Big Red Run - Day 2 - Condobolin to White Cliffs

We decided we wanted to be on the road by 8.30am, with the aim of making White Cliffs in the evening.  The kids were briefed that it would be a long day in the car, and after a damp pack up we hit the road.
 

We had decided to head north west to Cobar, before tracking west to Wilcannia.  The boys were bored with the black top, and kept asking when we would hit the dirt…  Not long was the answer, until we hit it, and the initial squeals of delight soon were replaced with the boys asking when we would be back on the black top!  I think they appreciated the fact we could travel a bit quicker on the bitumen roads, and the bumps were far more frequent and violent on the dirt!

Red Dirt!

We paused for lunch in Cobar - and picked up a couple more knick knacks in town.  Jo started playing with the GPS unit more, and working out its idiosyncrasies.  As we pulled into town, she started  asking the machine where the nearest park with a toilet was…  I followed small town logic and found a great park just off the main street before Ms Technology had got close!  Small win to experience!

Guess where we are?

A long haul west followed, before a leg stretch at Wilcannia.  Such an iconic town on the Darling River, nevertheless it is now just a shadow of its former self, and we continued on to White Cliffs.

Darling River at Wilcannia

We found a nice little spot in the caravan park in town, and went for a walk as the sun set.  It stuck us as the kind of place you really could spent a few days really exploring and getting to know. We marked it down on our list of places to come back to. The next day confirmed our view that we were in a special place, but that story is for my next entry :)

White Cliffs at Sunset

It was interesting to note that the odometer read exactly 1000km since we left home.  Rocky is going really well, and I am thrilled with the way it tows and gets on with the business.  Being of good German stock, it seems to have a sweet spot around 120km/h towing in 6th gear - and considering all the extra weight, not to mention spare tyre, awning, maxtracks and shovel on the roof, I am pleased with the fuel economy being around 14.4 litres / 100km.  I hope I finish the trip with the same high opinion of the car.