Before leaving on this trip, we knew we were going to travel along 'The Snowy Valleys Way' but we are winging it from here. Our destination from Gundagai is to get to hopefully warmer weather and to the Artesian Bore Baths.

On leaving Gundagai, we drove a hop, skip and jump along the Hume Highway, before diverting off at Coolac. Driving on main highways is not what we intend to do, if we can avoid it.

The countryside has changed around us; we are now travelling through dry and barren countryside. Stock in paddocks was cattle and sheep with young lambs. Driving through Young the town is very quiet, as it is Saturday afternoon. Our destination for the night is Grenfell. Grenfell is the birthplace of Henry Lawson and also home of a new addition to Silo Art. This Silo Art was created by renowned street artist Heesco Khosnaran and only completed at the end of March 2019.

Grenfell has a lovely free camp beside the restored Grenfell Station, which only requires a small donation. Only downfall is we couldn't have a campfire but it was a pleasant evening and not even the diesel heater went on.

From Grenfell we only travelled to Eugowra, (only 60km away) which had a lovely camp right in the heart of town, again only requiring a small donation. A communal fire pit with firewood provided was centre of this camp. This small town is know for bushrangers and has many murals painted around this town, so a walk around town was a must.

We thought we were the only ones in for the night, so didn't light the communal fire, instead lighting our own choofer (fire pit). Two other caravans arrived and we enjoyed happy hour talking to a couple from Langwarrin.

Leaving Eugowra heading to Cudal we were surprised with the trucks using this route. We had discovered the Banjo Patterson Way, which has 120km of Paddock Art Sculptures, 'Animals on Bikes' located in Central NSW between Molong and the Dubbo Zoo, via Cumnock and Yeoval. Animals on Bikes started as a series of 45 Two metre high sculptures created by local farmers, farmers wife's, Men's sheds and anyone with an artistic flair. Over 100 sculptures are on display, which you can view as you drive along this route.

Rain started falling as we arrived in Yeoval, so it was decided to stop for the night and have a counter meal at the Royal Hotel (which provided our free camp for the night, behind the pub)

After a quick stopover at Wellington, were we went to the site of the last pistol duel in Australia, outside The Lion of Waterloo in 1854.

The Lion of Waterloo was built in 1841 and is the oldest tavern still operating west of the Blue Mountains.

The duel was between residents Dr Samuel Curtis and Magistrate B Sheridan near the tavern. History says they got in a row in the pub over a woman described as "the Mystical Maiden of Montefiores".

The two were intoxicated and went outside where they took up pistols and attempted to aim each other after pacing out the distance.

But, both pistols misfired. The "gunmen" fell to the ground and then agreed to patch up their differences at the pub.

The tavern was once a passenger stop for the Cobb and Co and has been described as Australia's second oldest hotel.

We arrived at Ponto Falls Reserve and had decided to stop for a couple of days. The bird life here was in abundance with Willy wagtails, heaps of cockies, corrella's, ducks and one pelican. The day we arrived it was extremely windy but we found a nice spot right down on the river and out of the wind.

On our second day, Sheryl & Brian (from Marlo, Vic) arrived to join us. For those who don't know Sheryl & Brian, we first met them back in 2015 and then again last year in WA, during our travels. An enjoyable afternoon & evening was enjoyed catching up. We woke in the morning with frost on the ground. Sheryl & Brian, who were up much earlier than us, stated it was -3.5 at 8am (no wonder we were cold throughout the night)

After saying our goodbyes and heading our separate ways, we headed into Dubbo and spent the next day in and around the town to getting DABUS sorted.

Our drive to Mendooran took us through the Goonoo National Park, where signs depicting Mallee Fowls crossing, but we didn't get to see an elusive Mallee Fowl. The next day we spent at Mendooran before heading into Coonabarabran to stock up on supplies, and our first grocery shop since we left home.

Fortunately we found a water tap at the free camp at Mendooran, as we had been advised that no water was available to travellers heading through Coonabarabran, due to level 6 water restrictions.

Our back road journey has seen us travel from Gundagi to Coonabarabran. Its been an interesting trip. A lot of the small rural towns are sadly closing up, with mainly a pub, post office but heaps of shops have closed.

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