24 April 2011 - North Star Road Rest Area, NSW

Another glorious day in paradise, as they say. Clear skies and fresh temperatures spelling the beginning to a wonderful day. We were away out of Narrabri by about a quarter past nine, and heading for Moree.

The route was flat and long, having left Narrabri which sits at 240 metres above sea level, and descending to 212 metres to Moree. Moree is about one third larger again than Narrabri, at about 10,000 people and again is the centre of a rural community. Cotton and grain, including durum wheat, some for pasta manufacture, and canola, sunflower and safflower seeds for oil extraction are the main crops, along with the largest pecan orchard in the southern hemisphere. We were keen to investigate the possibility of a tour of either the latter or of the cotton industry, however this was not to be. Moree was shut and deserted but for the tourists passing through who were confronted with the same, and the workers in MacDonalds.

We stayed long enough to walk about the wide pleasant streets of the town and through the riverside parks which are expansive and numerous, parked to have lunch in one and then came on north.

This is not the first time we have been stymied by Easter or rather the inconvenience of a very long and strictly observed closed-shop-and-business holiday. You would think we would learn. While our preference is to seek work in Queensland rather than New South Wales, we were keen to learn of opportunities here, before crossing the border. We also will be faced with the matter of which direction to head once we reach Goondiwindi tomorrow, just forty or so kilometres north of where we have stopped for the night. Goondiwindi will, like Moree, still be closed for business tomorrow, it being the double whammy of Easter Monday and ANZAC day, and again the following day. Maybe we should stay in the scrub here for a couple of days until life recommences?

On a positive note however, Chris, who has been lamenting the performance of our landcruiser when it comes to towing our home-on-wheels, has been delighted how well it has performed on the flatter roads we have enjoyed since about Wellington (the rain drenched place I probably dissed unfairly). We have been getting roughly 5 kilometres per litre as opposed to the 4 kilometres per litre previously) he also acknowledges that this vehicle handles the dirt / gravel roads better than any other vehicle he has ever driven.

And also on this positive note, he spotted a lone emu on the roadside today, in time for me to see it too, as we sped past.