth day on the road, covering just 196 km to spend the night at the Victory Caravan Park in Wilcannia, where powered sites cost only $25 or $15 for unpowered. It's a very popular park, with over fifteen vans staying the night here.

So sad to see the level of water currently in the Darling River just behind the caravan park.

We have previously stayed at Warrawong on the Darling, but I find their fee of $28 for an unpowered site quite excessive, especially since we use all our own onboard facilities. We could have stayed at the rest area 15 km west of here, but it's relatively small and very close to the highway, and I imagine it would be pretty noisy with trucks passing throughout the night.
 
There has been considerable negative publicity circulating about spending time in Wilcannia, but based on our experience last night and on recent occasions, this criticism is unjustified.
 
Two of the lovely stone buildings in town.

Before leaving, we refuelled at the BP service station located in one of the back streets of town. It's usually fifteen cents a litre cheaper than the Liberty station on the highway in the centre of town.
 
We were now on our way towards Broken Hill. From here, the only thrill was where the road climbs over the Thackaringa Hills. Of course, there are no passing lanes here, but then again, there isn’t much traffic to contend with.
 
It wasn't long before we crossed into South Australia. Cockburn is situated almost directly on the border and is just inside South Australia. In its heyday, in the late 1890s, the population grew to over 2000, but today only 25 people live here. This once bustling railway town was where locomotives and crews would change.
 
The rest of our drive today was quite dull and featureless apart from the lovely railway station at Manahill. 

The countryside mainly consists of saltbush, with occasional trees lining some of the dry creeks.
 
Throughout our entire journey today, we have fought against severe north-westerly winds since leaving Wilcannia. The weather bureau predicted winds of 37 kph with gusts reaching 51 kph, and we can confirm that.
 
As we neared Peterborough, the heavens opened, and the temperature dropped to just 6 degrees by 3 pm.

Western New South Wales

Another trip to Birdsville to attend the Big Red Bash, just like we did last year.
 
Due to recent weather events, our planning for this year's trip involved four different options. And just like last year, this trip will be a relaxed drive, taking just over a fortnight to reach Birdsville.
 
Our preferred choice was to go via the Birdsville Track. We've driven the track before, but that was over twenty-five years ago, and we wanted to revisit Farina. Our last visit there was in 2013, on one of our many trips along the Oodnadatta Track.
 
With all that in mind, we have been patiently waiting for the South Australian outback roads to open. Thankfully, the Birdsville Track opened cautiously, with towing just shy of two weeks before we left home. Provided there is no more rain, we won't need to revert to plans B, C, or D.
 
Over the past month, the van has been receiving some TLC, including a wheel alignment and the installation of our Maxtrax on the rear of the van. Apart from that, bearings were checked only 5,000 km ago, so they should be fine until we return home.
 
Our Landcruiser has just undergone its 80,000 km service along with a wheel alignment, and we have recently purchased a set of Staun tyre deflators, which will speed up reducing tyre pressures on all eight of our tyres.
 
Ros has been much busier than I have, attending to shopping and preparing slow cooker meals that she freezes for backup or when we just want a quick meal.
 
We must be jinxed, because on most occasions when we head away on a trip, it usually rains, just like it did this morning. Thankfully, we hooked the van up yesterday afternoon; otherwise, it wouldn't have been much fun.
 
Our late start had nothing to do with this morning's weather, or like having to call the NRMA to replace our 4WD's battery, as we had to do on one of our previous holidays. We don't have far to travel today. Our route will take us south past Kempsey, Port Macquarie, and Taree.
 
The rain continued on and off throughout our trip today, sometimes coming down quite heavily. It's not the ideal weather when out and about, especially towing the van.
 
Tonight's camp is at Lions Park in Bulahdelah, beside the Myall River on the southern outskirts of town. It’s far enough from the highway to ensure a peaceful night’s sleep. We are also happy to make a donation to help with the park's maintenance.  

Weather-wise, we experienced much the same conditions as yesterday when we left home: a damp, cold, and grey morning, while our van's diesel heater kept us warm and toasty. There was no real rush to hit the road early for our second day of travel, as our drive today was just over 320 km, mostly along the Pacific Highway.
 
After a pleasant and peaceful evening, we rejoined the highway, happily staying in the left lane as we continued south towards Raymond Terrace. The traffic congestion increased at this point, as did the rain, especially while crossing the Hunter River at Hexham and continuing until we reached the Golden Highway.
 
We again took John Renshaw Drive and the Hunter Expressway before joining the Golden Highway to head westward. We planned a coffee stop at Jerry's Plains, approximately 40 km west of Singleton, where we often camp.
 
Our route then led us to Denman and through Merriwa. While we can't begrudge the farmers the rain, it does make towing a caravan more challenging, especially with the current state of the roads.
 
An hour later, we arrived in Cassilis, where we spent the night. The local bowling club offers powered sites with all the necessary facilities for $12 per two adults; however, we chose to park on the adjacent oval and still donated some money while enjoying a few beers at the club.

Tonight, we ate one of the meals that Ros prepares in the slow cooker before we leave home. She prepares a variety of meals that we store in the takeaway packs available from Woolworths and Coles. Tonight's curried chicken meal is one of our favourites. We also keep them as backups, just in case the weather turns nasty and we can't cook over the fire, which to us is one of the pleasures of going away camping in our van.
 
The same weather conditions prevailed again this morning, so the diesel heater was turned on before we dressed and had breakfast.
 
Today, we travelled to Dunedoo, where we joined the Castlereagh Highway on our way to Gilgandra. From there, we joined the Oxley Highway to spend the evening camped on the outskirts of Warren.
We have previously camped at Bob Christensen Reserve, so we have decided to stay here again. It’s quite a large area, with no facilities apart from several covered tables and benches, and it sits beside the Macquarie River.
 
On our last visit, we camped on green grass. Unfortunately, the drought has really taken hold here, and it’s very sad to see the effects on the surrounding countryside.