We had an early start and headed for home via Glen Innes, Tenterfield, Woodenbong and Beaudesert. A more beautiful drive you could not imagine, especially the road east from Tenterfield along the Bruxner Highway. The scenery was spectacular and it is in our own back yard.....how come no one ever tells you this stuff.
The eucalypt forests between Woodenbong and the Queensland Border are unbelievable. So tall, so straight, so dense. Equally surprising are the huge tree plantations that have been planted on the old dairy country.
Mt Lindsay, so ruggered and majestic; like a sentry guarding the border crossing.
Twenty days on the road. I guess it had to end some time. But we could get used to this freedom very easily. We quickly settled into a comfortable routine which let us deal with the chores (like packing and unpacking) with a military like organisation. Teamwork and organisation is the secret to a happy traveling party.
We traveled 4805km in 20 days (about 240km per day) this is a good pace for sustained traveling. Our car used 448.71L of petrol at an average of 9.35L/100km. Very economical even considering the engine problem we had to endure. The average price we paid for petrol was just $1.28. I had thought it would have been much higher than that considering the remoteness of our destinations.
We learnt a few skills along the way and developed some ideas and strategies to use in future on our travels.
The Art was amazing and so much more than we had expected to find. Whoever thinks that because a city has the most population you will find the best Art to view or buy is very wrong. The outback produces some incredible talent. It is a real surprise to walk into a gallery in the middle of no where and see some of the best work you have ever seen. These Artist's have to go to the city to show their work but their inspiration comes undoubtedly from the colours and atmosphere of the Australian outback.
See you on the road sometime.....
