ニューサウスウェールズ州のアウトバック、2週間で3,000km！

ニューサウスウェールズ州のアウトバック、2週間で3,000km！

We’re Brit and Tim aka the Cromies. Don’t you mean the Cromies? No, life of the Cromies. We’ve traded our 9 to5 for red dirt, clear beaches, and life in a caravan with three dogs and zero regrets. It’s raw. It’s real. And of course, we’ll sneak in the highlights. Welcome to our lap of Australia. We hit the road at the end of March for 12 months in our caravan. Our home base is in far north Queensland and we had originally planned to head west and do an anticlockwise lap of Australia. But with all the torrential and devastating rains that central outback and Queensland have had, we’ve shifted our plans. We never exactly planned on sending it straight into outback New South Wales, but here we are. Our journey kicked off in Hevil, Queensland, right before we crossed the New South Wales border. We’re back, baby. I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve uh hit the road for an adventure. And now we’ve hit the road for a very very long adventure. Oh yeah, we uh we’ve really been putting off camping um pretty much for the last year. Very very limited trips um trying to save annual leave, trying to you know get everything done around home um and prep for this trip. Finally feels like we are on holidays for an entire year. We’re about an hour away from crossing the Queensland border into outback New South Wales. Yeah, pretty pretty keen. There’s lots of lots of really cool places to check out that we’ve got kind of mapped out. Um, we’ve been using the Big Lap Bible Heaps, which is fantastic. But for now, we’re going to hit Outback New South Wales and we’re going to take you along for the ride. It’s going to be so sick. [Music] We have officially hit the Queensland, New South Wales border, which just Oh, damn it. Whipping the drone out because it’s so muddy here. I don’t know if you can see that, but it’s just water logged on the side of the road. There’s a sign there. Oh, there’s Mr. Drony. See if that worked out. How good? How good? Stoked. Let’s start the new adventure in New South Wales. Let’s do it. Check this out. Look how much water is over the road here. It’s on the main highway. Aren’t you glad you washed your car? I am. But let’s get another one now. Hey, you ready to go? So, this is our little dog area. Got like a hard bottomed uh mesh thing from on these guys. Works pretty well. I’ve just kind of pinned it up to the um the handles on the top here. So, we let them down. Unzip. They’re all ready to go. And then they got their little seat belts. Just chuck their chuck the uh leads on and then Yeah. Get out there and give them a run. You excited? Not me. The dogs are excited. These guys are so keen. What has it been about 2 and 1 half hours? Yeah. All right, let’s go. The first stop after we cross the border into New South Wales is Lightning Ridge. But before we get to our destination, we wanted to let the dogs out for a run off their leads. The Big Lab Bible contains plenty of information for dog owners and actually highlighted this fenced area where we could take the dogs. So, here we are. Doggoers having a play, stretching their legs, and living their best life. Traveling with dogs can have its challenges, but stopping every 2 hours or so to let them run around or sniff everything also gives us an opportunity to have a proper rest and swap drivers on the longer days on the road. After about 20 or 30 minutes, the Frenchies are usually pooped. So, it’s time to jump back in the car and head for the artisian ball baths. Look at this. Got the AC cranking in the back. Yeah, these guys will be good now for a little bit. We’ll probably pull up to our tisian bars and and leave the car running with the air con. These guys are actually really chill inside the car or the van. That’ll cool down and have a nap while we heat up. Yeah. And just as we expected, the dogs curled up for a big nap while we headed towards Lightning Ridg’s artisian bore baths. The artisian borbaths are fed by the great artisian basin, one of the largest underground water sources on Earth. These baths have been bubbling up warm, mineral-rich water for millions of years. It’s said that the water here is over 2 million years old. Stepping into these bars feels like sinking into a giant natural spa, and after a big day on the road, it’s absolute magic. Lightning Ridge may be famous for its black opals, but trust us, this soak is a hidden gem all on its own. And bonus, it’s free. Decent size car park here. Heat swall parks around the front. Plenty of room for the van to spin around. [Music] Are you ready for the heat? Yeah, it’s already pretty hot. Well, I mean, it’s not super hot. We are from cans. Pretty used to it. Showers and whatnot in there. By the looks, there’s two of them. Yeah, good. We’re trying the hottest. Parents, please discourage children from depositing stones in pools and pathways. Brit, no stones in the pools. I think that’s directed at you. Yeah, she’s probably right there. All right, let’s get in. That’s warm. Wow. Oh, what do you reckon? Why are we doing this in the middle of the day? I’m not going to go past my knees. Oh, I’m in. I’m in. I’m in. I wish it was an ice bath right now, but you know, we’re doing it. We’re here for the experience. All right. That is warm. Do you know what temperature they are? Does it say somewhere? Somewhere between 100 and 120, I reckon. No. Okay. The rock lobster. No, I reckon it’ be between mid and high 30s. Oh, maybe not actually. Maybe mid30s. Pretty warm. We’re in the little one. We’ll go check the big one out in a minute. It’s nice to be in the sun, though. Oh. Oh, baby. That’s living, Barry. It’s nice. It’s I don’t know if it’s hotter, but check check how much. Ready? Watch this. Ready? There you go. Water temperature maybe above 40°. Well, there you go. I guess I guess I was right. Mid to high 30s. I can’t believe we’ve literally rocked up and there is no one here. We got this whole place to ourselves. He’s driving off now. It is a bit hot. I got to hold Britty up cuz she can’t reach the bottom. short gal things. I don’t know how long I’m going to last though. Ah, it’s hot enough. Look, we got the car running with the air con on. I know. And there’s cold showers here. Let’s do it. To wrap up our stopover in Lightning Ridge, we rinsed off under icy cold showers. And honestly, it’s the perfect reset between dips in the steamy artisian waters. Switching between hot and cold showers is great for boosting circulation, helping with muscle recovery, and giving you a zing energy that hits harder than a double espresso. Plus, nothing wakes you up faster than a brisk splash of holy heck, that’s cold after soaking like a human noodle. Before hitting the road again, it was time to whip up some lunch. Road trip meals for us are all about keeping it simple. Usually a fresh, healthy salad wrap that’s quick to throw together and somehow still feels like a gourmet feast when you’re eating in the great outdoors. Not know. Oh, mate, I suck at wraps. This is why I always make salads. They’re all falling out of my rack. [Applause] Oh, I’m getting fly everywhere. Our next stop was the last stop for the day. We drove another 200 km southwest and parked up just outside of a small community town called Brewarina. We researched Wiki Camps and used the Big Lap Bible to find free camps in the area and stumbled across this stunning river camp. And somehow in the midst of school holidays and Easter, we were the only campers there. All right, just rolled into sight. What do you reckon? First thoughts? Pretty bloody good. Little boat ramp down the end there. Some pelicans in the water. Bit of room for the doggies. Can have a fire. Nice views of the river. Yeah, good spot. Plenty of plenty of room by the looks of it. Tra keeps going way further down that way. Just kind of popped in a nice bigger area for the caravan. That’s sweet. All right. Or we might take the doggos for a walk, let them go to the toilet, and then start sorting out dinner for ourselves. This free camp along the river is known as 4mile camping reserve. Just outside of Rwarina, we found ourselves in a riverside haven. With 12 hectares of peaceful riverfront is perfect for fishing, kayaking, or simply unwinding under the stars. The reserve offers basic amenities like toilets, cold showers, and barbecue facilities. And it’s all easily accessible via a sealed road. It’s a serene spot where nature and tranquility go hand in hand. [Music] So, over the last couple of weeks, I wanted a fire so bad and it’s been so wet, I haven’t been able to have one. So, tonight is the night. Got a little fire going here at camp. Got the weather cranked up. We’re about to chuck the pizzas on there. Dogs are chilling. Sun’s just going down. And this spot is beautiful. is overlooking the little creek river. It’s actually flowing really fast, so not a bad spot for a free camp. What do you reckon? They’re buggered from doing nothing today. While Tim’s out there stoking the fire, I’m going to start getting pizzas ready. We’ve got the Weber hooked up running out the front. Um, simple pizzas. We’ll just do our pizza bases. These are so good with some ham, pepperoni, cheese, jalapenos, and pineapples. Nice and simple, nice and [Music] tasty. Voila. Let’s go take it outside. Oh, she’s a bit dark out here. Hang on. Oh, free cheese. Pay cheese tax for your husband. Come back in 20 15. I’m hungry. Yes. All righty. Pizza is looking good. I’ve already been getting into it. That’s a wrap for tonight. We are done. We’re tired. We’re going to bed. Going to smash this pizza. Clean up. Get to bed. See you guys tomorrow. [Music] [Music] [Applause] Oh, hey. We’ve just wrapped up a night at Ree Warner. It was actually a really beautiful spot. Yeah, it was um pretty sweet little boat ramp area with a couple of the tracks off the backside. Ended up on the creek. Really easy to get the van in and out. Looked like it went heaps further. We sent the drone up for a bit of a look. Yeah, it was about a cage stretch of campsites along that um riverbane, which is really cool. Yeah, it was nice to wake up sun on the river, all the pelican things floating around in there. There was heaps of them. On the road now, done and dusted. early day cuz we have another long day of driving and hopefully it is the last. Yeah. So, what’s the plan? Drive. Drive. There’s a really cool lookout that we want to hit near Cobar. Big whining lookout. Yeah. Something we missed last time we went through Cobar on our way down to Big Band up. But yeah, really want to get back and have a bit of a sus. Yeah, I really love that modern history and that kind of um old metal art and those bits and pieces that Cobar’s got. Uh and especially all the way through to Silon. There’s heaps around Silverton as well which which we’ll head a little bit later on. See how far we get today. But um we’ll likely pull up ahead of Broken Hill. Um and then yeah, remap out what we’re going to do for the last couple of days of our Outback New South Wales tour. It’s going to be fun. Uh I’m stoked. [Music] [Music] Got a pretty mint little spot here. Little pizza in the air fryer. How good is that? Bloody awesome little spot. We’re just outside of Cobar. um taking the dogs for a walk and we thought we’d have lunch at this beautiful little lake. We pulled up to Newi Reserve in Cobar and while we waited for lunch, all Lola wanted to do was get in the water. New Reserve is an off leash dog friendly lake. But we know if ours were off leash, they’d be in that water with the ducks straight away and not coming home anytime soon. How good is reheated pizza? Especially when it comes out crispy from the air fryer. What a beautiful spot to pull up for a break. After lunch, we made our way to Fort Burke Lookout. Just a short drive from town. Perched 300 m above sea level, this spot offers panoramic views of Cobar and the surrounding outback landscape. From a well- constructed viewing platform, you can look down into New Cobar Open Cut Gold Mine, one of the region’s most significant mining operations. It’s a fascinating glimpse into the area’s rich mining history and a must visit for anyone passing through Cobar. [Music] So, we’re just camping up on a river tonight. I just thought I’d show you my fishing rod setup. It’s a couple of bits of poly. I don’t know if you can see that in there. Couple of bits of poly, like U-shaped poly, and a bit of 25 mil bar that just runs side to side with a pill noodle around it and a little bit of strap. So, you can either just pop them out, pull the whole thing out, or you can just pull the strap down and then um depending on the length of the rod, you can either go out underneath like so. And if you’re careful with it fully loaded, there you go. Within 30 seconds, rods out, ready to go flicking. How bloody good. All right. She’s a bit overgrown and that’s what I’m dealing with. So, just going to get down here somewhere and then try me luck. I’m on me bum. I’m going down. We’re going down. All right. I think down’s easy. Getting back up might be hard. All right. Hopefully, I’m taking fish back up. All right. No luck, but someone has had luck. Couple of fish frames here. You can see. So, there’s definitely fish in there. I just don’t have the patience. And I’m going to go cook some dinner. Not fish tonight, that’s for sure. [Music] This little gem of a site is a $20 council run campsite just outside of Wilania. It has recently been refurbished with brand new toilet facilities and free washing machines, which we were silly enough not to make use of. It was just a quick overnighter for us, though, as we were itching to get back on the road and chase down our next destination, Silverton. A place with rich movie history, wild surprises, and a whole lot of outback charm. That’s a wrap on episode one, the beginning of our outback New South Wales adventure and the very first leg of our big lap around Australia, even though we did start in the middle. But trust us, things are only just getting started. In the next video, we explore the legendary Mad Max Museum, have a standoff with wild donkeys in the middle of town, and discover what might just be the best free camp we have ever pulled into. It’s one for the memory books, that’s for sure. We’re the chromies and this is just the beginning. Hit that subscribe button and come along for the ride. The Outback has a few more surprises up its sleeve. [Music]

We never really planned on diving straight into Outback NSW… but here we are. Our journey kicked off in Hebel, QLD, just before crossing the border into New South Wales, and it’s been a mix of red dirt, steamy soaks, and riverfront serenity ever since.

In this first episode, we stop off in Lightning Ridge for a long-awaited dip in the Artesian Bore Baths (a must-do if you’re out this way), stretch the dogs’ legs in some great fenced areas we found through The Big Lap Bible, and take in a dusty, scenic view from Fort Bourke Lookout in Cobar. We also discover a couple of absolute gems for free riverside camping near Brewarrina and Wilcannia… quiet, peaceful, and somehow all to ourselves despite being school holidays!

We’re travelling with our two Frenchies and Staffy, towing our caravan and winging it a little. We are definitely learning as we go, finding the magic in the unplanned stops, and soaking up every minute of it.

If you love a good road trip, travel with dogs, or you’re planning your own lap around Australia, we’d love to have you along for the ride.

🎥 Episode 1 covers:
– Lightning Ridge Artesian Bore Baths
– Fort Bourke Lookout in Cobar
– Free camps near Brewarrina and Wilcannia
– Life on the road with dogs

Chapters:
00:00 – Lap Introduction
00:38 – Video Introduction
01:38 – NSW Boarder
02:45 – Travelling with dogs
04:24 – Artesian Bore Baths
07:45 – Lunch on the road
08:23 – Brewarrina free camp
12:34 – Cobar
15:24 – Wilcannia
17:37 – What’s next

Lap of Australia Playlist – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8jkvEfCQtzlwxuKK8C_BtzsbFf1ysFc3

Hit subscribe and join us as we tackle Outback NSW, one dusty town at a time.
Episode 2 drops next week and trust us… things get weird in Silverton.