Let me begin this post with an apology, a disclaimer and an explanation.
I have just noticed that a pharmacy advertisement has appeared at the bottom of my offering about the Warrego River Caravan Park. I have set up my blog so as to exclude comment, particularly those soliciting business. How this appeared is beyond me, and I ask that you ignore it completely. Not happy, Jan!
I have just noticed that a pharmacy advertisement has appeared at the bottom of my offering about the Warrego River Caravan Park. I have set up my blog so as to exclude comment, particularly those soliciting business. How this appeared is beyond me, and I ask that you ignore it completely. Not happy, Jan!
And the explanation.......the reason for another delay in the blog production line.
Although we still remain happily resident at Kurrimine Beach, things have been a touch hectic over the past week. My son Cameron ventured north from chilly Adelaide to join us here in the park and seek some sunny solace. So in addition to two trips to and from Cairns airport, the Cruiser has been in overdrive for the past seven days taking No.1 son and heir hither and yon all up and down the Cassowary Coast (and, yes, I even managed to find him a promised big bird at Etty Bay!). Needless to say, time at the key board went by the board, but normality has resumed on site 12 and hopefully I can spend many uninterrupted mornings hard at it.
So, now back to matters at hand, namely the Explorers Caravan Park at Thargomindah.
I must say at the outset that we were more than impressed with our digs. There are in fact two parks in town. From all we could discover beforehand, the Explorers seemed the better option. Well, as we soon found out, it is now the only option.....the other park, although still occupied by a few permanents, is 'formally' closed.
Before beginning a quick tour around our new home away from home, for those who may be wondering how the Black Panther is faring (particularly after the scare we had with him earlier in the year) here he is in the position he usually adopts as we are setting up on arrival. Max learnt long ago that during this period of activity it is best to keep right out of the way and to just sit back and watch the show!
As I mentioned in my previous, the grounds of the Explorers Caravan Park, Thargomindah, are a work in progress. Ground works, new building construction and the development of garden beds is going on all over the place.
As we were soon to discover, cement walking paths such as this one leading out of the park to the nearby Bulloo River (we'll take this stroll later), are to be found throughout Thargomindah.
This park includes a huge unpowered area separated from the powered sites by a low hill on which the camp facilities buildings can be found along with newly planted lawn.
We were a little surprised at first to see just how much of the park has been set aside for unpowered camping, but then the penny dropped.
This map, courtesy of 'aussie outback tours', goes a long way to providing the answer. As you can see, 'Thargo' (as this place is known by the locals) is the last town of substance before those heading further west leave the bitumen and head out onto the gravel roads and tracks of the 'real outback'.
This is very much 'off-road' rig territory.....the area crawls with sturdy off road vans, camper trailers, roof top campers and the like, all of which are invariably set up for bush camping with no frills. So the set-up of the park here is a sensible reflection of this reality.
Despite the somewhat barren expanses of the open grounds of the park, raised garden beds are home to various plantings to provide colour and greenery (and a few reminders of the days of yore).
Many, such as these around the fire pit at the edge of the camping area, are still very much under development,
and whilst the lawns which have been planted across the slopes which separate the two sections of the park are far more advanced, they too are still a work in progress.
Sensibly sealed roadways throughout the van section of the park
and gravel site surfaces do much to keep dust to a minimum (and this is certainly dusty country!). Where there are no trees, hardy shrubs have been planted to eventually provide both shade and privacy.
The majority of the sites are convenient drive-thru's, but a few reverse in sites line the lawn edge of 'amenities hill'
where, as this shot shows, the ablution block, with its well presented and very functional facilities, was but a hop, step and jump from our place of residence.
Apart from the toilet, shower and laundry block, this group of almost brand new buildings
includes the very smartly designed camp kitchen.
Here the spacious interior,
with all the necessary 'mod cons', is yet another reflection of the thought which has gone into the redevelopment of this park, i.e. cater for the campers! One touch which really impressed me was the door treatment, where hanging insect screens had replaced solid doors. This very effectively allowed for good circulation of any cooling breezes to the exclusion of the pesky bush flies by day and the mozzies by night, both a constant during much of the year in this part of the country.
For those wishing to sizzle a sausage or succulent steak, this outdoor BBQ area right next to the camp kitchen with its surrounding good lawns, is just the spot.
The Explorers Caravan Park here in Thargomindah was, for us, a very pleasant surprise, and is a real credit to the foresight and enterprise of the local authorities who are paying much more than lip service to their drive to attract more tourists to this area.
I must say at the outset that we were more than impressed with our digs. There are in fact two parks in town. From all we could discover beforehand, the Explorers seemed the better option. Well, as we soon found out, it is now the only option.....the other park, although still occupied by a few permanents, is 'formally' closed.
As I mentioned in my previous, the grounds of the Explorers Caravan Park, Thargomindah, are a work in progress. Ground works, new building construction and the development of garden beds is going on all over the place.
As we were soon to discover, cement walking paths such as this one leading out of the park to the nearby Bulloo River (we'll take this stroll later), are to be found throughout Thargomindah.
This park includes a huge unpowered area separated from the powered sites by a low hill on which the camp facilities buildings can be found along with newly planted lawn.
We were a little surprised at first to see just how much of the park has been set aside for unpowered camping, but then the penny dropped.
This map, courtesy of 'aussie outback tours', goes a long way to providing the answer. As you can see, 'Thargo' (as this place is known by the locals) is the last town of substance before those heading further west leave the bitumen and head out onto the gravel roads and tracks of the 'real outback'.
This is very much 'off-road' rig territory.....the area crawls with sturdy off road vans, camper trailers, roof top campers and the like, all of which are invariably set up for bush camping with no frills. So the set-up of the park here is a sensible reflection of this reality.
Despite the somewhat barren expanses of the open grounds of the park, raised garden beds are home to various plantings to provide colour and greenery (and a few reminders of the days of yore).
Many, such as these around the fire pit at the edge of the camping area, are still very much under development,
and whilst the lawns which have been planted across the slopes which separate the two sections of the park are far more advanced, they too are still a work in progress.
Sensibly sealed roadways throughout the van section of the park
and gravel site surfaces do much to keep dust to a minimum (and this is certainly dusty country!). Where there are no trees, hardy shrubs have been planted to eventually provide both shade and privacy.
The majority of the sites are convenient drive-thru's, but a few reverse in sites line the lawn edge of 'amenities hill'
where, as this shot shows, the ablution block, with its well presented and very functional facilities, was but a hop, step and jump from our place of residence.
Apart from the toilet, shower and laundry block, this group of almost brand new buildings
includes the very smartly designed camp kitchen.
Here the spacious interior,
with all the necessary 'mod cons', is yet another reflection of the thought which has gone into the redevelopment of this park, i.e. cater for the campers! One touch which really impressed me was the door treatment, where hanging insect screens had replaced solid doors. This very effectively allowed for good circulation of any cooling breezes to the exclusion of the pesky bush flies by day and the mozzies by night, both a constant during much of the year in this part of the country.
For those wishing to sizzle a sausage or succulent steak, this outdoor BBQ area right next to the camp kitchen with its surrounding good lawns, is just the spot.
The Explorers Caravan Park here in Thargomindah was, for us, a very pleasant surprise, and is a real credit to the foresight and enterprise of the local authorities who are paying much more than lip service to their drive to attract more tourists to this area.
No comments:
Post a Comment