TEN DAYS IN MOREE – HUGE PARK, TIGHT SITES, HOT POOLS AND 'MOREE ON A PLATE' (6 -16 MAY 2016)

We had initially booked into the Gwydir park for seven days, but after we had realised what a good site we had been given, and decided we could use a ‘blow’ somewhere on this leg of our trip north, we extended for another three.

You will see what I mean about our the advantages of our patch as I take you for a tour of this very large establishment. Let me begin in the area we were inhabiting, where the sites are longish, but ridiculously narrow.

We have previously encountered parks where the vans are squeezed in tightly, but here the owner has made it an art form.

These photos do not really show the situation at its worst, but I can tell you many in large vans were not able to fully extend their awnings and still remain within the very clearly defined limits of their site. This is just silly. When you look at the size of our patch, you will be able to see why I was pretty happy with where we had been put (much to the chagrin of a couple who arrived here several days after we did.....as repeat customers they had been hoping for our spot themselves).






And, as you can see looking down our row towards the entrance to the pools, we were far from being alone.

It was the same all over this huge park. Row













after row of vans squeezed in together.













The  western side of the park tends to have larger sites but even over here things were very crowded. This is a very popular spot.

The en suite section of the park was equally busy

and there were vehicles lined up in almost every cabin driveway.






Whilst most of the sites in the western and northern sections of the park, and the en suite area, were fully occupied most of the time, it was a very different story in the drive-thru section. Here the tide of vans ebbed and flowed daily with those folk who pulled in for one night only.

The scene here on most mornings by about 0930 hours












could not have been more different

by mid afternoon.

And we have never come across a park with so many cabins.  We had been told that the owner is constantly adding to and upgrading the park facilities, and this clearly applies to the cabins. It was not difficult to tell the older sections









with their different styles

from the new,














many of which were clumped together quite tightly around roadway turning areas.            





With a park this size, several amenities blocks are a must. Although we were camped right next to one of them as you have seen, where there were more than adequate toilets and camp kitchen facilities, the two shower cubicles were firmly shut, for reasons I could never quite get to the bottom of.

Fortunately the large block near the drive-thru sites was not too far from us












and, at the far end of our row, ablutions could be performed in this smaller, but perfectly functional, second amenities facility.





Interestingly, we soon learnt that many who stay here do not use the showers at all. A quick overhead swish is compulsory for all who are about to use the hot pools, and after two or three soaks per day, the vast majority consider this to be adequate daily cleansing.

Whilst we did not see one during our entire stay, a large, grassed area behind our site row is available for those who consider a tent to be adequate travelling accommodation.









In complete contrast, also quite close to our patch and at the western entrance to the pools, is this large bitumen area on which site lines have been painted. This is the first time we have ever seen completely paved sites like this.

The very thought of propping here for a few days, particularly during hot weather when the whole area would just bake, had no appeal for us, but they proved to be very popular. In many instances we saw that the caravans in this patch were home to folk with various physical challenges, include quite a few on walking frames. Obviously the close proximity to the pools entrance makes up for the potential to fry on hot days.

And, then of course, for those without their own mobile shells, the newly completed motel units are just the shot. We passed the outside walls of this row on our way in.











They are ideally positioned right next to the pools, are apparently quite reasonably priced for the luxury they provide, and were almost completely occupied throughout our stay. What an earner these have proven to be.

This is not the end of the facilities to be found here at the Gwydir Carapark and Thermal Pools. The park is located on the southern side of town, some two and a half kilometres from the CBD.  For many this is tantamount to being in the outback, and furthermore, what’s a ‘resort’ facility without a restaurant. Well, in this case it is a take-away cafe,

but, as far as these go, this is a ripper. It opens early for breakfast

and does not close its doors until 2000 hours each evening.

Although the working area is not large, the staff here have things down to a fine art. They will accept orders up until 1930 hours, and will guarantee to have a pre-ordered meal on deck at any specific time.....and they are! And you can see from the menus, the prices here are very competitive.





We only indulged ourselves once (on our late night here) and I can report that this was a mistake.....had I known just how huge and delicious their hamburgers were I would have presented at the counter more frequently.

So, just what is it which brings the hordes to Moree and this park in particular. Artesian water, hot artesian water, water laden with mineral salts and all manner of dissolved therapeutic goodies.....that’s what! Or so we were told, in all the blurb and by many of our fellow soakers.

Do you detect a hint of scepticism? How odd. Over the course of our stay, and in many wallowing conversations, I have reached the firm conclusion that much of the benefit derived by those who embark on a concerted campaign to morph into a wrinkled prune, has its source between their ears rather than in the water. I am prepared to concede that a good soak in H2O bordering on 40 degrees C will do wonders for arthritic and similar conditions, but I do balk at the blind faith expressed by many as to the almost miraculous other properties of the contents these ponds.

But to say I am in the minority is definitely an understatement. Day and night, (literally....the gates open and 0700 and shut at 2200 hours) the pools are a heaving mass of humanity.





In fairness, and to provide balance in my comments, I have to say that the pools complex here has been very well designed and maintained. But there are strict rules for indulgence. All arriving through the rather grand western entrance,

or through either of the two other gates near the cafe and motel, must immediately present under the showers, where, for ‘theraputic’ reasons again, they are encouraged to soap down liberally to ensure that no natural skin oils remain to impede the effect of the minerals. Con? Read...'let’s make sure we reduce the potential for nasties in the pools' (?)

Irrespective of the real reason, large notices warn of the consequences of a failure to scrub as demanded....instant removal from the park!

I was as much attracted to the excellent 20 metre cold lap pool as the others.

Many use this merely as a plunge pool after a long, hot soak, but for yours truly, the chance to finally be able to thrash out some laps was wonderful.

Apart from this large cool pool, four others are available for use by those seeking a miracle. (sorry!) We soon discovered that timing was everything.  As I mentioned earlier, sights like this





were to be seen constantly throughout the day (strangely enough, white terry towelling robes are prominently displayed for sale in the office). From 0700 hours to late in the evening, the pools area was a source of bustle and noise. After day two, I worked out that even the most hardy human hippo would have to take a break for lunch.

Sure enough.....between about mid-day and 1330 hours, this was a common sight. 














Empty pools!

At all other times of the day this was the scene which greeted us, and I have to say at this

point that we had often seen them even more crowded than this.

I just couldn't be bothered rushing back to the van to grab the camera when things were at their most hectic. 

Here I should explain that the water in the four soaking pools all emerges from its underground storage at a pretty high temperature. By adding cold, the temperature of each of the four pools is regulated.....from the coolest at 34 degrees to the hottest.....39 degrees (or higher on occasion, we suspect). All are clearly marked.



Newcomers are encouraged to adjust slowly, and prominently displayed notices  caution against lengthy stays and dehydration.  Fifteen to twenty minutes is the suggested optimum, but believe me this is completely disregarded by many of the die-hards who wallow about for up to an hour at a time. I would love a quid for every time I heard, “oh, I feel a bit dizzy” coming from those mounting the stairs to leave the pools. 

In what I found (cruelly I suppose) to be a delicious irony, the arrival of the local ambulance to carry off some elderly walrus who had drastically overdone his or her soak to the point of collapse, was far from uncommon. Therapeutic indeed!

We were far more circumspect. There was no dawn dash from the Marshies’ tent to the pools, nor could we be found there late in the evening.  We timed our daily dip (many here dip at least four or five times a day) for the quiet mid-day period, when Liz spent much of her time lapping the 34 degree pool

and demonstrating her floating prowess, whilst I would head for the big boys' lap pool. This is not to say we did not have a daily soak (it was the 39 degree pond for us) but 15 minutes of so was definitely our limit.

As a final comment about the goings on at the pools, I have to say that there was a distinct demographic to be found here. Liz’s arrival would immediately lower the average age by at least 20 years, and both of us (even me with my 'happy hour waistline') looked almost anorexic in comparison to the vast majority of those present.  Hands up those who remember the film ‘Cocoon’?  Now you get it!

You may have gathered by now that, whilst we did enjoy our moments in the ponds, this was not really our sort of place. There was something almost weird about the certainly with which many of the pool devotees advocated the extraordinary range of so-called benefits to be had from continual soaking....it was like listening to verbal versions of the labels on the 'cure-all' potions of the 19th Century......but, as they say, 'each to their own'.  

Moree is but one of several towns in this part of the country where hot pools can be experienced. We reached the very firm conclusion that we would never again bother with coming back here. Too crowded, too commercial and, based on what we saw, somewhat sad, actually. We have now decided that the tiny town of Boomi near the Qld border, which we visited three years ago, where a hot tub and 25 metre lap pool provide all we got here in Moree, but without all the hustle and bustle, was to be our future hot pool destination.

One real highlight of our stay however, was catching up with Liz’s sister’s in-laws. Kate and John live in Parkes. We had seen them only last Xmas (they regularly make the trip to Adelaide to join the festivities at Somerton Park, chez Cath and Jim).

We get on famously well, and it was a real treat to spend a very pleasant Friday evening with them at the Moree Services Club and to wander around to their van for a farewell happy hour on the eve of our departure. Kate and John are Moree regulars. They have been coming here now for three months over winter for the past twelve years. There is very little they don’t know about the park, the town, the locals and the local fishing.









On the evening of this particular social occasion, we had an additional treat....












the setting sun had the sky over Moree on fire in a wonderful blaze of colour.

I did take the opportunity of this extended stay to see to a few necessary maintenance tasks, not the least of which was the replacement of the hot water service sacrificial anode. We had bought the required part in Albury, when I suspected those on sale now are much longer than that required in our unit.

Right again!

Cutting it down to size was the easy bit. Cleaning out the accumulated gunk from the bottom of the tank was a different matter altogether. Yuk....this certainly needed doing.








I cannot leave this tale of the Gwydir park without including this snippet. As you all know I am always on the look-out for oddities, particularly those associated with a sense of humour. For me, at least, the number plates on this rig 











were right on the money.....and the male of the duo didn't look in the slightest bit henpecked!






Now most country towns have a weekend market, which we usually can't resist. But here in Moree, they went one better.....the annual local food and wine frolic....'Moree On A Plate'. We had to see what this was all about. 




The festival, as indeed it proved to be, was held in the ideal grounds of the large local school where we found that, despite our reasonably early arrival, parking was already at a premium.

So it came as no surprise to find a fair (!) crowd already enjoying what was on offer, which included, amongst other things, cooking demonstrations with Marion Grasby, a chef whose success on one or other of those wretched live cooking shows (MKR or Masterchef or whatever....) has led her to bigger and better things. 







This Adelaide born and bred lass is now doing very nicely, and I have to say that from what I could hear as we tarried but briefly, she was accounting for herself very well.






And it was here in Moree that I dared try one of the more tricky functions of our new camera.....a panoramic shot!

Obviously what is gained in width is lost in height, but having pressed and held the shutter button and panned cautiously to the right, I was chuffed with this result, even if it means a presentation which goes outside the blog boundary. There will be more of this......Marshie has a new toy!

As you can see, various stalls were set up around the boundary of the grassed open space of the school grounds, where a few were already taking their ease 










whilst being entertained by the first of several groups scheduled to perform over the course of the day.











'Ilias the Greek' lived up to his national reputation for fun and games and insisted that I take this posed shot for posterity. He was almost, almost that is, lost for words when I thanked him very much in his own language!













All on offer here is purportedly produce of the Moree region. Over just what area that extends I have no idea, but there was oodles to chose from.










We were both quite taken back by the number stalls occupied by local wineries of which Zappa Wines








and Kurrajong Downs were but two. I can't comment on the quality of their product....it was too early for tasting, even for me, and pointless anyway....The Treasurer had spoken sharply to me before we entered this cornucopia of goodies....I was on a very short financial rein!









One stand which did tickle my fancy beyond all others was this relatively innocuous looking stall from which all manner of health foods were being sold. I don't expect you will pick it up in this shot, but the benefits of what they were selling 







were being promoted in the most simple of terms. Now that's unequivocal........I was laughing so much I blurred the photo!











As would be expected in a good old country fair, the local Lions lads were hard at it, ready to satisfy the hunger of those with simple tastes,









whilst another local volunteer service organisation, very close to my heart, was preparing something entirely different. I was keen to understand how it was that the Westpac chopper was so well represented here. I was sure there was no aircraft based in Moree.




This was correct. This group of Moree locals had banded together to raise funds for the service, something I was informed happens in many of the towns of this district. The value of the service is well recognised, and this is one way in which the residents of the town and beyond ensure its continuation. In the course of this chat, the fact that I happened to be wearing one of my Westpac Rescue caps did not go unnoticed, and within no time I had been co-opted to do my bit.



At this stand, two enormous paellas were being prepared for the lunch time trade. These needed constant stirring with large wooden paddles, particularly as the liquid is being added to the rice base. How could I refuse to do my bit for the team in this marvellous outdoor galley?



So on that note of personal involvement, we leave the outstanding festival of Moree On A Plate (I could have happily returned with a bulging wallet and spent the afternoon here, munching and slurping on all things local whilst listening to the various bands, but common sense prevailed)?!

And on that festive note we shall take our leave of Moree. Given that we had visited the town before, and frankly, because I knew just how far behind I was lagging with these tales of derring do, I did not prowl the streets of Moree clicking away.  

That is not to say we didn't undertake many quite long walks about the town and along the banks of the Mehi River which runs through the centre of the CBD, but the camera stayed firmly in its pouch. This was an occasion during which we had concentrated on what our digs had to offer rather than anything else.

Another State border awaits us.....we are off to the home of the 'Goondiwindi Grey' on the morrow.