27th April - Day 11

Tonight we are off the beaten track at a lake side free camp just outside Condobolin.  It is called Gum Bend Lake.

We have travelled about 240 klms since leaving Terramungamine.  We had short stops in Dubbo for fuel and some van maintenance and also at Parkes where we stocked up on provisions.  We lunched at Parkes and probably are big mistake for the day was to go to this restaurant with the golden arches.  There we discovered that country children do have much stronger lungs than city dwellers.  The noise coming out of the playground and also from some teenagers enjoying a pupil free day was really a bit more then we could handle.  Too much of this idyllic living for us.

The drive was fairly flat today and in particular the journey from Parkes to Condobolin was very easy driving.  The country side is grain growing and we passed several large grain handling facilities along this route.

 Condobolin is larger than we had expected.  While the housing area is not extensive it is obviously a commercial centre for the surrounding agriculture industry.  The shopping centre in the main street was old style, (no large shopping centres) but it extended about three blocks long. 

 

The site we are camping on is a recreation area for the shire and there is free hot showers and toilets available.  The lake is very scenic and there is plenty of flat land for camping.  It really is an ideal site for us and the price is just right as well.  We were told that the local people asked the shire council if they could have a recreation area and were told it was beyond the budget.  So they asked for the land and built it themselves in 1988.  It is used for swimming and water skiing and there are lots of picnic tables etc.

 We have met some interesting people here as we have in all of our stops.  Caravaners & mobile homers are very friendly people for the most part but especially when you meet them in these sorts of environments.