The first stop this morning was a check of the Darling river from the old dock. From way up above we looked down at a fuller river than we have seen so far. A wide expanse of very milky coffee flowed along happily in the warm morning air beneath a cloudless pale sky.
The local ambos joined us ( with some real coffee) to check out the rising river levels, and then the local cops.
A short way out of town we passed Dry Bogan Rd!!
Another 20 or so km along and we hit a patch which must have had lots of rain. Lush green roadside growth and green feed as far as the eye could see was a delight.
As we came within about 120km of Lightning Ridge on the back road through Narram Lake nature reserve we came across two different vehicles within about one km, parked on the side of the road and with the driver out and examining the road surface. One had a small prospectors hammer. We figure they were fossicking along the road, hoping to find some colour after the recent rains.
We stopped in at Cumborah for lunch just before 1 pm by the dirt oval.
I used the composting toilet ( maintained by volunteers) and picked a mud map out of the plastic tub offering them to read the local tourist info.
Apparently there is a major weed problem with Hudson Pear near here. Looks terrible. We saw some flourishing a bit later and also some which appeared to have been poisoned.
We ate our lunch under the shelter, looking out at the “campground” -patches of flat dirt between sparse scattered trees, and listened to the mournful cries of a peacock????
Then we headed on our way towards Lightning Ridge itself. The town information service was friendly. We stocked up on milk and followed the various mapped “ car door” self drive tours to see the sights. Lots of piles of dirt and accommodation that looked very uncomfortable.
Not far out of town there was a toilet by the side of the road with this ingenious invention for lighting the toilet at night. Shine car lights on to the lower metal plate. The light reflects up to the plate on the top of the pole, which then reflects it on to the polycarbonate roofing of the composting toilet, thus giving some light inside.
We took the extra long way on as we tried to take the back road through to Collarenebri, but came to a closed road due to water on the road, so had to retrace and take the highway.
Once we got to Collarenebri we decided to investigate the “Primitive campsite” and to our delight found a flattish spot beside the flowing Barwon river, so decided to stop for the night in this ideal position.
We made use of the campground toilets and decent showers so hit our swags in clean condition
There are still lots of flies about and it is warm, but not as bad as last night, so hopefully the flies will eventually quit bugging us and the cockies will shut up too and let us get a bit of a sleep.
Below are a few different road views from across the day.
Luvapuzzle 