The smell of smoke was quite strong when we woke up Sunday morning. With daylight we could see the valley was very hazy and wisps of smoke were rising from behind the ridge, so clearly the fire was still burning. After breakfast we headed up to the lookout. Not surprisingly the township of Bingara and the surrounding area was blanketed with smoke, so much so that we couldn't see much more than from the van. While out and about we popped a couple of loads of washing into the machines at the local caravan park, filled our 50 litre water bottles at the adjacent park, emptied the dunny at the showground dump point, bought worms and had coffee. When we arrived back at the van an hour or so later the plumes of smoke were looking much more serious. My phone app 'Fires Near Me' had the front 2km from our camp and "Being Controlled", though it didn't appear so to us. The main comforting factor was the wide Gwydir River separating us from the fire.
At midday we settled in to watch the coverage of the Gold Coast 600 car racing on TV with a close eye on the fire. It wasn't long before we had three aircraft buzzing around - a fire spotter and two water bombers. The bombing aircraft flew in circles 180 degrees apart taking it in turns to do low passes along the front just behind the top of the ridge to drop their loads. That continued for a couple of hours with re-loading stops at an airstrip a few kilometers to the west. The smoke seemed to subside a bit.
On and off throughout the afternoon we chatted to our neighbouring campers, Keith and Janet who were also watching the front. Keith was a V8 fan and Holden supporter like us so he came and joined us in front of the TV. When the coverage was over Janet came over and we sat out beside the river enjoying a few drinks while generally chewing the fat. They were having a holiday in their Winnebago and due to be back home in Bundaberg in a week's time to start work. They were great company.
As evening approached we started to see the red glow of the fire. It was burning slowly over the top of the ridge along a front of maybe a few hundred meters. The intensity had definitely gone out of it though it did continue to creep slowly down the slope toward the river. We arranged with Keith and Janet to alert each other during the night if any of us became concerned, and went to bed fairly confident that we were not in harms way.
The smoke had largely cleared by Monday morning. There was still a little rising from half way down the ridge and a bit from what appeared to be the far river bank some distance away, our view being blocked by the terrain.
It was a beautiful day, calm and warm with a bit of fair weather cu. We walked briskly into town for our coffees only to find the Roxy Cafe closed. There were several other options so we chose one of the two pubs. Both have al-fresco cafes opening out onto the main street. The cappuccinos weren't bad, though not as good as the Roxy.
When we got back we jumped in the Beast and drove toward the smoke to see what was happening. About 3 km along the road we came abeam the fire and could see that it was still burning a little. We didn't consider it a threat to us. The light breeze was blowing it in the opposite direction to our camp anyway.
We decided while on the road to explore the northern side of Bingara, across the river. It was mostly parkland with a few houses, and a sign that indicated more camping. We checked it out and found a kilometer or so of free river-front camping in a large, open paddock that was stocked with horses. It looked across the river to the back of town and the golf course. Bingara certainly is set up to accommodate lots of Nomads and holiday makers! The river in this area was much shallower and very fast flowing, with small sections of rapids. There were only a handful of campers set up. It would be a good option if you got crowded in as we did by the silly old fart who squeezed in at our original spot 8 km east of town.
On the way home we noticed an old bloke standing on the roadside opposite the caravan park directing motor-homes down the track where we were camped. We had expected a bit of a Grey Nomad inundation with the finish of the Campervan and Motorhome Club of Australia's rally at Narrabri the day before. Sure enough, there were 10 or so RV's all tucked in together by the boat ramp. That was ok - were were further in so they didn't impact us.
By early afternoon the wind had sprung up, the plumes of smoke intensified and the fire bomber returned . Shortly after an SES vehicle with lights flashing appeared on our track and an SES Volunteer got out to speak with us. He advised there were concerns about the fire getting out of control with strong winds forecast in the coming day or two. He said we should be prepared to evacuate at short notice to the showgrounds if it got out of hand, and to keep a very close watch on it. We packed up the bikes, generator, Webber and TV just in case so we could make a reasonably quick exit, but we were not particularly concerned. Keith and Janet decided to leave. They were planning to go the following day anyway.
We drove back to view the fire 3 km up the road, then up to the lookout to get our bearings on just how close to us it really was. There were 3 ridges it needed to traverse to get to us, and probably 5 km of river front. The fire bomber had quietened it down again and the wind was still blowing it in the opposite direction. Our risk assessment was that we were safe for the time being and would stay put. We detoured past the showgrounds on the way back and all the motor-homes had relocated there. We were the only ones on the river in the boat ramp area.
The rest of the day we sat outside reading with our lines in the river and one eye on the smoke. By dusk the wind had all but disappeared, the smoke had all but dissipated and we relaxed by our own small, well-controlled campfire. Tomorrow we would re-assess. Willy Weather had 40 - 60 kph winds forecast from 9am with thunderstorms.
It stayed calm all night and through until about eight Tuesday morning when the wind started to blow up slightly. Looking back toward the fire we could see small wisps of smoke rising gently from a couple of places low on the hill. It appeared to be all but out. Hour by hour the wind picked up speed. It was a northwesterly, so blowing the fire away from us. Brian rolled up the awning and we packed loose objects away.
We walked into town, had coffee at the Roxy and stopped for a chat on the road with Mozz and Marg who were leaving Bingara. They were our next door neighbours at Sunnyside camp area before the whinging old bugger slotted in between us, forcing us to move out. They hadn't been able to see the fire from their camp as they were a few ridges around on the upwind side. The first they knew about it was when the SES visited them Monday afternoon advising them to prepare for evacuation.
The Roxy Cafe
By late morning the sky was looking pretty ominous and we could hear thunder. We went for a bit of a tourist drive around some of the back roads before picking up a load of groceries, fuel for the Beast and the generator, a refill on one of the gas bottles and 40 litres of water from the park. The wind was really starting to howl by then, and when we got back to the van the fire was well alight and burning up the hill. It was lucky the wind was blowing it back on its own path and toward a fire break the SES said they had made on the back side of the ridge.
We spent the afternoon mostly in the van on computers, watching the fire and keeping out of the wind and odd shower. By dusk the wind had pretty much abated and the smoke and flames had disappeared over the ridge leaving the entire hillside a glowing mass of red coals which died down as the night wore on.
Wednesday we hit the golf course quite early. The local Sports Club runs a rather modest combined activities facility - 9 hole course, tennis and bowls. I'd phoned a few days earlier and been told we could play whenever we wanted, we just needed to put $10 per person in the honesty box near the first hole. They didn't have any buggies but we could hire a cart from the little shop across the road. When we got to the course we noticed a 'No Dogs' sign. That was a pain cos we had James with us. Before we went to the trouble to take him back to the van we figured we'd better make sure the cart was available. I popped into the store and in chatting with the owner he said not to worry about having James - he could sit in the cart and it wouldn't be a problem.
With James under strict instruction not to move from his seat between Brian and me we loaded our bags on the back of the cart and headed off. The course runs alongside the river and is quite well maintained. We found the tees a bit fluffy and in need of a mow, but the greens were ok, if not a bit rough. With plenty of river water available it was all pretty green. It's quite an easy course. There is no rough to speak of, it's basically flat and very few hazards. We both started off poorly, which was not unexpected given the last time we'd played was in Yeppoon several weeks before. By the end of the first hole we decided not to score - it would be too painful. We just played for fun and I had a hoot driving the buggy like a go cart around the track, making sure to stay at full speed, go over any bumps and hills I could find and do wheelies around each ball. Clearly there was no-one else on the course! James wasn't so keen on my antics, but he coped and stayed put despite his urge to chase every ball we hit.
After golf it was coffee, then we dropped into the Post Office to find our Wingman had arrived. We filled up with water at the park, siphoned it into the tanks when we got home and I did the house work abandoned earlier, while Brian pulled the lid off the front tub and did some panel beating. He had lots of interruptions with his phone constantly ringing. Some days he has heaps of sales inquiries and this was one of them. As usual the wind came up as the day wore on and there were little flare-ups on the side of the hill. We were now well in the habit of keeping an eye on the fire activity. Some new neighbours arrived and set up in the spot Keith and Janet had vacated which delighted James, as he got to socialize with their little dog.
The rest of the day was spent fishing (with no luck), a drive out toward Narrabri to collect firewood, reading, Word With Friends, more fishing with a change of lure and a few evening drinks in front of the fire before a yummy lamb cutlet dinner. We topped that off with a game of Canasta - which I won. You beauty!
It was the last Thursday in the month which meant Brian had to do his ads for Aviation Trader. That always takes a bit of time. Once done we walked into town for coffee. There was an old house just back from the main street that I wanted to photograph so we detoured from our normal route on the way in. That took us past a vacant lot between two properties pretty well in the heart of town. An old fella was hanging over the fence feeding a heap of tame kangaroos with bread. James was enthralled, particularly when I lifted him up and he got to rub noses with the biggest kangaroo who was not in the least worried about a dog. The old guy said they had lived there for ever. Some were rescued when their mothers were killed on the roads.
A few doors down the old shack sat derelict in the middle of a large corner block. As I was taking photos an elderly lady came by and said we could go onto the property if we liked. The house had belonged to her mother. She put its age at around 150 years, which would make it one of the oldest houses in the area. It's amazing how anyone could live in something so tiny.
When we got back from town James raced to the water's edge in front of the van to get a drink. He saw something and started to chase it into the water. Brian gave a shriek "It's a snake". I screamed at James to get back, which he didn't do, but fortunately the snake was not in an aggressive mood and slithered into the water. It swam along the bank right in front of the van and disappeared under some tree roots a couple of feet away. We didn't think James had been bitten, but man, did we get a fright! It would seem we'd been living with a snake right under us. I shivered when I remembered how many times I had sat on the edge of the bank right over those roots with my feet in the water. And James drank from that spot all the time. Scary! We'd certainly have to keep a close watch on James and be careful ourselves. I checked him over thoroughly and kept a really close eye on him for a few hours, but he was fine - thank God!
In the afternoon we pulled the TV out from under the bed to check if the Winegard Wingman made any difference to reception. It sure did! We had been able to get 10 channels before the Wingman and when we re-tuned the telly we got 34 channels. Amazing eh!
Brian still had a bit of work to do so I jumped on the bike late in the afternoon and went for a ride out to the cemetery. I took some back roads and on the way came across the "All Nations Goldmine" monument. The goldmine can't have been a particularly successful venture given it only yielded 15.5 kg of gold from 1860 to 1948. It was a really interesting old piece of machinery and gave me an excellent opportunity to play with the camera on my new Samsung Galaxy 111 Note phone. I was pretty impressed with the results!
The cemetery was down the hill from the monument and sat out in the middle of a dry, barren landscape. It was pretty run down with lots of graves in bad repair as a result of time (so it appeared) rather than vandalism. It is still in use so some of the graves are quite recent, though most were quite old. I wandered around reading the epitaphs. The oldest ones I could find were in the 1870's but there were headstones with dates ranging all through the decades.
I got back to the van an hour or so later, just in good time to grab one of Brian's icy cold VB's and have a few mouthfuls to quench my raging thirst before lighting the evening fire. We considered moving on given the close proximity of our snaky friend, but we really love Bingara and our gorgeous location on the Gwydir. It's a place you could stay for a very long time.
Some mornings we fluff around unbelievably. We were awake as usual by about by 6am Friday, but it was well after nine when I finally got out of bed. All that time I spent doing my Nomads Notes, playing card games on the laptop, doing Words with one of the six opponents I currently have and researching stuff online. It's so relaxing sitting up in bed enjoying beautiful views of river and countryside while waiting for the temperature to climb into the 20's, which seems to happen by about 8am. Brian was not so slothful. He was up working and making me scrambled eggs on toast. It's just possible we might live this fancy-free Grey Nomad life for a very, very long time.
We walked into town late morning for coffee. Friday was the first of November, Bingara's Pink Ribbon Day. The main street was alive with pink. All the shops had put out pink decorations, the locals had pink clothes and pink hair and the pub was selling pink sausages and mash for lunch. A decorated cart being drawn by two big Clydesdales covered in pink ribbons and with pink legs was doing circuits of the town, carrying the kindy kids who were all, of course, in pink. It was quite festive. After coffee I popped my head into the hairdressers. I needed a trim and with the wedding coming up in four weeks I wasn't game to let Brian loose on it. Last time he gave me a bald spot right in the middle of the back. It would cost $15 and she could fit me in. Excellent!
There were a couple of things we'd noticed about Bingara that puzzled us. First, why did all the water meters on front lawns have tyres over them? We came up with all sorts of possible reasons, but didn't managed to hit the nail on the head. We posed the question to a council worker fixing a leaking water main. It's to protect from frost. Of course - why didn't we know that! The other strange thing was that most of the houses in town are quite old, modest dwellings, yet ninety percent of them have new Colorbond roofing. The postie cleared that one up for us. About a year ago Bingara was hit by a massive hail storm and everyone's roof got badly damaged. There have been crews working for months replacing them. It's actually given the town a bit of a face-lift. Those that still sport the old tin do look pretty shabby by comparison.
Several times each day since arriving in Bingara we would throw lines in the river. We knew there were fish, and big ones too. They were leaping quite high out of the water then crashing back. You could hear the loud splashes by both day and night. As soon as one did it we'd throw a line to that spot. We tried everything - prawns, worms and multiple different lures but could not even get a bite. It was so frustrating. A couple of guys in a tinnie had tied off to a snag in front of us the day before. They were using lures that looked like Christmas tree decorations. We'd have to investigate that.
Saturday morning we drove into town as we needed to empty the dunny at the showgrounds and get a few messages. After coffee we went to the butcher and picked up some beautiful locally grown meat, fresh bread from the bakery and a bike lock at the hardware store. We'd decided we should be a little more security conscious. We had been leaving camp (sometimes) with $4,000 worth of bikes, $500 worth of solar panels, $1500 worth of car fridge, $500 worth of generator and $300 worth of Webber all sitting outside just waiting to be lifted. We did have a couple of bike locks and sometimes we'd lock the generator and bikes together and the car fridge to the caravan wheel, but we weren't particularly diligent with it. We discussed it and agreed we would likely get done over at some time and should get more serious, hence the purchase of the third lock.
While in the hardware store we located the fishing section and found the Christmas decoration lures - AKA 'The Original Chatter Bait' - "Patent pending design delivers unmatched vibration, sound and erratic action" (sounds like a sex toy!). There were all manner of sparkling colours, so with the help of the store manager who had been fishing the Gwydir for 21 years, I chose two at the bargain price of $12.99 each.
Multi-purpose lures - earrings? Christmas decorations?
Back at camp Brian set up my rod with the sparkly gold and black lure. It felt great to use. With a bit of weight to it I was able to get quite a distance on the cast and it vibrated beautifully as it was reeled back in. I played with it for a while, as did Brian, then we switched to the blue and white one. We both loved the feel, though as usual, we didn't get a bite.
Late afternoon, after we had done a wood collection from the roadside at the lookout and filled our water containers up, we were just settling into happy hour by the fire when a chubby youngster came running up to our camp. He and a couple of mates were fishing a little way down the river. He looked to be maybe 10 years old or thereabouts. He was quite out of breath. "There's a big snake. It just swam across the river and slithered out right where we were fishing". After a bit of questioning it seemed the boys had dropped their rods and high-tailed it up the bank. They needed assistance to retrieve their rods. Thank goodness for "Super Grumpy"! He leapt to the rescue and saved the day. Some time later another of the boys came over for assistance. He had caught a Cod (which it was illegal to keep, being out of season) and it had swallowed the hook. He was quite upset that he was going to harm the fish in trying to remove it. It was "Super Grumpy" to the rescue again. He managed to remove the hook and the fish swam away. The young fellow was very relieved. That was the second Cod he'd caught for the day. I just had to know what bait he was using. Why, chicken chips of course (silly me - what else would you use!). You buy them at the fish and chip shop in town.
It had become very quiet on the riverbank where we were. Our neighbours had moved out on Thursday and we were the sole camp in the whole boat-ramp area. The only sounds we could hear were those of the river, birds, bush and wind...and the crackling of the Cypress Pine fire as its aroma filled the air. It was just delightful. Suddenly a different noise moved into our earshot. James was first to investigate. Along the track wandered a mare and her new foal. They cruised on past us, the little one tucking tightly in beside mum. Just beautiful!
