ON THE ROAD AGAIN - ADELAIDE TO BALRANALD (27 APRIL 2013)

At last!  We are away.  Mind you, it was of some surprise that we had to initiate 'Plan B' on day one of the next few years of our lives.  But more of that shortly.

Our little maisonette at Glengowrie had served us well for the past six months, and even allowed us to entertain our new neighbours for Xmas drinks,

but it was definitely time to be on the move again.

As we did last year, we moved the van to West Beach where I took up a bachelor existence pottering about with all the requirements for our life on the road while Liz continued her sterling work packing all our remaining belongings prior to storage.  Notwithstanding the fact that we had sold much of what we owned, we still managed to fill a 3.5 x 4.0 metre storage shed where hopefully all will remain intact until we take up a non-moving residence again.

Notwithstanding Liz's strategically placed 'countdown' posters, I still managed to get myself well behind schedule.  My response to her chiding was, "well, I work better under pressure."  A lame excuse, and indeed excuse it was.  But at least this time I had not left packing all my clothes until the day the removalist was parking in the driveway!

 

With the ship's cat safely stowed after a week 'in gaol' (pets are not allowed at West Beach) and rellies and friends farwelled, the morning of our departure dawned bright and sunny.  A leisurely doddle of 250 kms to Lameroo, where we planned to spend our first night at the delightful town park in that Murray Mallee town, relax, and let the pressures of the past month or so fade into the background was the order of the day...'Plan A'.

 

Enter 'Plan B'.  The park was full!  Bugger.  Decision time.  Pinnaroo is not to much further.  Off we went to the atmospheric accompaniment of rising paddock dust being whipped up by a strengthening, hot northerly wind only to discover that our vague recollection of the Pinnaroo park more than matched its 1.5 star rating.  "We're not staying here!"

 

Time to bite the bullet.  A quick phone call to confirm that they could take us in a night earlier than expected, and we put our heads down and ploughed on the 550kms or so to Balranald.  Not quite the easy, first day drive of 'Plan A', but well worth it.

 

For our first night on the road, we could not have asked for more in a park.  A huge, grassy drive-through site

in a delightfully maintained park on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River

 

 

 

and a day up our sleeve to have a wander around Balranald (we had driven through here innumerable times before but never stopped other than for fuel and a bite) and just sit about, hopefully in the sun.

  

And that's exactly what we did.  Our 'galah alarm clock' did sound a touch earlier than we would have liked, but the delight of actually being on the road again saw us both unusually forgiving of the cacophony.

Whilst Balranald does not boast the history and architecture of many of Australia's inland towns, we were more than interested to learn in our walk along the river park that it had been a bustling river port of some significance in the days of the paddle steamers and barges.  Sadly the apparently large dock infrastructure has all been demolished.

 

One relic of that era does still remain, however.  And it is to be found as a rather spectacular the gateway to the caravan park. 

 

 

 

This is the lifting gantry of the first road bridge over the Murrumbidgee at Balranald.  It is typical of many to be found on inland rivers...we had previously seen similar over the Darling River in Bourke.

 

What Balranald may lack in notable architecture, it makes up for in whimsy.  Homage to the local frog population abounds......and they are busy little chaps.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

doing the shopping,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and welcoming visitors to the town,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and when it all gets too much, the river bank provides just the spot for a bit of R&R.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As indeed it did for us after a hectic day of our own R&R.  The lovely park rotunda is well served by  the nearby camp fire which is lit each afternoon during the colder months and is just the place to meet other campers and watch the sun set.  One local worthy had also taken advantage of the coals and was roasting spuds.  Larceny was on my mind for more that a fleeting minute!

 

 

And for those of you who may be concerned as to the manner in which the Black Panther (so named by the Winton entertainers almost a year ago) settled back into life on the road, no words of mine could paint a better picture.  He is such a sook!

 

 

By the time we left Balranald, Adelaide and the static life of suburbia was fast fading in our joint psyche.......on to West Wyalong (well, Rankin Springs actually....but that's another story).