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Well, it's official... We could get used to this... We left West Wyalong early this morning at 8am, after an excellent night's sleep. The roosters woke me up at about 4.30am, but I didn't mind, because we were in the country, and that's what they do. The morning was beautiful and clear, crisp clean air and bright blue sky, with not a cloud to be seen. We did another 340km today, had left over birthday donuts for morning tea in Narrandera, and got into Deniliquin at 1pm. No bakery today . The driving today was more of the same from yesterday, straight down the Newell Highway, cruising between 100 and 110kph. I love it, there's no rushing, pushing, stress or hassle, there's just no traffic! You pass through little country towns, wonder what all the people do, and out the other side onto more highway. We came through one little town today, called Grong Grong, with a poulation of 150, and had a laugh that the entire town had less people in it than the boys' junior school at home... (What do they do there?) But the town was gorgeous. It had gardens down the (short) main street, with a cafe, petrol station and a pub, and there was a couple of houses beautifully painted and gardened, and a sign at the entry to town asking traffic to stop for a coffee to support the town. We didn't, but we should have, and we regret it.
We entered the Murray Darling Basin today, and the landscape changed dramatically. The grasses and bush became ploughed fields and crops, and farmland became more easily distinguishable from the bush. You could still see from horizon to horizon, without a building getting in the way, or a city/town skyline blocking the view, but it was very clear why the region is called "Australias food bowl". Funnily, we haven't seen any evidence of the floods that devastated the area only weeks ago, the landscape still appears dry and...well, dry? Maybe, it's just that home is so green and lush, that we aren't recognising this area as being the same.
Another thing we've noticed, and you guys sitting at home may think this next bit sounds corny, but never-the-less, it's true... We've become a part of what we have termed "The Caravan Clan"! We have done just over a thousand kilometers, in 3 days' driving, and the majority of vehicles on the road, by far, are caravans, motorhomes and trucks. Every time we pass a caravan going the opposite direction, the driver will acknowledge us with a wave or a simple lift of his finger from the wheel. At first, when it started happening, we had a laugh and thought 'what a bunch of twits!' Why would they feel the need to acknowledge us, and say g'day, simply cause we're towing a caravan as well? We'd talk about it, and snigger, but it kept happening, and then I found myself starting to wave back. Yesterday, I found myself waving first, and getting upset if they didn't respond, and today, I believe I've figured out what it is... The 'Caravan Clan' is simply acknowledging like minded people who have discovered a shared secret, and is a way of indicating to each other that "yes, I see you know about this way of life, aren't we lucky we've worked it out, and are living it", with a simple wave. You see, we live in this industry, and we watch people live this way of life from the outside, and we encourage them to live the life, as it's our business. But watching it and living it are completely different things. We woke up this morning in a place that's totally different to where we'll go to sleep tonight. Everything we need, we are towing behind us, and we know where we're going and how to get there. If we didn't, it wouldn't matter, cause we'd be free to go wherever we wanted. We are 'footloose and fancy free', we are experiencing our 'wanderlust', and we have gone walkabout. The biggest decision I had to make today was "Do I want skim milk or full cream milk in my cappucino"? And I didn't know, and I didn't care that I didn't know... It's true, we're only doing this for three months, and 90% of the other people doing this a grey-haired retirees, that complain about prices and petrol and all the rest of it. But the life they live is awesome, and it's no wonder there are more and more of them doing it. I know we'll be among them when it's our turn... We're addicted, and we could get used to this...
As a sideline comment, tonight we're staying at BIG4 Deniliquin Holiday Park, which won the BIG4 Supreme Award for Excellence last year. This is the best of the best award, given to one park each year for outstanding and unparalleled commitment to the BIG4 brand. This place is highly deserving of that award, and is a showpiece for our industry. If you're ever passing through this way, call in and have a look, it's worth your while. We've put photos up if you want to look. Also, as a comment for Darren and Michelle, we've only done one big days driving from home to Dubbo, which took 6 hours. The other days were much shorter at about 3-4 hours each. These are much better days for the boys. There's no mad rush packing up in the morning, there's time to stop and look around the towns you're in for morning tea or lunch, and then arrive at your destination with plenty of time to set up, settle in, enjoy the facilities, organise dinner and relax. I'd recommend more of the short days, and less of the big days if possible, but we know that big days are unavoidable at times. Enjoy!!
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Michelle Loving the blogs Pete, thanks for the tip. I am getting so excited reading about your adventures and desperately wishing it was our turn already. We will start the 'wave' as soon as we begin our adventure.