After Noccundra, we headed towards Thargomindah along mostly single-lane bitumen, with the occasional double lane in most floodways. We prefer to move onto the dirt on single-lane bitumen and give oncoming traffic the right of way, because at least we are ensuring that we don't end up with a broken windscreen or stone damage to the front of the Chev. It may take us longer to get from A to B, but we aren't in any hurry anyway.
Our preference is not to stay in caravan parks, but we booked into the council-run park for three days. Firstly, we had both contracted Influenza A, with Ros much sicker than I was, and secondly, we were still trying to dodge the masses leaving the Big Red Bash in Birdsville.
From here, we took the Quilpie road that bypasses Toompine, where the pub is currently closed. Most of the road is bitumen, with about 20 km of dusty gravel that wasn't bad enough to reduce tyre pressures.
We spent three days camping on the western side of Lake Houdraman, where there are no facilities, and the camping cost is $7.50 per person per night. We enjoyed our campsite, which had just two different campers over the three days we were there, and they parked well over 500 metres away, which suited us perfectly. We shopped in town and enjoyed lunch at the local bowling club on one of our days. The eastern side, known as "The Lake," has powered sites, showers, toilets, and even a bar. Sites here are $30 per night or $15 if you camp near the lake using the facilities.
Our preference is not to stay in caravan parks, but we booked into the council-run park for three days. Firstly, we had both contracted Influenza A, with Ros much sicker than I was, and secondly, we were still trying to dodge the masses leaving the Big Red Bash in Birdsville.
From here, we took the Quilpie road that bypasses Toompine, where the pub is currently closed. Most of the road is bitumen, with about 20 km of dusty gravel that wasn't bad enough to reduce tyre pressures.
We spent three days camping on the western side of Lake Houdraman, where there are no facilities, and the camping cost is $7.50 per person per night. We enjoyed our campsite, which had just two different campers over the three days we were there, and they parked well over 500 metres away, which suited us perfectly. We shopped in town and enjoyed lunch at the local bowling club on one of our days. The eastern side, known as "The Lake," has powered sites, showers, toilets, and even a bar. Sites here are $30 per night or $15 if you camp near the lake using the facilities.
A huge shout-out to the butcher in Quilpie. We had heard he sells lovely meat, and the scotch fillet steaks we bought and cooked over the coals were so tender and juicy.
Our next stop was Charleville, where we camped outside town at the CMCA park. Our Chev and van are insured with Ken Tame, and joining the CMCA is necessary if you are insured with them. At just $3.50 each, it's an easy choice. You must be self-contained, and they have potable water and a dump point on site. Non-members can also stay for $10 per person per night.
We enjoyed lunch at the local RSL club on one of our days. Both of us got haircuts, bought groceries, and I topped up the fuel at $2.55 per litre.
After two days, we moved on to Neil Turner Weir at Mitchell, a free site. We've never seen it so busy, with over 40 vans parked here. We remember visiting 14 years ago, when you could count the vans on one hand.
Our next stop was Charleville, where we camped outside town at the CMCA park. Our Chev and van are insured with Ken Tame, and joining the CMCA is necessary if you are insured with them. At just $3.50 each, it's an easy choice. You must be self-contained, and they have potable water and a dump point on site. Non-members can also stay for $10 per person per night.
We enjoyed lunch at the local RSL club on one of our days. Both of us got haircuts, bought groceries, and I topped up the fuel at $2.55 per litre.
After two days, we moved on to Neil Turner Weir at Mitchell, a free site. We've never seen it so busy, with over 40 vans parked here. We remember visiting 14 years ago, when you could count the vans on one hand.
We've previously camped at Thallon, where there is a camp adjacent to the painted silos. There is power available, and there are toilets and showers. Payment for the powered sites can be made at the local pub. It's been a bumper wheat crop this year, which has been attributed to the constant rain that has fallen. When we arrived, they were loading wagons onto a train, and numerous B-double trucks were also transporting grain.
We had a brief drive today as we passed through Mungindi en route to Garah. This 68 km section is the worst bitumen road we've ever travelled on. Fortunately, our Chev has superb suspension, and the Gen Y Hitch protects the van from all the jolts. Afterwards, we moved through Moree and, just 20 km later, turned onto Gum Flat Road, which, after 3 km of dirt, leads to one of our favourite campsites beside the Gwydir River. It was interesting to see that the Wiki Camps community used our drone photo taken in 2019, showcasing our 2016 Bushtracker and our 200 Series Landcruiser for the site.
It was just over an hour later when we arrived in Bingara. We've been coming here since 2008, when we picked up our first Bushtracker and headed home.
The area had recently flooded after Copeton Dam released water because its level exceeded 100%, so instead of camping beside the river, we set up on the river stones about 60 metres away. We enjoyed four nights here before moving on to another one of our favourite campsites.
Cangai Bridge crosses the Mann River 20 km west of Jackadgery, just off the Gwydir Highway. It's our preferred camping spot whenever we leave or return from holidays, as it's only 150 km from home. We arrived right at midday, and even though it was a Monday, we were surprised to find that we had the place to ourselves.
