Big Red Run - Day 1 - Home to Condobolin

As with all things requiring preparation, our shakedown trip to Birdsville was upon us before we knew it.  A previous commitment to a couple of weeks at sea ensured that I was unable to do anything much towards our trip - except occasionally ponder the situation between waves of nausea.

We berthed in Sydney on Sunday, and as the financial year closed, we caught up with family and friends in the big smoke, before barrelling south on the Monday to shop, pack and get our heads around the adventure ahead.

As we headed south we started to actually plan the journey ahead, and developed a rough meal plan.  We had originally planned to pack on the Tuesday, and get up at the crack of dawn on the Wednesday and make as much ground north west as we could, however Jo had a fantastic idea.  She suggested that if we were ready to head off on Tuesday afternoon, then we should aim to get a few hours down the road in order to break the journey.  I couldn't agree more - so the timetable was adjusted.

All packed at last...

We ended up getting away around 1300 on Tuesday, Day 1,, all packed and excited.  Like all things though, we started thinking of all the things we had forgotten as soon as we hit the road, so we pulled into Cowra for a quick visit to the supermarket.  Whilst Jo was busy finding the last little knick knacks, I snuck in the reject shop and bought a new CD for the Road Trip:  "Country Songs For My Ute"  for the bargain price of $5.00 seemed like a good idea at the time… until we hit play.  The first sign that things were not what they seemed was when the stereo listed the CD as "Coountry Duke Box"…  yes, there was a typo in the CD's name.

Let's just say that the CD wasn't a hit… and didn't stay with us past Forbes.

On the road at last

Dinner at Forbes - all pre-made in the Thermal Cooker.

After a bite to eat for dinner at Forbes, we pushed through to Condobolin for the night.  We stayed at the excellent free camp at Gum Bends Lake on the edge of town.  We arrived after dark, around 1930, and found the place populated with plenty of grey nomads.  We cautiously drove around until we found a spot we hoped would catch the morning sun.  After warning the boys to be quiet, we pulled up and switched off the engine, to be greeted with the sound of, not silence, but generators!  I told the boys to ignore my previous warning, and we set up camp.

Gum Bends Lake at Condobolin - Great free camp

The camp was fantastic, with free hot showers - and thankfully the generators all were switched off at 2100 hours (grey nomad etiquette or the end of 4 Corners?)  We were knackered anyway and all snuggled in for a great nights sleep… with the only other disturbance being the freight train rolling through around 2 am.

The next day we really started to hit our stride and get some red dirt under the wheels, but not before taking in a spectacular sunrise, our first on the road.

The early morning was chilly - but simply stunning.

Next up - Day 2 - Condobolin to White Cliffs