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.
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!
After nine weeks of lakeside living, we are back on the black and making tracks! I have to say, it was a little sad to be leaving home, er, I mean leaving Lake Pamamaroo, but…we are very excited to be continuing our Australian Walkabout in Big Ears and Chunky Bum.
Here’s Peter working hard to make sure Chunky Bum is clean, and fit for the road. Big Ears got his bath the next day. FYI, just 280 litres of water (four tanks in the Ranger) washed the whole van – and it really needed it!
We made the most of our last few days here. We had our last morning coffees on the beach, our last camp cooks and our last kayaking expeditions and we continued to soak up the serenity. There are a lot more birds here now, and more seemed to be arriving each day. We had another visit from Stumpy, the Shingleback lizard. He just wandered through camp and took a few sultanas from me, the went on his way, and, we had an echidna in camp. He was very shy though, hid himself under a bush so we left him in peace. As much as I love to photograph our wildlife, I really don’t like to stress them out unnecessarily.
Menindee itself seems to be a friendly town. I say “seems”, because thanks to the lockdown, we only met the postmaster and his wife, the grocer, and the policeman, but it has certainly come alive since the lockdown ended. On the first day of freedom, we literally saw more cars, both travellers and locals, on the road than we had seen in the nine weeks we had been here.
I was disappointed in the lack of accessibility to the lakes. Even without the Covid restrictions, and with Kinchega National Park being closed, there are limited access points to the many lakes in the area. There are six lakes, Menindee, Pamamaroo, Tandure, Cawndilla, Emu, Wetherell and Bijijije. Now don’t quote me on this, as I said it was hard to move around with the restrictions, but from our little forays, we found that the only access points to Menindee Lake seemed to be via the two caravan parks and Sunset strip, and that was a bit of a stretch. We couldn’t get to Emu Lake as it was in the national park and that was closed, and I’m not sure about the other lakes. We had intended to visit Emu Lake after the lockdown was lifted, but…the park was still closed. Saying all of that, Pamamraoo itself was most definitely not a disappointment, and it would have been hard to find a better place for us to have spent the last nine weeks.
So, where to next? Well, our hope is to get into South Australia, but we don’t think that they’ll let us in from NSW. That’s why we are heading north, back to QLD. We will apply for our border crossing permit once we get to Tibooburra, just south of the QLD border, and hope that they will let us in. If that works, we’ll hang around outback QLD for a couple of weeks, in effect self-isolating, then apply for a SA permit. Fingers crossed.
In the meantime we have many happy memories of our stay at Lake Pamamaroo.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
Before I get into this post, a few people have been asking if I get their comments? And do I reply? The answer is yes to both questions. The tricky thing is that the comments are not shown on the post thread. But, if you click on the title of any post, this will take you to that specific post, scroll down to the bottom of the page and all the comments are there.
I hope this helps, and thank you. I really do appreciate all of your comments. 😊
As mentioned previously, we are now well aware that the snakes are up and about, just like us they’re enjoying the warmer weather, so we wear jeans and covered in shoes, and we take care to watch where we walk. But it’s not just the snakes you have to worry about.
A couple of days ago I needed to have a tinkle, as I often do, and through the day I tend to do this outside. Off I went to the little girl’s room (the area off to the right of the caravan) scanning the ground very carefully as I went. I found a spot, eyes still glued to the ground, dropped my dacks and did the deed. While I was doing the deed I heard, Thump! Thump! I figured it was one of the campers further up the lake, the sound sometimes carries on a calm day. Then again, thump, thump. I still didn’t think anything of it but casually did my paperwork and disposed of that in a doggy bag. As I tied a knot in the doggy bag I heard the thump, thump again and looked over to my right. Well, let me tell you, my tinkle was done but I nearly pooped my pants. Old man Emu and his six chicks were all standing staring at me, no more than eight meters away. While he stomped another warning on the ground, I backed off slowly, and very inelegantly with my trousers still around my knees, then made a bee line back to Chunky Bum.
Now I know I’ve told you I take my camera almost everywhere; well the little girl’s room is not one of the places I take it. So, by the time I got back to the van and told Peter what had happened and grabbed my camera, the emus had moved to the road and wandered off. They were back the next day though, walking along beside the lake so I got a couple of better shots then.
This brings me to our illusive Goannas. We’ve seen plenty of tracks around camp and on the beach. We even tracked one big fellow under the caravan, but we had never seen them. That is until yesterday. The little fellow made a quick exit into the bushes and was not seen again, but the big dude, well he was interested in the Fairy-Wrens’ so I was able to stalk him for quite some time, and I have to say, what an impressive creature.
See you out there somewhere
On tow and on the go!
