Sunday, June 6, 2010

Day 6 - Bollon to Moree

The campsite in Bollon was such a treat we decided that we shouldn't leave too early.

We had a few things we wanted to do - cleaning of some gear, repacking the back of the 4WD, sorting out the fridge all sprung to mind.

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Does camping get any better

Once we had had breakfast and had a tidy up we packed up our campsite and set off for Moree...
The plan was to travel across to St George, have a break there, head for a border crossing into NSW at Mungindi which would see us about 120km or so from the next stop.  The plan was to overnight in Moree before heading to stay with family near Grafton the following day.  We picked Moree mainly because on another adventure we stayed in town and spent some time soaking in the thermal pools.  It sounded pretty appealing.

After another go in the free showers in Bollon we were on the road again.  About an hour or so later we came into St George.  With about 2500 residents St George had recently been flooded.  We stopped and had a quick look around.  While some of the damage had been repaired there was still evidence that there was more work to be done.

Flood damage and debris at a playground in St George

I wandered past the debris on the riverbank park to the vantage point on the Balonne River where there is a sign explaining how the town got it's name...

The story of how St George got it's name

Then was the uniquely Australian sight; a road train rumbling through town.

Road train in St George

And for those who were wondering Major Thomas Mitchell, aside from being a famous explorer, is the fellow who has the famous cockatoo named for him, along with the Mitchell Highway as is a town and even an electorate! 

After a very enjoyable break we set out for Mungindi.  Again we were on the road for an hour or so when we reached town in time for lunch.     Mungindi is interesting, if only for the fact that it is the only border town in the Southern Hemisphere that has the same name on both sides of the border!  The do a pretty good pie and a fair cup of coffee in the cafe on the NSW side of the border.

Back on the road we drove through cotton fields and rainstorms to Moree, arriving in the mid afternoon.  We settled into a cabin at the caravan park in town.  We wanted to keep the tent dry.  And spend some quality time in the thermal pools before the drop down to Grafton the next day.

2 comments:

  1. Hi there! It's great to read your take on places we've visited, and new ones! We too enjoyed the thermal pools at Moree several years ago, and it also rained quite heavily while we were there!! Amazing how often that happens when visiting dry places! Enjoy your day!!

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  2. Hey Red. It was our second visit to the pools at Moree a couple of years ago. It was a stinking hot day and we enjoyed the hot water from some reason!

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