0 (probably much
lower) - 24 deg C
Drive: 415km; Total towed: 8427km
The
beginning of week 10 on the road. The temperature app didn't really prepare us
for what seemed to be a lot colder. So up we got and went for a quick walk
(quick in two ways - short in km, and quick to get warm) uptown and back. On
our return to the van we saw that it really was cold - a stalagmite and
stalactite forming from the leak on the water inlet hose on the van that
reversed into us last night (see photo).
We left Coonabarabran just before 9am and stopped at the same spot on the Narrabri Creek (from the Namoi River) we stopped at a few years ago. Greg was keen to be on the road again, so we took our brews to go. We stopped again at Moree for fuel and then Mungindi for lunch. This was at a fantastic free camp which had toilets and showers and a playground for the kiddies. There were a fair few patrons and a few lunch-timers as well.
It was then only 40 odd km to Thallon which we had heard of on the TV - the pub has just been bought by a conglomerate of ex-Thallon'ites who were distressed about the plight of their town. Whilst we didn't stay here overnight, we did visit the Silo Mural which was very nice. We also saw the Wombat statue - a tribute to the Northern Hairy-Nosed Wombat which is allegedly making a comeback. He is quite cute. On one side he has been adorned with climbing pegs for the kids to be able to climb up onto his back.
Our final stop for the day - Nindigully Pub – was another 33km away. We had heard such great stories about this place and the pub and its food that we thought we should come and give it a go. As with all free-camps, there are those that are very selfish and will do anything to deter you from parking next to them. Never mind, we found a good spot under a largely leafless gum and made it our home. We were both really looking forward to having a decent feed and had been starving ourselves! Because we were so hungry, we decided to go over about 5:15pm, have a pre-dinner drink and then order dinner. No real wine to speak of, so we had a beer each and then ordered our dinner at 5:35pm (can only order after 5:30pm). We both ordered the 400g rump (all their steaks are 400g), cooked medium/rare, one with vege, the other with salad. We were second in the queue and after 40 minutes and others receiving their meals before us, Greg went to find out what was happening. He heard the 'chef' talking to a mate that he had recently applied for a position at KFC which should have rung immediate alarm bells. When we did eventually receive our meals, the steaks were rather large, in fact plate-size. However, they almost minute-steak thickness and therefore incapable of being cooked to order. Subsequently, both were cooked to the consistency of biltong (beef jerkey). We were both so hungry by this stage that we had half and then decided that was enough. The chips and salad/vege were really good though. Wendy complained to the 'chef' who immediately offered to cook another couple, but we had had enough by this stage and politely declined. So, not a great end to what was otherwise a good day.
Our meals, looks can be very deceiving
