Off Exploring

After such a busy start to the year (in a good way) we were both ready to hook up the caravan and head off into the wild blue yonder, so that’s exactly what we did on Friday.  We’ve decided to head north and just wander around for a while.

On our first day we enjoyed the autumn colours.

This avenue of trees as you enter Molong is to honour the Fairbridge Farm School children.

By then it was morning tea time and we found a cafe with a lovely mural in the rear courtyard.  Molong, including its main street, suffered severe damage from the devastating floods in November 2022 at the same time that Eugowra had 80% of its homes damaged. This was the first time we have stopped in the small town since that event.  While many businesses are back up and running, with their premises looking nice and fresh, others are still boarded up with For Sale signs out the front.

As we headed further north from Molong the landscape started to look decidedly greener than at home.  We missed all the rain from the cyclone and then general flooding that affected Queensland earlier this year, whereas we were now entering areas that had benefited from that rain.  The countryside was also becoming much flatter.

As we passed Gilgandra, we could see the majestic Warrumbungles in the distance, but we were not heading that way this time.

Our destination for the day was the small village of Gulargambone.  Wherever you look, there is artwork about galahs.  I’ve often wondered if it is just a play on words or if there is some deeper meaning.  I have learnt on this trip that John Oxley, on his 1818 expedition, was the first European to visit this area and there was a large camp of aboriginals alongside what is now known as the Castlereagh River.  To them, Gulargambone means “Plenty Galah Birds”.  So, yes, it is more than just a play on words.

First stop was the water tower with its painted mural.

We settled in at the small caravan park, which has a lovely feel to it and then went for a walk around town.  It is known for lots of fun murals.  We last stayed here in 2018, so didn’t expect to see much change, but there has actually been quite a few new ones added.  We started off at the park beside the river.

There were murals on the toilet block.

Then billboards with artwork.

As well as some sculptures.  I’m not quite sure what I think about the old XP Ford Falcon splattered with paint.

There was a sign for a River Walk, so off we went.

The river is the Castlereagh and it was looking lovely in the late afternoon light.

It was lined with big old river red gums.  Some had wonderful designs in the bark.

This gives you some sense of the scale of them.

Then we checked out some more of the artwork around town.  

As I said, some we had seen before, but quite a bit was new.  There are several more than these.

By then it was time to enjoy happy hour at the caravan park.  

It really is a friendly little place.

We had planned on cooking our tea, but as quite a few from the park were going up to the Bowling Club for Chinese for tea, we decided to go as well.  That was an excellent decision, as the food was fantastic and we had a very enjoyable evening.  We took this photo of the general store on the way back.  It’s amazing how much better some places look in the dark.  It doesn’t look anything in the daytime.

And so ended our brief time in Gulargambone.  These little places are so worth stopping at when you get the chance.