Caravanning Camping Touring
Let me share some of our stories with you. I'll try to keep it fun and interesting, with heaps of photos, hints, tips and reviews all relating to life on the road.
So, here we are, back in Broken Hill. Why? I hear you ask. Well, as I mentioned I let the registration lapse on Chunky Bum and Broken Hill is the closest place we can re-register. Should be easy.
After a few phone calls Peter managed to find a garage that could provide us with a “Blue Slip” (which is actually a brown slip) and made an appointment for 8am on a Tuesday morning. Bright and early, we got to the garage, and then it began.
First up, our “Blue Slip” dude was fifteen minutes late, but that was OK. When he arrived, the first thing he asked was,
‘Where’s your weight certificate?’
We, of course, did not have a weight certificate, so he gave us directions to go and get one, and off we went.
That part was relatively easy, and half an hour later we were back at the garage. The dude looked at the weight cert and said,
‘Your rig’s too heavy for me. I can only do rigs up to two and a half ton. I’ll tell you where to go.’
He gave us more directions and…off we went. The next dude had a different problem.
He said, ‘Dunno why he sent you to me. Your rig’s too light for me, I only do rigs over eight ton!’
We must have looked desperate enough for him to take pity on us.
He said, ‘Show me your rig.’
He took some time to look Chunky Bum over, and said, ‘Yeah alright I’ll do it for you, but I’m telling you now, I can’t give you a blue slip ’cause you don’t comply with NSW regulations, you need a break-a-way switch battery monitor in your cab.’ He then went on in detail and told us how to install it, finishing with, ‘It’s easy enough mate , but I can’t do it. Get a break-away switch battery monitor fitted and come back here on Thursday, one o’clock.’
So, off we went. We tried three places before we found someone, ARB, who could supply and fit it for us but when Peter explained the instructions we were given, they said,
‘That won’t work!’
Ahh poop!
This led to hours of debate, do we install it the way it should be, or the way we were told to do it? In the end we decided to have it installed to our “Blue slip” dude’s spec. After all, he was the one who was going to give us the little bit of paper we needed to get registered. On the way home, just to be sure, we called into Service NSW to check if there was anything else we would need. They told us,
‘You need a NSW address, and we need proof that you can garage the van there.’
This revelation prompted a call to mum, whose address we were going to use. Of course, no problems there. Thank you, mammy.
Thursday came and we were up and ready. Peter hooked Chunky Bum up to Big Ears, and he headed to ARB for his 08:30 appointment. He hung around for an hour and a half then picked the van up at 10:00 and came back here. Here being the Broken Hill Racecourse, (that’s where we’re staying, very nice too,) where we waited for our 13:00 appointment with the “Blue slip” dude.
The ‘Blue slip’ dude checked out the work done, tested the break-away switch, and completed a thorough check of the van. That took about twenty minutes. He then took an hour and ten minutes to complete two, single sided, A4 forms, before giving us our “Blue Slip”.
From there we headed straight to NSW Service Center to get our registration, we weren’t confident of a successful visit, so we had everything possible crossed, just for luck. We needn’t have worried though, the actual application went very well and was quick. Within twenty minutes, we walked out the door, proud owners of a shiny yellow, NSW Licence plate.
The whole process from start to end, cost us eleven hours of our time, and cost a $1000.
See, easy!
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
When we arrived back at Tibooburra, we went straight to the Police Station to collect Chunky Bum. It was then that we were told of a possible Covid-19 exposure in town. Not a lot we could do about that, so we stuck to our plan and drove two kilometres out of town to the Dead Horse Gully campground in the Sturt National Park.
WOW! I love it. It’s like a desert wonderland. I can’t stop singing that song by the group America, “A Horse with no name.” Don’t know why, I mean we’re not really in a desert, it just seems fitting.
There are a couple of designated walks around Dead Horse, and a lot of opportunities to go walkabout up and over the granite tors. It really is pretty country, and we had a lot of fun exploring.
We even got lost, surprise, surprise, but the upside of that, was that I found a couple of Rainbow Bee-eaters I didn’t get any decent photos, so I made these stunning little birds my special quest while we were there. There wasn’t a lot of other wildlife, a few species of birds, a few kangaroos, goats, and a family of Emus. He looked like a first-time dad, not as big as the emu at Menindee and a lot more cautious. I was walking the first time I saw him, he was about 30-40 meters away, but he started towards me with a definite “keep away from my chicks” attitude. So, I did just that, I ducked behind a bush and kept out of sight until he lost interest in me and went on his way with his 8, that’s right, 8 chicks running along behind him. Another good dad.
On the fourth day there I went Rainbow Bee-Eater hunting. I loaded up with my camera, tripod, water, snacks and off I went to try and get lost again, it was surprisingly easy, and after an hour and a bit trudging, and two and a half hours waiting, I got what I went for. Aren’t these just the most beautiful birds?
We stayed at Dead Horse Gully for 7 nights and I think we would have stayed longer had we not had to go back to Broken Hill for some Admin. (That’s code for “Joanne stuffed up the caravan rego, and now it has lapsed, and we have to go to Broken Hill to apply for a new NSW registration”). It’s going to take me a while to live this one down.
During our stay at Dead Horse, we had some pretty wild weather including two 37-degree days, a dust storm with wind gusts up to 100 kms and a fantastic lightning storm.
All in all, we have really enjoyed this part of the trip, Tibooburra is a great little town, the Corner was an experience, Fort Grey was great, and Dead Horse Gully was a little slice of desert heaven. If you haven’t visited the Jump-Up Country, I think you should.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
On our way back from Cameron Corner, we stayed at Fort Grey Campground in the Sturt National Park. Because we had left Chunky Bum (caravan) in Tibooburra, we had our first “camp out” with Big Ears (Ford Ranger) on this trip. Now, Big Ears is fully set up for off grid camping, including water, food, tent, stretchers, mattresses, etc but the weather was so pleasant we decided sleep under the stars. Peter on his lay-back chair, me on my hammock.
This is a great place to stay. NSW National Parks Services provide very good amenities, and you can see where the fee you pay goes. It is a picturesque park, with lots of flora, but what really blew me away was the amount of water in Lake Pinaroo. I should imagine it is not often as full as it was when we visited.
There were quite a lot of birds here too. Still not as many as I would have thought, considering the amount of water, but I was thrilled to see a few new birds. New for me anyway. An Australian Hobby and a Black-Breasted Buzzard. There were also a couple that I wasn’t sure about. Feel free to let me know what they are.
We had planned to stay there for three nights, but we had a little rain on the second night, and it looked like there would be a lot more the next, so we headed back to Tibooburra. We drove back via the Jump-Up Loop Road, and it was simply delightful. The drive took us through sandy desert vistas, and dry gibber plains, before reaching the top of the Jump-ups to the north. From there we continued south toward Tibooburra, passing majestic granite tors. Now if you’re like me, you won’t have a clue what a Jump-Up or a granite tor is. I looked them up, so now I can tell you.
A Tor is generally a landform of granite rock. Either a single large rock formation, or a series of smaller rocks, formed as the granite boulders split and break apart over millions of years. The Tibooburra Tors are estimated to be 410 million years old.
A jump-up is a land mass that rises abruptly from and otherwise flat landscape and generally has a flat top.
I hope I got it right.
There were only two other lots of travellers at Fort Grey while we were there. We spent a very pleasant evening chatting with a lovely young couple, who like us and many others on the road, are making the most of the restrictions and exploring the areas we are allowed to. We mentioned that we were heading back to Tibooburra and they they highly recommended an alternate camp spot.
So, next Stop, Dead Horse Gully. Lets see if our young friends were right.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
WARNING! This post contains photos and information of people wanted for border infractions in two states.
(But if anyone asks, we weren’t there).
You really can’t come this far north-west NSW and not go to Cameron Corner. Sure, there’s nothing there but a survey marker, but where else can you stand on the corner of three states? Apparently not at Cameron Corner, because you can’t cross any borders. Not unless you are lawless folk like us.
We left Chunky Bum safely in Tibooburra, thanks to the local police officer. We weren’t so much worried about the roads, but we figured we couldn’t be accused of trying to run the border, if our home wasn’t with us. The road was mostly dirt, but we were told by a local that it had just been graded before the lockdown, so hadn’t had much traffic. It showed too, the road was really good, and the countryside was fresh with a decent spattering of green, an uncommon colour in these parts.
Good and smooth with no corrugations. 
Maybe some corrugations…. 
And some ‘not-so-smooth’… 
And some… Well, they did say that the road hadn’t seen much traffic. 
We stopped to look for bilby tracks… Goannas yes, bilbys no… Hmmm… 
Something for everyone here, really lovely landscapes. 
Hugo (AKA Tiny Tim) loves to ‘tip-toe through the tulips’ … Outback Australia style.
We made a couple of stops along the way, stopping to look at a huge dry lake, and climbing a little sand dune looking for Bilby tracks, but we finally made it to the Corner at 12:30. And yes, it was hot, not unbearable but hot, 36 degrees. We looked at the NSW – SA Dingo fence, the NSW – QLD Dingo fence, then peered through the wire at the Corner’s survey post, (riveting stuff).
The gate to freedom. If only we were braver we could do a runner! 
Hugo, the illegal border-jumper in South Australia (NSW in the background). 
Cameron was the man who surveyed the QLD-NSW border and this is the corner of the three states. 
NSW – QLD Dingo fence 
NSW – SA Dingo fence 
Clinging to the barbed wire, this Crimson Chat and his mate don’t need a permit. 
Cameron Corner Pub, way off in the distance. Ahh Queensland, it was good to see you. 
After that we walked towards the fence, looked longingly through to SA, and then we did it! We opened the gate and walked through. Gasp!
Ok, before you judge, take this into account. We are here…
Cameron Corner is the point where the QLD, NSW and SA borders meet. It’s safe to say the area is pretty isolated, and the nearest town in each state from Cameron Corner are as follows.
- South Australia
- Nearest town is Innaminka
- 274km away from the corner
- Population, 12
- Queensland (Cameron Corner Pub is in QLD the store/pub has a population of 5)
- The nearest town is Noccundra
- 242km from the Corner
- Population, 7
- NSW
- Nearest town Tibooburra
- 139km from the corner
- Population, 134
So, holding that in mind, why is it that travellers are banned from crossing the border, in order to take a few photos of the survey marker, then go back from whence they came, yet…you can have a sports stadium filled with 10 thousand people, in close quarters, who are then free to stroll through our cities? And don’t get me started on the protestors. Maybe we’re not the lawless ones after all.
Enough of that. We had fun! And we jumped from NSW, to SA, to QLD over, and over again. Maybe one day soon, we’ll be able to stay longer than a few seconds in QLD or SA then we won’t need to do this…
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
I don’t know what Tibooburra was like pre-covid, but it is a sleepy little town right now. We arrived on a Thursday and were the only travellers in town, so we had our choice of spaces in the Granite Boulder caravan park. We wandered around the town, visited the Information centre but it was closed. Checked that the pubs were open, bought an ice cream from the grocery store then went back to the van.
We were there for two nights and did the usual caravan park thing, cleaning and washing, and the ever important, emptying of the toilet canister. Unfortunately for us, the caravan park does not have a dump point, but we were given directions of where we could go to empty the canister.
“Go up the road to the dump. When you get there drive past the burn trenches, then just keep going till you see a hole in the ground, that’ll do.” Hmm!
The point is that Tibooburra does not come under any LGA or council, it’s classed as ‘Unincorporated’. As a result, it has none of the usual local council controls or services and locals are largely left to look after themselves. Some people would see this lack of governance liberating. I mean who has the right to tell you that you should keep your dog on a lead? I guess the same people who collect your rubbish every week and do all the necessary ‘dirty work’.
I only mention this because the caravan park does not have the infrastructure to install/maintain a dump point. Hence our trip to the local dump. Their answer to the rubbish problem is to dig trenches, and when they’re full, burn it. Of course, it’s not as simple as that, and this isn’t a criticism of the town, only a statement of fact. But the dump is a dirty smelly, place strewn with broken glass, sheet metal, old cars, you name it, and though it was a necessary trip, it was most definitely not a highlight of our visit to Tibooburra.
It is a nice little town and we look forward to seeing it again on our way back from Cameron Corner.
I know it’s only 442 kilometres from Menindee to Tibooburra, but as you know, we like to take our time. After all, what’s the point in travelling around Australia if all you see is a blur from your car window. So, on our first day of freedom, we went into Broken Hill, filled up with fuel and water then headed west to Silverton.
We arrived at Silverton at 12:30, the perfect time for lunch in the local pub, which was made famous for its part in the Mad Max movies. It was closed. The local bakery was also closed, as were the art galleries and the museum. So much for no more lockdown. But we did get to look around this quirky, tiny town and had a chat with the locals…local donkeys that is.
I had nothing out of the freezer for lunch, but I delved deep into the fridge for our emergency supplies (a couple of chocky bars and an apple each,) and on we went. We had to double back through Broken Hill, and I decided to be brave and take the wheel. It was my first time towing through a large town and I have to say, I did it with flying colours. From there we began our drive northward looking for a place to spend the night.
We drove a huge 102 kilometres and pulled up at a rest stop called Fowlers Gap. What a great little overnight spot that was. Not a lot there, just an old disused shearers shed, a large flat area, big enough for several vans, but we were the only ones there, and a great wide open outlook. There were even, wait for it, birds! Well to be precise one species of bird, but one that I hadn’t seen yet. Nankeen Kestrels.
We were quite hungry by then so I cranked up the oven and chucked in a bag of Steggles Fiery Chicken Bits. I’m sure they’re not terribly healthy, but boy are they delish. We sat outside and had our dinner with a bottle of beer, while we watched a movie. Who says you have to miss out on the good things in life?
Today we got up with the sunrise, made a coffee and opened the door to have it outside. It was blowing a gale and it was freezing. We quickly slammed the door shut and sat inside. It didn’t stop me from running around in my jammie shorts and tee getting more photos of the kestrels though, I must be an idiot. (No comments needed).
We were on the road just before at 9:50, the road being the Silver City Hwy, and stopped for a break at 9:55. Now don’t laugh, we stopped to put our rubbish in the bins provided, then we went on a little walk. Well that’s what Peter said it was going to be. It was just a hill on the other side of the road, and yep, we climbed it. Stunning views from the top and well worth the effort.
It didn’t look that big from down here 
View from the top 
King of the World… 
… and feeling on top of the world. 
That’s the car and van in the distance 
They’re tiny, aren’t they? 
The road just travelled (you can actually see our previous night’s camp in the distance). 
The road yet to be travelled 
Wide open spaces
Our next stop was Packsaddle. Oh my, it was a little slice of heaven. Nothing there but a pub, a few cabins, and a fuel pump, but… they were open. And we were able to have meal and a beer and we caught up with a ‘Menindee local’ we met a few weeks earlier; it was is if Covid-19 had never existed.
After a huge meal, we were looking for a place to lay our heads for the night, and we found a beauty. We had been looking for a spot off the Hwy when we noted a dirt track to the left. We took it and followed it for about a 500 metres, and found this spot.
Tomorrow we should make it to Tibooburra, and that is how you do a four and a half hour drive.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
