End of year trip 2017. Day 10

Up relatively early and packed up heading for home. Drove into Tenterfield and had brekky at the bakery before pressing onto Casino and then Lismore. The closer we got to the coast the more people and traffic we came across. We finally got out onto the  M1 for what should be an easy run home. But Shane's tyres had other ideas. Just before the big tunnel through a hill, south of the Murwillumbah turn off, I got a call on the radio from Shane that he had a tyre going down. Luckily there was a a pull off point where we could get off the road to see what was wrong. One of the remaining good tyres had a split in the sidewall so he had to replace it with one that that had several plugs in it and was slowly leaking. He pumped this up and we hit the road again. He made it to Ron and Jo's with 20 psi still in the tyre. I got home around noon and unpacked the car and camper, while I was getting some clothes washing done, my first hot shower in a week or so was very relaxing. I set the robot to vacuuming the camper and settled down for a lazy afternoon. 

I was away for 10 days, covering around 2900 kms and averaging 12.8 l/100 km. Highway driving was around 12-12.5 l/100 km while the sand driving with very low tyre pressures was up around 15 l/100 km. 

Even though it was very hot at times it was still an enjoyable holiday away from the crowds. 

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End of year trip 2017. Day 8 and 9.

Had a bit of a slow brekky and pack up with a final swim in the Maranoa river before heading off into Mitchell, where we found quite a good bakery. We then headed south to St George and this was a fairly boring drive, then it was across to Goondiwindi for a late lunch at the bakery. 

We refuelled the cars at Bogabilla before heading east towards Texas. Shane had a secret spot down on the Dumaresq River so after dropping in to Bonshaw Weir for a look we headed there. 

It's a great spot down the on the river bank and after setting up camp it was time for a swim. 

Then as we were relaxing by the fire I had a play with the drone and managed to not lose or crash it. 

After dinner it was a relatively early night to bed as we were a little weary from the driving.

Had a bit of a sleep in and late breakfast. We decided to have another rest day so we spent it beside the creek. It was very hot again so I spent the day reading in the shade, swimming and playing with the drone. The sunset was pretty spectacular. 

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End of year trip 2017. Day 7

After some brekky we packed up and left Lake Nuga Nuga heading south. Parts of the dirt road were a bit soft and slippery after the storms but we made it through fine. On the way we drove in for a look at the Beilba section of Expedition National Park. We had a little trouble finding our way as the roads were quite different from the map, mainly because of all the gas extraction being done in the area. We ended up exploring some interesting tracks. 

I had forgotten that I had been into Beilba a few years ago until we got to an abandoned house on the way in. 

We continued on to look at the camp ground which seemed not too bad. As there was a line of storms approaching we decided to get out quickly as some of the tracks were already a bit wet and soggy. 

As it was New Years Day the shops in Injune were all closed so we stopped at the sports ground to make a quick lunch before heading onto Roma where we refuelled the cars and had coffee at Maccas as it was about the only place open. The decision was then made to head out to Mitchell and camp at the Fisherman's Rest camp site by the Maranoa River. Great little spot and the river was the perfect temperature for a swim. We set up camp and had a nice relaxing evening.

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End of year trip 2017. Day 5 and 6.

We were up early, packed up and off looking for Leichardt's Dig Tree or what was left of it. It had been moved into the town of Comet a few years ago. After a bit of exploring and bush bashing we ended up finding its original position and the plaque identifying the spot. Then it was off into Comet where we had a look at the main part of the tree and a few other historical points of interest.

After this we headed off to Emerald for morning tea at the bakery before futilely searching for some fossilised wood that was supposed to be on display. We refilled the cars and did a bit of shopping before heading off to have a look at Lake Maraboon which is supposedly 3 times the size of Sydney Harbour. 

Then it was off south through Springsure and Rolleston where we had a late lunch. 

The temperature was up in the high 30's and it was quite draining to be out of the car air-con for too long. Lake Nuga Nuga National Park was our destination for the night and we got there around 3:30'ish and set up camp in a shady area. As it was so hot I rigged up a mozzie net in the camper so that I could leave the doors open while sleeping to cool down. 

After dinner we noticed some lightning off to the south and Shane got some great lightning photos. This went on for more than an hour until we finally heard thunder and then about 30 mins later the storm got to us. 

We were safely ensconced in our campers for the wind and rain but it was bloody hot and sweaty with everything closed up to keep the rain out. After the rain was gone it must have been 10 degrees cooler which made it much easier to sleep.

We had decided on a rest day at Lake Nuga Nuga and didn't end up doing much as it was so damn hot (around 39 degrees). 

I spent most of the day drinking water and reading a book in the shade while Shane took his canoe out for a paddle. Today the storms came in early, around 4 pm and this time we stayed outside to get wet and cool off. After the storms had gone we cooked dinner and Shane started up the camp fire. We didn't quite see the new year in but our equivalent of fireworks was a campfire and a distant lightning show.

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