And so it came to pass that we did indeed move from the banks of one well know Australian river to those of another. The River View Caravan Park in Condobolin (the third 'o' is silent....I am forever trying to misspell the name of this town) is well named as you will soon see.
On arrival we skirted around the central section of the town and found our way to the Lachlan River bridge crossing,
beyond which an avenue of brutally pruned pepper corn trees, with the town oval in the background,
soon brought us to the the sign we had been seeking
and the long entrance roadway into the caravan park.
We had already discovered that this park is not only home to grey nomads, knights of the road and other assorted travellers, it also hosts an annual dog show, to which those aspiring to elevate their pampered pooches to the level of Australian Champion (and thereafter charge a motza for any progeny) flock in significant numbers. And I mean significant numbers....the park actually advertises on its website that during this period, which lasts for a couple of weeks, any aspiring transient will be very lucky to find a resting place.
We have long since learnt the value of good pre-planning intelligence and had timed our arrival to coincide with the completion of this canine caper, although there were still one or two late leavers in situ, including our immediate neighbour as it turned out.
The entrance road to the park is well landscaped (the photos I am presenting here have obviously been taken at different times...bear with it)
and along a large section of its northern side, the well grassed area is fenced off into various showing compounds. The fact that these are permanent fixtures gives some idea of the degree to which this dog show features on the annual park activities agenda.
We toddled on past the dog arena to the office at the end of the entrance road where our most obliging hostess told us that things were now very quiet and to pick whatever site we would like.
We did just that, settling eventually on a drive-thru site which was not directly under any of the many large gums which are a feature of this park.
Once this decision had been taken, it was off down the sealed roadway, past the ablution block and the nearby camp kitchen on one side,
and the park BBQ shed on the other, to our chosen slot not too distant from one of the few remaining 'dog couples' (who proved to be a mine of information....sought after or not!)
With a wall of trees to one side, and the facilities of the camp kitchen and the heads clearly close by, we were set. Gusting winds had been forecast for the period of our stay which is why I was keen to be clear of overhanging eucalyptus branches (notorious for falling unexpectedly on the unwary) and our awning was left securely stowed.
Once settled, a tour of our new home in the later afternoon sunlight was in order. As I mentioned earlier, this is a park of open spaces, large trees, generally good grass, and at the time of our stay, very few neighbours.
All the park roadways are sealed and kerbed, something we always appreciate in that this means even the odd inescapable park hoon cannot douse us with dust.
As you saw earlier, the well found camp ablutions were within a few short metres from our site as was the extraordinary camp kitchen with its nearby outside fire pit. I'll come back to this shortly.
Just beyond the kitchen building, the dog showing areas provided lovely open vistas to the main road beyond.
The roadway on the other side of the park took us to the banks of the Lachlan River which formed the boundary on this side of the park.
Here the muddy waters of the river were flowing peacefully between us and the grassed back yards of the home owners opposite
and as we wandered along past the park camping areas towards its far end,
it soon became obvious that the river was home to more than just those of us who chose to camp nearby. The geese of this gregarious gaggle were our constant companions throughout our stay.
And these were not the only feathered or furry friends to be found at the River View. One of the staff is the proud owner of a beautiful bird, so tame it will pose like this until it decides it is time to re-assume its normal position on the boss's shoulder.
And then there was the other park pet, this one unmistakably Australian and equally tame. This roo had been rescued from the scene of a vehicle accident as a joey and now lives the life of Reilly in the care of Alley, the other park manager.
But back to our park tour. At the opposite end of the park to our patch, rows of cabins provide accommodation for those not towing their homes behind them
but even in this area there is no sense of crowding, with the large trees, which are a feature of this park, continuing to dominate the landscape.
Seasonal workers arrive in Condobolin at various times of the year (that would make them seasonal I guess), and this park caters well for their accommodation needs with these banks of single dongas, all well protected from sun and rain by their huge overhead roofs.
But no matter what else is to be found here at the River View park, it is the camp kitchen which stands out. "What's this?", we thought as we first poked our noses through the portals. The pool table did not present a real surprise, but the same could not be said for the discovery of a permanently set up stage area, complete with microphone and sound system. We were soon to learn what this was all about.
The other end of the CK was what we would have normally expected to find, communal fridges, microwave oven, cook tops and so on.
And the facilities here also included a good BBQ plate, of which I took full advantage on our first night in. Good old 'bangers and mash'......a staple of life for those on the road!
On this particular evening we had the place virtually to ourselves. As I said earlier, the park was all but empty, but on the following day a group of six arrived in three vans, and on our return from a gallop around the town we heard the unmistakable sound of country music blasting out from party central.....and it sounded pretty damn good.
This demanded an urgent investigation. What we discovered was that Darcy Gage, the joint park manager with his partner Alley, is a man of significant talent. He has performed at various country music festivals throughout the country, has produced a number of CD's and was more than happy to hone his skills in the camp kitchen of the River View Caravan Park, Condobolin. Needless to say, we settled in immediately,
to soon be joined by just about all others who were currently in residence.
This immediately became the party which kept giving. One of the recent arrivals was no slouch himself when it came to plucking a guitar string or two and belting out a tune. It was on!
Mine host had heard me wailing away in the background to the various renditions and before I knew it I had been dragged to my feet for a solo or two. The electronic backing system was so good that it was like singing with a serious band.
And herself was not to be outdone! It could well be said that this rendition was testament to the fact that this was a seriously laid back evening. Actually Lizzie has a very good voice....it just normally needs significant pre-performance lubrication!
I later joined her for a rousing rendition of Khe Sanh which would have made Jimmy proud. We bashed on here in varying combinations of voice and instrument for nearly two hours before our ever gracious hosts provided us with a camp sausage sizzle as a reward for participation (a carefully chosen word!)
What an evening this had been. We may have been small in numbers but we 'party punched' well above our collective weight. We shall remember Condobolin for several things, but none more than party night at the River View!
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