With only a relatively short 260k’s to travel today, the decision was made to delay our departure from the caravan park until 9:30am. That would also allow us to know the outcome of the damage to the caravan that suffered from the electrical fire yesterday.
We set our alarm for 7:00am and once again were surprised to find it totally dry outside when we first ventured from the caravan. It was however a little cool.
We took our time with our preparation for departure. An auto electrician called on our friends and informed them that he should be able to rewire their van in a couple of hours and he indicated he would come back after lunch.
We all said our goodbyes and departed again in convoy formation for the 160k leg to our first stop at the roadhouse at Emmdale. “He” had called the roadhouse earlier in the day and warned them of our intended visit.
With very little road traffic to contend with, our trip was very pleasant. We did notice what appeared to be an increase in the number of wild goats adjacent to the road and we also sighted wild pigs and a number of kangaroos intent on watching us pass by. There was a significant amount of road kill (kangaroos) evident and more than we can remember from previous trips on this road. We are yet to see emus in any numbers.
We arrived at the roadhouse just after 11:30am and we all took advantage of the opportunity for hot food and drinks that they had available.
The final part of the journey from Emmdale to Wilcannia was also uneventful.
Our overnight destination was a farm stay (caravan park) called “Warrawong on the Darling”. At $35 per night for a powered site, we thought this was a little expensive but once you see the facilities you can understand why the price. This place has only been around since 2013 and the facilities are magic. We would not be surprised to see “Warrawong on the Darling” winning tourism awards in the future.
After doing out setup, with friends we headed into Wilcannia to purchase fuel and a couple of items from the grocery store, one of only a small number of businesses still open and trading.
Wilcannia is really a very sad town that has suffered from an indigenous problem for a long period of time. We did a little sightseeing around town paying particular attention to the magnificent old buildings. We were also surprised to see a new bridge over the Darling River.
After returning to our overnight stay, we did a little 4WD around the property in search of a large gum tree that we did not find.
We started happy hour with our group and then moved to the “informal” happy hour hosted by the park owners.
At the conclusion of happy hour we cooked our evening meal on the camp kitchen BBQ before retiring to the caravan for the night. We did however hear from our friends with the electrical issues and if all goes well, we hope to see them re-join the tagalong tomorrow afternoon.