Woke up this morning with a very clear understanding of why they are called Truck Parking bays.. next time we will be choosing one that is a:) not on a major highway if possible, and b:) only big enough for one truck. I had always assumed that a truckie only stopped at these places when busting for the amenities, not to park with the engine idling for 30 minutes at a time, and certainly not continuously through the night. So yes, it was a very interrupted sleep, but - it was free, it was warm and it was safe.
It started drizzling late at night and cleared up enough for us to pack up in the dry, before starting again a couple of hours later. we must have had a tail wind, because we actually motored on at a good speed today. After circling the roundabout 3 times to try and get the mandatory "Welcome to Queensland" tourist photo in Goondiwindi, we sped off before stopping at Condamine for a rest and 5 minutes on the local playground. We found a flood marker as per the picture below that is pretty scary - the kids are stand at the top of the river bank by the playground, and as can be seen in the photo, the flood levels in 2011 were another few metres above their heads!. this place looks like it would have been completely under water. Not long after we arrived at Miles for lunch and a bit of a history lesson at the Historical Village. This was a fascinating place where the kids were given a "Treasure Hunt" list with questions about each building, that made us actually read the info at each place. Found a couple of the old phones that i used to have and are probably worth hundreds now that I dont have them any more!. The rain started coming down a fair bit heavier while we were there, and began to put doubts in our plan to stay at Judds Lagoon in Yuleba.... this is a true bush camp in the National Park that we were thinking was going to be very muddy, wet and boggy...... and i only had a vague idea of how to even find the place..... however we did it, and got here just before 4pm and set up in what was a relatively dry area amongst the trees and about 15 other campers...... then the drizzle started again..... and kept drizzling..... then got heavier... We managed to get everythng setup and found some firewood for tomorrow, before settling inside the van for the night. Once again, my Masterchef Tracy whipped up a storm in the kitchen, and served up some Tandoori spiced chicken portions with a luscious green garden salad, along with some rolled beef cuts ( ok... sausages) for the kids. Yummmo.
The rain stopped shortly after around 7:30 and venturing outside I found out why nobody else had set up here..... seems to be the meeting spot for all the low points of the ground which resulted in us having our own little lagoon forming under the matting outsid the van.... oh well, that is now tomorrows problem
Travelled 350km today in 8 hours.... but with some long stops and more learning for the kids - thats what it is all about.
Staying here till probably Monday when we will definitely need a shower..
(That is Dylans attempt at smiling by the way)... The 2011 mark is at about 15.5 metres - The creek currently has less than a metre in it.
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