After careful planning, much discussion, list making and preparation, the day dawned bright, but coolish, for our foray to the north west of the state as we began our (now) annual odyssey with our friends Marion and Kevin. Gaz and I had mostly packed the night before so it was fairly effortless to throw some last minute things together, pack the car and set off.
Leaving at the pre-determined time of 9am, the trip was almost derailed before it started - after travelling exactly 50 metres we saw our daughter-in-law Alyce and (almost) 2 year-old grandson Ollie had arrived to hang out at our place. Gaz was already wondering how he would go not seeing the grandkids for 3 weeks and this almost tipped him over the edge. “Stop the car”, he cried, promptly jumping from the almost still moving car to run and give him one last farewell hug.
With final waves and blowing of kisses we then moved a whole one km down the road to fill the car with petrol – something Gaz forgot to do yesterday. My pushbike and bike rack had already started moving with a startling mind of its own, twisting alarmingly despite being tightened within an inch of its life. “That’s it”, I exclaimed. “We’re going back home and ditching it.” I couldn’t stand the stress of it having a mind of its own for the next 2168km! So, no biking for me.
Our final attempt to leave was successful and we enjoyed an uneventful trip to Willow Tree where we stopped for a cuppa, meeting up with Kev and Maz who arrived 20 minutes ahead of us due to our false starts. They are travelling with their caravan and trusty canine companion Buddy, who was perfectly behaved as usual. I took the opportunity to ‘drop’ some of my painted rocks – part of a movement where you decorate rocks, drop them in parks, post on NSW Rocks Facebook site, and then kids can find them and keep them or re-hide them elsewhere, also posting when they’re found. You put your postcode on the back so you can see how far they travel. Kids love the treasure hunt and I enjoy the craft aspect, so it’s a win/win.
We agreed we would meet up at Narrabri for a late picnic lunch and enjoyed another uneventful though pleasant trip along the Breeza Plain. The scenery was great – I love a good plain! We saw some cotton growing alongside the highway and lots of water by the side of the road. I guess they’ve have some rain recently. A few more dropped rocks, a brief look through the Narrabri Tourist Information Centre and we were back on the road for our last short leg to Moree.
We are staying at a caravan park that has five hot mineral pools. After a hastily cooked, yet scrumptious BBQ dinner, Gaz, Maz & I hot footed it off to the pools. Ahhh, very relaxing. They are all different temperatures – Maz and I liked it HOT! They don’t close until 10pm so we stayed until then, a short stroll back to the cabin, shower, and ready for bed. Great first day.
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