Bump on the road ...

Our Carnarvon pack-up was smooth and we started heading back to Roma.  There was no real plan.  We had lunch at Injune, at the same picnic spot we'd visited in 2020.  (I had Nick shake hands again with the miner)!

A little further along was Gunnewin, so we stopped to have a look around there.  We re-fuelled at Roma but weren't ready to return home at that point, so decided we'd go to Mitchell - and soak in the mineral baths after all our walking.

I'd not long booked a site at Mitchell when the plan hit a huge bump.  As did we.  

Nick pulled over when it was safe.  By then we thought the trailer might have a flat tyre but once stopped Nick could see the issue.  Sadly the Spacevan's spare tyre had worked free of it's drawbar mounting and then dropped onto the road.  The bump we felt and heard was trailer running over the tyre.  We were both quite shocked to see the side panel damage.  We circled back to look for the tyre but couldn't spot it in the long grass along the roadside - and weren't really sure where it had dropped onto the road.  We stopped again, so I could rescue a tortoise - and then we headed to Mitchell.

Once checked in and set up (on the same site as our first trip in the Spacevan), I used the free wifi near reception to lodge an insurance claim via the app.  Neither of us felt like soaking in the mineral baths and we had a fairly early night.

Meat Ant Park ...

We woke early and took Bandit for a walk along the river, which we could access directly from the caravan park.  There were lots of little birds and it was a very pleasant start to the day.

  

Once back on-site, we had breakfast and then dealt with our collected washing-up at the camp kitchen - then started our packing up.

We were quicker but there were still issues securing the camper trailer lid, even without wind. 

Vaughan called for a halt not too far along the road, to check out a rocky outcrop, and we all enjoyed stretching our legs.  

It was nice to see some flowering shrubs and trees up close and we spotted a couple of small roos also.

Meat Ant Park at Augathella was our picnic lunch spot.  The copper sculpture was very neat!  You can see pics of it with the artist, here.  

Nick and I used the nearby toilets after lunch, both chortling hugely over the chained loo brushes!

We made it to Blackall that night, arriving around 4pm and setting up quite smoothly.  We met lovely neighbours and chatted for a long time, swapping life stories.  (Nick played a few on his songs for them as we sat outside).

I made a creamy bacon/mushroom pasta dish, using some ingredients from Augathella as well as UHT cream brought from home.  It's an easy, favourite stand-by and worked well - as usual!  

Day 3, Mitchell to Blackall - 410km

Roughin' it!

Some trips are very well provisioned, with a full menu plan, including a few pre-prepared meals.  This one wasn't! I'd thought to include ingredients for our first dinner and had plenty of coffee/tea etc - but no breakfast cereal, so we enjoyed a small cheese platter instead!

I'd made two travel tea cosies before leaving home and was pleased with how well the smaller one worked.  It's so effective that I'll now need to make a handle cover as the metal gets quite hot!

It is possible to fold the trailer with the awning attached, so we decided to do that.  It was quite windy though and once folded, the lid didn't sit right - so we re-did everything about five times in total, assuming the wind had impacted.  

It took 90 minutes before we closed everything down properly - and we were both feeling quite frustrated by that stage (though there were no harsh words spoken)!

I'd packed more lightly than usual and hadn't brought much in the way of warmer clothes.  Neither had Nick, who was wearing several t-shirt layers!  I was pleased to have remembered extra bedding for our bed and Vaughan's as we'd all been cold during the night.  Nick chatted to the manager in the morning, who confirmed the temperature had dropped to 2 degrees at one point - which made us feel less soft!

We made a quick stop in town at the butcher cos we'd liked the rissoles during our January bunker stay, then continued onward.

Takeaway lunch was had at Roma's biggest bottle tree and there were a couple of roadside stops.  Elmer was making an odd noise at one point, caused by a metal strip breaking free along the passenger side.  It was decorative only, so the remainder was removed and we had a short walk while stopped.

Vaughan was keen to look at a sandy creek closer to Mitchell, so we bought afternoon tea in town and then back-tracked to the creek, for a wander after our refreshments.  No wildlife was found but it was very pretty in the afternoon light.

Given how long we'd taken to set up the previous night and the fact that it was 4ish, we stayed at Mitchell that night - on a drive-through, ensuite site. We opted for awning-less setup that night and all was accomplished much more quickly.  

In transit, our bed was covered with an old sheet with Vaughan's and Bandit's beds on top - along with the camping mats and a few other bits.  It was fairly easy to lift the beds down onto the floor area, replace the curtain and set up tables/chairs (which were packed beneath the bed).  The space between the cupboards (where I'm standing in the bottom collage) was mainly used to house our shoe bag, laundry hamper and fold-up step when traveling.   

Day 2, Miles to Mitchell - 244km

Mmmm, Mitchell scrolls!

We made a few stops along the way from Blackall to Roma.  There was a quick loo break at Tambo (and call-in at Tambo Teddies) before travelling on to Morven.

There were toilets and picnic shelters at Morven Historical Museum, so we ate the last of our corned beef on sandwiches, closely supervised by an apostlebird and a bossy blue-faced honeyeater.   

I posted a couple of postcards at the post office, which closed at lunchtime for the Melbourne Cup!

We stopped again at Mitchell, to stretch our legs and pick up a few groceries.  (If you happen to pass through Mitchell, I highly recommend the bakery's caramel scrolls - yum)!

About 20 minutes out of Mitchell was the small town of Amby.  We didn't stop but obviously the name appealed and there were jokes about someone pinching the Hs from all the signs!

It was another 45 minutes to Roma.  I took a lot of road train photos during that stretch, trying to perfect my timing.

As it was our last night, we opted to stay in a park with ensuite sites, which proved handy - and quite amusing also, listening to froggies calling while we showered later that night.  Once we were set up, Nick wandered off to talk to other campers - and I enjoyed sitting quietly, with my pot of tea and fantastic caramel scroll!    

Day 8 = 487 kilometres