Keeping on top of things in Cunnamulla

We are slowly getting back into sync with the packing up but we have realised we probably need to talk over our plan of attack with each other the night before.  Jason wanted to get on the road as soon as we had finished breakfast, whereas I had planned to do one session of school and then head off.  Still I was happy to just go with Jason’s plan but we talked it over in the car and in future will work it out the night before.  Mainly because I know what is required with school so we should really work around that when we have the chance and we both know that Hamish works best in the morning.

Anyway we managed to get on the road quite easily and head out of town.  Quite a little way out of town we came across where the truck had exploded and blown up the road and the railway line beside it.  It is hard to believe there was such a massive explosion out there and that it had been felt in the town of Charleville as it was further out than I had expected.  They are still in the process of building the new bridge but they would have had a massive clean-up job first.  We then came across the only town between Charleville and Cunnamulla and we both sort of quizzed each other as to if we wanted to stop.  It is a sure sign that if we do this that both of us want to stop, we are just sussing out the other!

Coming up to the detour.

Yep there was no bridge or rail bridge.

Of course the deciding factor was when we saw the sign for brewed tea so we turned in and pulled over in front of the little corner store which was where we could get the tea from.  It looked quirky right from the start and as soon as we walked in the door we were met by a lovely lady who patiently waited whilst Jason came to join us.  Then we ordered some tea. I didn’t want to push my luck and ask for food but she said she had scones with jam and cream.  Obviously she knew us too well so of course we couldn’t say no to that.  As we waited we browsed the store.  It was filled with lots of olden day toys which were really cool, and I thought they would be expensive but if anything I felt everything was quite cheap.

The little corner store we stopped at for morning tea.

The kids feeding the ponies.

This was more of an area set up for happy hour with anyone who stayed the night.

Just as we didn’t think this place could get any better, the gentleman comes out and tells the kids to put the treats they had down on the counter and to come with him.  So erring on the side of caution I sent Jason out too whilst I waited to pay for everything.  He had little Shetland ponies outside and let the kids feed and pat them.  I really love places like this.  They are just filled with the most kind- hearted people and have such a quirky take on things.  By the time the kids came back inside the tea and scones were ready so we took them outside to enjoy in the warm sun. 

Our delicious morning tea.

Jason got into the spirit of the old jail cell.

Though I found it hard to sit down as there was too much to look at so in the end I was just walking around checking everything out with my cup of tea.  There was even the old jail cell which they had restored.  On talking to them we found out the town has a population of 45 people and that they had just had a big storm a few weeks ago which is why it looks green (which I could already tell was more weeds then the beneficial grass) but no follow up rain.  After a while we had to drag ourselves away as it really was time to get back on the road and get to Cunnamulla.  So if you are passing through, you must stop at Wyandra.

There was even a pub in town.

Monument in the middle of the road.

It is great when you are driving on a road for the first time as it is all new and exciting and we are loving that there is a spot to stop every 100km or so to check out.  It really helps break up a drive and give us the opportunity to really stretch the ole legs.  Before we knew it we were pulling into Cunnamulla and finding our way to the caravan park.  We had managed to get them on the phone about 10 minutes out of town to check they had a powered site for us as according to wiki camps they are only small and book out fast.  Thankfully they still had a spot and on our arrival at check in I can certainly see why this place would book out fast.  It is not a big fancy Big4 with all the things for the kids, but it is really a well-designed, well run, beautiful caravan park.  All the main powered sites are drive through and each has their own individual lawn out the front with a garden around it giving you the feeling of your own little oasis. 

The beautiful gardens leading to the amenities block and laundry.

Our site with heaps of room.

What really topped it off for me was that in the garden were some herbs and vegetables that you can help yourself to, and the site we scored had silverbeat!  I so love silverbeat but they only sell it in such massive packs and it would nearly take up an entire shelf in our caravan so we don’t buy it.  Setting up was a bit of a drama.  I mean everything went well but some crazy person (that is me) bought the kids these cheap water pistols in Wyandra and the kids kept wetting everything which Jason wasn’t too happy about.  It was also turning into quite a warm day.  Everything settled down though once we were inside and had some lunch.

Well I thought it had but then trying to get Hamish to do his big session of school was a massive drama.  Yep I think we will be ensuring we do those lessons that require more concentration in the morning before travelling.  It wasn’t hard for him at all.  He did it quite well but just didn’t want to do school.  So after we finally finished we all relaxed for a little bit before Jason headed into town to get a food catalogue from the local shop for me as I needed it for the next lesson.  Unfortunately the shop had already shut for the day and he couldn’t find one but came up with the brilliant idea of printing one out. 

We even went for a walk down to the river to throw in the yabbie pots, but it was really strange as it was all covered in some sort of algae or weed.  We had never seen anything like this and it actually made putting the yabbie pots in hard as it wouldn’t sink to start with until you pulled it in (clearing away some of it) and then throwing it back out.  So we left them there with no real expectation to catch anything but hey we thought we would try.  Hamish and I did some more school and Kayla made friends with the dogs next door.  She is so obsessed with dogs, but the thing is she just won’t leave them alone and by the end of the day I think she was annoying the poor owners!  If she disappeared out of the van we knew exactly where to look for her.

The yabbie pot wouldn't sink on the first throw in.

Nice happy hour setup they had.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of madness really.  Kayla seemed to get upset over the littlest thing and would chuck a massive tantrum.  She had slept in that morning so no idea what was up with her but I guess it is just one of those days.  Jason wasn’t in the mood for her tantrums so would let her go whilst he cooked dinner.  I was on edge thinking we were disturbing everyone’s serenity in the caravan park so trying to at least get her inside the van.  At the same time knowing we still had one last bit of school to do with Hamish so really didn’t have the time to be doing this.  Yep I think you get the picture.  It was just one of those afternoons that when the kids are finally asleep in bed you could drink an entire bottle of wine and silently pray that you don’t have to go through that again the next day!  For now though, I have to settle for my chocolate and water!

I honestly thought for a minute the next day was going to be no better when I got up to go to the toilet and could hear Hamish already getting in trouble and Kayla screaming about something.  Gee I only went to the other end of the van and I must admit I did contemplate whether I should come out or not.  However based on the ridiculous size of the toilet I came out, sorted out the kids and we actually had an awesome day.  I think the best way I could describe it is that we had the sort of day where we got to sit down and read the paper and everyone was happy.

School was completed with no dramas and Hamish did really well and has even started to pick up the questions we were learning on the first day and telling us (without prompting) that he can ask us a ‘yes/no’ question and then ask a few.  I got Kayla dressed for the day and she indicated she needed to go to the toilet so I was about to put her on the toilet but Hamish said he was busting.  Assuming Kayla was just going to sit there and do nothing I let Hamish go first.  Though when I did sit Kayla on there she instantly did a number one.  We were so proud of her so put her in her big girl undies.

We also ducked into town to buy some more fruit as part of school was to make a healthy snack and of course we only have bananas and mandarins so checked that out and came back.  I even picked up a few zucchinis so I could make a nice quiche with the eggs my parents had given us.  Then it was straight back to the caravan.  Being a Sunday the town was pretty much dead, especially at 9am in the morning so we thought we might not get to see anything today and have to wait until Monday.

Back in the van we did some more school before deciding to take the kids back into town to play on the playground.  Yes school was a breeze today, Hamish really is a morning person like me.  They instantly made friends with another two kids there and had so much fun playing.  Kayla of course wet her pants whilst playing and we thought we would just put a pull up on her but we were out of nappies in the nappy bag so Jason ducked back to grab some more and another set of bottoms.  Whilst he was away another mum and kids arrived and I got chatting to them and heard all about the drug problems out there.  It kind of then made me anxious to go too far off the beaten track to go fishing when one of them said how they had just gone to collect firewood near the river and found used needles. 

We then went to the coffee shop for some morning tea and then to the newsagent to get something to read.  Of course by then the Information Centre was open for the day so we headed there and did the tour of their centre which included a video of the Artesian Basin.  Jason had a tough job keeping the kids entertained during the dvd as whilst it was really interesting and a bit funny for us adults it was just a documentary all the same for the kids.  Still he got to watch all of it and then we checked out the museum side of things before going out and getting our photo in front of the Cunnamulla Fella statue.  Then it was another quick play on the playground before returning to the van.

In front of one of the displays in the Information Centre.

We learnt so much about the Artesian basin.

Just a little fact for you all.

It was then time to sit and read our magazines and newspaper.  Kayla was tempted to go outside to the dogs next door but I managed to distract her by getting her help to make the quiche.  Then it was time to do the last bit of school which was painting so relatively easy, except Hamish chose to do straw painting so trying to draw a dinosaur by blowing paint through a straw was quite interesting.

The kids loved this special little tunnel.

With the Cunnamulla Fella statue.

Once the quiche was cooked I helped myself to a slice before we headed out fishing.  Jason and Kayla had gotten everything ready and we made our way down the river.  However we couldn’t find anywhere that didn’t have the massive reeds in the road or didn’t look a bit dodgy with broken glass everywhere.  So in the end we ended up back up to the right of the bridge.  Still I have to admit I walked around first to give it a once over.  Even then I freaked out a bit when the kids would wander up the bank to collect sticks.  I just hate how a selected few have to ruin it for everyone.  We didn’t have any luck with the fishing either.  Not a single yabbie or even a bite on our line, so we called it quits and retreated to the van to have some of our yellowbelly from Longreach for dinner instead.

Kayla getting a little excited (there wasn't anything on it).

Hamish and Jason not having much luck either.

That night I really struggled to sleep with way too many thoughts going through my head.  Then there was a storm off in the distance so I looked at that and then saw the future potential supercell storms predicted for Monday, but we are only in the red zone (not the pink one).  Just as I was finally getting some sleep the wind whipped up so outside we went to pull in the awning.  Of course we just left everything outside as it looked like stars.  No longer had we settled back into bed it started to rain.  So back outside Jason went whilst I made room in the van to store all our outside furniture.  Yep it was one of those nights and of course the next morning the kids who had slept through it all were up at the crack of dawn.

At least we really didn’t have much planned at all for the day.  We just relaxed by the van, completed some school, did some more relaxing and some more school.  Oh these days are tough ones really!  We did venture out for a drive and checked out the weir but because it is where all the reed/algae is being held back we didn’t even bother with a photo as really it doesn’t do the place justice.  Then it was into town for a few basic food supplies, post some mail and fill up the car with fuel all ready for tomorrow.  As we need to get away early to try and get to Bollon in time for Hamish’s on-air lesson we decided that we should be hitched on the night before.

The camp kitchen area at the caravan park.

So this means we will hitch everything on this afternoon and do the final packing up when Hamish and Kayla go to sleep.  We really enjoyed our stay here and whilst there really isn’t a huge amount to do, you could really just sit back and relax and fish in the river, which happens to be cleared up (from the algae) at our end this afternoon.  Then it will be an early one for us all tonight so that the shock of having to wake up to an alarm the next day isn’t a killer!