Ice Without Fire

In the end our planned leaving of Moree was put off for a day due to Liz being ill. This resulted in the kids getting the chance to sit in the local library reading for a couple of hours, as well as me having an additional day to spend with Lauren.

While in town I had an interesting discussion with a local shopkeeper who was talking about the recent downturn Moree had been dealing with. He was very upbeat about the future with a new solar array being installed and farming conditions picking up recently, but what impressed me most was the attitude he had regarding the difficult times he had been experiencing.

Instead of being all downhearted, he was talking about the opportunity and impetus it had provided to really look at the business itself and spend time finding ways to improve its profitability. The result is a number of middle men being cut out – with the result that its pricing is now far better than even chain stores in the same retail space. They have also identified a significant product gap in the local market place and are in the middle of opening another store to take advantage of this.

When this was combined with the recent change of focus at the Showgrounds (after a lengthy chat with the caretaker) it shows clearly how adversity can often result in very positive outcomes if people take a positive attitude into their decision making.

Channelling all that positive energy I decided to try and make pizza’s from the ground up in the caravan. Up until now I had cheated and bought some sort of flat bread for the bases, so this was a bit of a challenge. The outcome was at least as good as previous efforts with the flat bread, however I still have a little way to go with the Weber before they are anywhere near as good as in the oven at home – I guess I still have three months to work on that.

Next morning (actually afternoon) we did actually get on our way. It ended up being afternoon as motivating the kids to do their bits inside the van to allow us to pack up doesn’t appear to be improving with time. I always allow myself an hour to fold everything away and sort bikes etc. but this can’t start until clothes are packed and washing up done. Hopefully this will eventually also be embraced by the kids.

In the end we stopped for a late lunch at Warialda – at the local saleyards – although the saleyards didn’t look like they had been used for some time.

We then continued on through Inverell and stopped at a roadside camp half way between there and Glen Innes. This was a revisit of our night at Thredbo Diggings, with temperatures dropping well below zero. By the morning all four of us were in one bed in order to try and keep warm and there was several millimetres of ice across any water around. In fact all water sources were iced up to a greater extent than they had been in the Snowy’s. I think Liz regretted her comments of ‘come on, it’s only one night – I’ll be able to cope even though it will be a bit cold’. I am guessing free camping is back off the agenda for a few more nights following that.

Today we headed on for the coast, eventually stopping at the Mullumbimby Leagues Club. Campsites are going to be a little more difficult to find for the next couple of weeks given we are once again in the midst of school holidays, and this time in a real tourist area.

The trip to the coast was once again beautiful – full of rolling hills and forested areas, especially as we once again headed over the Great Dividing Range. Eureka, just before Mullumbimby, was the highlight. It was full off winding roads with fantastic views and roads with canopies of trees arching over them. Something you don’t often see with power lines normally adjacent to roads, requiring roadside trees to be heavily pruned.

Mullumbimby Leagues Club is another place that is taking advantage of existing facilities to provide campsites, which also diversifies their income. Game days are Sundays, so campers are advised that showers are off limits from 10am to about 6pm as they double as the change rooms. Campsites themselves are spread around the rim s of the ovals, so in addition to week long income there is also more atmosphere on game days as well as the chance for a few extra sales through the canteen.