Day 52 onwards from Koorawatha ending up in Narrabri again

We both woke up early

When I got up the moon was still visible 

and the sun was just coming out

Because we were up early we decided to hit the road early.

Earliest we have left on this trip,  however one of the reasons was possibly because we did not even have a coffee or have anything to eat. We wanted to just get going

We decided we would stop in Cowra to buy coffee and something to eat but also to try and check the road conditions and make a decision as to which way we were going to head home.

We had tried to look it up on the computer as that is far easier than trying to do it on the phone but my computer didn’t function properly using the inverter in the van

So we decided to go ahead to Cowra and check when we got there

Beautiful sunny day



Pretty countryside with hills in the distance



Some trucks on the road already

Passing through some small towns along the way



When we reached Cowra we decided to refuel and then find somewhere where we could have coffee and some food

Nowhere seemed to be open except the McDonald’s so we went in there to have some coffee and food!!!





we managed to look on a map to ascertain that we could still keep travelling north in the direction that we had planned

Crossing over the Lachlan River

And heading towards Canowindra

Wonder where these huge logs have come from and where they are going to

And these massive water tanks

Just some of the passing trucks that we have encountered on our way

Heading out this way towards Molong

Going travelling through beautiful green countryside

And farmland

Following trucks

And passing trucks carrying large oversize loads





Because a lot of heavy traffic is being diverted this way and because of all the flooding the roads are in a pretty poor condition so we have ended up seeing a lot of these signs

And contended with a lot of potholes and rough sections in the road



Drove through Canowindra without stopping







Turn off here to head to Molong

But then I had seen On WikiCamps that there was a good look out and seeing as it was such a beautiful clear day that I talked Bill into driving up to the lookout



A very narrow unkept road up to the lookout





But a great view all the way round







Back down from the lookout along the very narrow overgrown road

Turning into the road that runs parallel to the main road

And turning onto the main road to wards Molong













Going through small towns































And turning into Molong













Where there were some interesting sculptures





Next heading towards Wellington







Missed the turn off to this collection of old railway engines and carriages

Just managed to snap this photo from a distance

Continuing on along the busy highway





We came to the turn off to the Wellington caves where there was a huge art project sculpture worth stopping to look at



We spent quite awhile here looking at each of the individual pieces of work and taking photos

















































I have added this little piece with someone’s comments on WikiCamps about the sculpture as I felt it was relevant

Back on the road again with the busy traffic heading towards Wellington





Drove through Wellington



Turning at the roadsigns towards Dubbo



Was amused by this sign at the bridge











Over the flooded Maaquarie River



And onto the Mitchell highway towards Dubbo







We originally thought we would go a back Road to Dunedin



But sadly it was closed







This section of the road was obviously having work done on the shoulder

Was impressed by this road maintenance sign



Was also impressed by the fact that some of the roadwork and speed signs had been covered over whilst there was no work being carried out in that section

Drove through the small town of Geurie



Finally reached the approaches to Dubbo



New housing estate in Dubbo









We went straight to the visitor information Centre first as there were places to park with the van

The lady in the centre was extremely helpful 

one of the main reasons for calling in their was to get further information about the road north or north east 

she told us that she had checked with Moree the day before and that the roads to Moree were clear

 that was extremely helpful to us 

She also assisted us with directions to somewhere we could buy some lunch

So we walked to a nearby shopping centre where we found a little cafe and had a delicious chicken Thai salad and a bowl of fruit salad that we shared

Noticed this sign on our way back

Wondering how the current flooding will be depicted.





Driving out of Dubbo and over the Macquarie River









Just north of this town we found a back road that went in the direction that we wanted to travel that turned out to be a very pleasant picturesque drive













We pulled up at this rest area for a break





Nice quiet road too with not much traffic

Lots of pretty wildflowers on the roadside











Passed through Mendooran 

Over the Castlereagh River





And on the road to Coonabarabran



Back on the highway and potholed road again













We pulled up in a side road next to a park in Coonabarabran and walked across the road to a cafe to have some afternoon tea as a journey break





Driving out of the town afterwards drove through a slightly flooded side road 





Back out on the Newell Highway towards Narrabri

Lots of trucks









Some of the trucks carrying wide loads in fact have seen quite a few on our journey of what look like large agricultural equipment

More roadwork of which there was a lot on this road too











Eventually arriving in Narrabri at 5:45





Going over the bridge over the still flooded Narrabri Lake

I say still flooded because I noted that the water was still over the pathway that we tried to get across when we camped here the last time we were here when we were travelling south

We decided that we would stay in the Narrabri Showgrounds as we did when we were travelling south



We ended up pulling up and camping very close to where we were last time

This time with a the nice sunset and with the ground not quite as muddy

On the way in I checked if the gate at the far corner of the Showgrounds was open and available to walk through to the pub 

Turns out it wasn’t we didn’t want to bother to unhook from the car so we decided that we would not walk all the way round to the hotel for dinner again.

So we cooked up a mixture of soup and pasta and veggies in the van for dinner

Moon still clear as the skies were clear, tried to get a photo of it through the van not a very good photo