We woke again to a rather chilly morning which evolved into a beautiful clear and sunny day with temperatures in the mid-teens.
Not really in too much of a hurry this morning until the heater had done its job, we eventually got going and headed back into Cobar. Ann made a ‘quick’ visit to the quilt shop and we went back to ‘Caffe Forenze’ for a great coffee. Then a short stop at IGA for supplies and we were off down the Barrier Highway.
Couldn’t miss this photo opportunity at Cobar!
This was a generally uneventful drive – the road surface was very good, and there was very little roadkill. We did note some work being done to strengthen water courses under the railway line through floodways, but didn’t encounter any roadworks. Most of the roadside was lined with healthy trees and vegetation although there were patches of canola and a few sheep. As usual, we encountered a couple of oversize loads.
Scenes along the highway
Scenes along the highway
After about 130 kilometres we reached Nyngan in Bogan Shire. We turned off the Barrier Highway onto the Mitchell Highway and crossed the Bogan River where we saw a sign we had never seen before.
Coming into Nyngan over the Bogan River
A quick drive through town revealed some nice heritage buildings, and a metal sculpture of ‘The Big Bogan’, which shows that the Shire has a sense of humour.
Views around Nyngan
The Big Bogan and other views of Nyngan
Bogan Lollyshop and Beancounters House in Nyngan
For lunch we stopped at Nyngan Rotary Park, which was a great spot for a picnic lunch. There are plenty of places to park, there are BBQs and toilets, seats and benches, and plenty of walking paths. As it was on the banks of the river, there were some great views along the river as well.
We had a picnic lunch at Rotary Park
We had a picnic lunch at Rotary Park
Once we had finished lunch it was back on the Mitchell Highway then onto the Barrier Highway for a few hundred metres until we reached the entrance to the Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park.
Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park
The Office/Reception area gives an immediate hint that things might be a bit different here.
There are two caravan/motorhome parking areas – there are about 10 gravel drive-through sites situated amongst a collection of cabins, and a separate large camping area without designated sites. It was a bit like a showgrounds or something similar as there was plenty of space with power and water points situated at almost random locations around the place. Still, somehow it worked out and we found a great site overlooking the river. Plenty of other vans came in after us and they all seemed pretty happy as well.
We had a great chat with our neighbours Bob and Anne, and Anne even took a photo of us.
Ann & Shorty enjoying the river views at Nyngan Tourist Park
After settling in we went for a good walk around the park. There are some very nice cabins here and there is even a camp kitchen with a gas pizza oven.
Cabins and a camp kitchen with a pizza oven
There is also a function area which has an interesting décor.
Interesting function area and decor
The amenities block at ‘our’ end of the caravan park also has a distinctive rustic ‘shearing shed’ décor.
Interesting “Shearing shed” decor at the amenities block
The caravan park also supplies half 44 gallon drums on legs and firewood, so there are several fires around the camping area. It was a little unusual to see one of the campers with a wheel-barrow full of firewood.
Camper with a wheel-barrow of firewood
Back at Bertha we set up the BBQ and Ann cooked up a feast outside. The temperature stayed a bit milder than we experienced the last few days so we even ate our dinner outside as well.
Ann cooking up a storm!
After dinner we packed away the BBQ and chairs and settled down in Bertha (with the heater on) for the evening.
We only travelled about 130 kms today and we are getting quite used to this slower pace.
Still living the dream!
Shorty's RV Adventures 