Day 2: Tue 27 Jun 23 - Eumungerie to Goondiwindi

Tue 27 Jun 23 - Eumungerie to Goondiwindi (Towed 468km)

Weather: -4 at Eumungerie this morning, clear sky and no wind all day, warming to a lovely 21 Deg in Goondiwindi. 

We turned the heater off when we went to bed last night, but it became uncomfortably cold by midnight, so we turned it back on again until after breakfast. Unfortunately, we haven't escaped the cold just yet. I eventually ventured outside and had a horrible time packing away the frozen hoses and power cord. We eventually got away by 0825 and the traffic was already steady, but it was thankfully mostly southbound. There were a lot more caravans on the road today but also many more road trains too. Little wonder the roads are in such poor condition. Including a couple of short breaks, our 468km drive today took us eight hours because of the countless stop and go roadworks. We also had to slow down often just to navigate large potholes and badly rutted roads. 

We drove through Coonabarabran, stopping for coffee at rest area near the the Newell Highway junction shortly after 1000. It was here that I noticed the problematic awning bracket had sheared out of the wall AGAIN - very disappointed, but I managed to find a couple of screws and some hundred mile an hour tape to hold it in place. Thankfully, despite the rough and bumpy roads, it was still holding when we reached Goondiwindi. After the unplanned repair work, we got away again about 45 minutes later driving straight through Narrabri to Tookeys Creek rest area where we stopped for lunch at about 1300. From here we drove straight past Moree to Goondiwindi, where we refuelled before making our way to the Showgrounds for our overnight stay. Yesterday the hills and wind pushed the fuel economy up to 17.2 lt/100 km. Todays' much improved conditions reduced our overall consumption to 16.2 lt /100km. We also managed to drive 892 km from Canberra to Goondiwindi without refuelling, which was great because the price of fuel was about 19 cents/lt cheaper in Goondiwindi than any where else along the way. 

The Showgrounds are very busy at the moment and we had a bit of a job finding a site, but we eventually settled on a suitable spot and quickly set up 1615. A nice 30 minute walk to stretch the legs followed, before returning for a couple of refreshing ales outside with a lovely sunset backdrop, then we ventured inside for a delicious pre-cooked Madras Curry and Rice for dinner. 

We are aiming to be in Gladstone by Thursday, so we are driving longer distances than I normally like. Unfortunately, there is very little spare time for exploring or taking photos, but that will change soon enough 🤞.

Morning at Eumungerie

Entrance to Eumungerie Camp Ground - the Caretakers do a lovely job

Fed up seeing this...

Sundowners at Goondiwindi (looking and feeling a tad tired)


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