Goondawindi Qld

That road back from the Ridge to the Collarenabri turnoff was just as bad as it was on the way up, and didn't get a whole lot better for the rest of the day. Collarenabri was the prototype ghost town. Absolutely nothing (there's only 3 shops and a servo) was open. The public toilets were closed permanently due to vandal damage (they should be ashamed of themselves) but fortunately they had a free camp just out of town next to the footy oval where they loos were ok, and showers as well.

I never cease to be amazed by the travellers who pop up in these remote places and just sit next to the van / rig all day, doing nothing. But at least its free, i guess

Anyhow, we streaked into Moree looking for a feed and some fuel. We found neither, and to be honest, coming in from the west and going out to the north we probably bypassed most of it, so we found ourselves heading north on  the Newel highway, looking for a rest stop and hoping we had enough fuel to make it to Goondawindi over the border in Qld.

We found a rest stop ok and just sat out at the tables and ate a sandwich and watched the trucks roar by.

Speaking of fuel and trucks, ours was running low on fuel - it's a damn sight more thirsty than the glossy brochure and sales chat suggests - over 17 l/100km and coupled with a smallish 70 l tank - we heard the truckies chatting about how diesel was 8 c/l cheaper in Boggabri just on the NSW border than it was in Goondawindi. Naturally we stopped and topped.

A funny thing happened trying to find the Big4 in Goondawindi, it kept taking us to a place where there was nothing. Judy spat, saying unflattering things about the Ford SatNav only to find the faithful TomTom took us to exactly the same place. Odd. We called them up and asked for directions, which turned out to be about 1/2 km further up the road. The Big4 at Goondawindi turns out to be a bit of a surprise package: it's just delightful. Apart from anything else, it's got a hot spa and a heated pool, both of which we took advantage of, but they also do a campfire with damper and tea every afternoon. Damper this time was a few kinds of loaf, one with dates, one with mixed fruit and one with garlic and onion. Naturally one had to taste all three, with and without butter and jam.

We've pencilled this place in as a 'come-back-to' on that inevitable next trip.