Day 25, Friday 2/6/2023, Gravesend to Inverell, 6 – 22 Sunny
It’s a bright clear morning as we farewell Gravesend. It’s funny how the small towns always leave a greater impression on us.
This is undulating country, brown paddocks, low hills, tall roadside grasses and we spot our first emus of the trip. Kookaburras sit on the power lines watching for movement in the grass below. So different from corellas who use power lines for acrobatics.
Cranky Rocks Nature Reserve is worthy of a stay. It’s only 4 kms off the Gwydir Highway down a good bitumen road with wandering Herefords. There’s a bushy campground with attractive sites. Granite boulders dot the landscape and a swing bridge leads to the walking trails and a granite canyon. This is one of those bucket list places.
This trip we’ve been deciding our route each night dependent on weather, road surface, distance, and this time…washing facilities as none of us have washing machines. Desperate to do washing, we pull into the Inverell Kui Caravan Park and find all that we could wish for. Large concrete slabs for not only the under-awning sitting area but the van and car as well. Some sites back onto the Macintyre River.
Autumn here is later and the trees are still holding their colour. The park staff are super friendly and helpful and the bathrooms are ultra-modern and have heated floors. We girls attack the washing while Woody walks into town.
The town is looking its best. Behind the shops, ducks doze on the lawns beside the river. We book another night. It’s a mild evening and Woody suggests fish and chips, by fluke we find The Albion Store which is bright, clean, busy, cheap, and good! We eat in Elle’s van ‘Betty’.
The Inverell town hall clock chimes every hour, day and night, at 5 minutes before the hour. Regular, but wrong.
Accom: $35.00
Fuel: $63.22 (1.839L)
Towing Kms: 79kms
itchingforhitching 
It’s funny that when we bought our first van with a washing machine I thought it wouldn’t get used, but boy they are useful, and save quite a bit of money too.
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Elle’s missing the washing machine she had in the caravan. Not having had one we tend to save everything up for a week, then hit the laundry.
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We were the same as Glenys, weren’t sure about having an on board washing machine, but it sure did get used a lot. Our very first house sit was in Inverell. I seem to remember a lovely big dam nearby that was worth a visit.
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It’s such a beautiful town.
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That’s a novelty, planning your route round washing facilities. But it’s served you well.
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We dance to a different beat on the road. 😉
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Your description of kookaburras prompts me to ask if they are predators?
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Yes they are keen eyed and will sit on a branch or power line for hours watching for movement below. Snakes are fair game for the old kookas and they don’t mind humans being around. Yesterday one swooped down and took off with the dog chew. They’re also known as bush alarm clocks. They laugh at sun up and sundown.
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Well, I didn’t know that. You see what your prose can do.
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After replying to your question yesterday, I went for a walk down a bush track and was surrounded by laughing kookaburras. By gee, they lift the spirits.
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