Nyngan

Nyngan suffered through one of the biggest floods in it’s history, when in 1990 the Bogan River burst it’s banks when the levee would not hold. The majority of the  population had to be airlifted to safety. A new levee, one metre higher, now protects the people from further floods.

John and I came through Nyngan last October and liked the Nyngan River Caravan Park, the Bogan River flows at the back.. When we planned this trip, Nyngan was on the itinerary. There’s not a lot to do around town, but it’s nice to do some grocery shopping and have a coffee and speak to some of the locals. We walked down and around the river, this morning was sunny and cool.

One tail light was out on Syd, so I caught up on some reading while it was fixed. There’s a good museum in Nyngan, I decided because I had seen it last time I would pass, and John found it shut when he went across. There’s also a museum on the history of shearing, which we had visited last year.

We decided to cook a bbq for dinner in the camp kitchen and met a chap in his sixties with a little Jack Russell dog called Scruffy. The poor guy was living in a tent while he was waiting on accommodation, he was chatty and of course we heard his life history, which I told him to write it all down, if half of the travel tales he told us were true, would make for interesting reading. He was living on his pension, had no car because he lost his license because of a medical condition. I think the local church was helping him out. The little dog was cute and friendly and reminded us of  two other little Jack Russells we know.

A lady in her sixties arrived at the park, traveling in a van by herself and had driven quite a long way. She told us she was writing a book on her travels, calling it “Safari of the Soul” all in longhand. I told her I would look out for it when she has it published.

John and I are hoping we meet some normal travelers on this trip soon.

Syd is getting some admiring comments. We are finding the motor home very comfortable and happy to have more room to move around in. The shower is an asset; we haven’t had to go to the park showers at all.

Tomorrow we will drive to Bourke, passing through Byrock, where my grandmother was born.