Travelling through inland Australia: Days 5 and 6 Bourke to Charleville and Charleville

Welcome to Charleville

Bailey Bar Caravan Park

Good place for a picnic except for the very noisy
and hungry geese!

Main street Charleville.
Wide enough to turn a 22 bullock team and wagon (before
the put in the median strip)

RFDS Visitor Centre

Vortex Guns (Sorry about the orientation, I can't straighten
up

Sorry about the absence of a blog yesterday. I had it almost finished when a pressed a wrong button and the whole thing vanished. I was too tired to start again. I have learned my lesson and, in future, will save as I go. Apologies also for placing the photos above the text. I have yet to learn how to move them.

Yesterday was a long day, 450 kms in total, but was a day of very easy driving. No traffic, road good to very good and weather fine.

We are now in red kangaroo country if the casualties on the road are any indication. We have also been seeing a lot of emus.

We really were in big sky country between Bourke and Cunnanulla with the paddocks stretching away into the distance on either side of the road. Towards Charleville it back typical savannah country (a mix of grassland and trees not too closely spaced together). About 50 kms out of Charleville we were in thick Mulga scrub.

We stopped at Cullamulla for a coffee but all the shops were closed (Sunday) and the centre of town was deserted. So we pushed on to Wyandra and had a devonshire coffee at the general store.

Despite the stops we made good time and were set up in the Bailey Bar caravan park by 3.00 pm. It is a small and friendly Top Tourist park. It has a few slab sites but is mostly grass and is well shaded. It is a very popular park and at this time of the year can be booked out by mid-afternoon. So book ahead. There is some kind of meal and entertainment put on by the park management most nights of the week. However,booking is essential.

We had a good look around Charleville today and had a very welcome and very good coffee. It is a town of very wide streets set out on a grid which makes it very easy to find your way around. There are quite a few things to do ranging in price from zero to about $30. I had a look at the RFDS visitor centre. Quite small but very interesting. I also had a look at the Vortex Gun. If you want to know more about this, Google Vortex Gun Charleville.

Off to Blackall tomorrow so until then, see you later.