Day 12 Monday 7/6/21 Ballimore to Narrabri, 0-20 frosty to warm sunny

We’re woken by a rumble in the night as a train passes through. We had intended to move onto Binnaway Pumphouse Reserve but we’re worried about the weather. There’s a severe weather warning out for a cold front that’s due in the next few days. The forecast of a top temperature of 8 degrees and rain for several days does not sound appealing when one is in a caravan. It’s time for a quick dash to another climate zone.

We bypass Dubbo and pick up the Mendooran Road. Black trunked forests and leaves of emerald green are highlighted in the early morning sun. It’s a bumpy old road though. It’s hectic getting fuel in Coonabarabran and awkward reaching the diesel pump in a small old servo when you’ve got a van on the back. We’ve finally stripped to T shirts and agree that we’ve crossed what we call the Coffs Harbour line (the imaginary point where we start to feel warmer). The Newell Highway is incredibly quiet.

This is a land of bush sculptors. If I’d made a point of photographing every piece of scrap metal art we have seen I doubt we’d have travelled very far. But out in the bush there’s a huge assortment of tractors on poles and welded artistic letterboxes. There are crazy interpretations of cows and goats and sheep and chooks.

We settle in for the night at Big Sky Caravan Park in Narrabri on the Namoi River. It’s close enough to town yet far enough back from the highway for a little peace. The air is warm and as dry as VeeWee’s washing. The neighbours around us are all Victorians waiting out their fortnight before crossing the Queensland border.

Accom: $34.20

Towing Kms: 272kms

Note: Our park neighbours are waiting in Narrabri because they don’t like Moree. We love Moree but we’re headed to the Gold Coast. We’ll later be thankful that we didn’t go to Moree either.