A New Car & First Big Trip

With the encouragement of my big brother and Chief Mechanic, I decided to lash out at a Brand New Car. I had been looking at this car for months and months, and in those days, even though it was only $AUD2,370 'on the road' I was on about $AUD60 per week and the Monthly payment was slightly more than equalling the weekly wage. For those times a lot of money. My only disappointment was I could not get the tan interior trim I wanted. But I loved the car and for months after I didn't even remove all the plastic protective covering from off the door trim and so on, inside.

The new car's very first long-distance trip was my second attempt - to visit my father at Grawin Opal Fields - again, 500 miles North West from our home in Sydney. I would drive as far as Dubbo and stop overnight with my Aunt and Uncle again. Then next morning proceed West to Walgett.

I had been instructed that after leaving Walgett, the last main town - I would go about 10 km's west of the town, and then hit the dirt road. Back in those days, there was no such thing as it is, now. Today, 40 years post story setting - they are now blessed with an "All Weather" Road from Walgett, to as far as the Grawin Opal Field Settlement. Not forgetting the odd floods that came through. For example, turning what was known as "Rotten Plains" into "Rotten LAKE!"

My further instructions, as well, were to watch for the famous "fridge"....on the left-hand side. This was the 'turn-off' into the Opal Field Settlement. Well, you guessed it; I MISSED THE FRIDGE!

I continued on for what seemed an eternity looking for the, now missed, "Fridge!" As already stated, at the commencement of this chapter,... In those days, after only 1 inch or whatever centimetres of rain, one was usually in trouble on the Grawin Road. This proved to also be my sad undoing. I was in BIG trouble!

I got bogged up to the axles in black sand, in my brand new car - on Grawin Road in the late afternoon. I was tired and hungry and distressed - as I had no idea where I was. Reminding you all of the earlier comments - Grawin Road was made up, then, of three types of 'soil?'
a) Red Clay. b)Black Sand and c)Loose Gravel in places - especially on bends in the road. - That's another story, for some other time.

Now, back to the scene:
The flies were having a field day, as were the mosquitoes. I was blowing the new car's little horn, praying, blowing the horn some more...I really thought I was going to be sleeping out there for the night.

Finally, a single Land Rover driver appeared after what seemed like hours. Thankfully, with a sly grin on his face; he connected his winch cable to the front axle and pulled me clear of the mud, setting me straight on where "The Fridge" was actually located. I learned much later, that hardly ANYONE goes that far along that road and I was very lucky. But! I believe God was watching over me, that day. It was He who had decided I was to "Go No Further!*" or I would have, eventually, ended up in our Northern State of Queensland.

I had a good time with my dad. Even had a go at climbing down into one of his opal mines, and had a go on the jackhammer, with old Jack (my Dad) nearby. I would have descended, then later climbed either the forty-foot ladder or the seventy foot one. 

Maude was still in residence. She was the only negative element to my stay. You will have read about my first stay with my dad and Maude at the Post Office Pub in Forbes, and my first time staying with my Dad since he left us eight years previously. More unfolds on that later. Suffice to say I knew what to expect at this meeting with my father's lady friend.

On the way back from the famous "Go No Further" visit to my Dad at Grawin, I visited the Warrumbungles National Park. It was located in between Coonamble and Coonabarabran. Also, the home of the Siding Springs Observatory, most recently put under threat, in 2013 by some severe Bushfires - most likely deliberately lit!

I found a place to stay for a week in a private Caravan with the use of the house facilities included in the very small, negotiated tariff. My Hosts' farm was right on the boundary of the National Park. On arrival, I noticed my brand new Mazda had been "baptized" in the boot. Dad had given me a whole lot of bottles of his "home brewed" Ginger Beer. Sadly, most of them exploded in the boot. I cleaned it all out, somehow??

I went with the farmer's son, one day, on his specially re-modelled Isuzu Colt Bellet, for a wild pig shoot. I then witnessed the loading of the product onto the back of his "modified vehicle" and, later on, the 'de-hairing' of said pig and clean up to be sent to the place for processing and curing.

I only did one big hike up and over Belougery Split Rock. It was a hot, sunny November day. I got roasted from the sun, and from the heat radiating off the rock, as well. Not forgetting the encouragement, due to lack of head-covering back then, of the recently (2016) removed Squamous Cell Carcinoma, more than 40 years later, from my head. I will never forgive the ranger who assured me there was water available on the rock. I was pretty naive to expect same, admittedly. Very gratefully, I accepted a can of soft drink from some other hikers, up there. It was quite a climb, but I did do some movie making, on the rock. I may have been unable to visit the Observatory, but it was an interesting week, overall.