THE WALLABY TRACK WITH LIONEL MUSSELL
SOMEWHERE
OVER THE
BORDER
AFTER AN EVENTFUL JOURNEY,
LIONEL FINALLY ARRIVES AT
HIS DESTINATION…
Despite having all the correct paperwork, I
still had a strange, guilty feeling as I crossed
the border into Queensland, where I had
been longing to be for months.
It was touch and go because the New South
Wales border had slammed shut a day after
I'd crossed the Murray River as part of my
journey to Walkamin Van Park, Qld.
After spending some time in Albury, I
journeyed to Kidman's Camp in Bourke, where
I walked to where the Paddle Vessel Jandra
was anchored. It is used for cruises on the
river but my feet were itchy for Queensland so
I only stayed one night in that nice camp.
The next morning, I headed for the dreaded
border, and to my relief the friendly policeman
just checked my border pass and scrutinised
the caravan park invoices showing where I'd
stayed in New South Wales. That was that.
Although the road to Muttaburra was singlelane
in parts, it was quite pleasant to be in the
outback. Hughenden was my destination that
day, but I had just entered Hughenden in my
GPS without checking a map. Mistake!
Suddenly, I was on a 200km gravel road!
Just the middle stoney track was drivable as
the sides were loose. I only met three vehicles
during the 200km drive. One was an idiot
coming towards me on a wider stretch,
making no attempt to slow down.
His dust cloud blanked out my vision but as I'd
slowed right down, it was okay. What wasn't
okay was the dust that came in the window
as I hadn't wound it up in time.
It was a great relief to arrive at Hughenden
Caravan Park and sit down to fill out yet
another form stating where I'd been for the
past 14 days.
Eventually, I arrived at the lovely Walkamin
Caravan Park. I booked in for a month but I'll
probably stay much longer. I have quite a few
friends here and it's been great catching up –
socially distancing, of course!
The PS Jandra
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