Tues, 21st May, 2024 Gum Flat Reserve by Gwydir River, Pallamallawa to Primitive Campground, Collarenebri, NSW (exploring)

6.6 degrees at 6am with a clear sky but a nice 19 degrees in our camper by 7am with the heater on!

Back out to the Gwydir Highway and on to Moree. Passed a big grain silo storage place.

Into town to find a battery shop, Mobas Batteries. Great service and a great price too. Steve put the new one in as the engine start battery and transferred that one to the second battery spot and left the old dead one with the chap.

Across the Mehi River to a park and met up with Susan and Ross. Had a wonderful time chatting over a cuppa. Ross wanted to check out the new engine so Susan took some photos that she sent to me.

We chatted so long we had to make lunch and chatted some more. They are heading home to Brisbane then back up to Cairns to see their eldest daughter and family. It was so wonderful to catch up with them both - hopefully we can do it again somewhere. We took the photo in front of a Bottle Tree but you can hardly see it.

As we had stopped here previously we kept on driving. As we headed out of town two big semis came in loaded with cotton. No wonder there is so much on the side of the road, they don’t seal the sides.

Back onto the Gwydir highway as we head to Walgett following the ‘white cotton’ road. Puffy white clouds are coming over too.

Flat open country with fields of cotton and maybe grain - hard to tell and the farmers don’t put up signs!

The road is very bumpy - probably from the trucks and we are in black soil country which doesn’t let itself to good road conditions. We are following the Mehi River according to our Hema - not that we can see it. The Mehi starts at the man-made Tareelarol Weir and travels a very wobbly 160km to run into the Barwon River. There are a few weirs along it too.

A mob of emus are in a lush green paddock. More emus further along in the scrub. Then I spotted one by itself by the side of the road - must have lost it’s mate. I think this is mating time. I even managed to get it in my photo.

Stopped for a cuppa at a rest area. The river is across the paddock from here.

Before Collarenebri we turn off to check out the Collymongle Bora trees. They have been placed here in a fenced area to preserve them after being removed from the Collymongle Station who had removed them from their original positions.

Back to the highway and then across the Mehi River. Not the nicest looking rivers out this way - they are all brown. The river goes south west and meets the Barwon River that is coming down from the north.

Before we reach Collarenebri we turn into the Primitive Campground which is beside the football oval. Not sure what the name means but it is nice, has bays and facilities so not really primitive! Lots of other travellers parked up so we chose a spot and set up.

Here’s a bit of info I read in one of the tourist brochures - An emu can’t walk backwards and they have calf muscles unlike any other bird. We learn something new everyday.

Cooling off quickly though the days are nice, around 22 degrees and with the sun out it is quite warm after lunch so we usually can take out jumpers off!!

Drinks inside then dinner and a movie. Hard life!