21 April 2011 - Narrabri Showgrounds, NSW

We woke this morning unscathed by either ants or any other invaders. The sun was shining, filtered through the gums close around us. We found in fact that we had not been alone during the night; another caravan touring party had installed themselves closer to the road, and a big truck even closer again. The party who had driven down past us in the night emerged from the bush behind us, in a smart ute, looking quite harmless. We decided that we would be quite happy to stay here again, but would probably bury ourselves even deeper in the bush, as the ute occupant obviously had.

The route north, a mere twenty five kilometres, continued across the flat plains through the Pillaga Scrub. As over the past few days, we have seen only dead kangaroos and discarded rubber tyres on the road side rather than live wildlife. As we entered Narrabri, we were pulled over by Police in to a road check. Chris was asked to count to ten over the breathalyser; we were truly the most unlikely offenders, especially at nine o’clock in the morning. Apparently however, they do find some who are still under the influence from the night before!

Chris had been struggling with the electric plug connection from the cruiser to the caravan over the past few weeks, and yesterday when it finally broke, decided it was in urgent need of repair. So our first stop in Narrabri was the Information Centre to inquire after a caravan repair person. The girl there was willing to assist but found that there was no such specialist in town, but gave us the name of the one auto electrician in town, a business we had passed as we came in, Busy Bee Auto Electrics. We topped up with water from the official place behind the Centre, then returned to the outskirts of town to consult with the Busy Bees. Tim was in the middle of his meat pie but said that if we were happy to wait, he could definitely change the plug. That done with no delay, Chris asked him to check that the battery system was charging correctly. And that threw the cat among the pigeons. It turns out that Chris’s concerns over the past few weeks have been well justified. The isolator between the two vehicle batteries was faulty. This meant that the only time the vehicle’s auxiliary battery was being charged was when we were plugged in to mains power or on solar, and then it was sucking power back through to the vehicle and thus the house batteries were being short changed. Given this total stuffed system, it is a miracle that we have been able to function on battery power for the several days without being on mains power.

Tim checked the price on a new isolator, however the exercise was academic; the matter needed to be remedied. And so it was efficiently and effectively. While I am sure the Busy Bees were happy to have the injection of funds from outside town, the extra work on this, the last day before an extended Easter holiday was not so welcome and put him under pressure.

Over lunch we tossed up options of further travel and the days ahead, finally deciding to book in to the show grounds for a couple of days. We had had time to read through the excellent tourist booklet put out by the powers that be in this town, and decided that there was enough to keep us busy here for at least a couple of days.

As we set off for our next camp, we discovered that the speedometer was once more not functioning. You may recall that we had had this problem in Maroochydore before we left our official Australian home in Buderim.  The mileage of the two kilometres from the auto electrician had recorded, so we knew that the electrical fix had not triggered the problem; it was simply a co-incidence. Now even later in the day, Thursday, pre-Easter, we realised that there was no point to try and have this dealt with until after the holiday. Such repair would fall under the warranty, but required the insurance company’s blessing before any work was undertaken.

After setting up, we set off westward to visit the Paul Wild Obrvatory, the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Australia Telescope array just twenty five kilometres away. The six  22 meter wide dish antennas, five of which are on a three kilometre long rail track, and the sixth fixed about five kilometres further west, are truly a sight to behold. There are interpretative panels and a room filled with information and exhibits, most of which were far too complicated for a mind as simple as mine. I did however pick up and process enough to appreciate the amazing set up which together with one antenna on the rim of the Warrumbungle caldera at Spring Siding, and another further south at Parkes (west of Orange) is able to collect radio waves from outer space with great accuracy and so reveal so many of the secrets of the universe.

Yarrie Lake

From there, we travelled a further nine kilometres to Yarrie Lake, an unexplained wonder of natural variety, a three kilometre saucer shaped expanse of water on the very edge of the Pilliga Scrub. It is thought to have been formed by a falling meteor many thousands of years ago. If that is so, Narrabri must have truly rocked! The lake is lined with shady gums and shelters and barbeques for picnicking visitors. There is a camp further around which will be very full by tonight. It is a popular place for water skiers and jet skiers . One tiny corner is set aside for swimming so it is evident that the boating public have the upper hand. However the rules set out on a large notice board are so prescriptive (no more than ten craft on the lake at one time, clockwise travel only, licensed drivers of craft only, and on and on and on), one would wonder why bother.

Our showground camp

Another lovely sunset

From there we returned to camp, I did a pile of hand washing, and we prepared for evening which arrives earlier each day. As I wandered over to the ablutions after doing the dishes, just after six o’clock, the sunset was just amazingly beautiful. The birds were already settling down and a couple of horses were being driven at a gallop around the track, pulling sulkies and peering through the darkening evening.