Coonamble to Walgett

Coonamble to Walgett

Our caravan park may be a “cash only” venue but its amenities block is the best the occupiers of the former miscreant van have so far encountered – fresh – new – spotless. On the other hand, the park itself suffers from a preponderance of generic vans that have found employment in old age as low cost dwellings for long term residents. As dusk approaches these geriatric vans are joined by a few sleek and shiny mobile luxury apartments whose aging masters left their Dubbo departure too late to make it to Lightning Ridge and were forced to “make do” with a stopover in this “cash only” venue – they sit in temporary surrounds with their tow balls stuck just that little bit up in the air.

We wander into Coonamble – we intend to eat out tonight – according to the brochures at the caravan park the choices are few and far between. What can you say about the town? – small? – yes and no – about the size of Rutherglen – does it think it is small? – yes – Only a business person who thought that he was a resident of a small town would consider it an extravagance to include their address on their publicity material – The owner of the local Chinese restaurant is such a business person -  we search the streets and quickly find the fine establishment – he was right! -  a printed address would have been at best a waste of space and at worst an gross extravagance!.

The town? – small? – yes! – pleasant? – absolutely! – neat – tidy – adequate shopping centre – the usual sporting fields found in towns of this size – a golf club – a Jockey Club. After thorough examination and trialing we can attest that the town also has an excellent Chinese eating establishment  

A mild night – the wind direction has changed – “it’s coming from the east says Tom! – we arise – Tom faces the day with enthusiasm and is away well before 8:00am – the sun is out – the morning temperatures mild.

The cats-heads, that turned yesterday from a delight into something slightly less delightful, weigh heavily on Tom’s mind - so heavily that he will not risk his bike tyres even on the asphalt road out of the caravan park – the bike is carried as a mother would carry a baby – on to the highway and off towards Walgett.

He joins the Castlereagh Highway – head into town – sees the sign - thinks about the glory of the Warrenbungles - continue into town - pass the shopping centre – out of town – Walgett 113 kilometres.

The road? – wide – the surface? – gravelly bitumen of variable quality with the worst of the road under heavy rejuvenation - the verges? – sometimes wide – sometimes non-existent – the traffic? – very light with seemingly equal numbers of mobile town houses and huge trucks – the terrain – flat – flat – flat – flat – The wind? – persistent – persistent – persistent - into Tom’s face - bloody persistent! - The landscape? – open plains covered in low grasses and clumps that resemble the spinifex of central Australia – copses of tree species that resemble the Desert Oaks of the same location.

The immediate roadside? – missing are the rubbish deposits that many previous travellers had spoken off – present were the amazing carpets of cats-heads – cat-heads everywhere – everywhere and then some more – every seed-head ripe and ready to hitch a ride on any flexible material that passes by – a vehicle deviates off the road – the cat-heads catch a ride – the van returns to the bitumen – the cat-heads are deposited ready to hitch their next ride.

Tom pushes on into the wind - There have been better days! – of course there have! – Have there have been worst days! – well maybe – maybe not! – onwards past roadworks

Onwards towards the agreed rest stop

Oh no – not again – this time a slow leak in the rear tyre – inspect – nothing obvious – pull out a CO2 canister – inflation returned – push on into the relentless wind to the lunch break – today’s average speed, in bike riding terms, “not a patch on yesterday” says he with a smile.

Ah - at least we now know how these cat-heads get carried about!

This is not any ordinary rest stop – none of those fancy solar lights to illuminate the privy in the dark of night – a strategically placed sheet of stainless steel suffices.

Pump up the now under-inflated rear tyre – off into the wind – “a tough day says Tom” – “I think we might need another break” says he – The van heads a further 30ks towards Walgett – it sits and waits – the flies annoy – the passing traffic smile and wave.

Tom arrives – the rear tyre hanging in well enough – he looks tired – “a tough day” says Tom – I decide not to tell Tom that this was what he said at the last stop!

Off into Walgett – then out of town to the Barwon Inn Motel – oh dear! – its web presence exaggerated the grandeur of the establishment – in fact it may have actually invented that grandeur – check in – well to describe it as checking in would also be something of an exaggeration – who are you – here is your key – be here at 6:00 if you are having tea – not impolite – not rude – just the way it is! – the log cabin motel room is actually delightful – it looks across the levee of the now dry Barwon River – a river that gives you the impression that while it may rarely flow when it decides that it want to achieve a liquid state then it does so with extreme gusto.

The room is set up – some food prepared for Tom – he is taking his time – the van worries about when it will see its beloved bike – a text from Tom – “at Woolworths in Walgett – see you soon” – soon is not so soon – another attack from the Walgett cat-head battalion!

Tom arrives – tired but philosophical – some food – a shower – then to attend to the poor old bike! – it will get special treatment tonight – it does not have to snuggle up to the van – it gets to sleep on the couch!

Tom looks on the bike lovingly as it drifts off into bike dreamtime – “Oh no!” says he – the patched replacement tube obviously had a second puncture – the front tyre is flat again – “let’s not disturb it again tonight - it can wait till the morning” says Tom – he has had enough for day!

We dine on ham sandwiches – the Garmin is downloaded and Strava updated – oh dear – the Garmin says – distance -123k - average speed - 20.1kph  – “warning - extreme suffering score”  says the Garmin - Tom agrees.