Outback Adventure 2019
Day 2
Jugiong - Dog on the Tuckerbox - Narrandera - Hay - Lake Benanee (Euston)
We started the day watching the sunrise over the surrounds of the Murrumbidgee and after breakfast, needed the CTO of caravans( Chief Technical Officer) assist his Grandparents to work out how to resurrect their brand new van as they had managed to completely shut down all functions via their iPhone app! Lucky the tech savvy 16 year old was on staff!
We left Jugiong at 9am and headed to the Dog on the Tuckerbox as Lana had never been. Obligatory photos over we drove via Wagga Wagga, Narrandera and onto Hay.
We pulled into Hay to fuel at the Caltex and ran into the Lugsdin’s who own half of Hay (including the Toyota dealership). They used to own the paddock where the Australian Mini Nationals are held and who saved the even years ago from being stopped by red tape. We chatted to them about how their drought is now 18 months in duration and how they are coping (struggling) and the goings on of their family. Was a nice surprise....people you meet at petrol stations in Hay! We farewelled them until we see them in June and continued.
From Hay we drove on to Balranald and then towards Euston. The wind had picked up and we must have driven about 15kms through a dust storm across the highway. The bare paddocks were “moving” at a rate of knots, swirling everywhere and it made it difficult to see the semi trailers coming at you! Have never driven in a dust storm before. Towing a caravan made it that much more interesting!
We rolled into our campsite tonight at Lake Benanee (Euston) at about 5pm and 32 degrees. It’s quite a sandy location right next to the lake. The wind was still quite strong when we arrived and it made us second guess whether to stay or not..... glad we waited it out.
The wind died and it was quite a balmy night and we cooked a bbq next to the lake whilst watching the sun clock off for the day with a few beers.
We drove 578 ks today and saw heaps of emus along the way from Hay to Balranald.
Tomorrow our drive takes us through 3 states as we continue the journey.