Day 1 Bungendore: four vans met at Bungendore Showground on a very cold extremely windy 1st day. Although we were unable to have a fire, we still braved the cold for Happy Hour.

Day 2 Wombat: we travelled to our next stop on a cold wet grey day, determined to be positive. Despite an altercation with a unpleasant man who unplugged the power to one of our vans, we remained positive and booked dinner at the Wombat Pub.
Our fifth van arrived, bringing clear skies in time to walk to the pub. The pub had only been opened for 3 weeks under new management, and we all enjoyed our meal. Jan was happy winning a fruit and veg tray and a meat tray in the raffle.

Day 3 and 4 Condobolin: We headed to our next destination under a beautiful clear blue sky, via Forbes which gave us a chance to revisit the Sculpture trail along the way. Finally, we sat around a fire at Happy Hour, with the park also under new management, and the current owner keen to make it a popular destination.

Our second day at Condobolin was Mother’s Day and we celebrated with a breakfast cooked by our husbands and eaten in the camp kitchen in front of a fire prepared by the owner. This was followed by a walk along the river to the Utes in the Paddock and a look at the new Information Centre next to it. The afternoon was filled with a visit to the Bowling Club and drive to the check out the free camp at Gum Bend and then back to the park for Happy Hour around the fire.

Although one intrepid camper decided taking the kayak down the river and fishing for cod was a better idea.

Day 5 and 6 Baldry: We woke to beautiful blue sky again and our much-anticipated trip to Stephen’s daughter and son-in-law’s property Baldrudgery. The property was amazing and we were shown to the helicopter pad to set up our vans overlooking the shearing shed.
Stephen then gave us a tour of the property (not all 5000 acres) and explained the history of the place (which included sheep, cattle and grain) and then Daryl shared a beer with us and gave us a little more insight into the running of such a large property. The day was complete as we sat around an amazing fire set up in a very large old steel tractor wheel.

Anne, Stephen’s daughter, is one of the secretaries for the Yeoval Annual Show which just happened to be on our second day. So, we all headed out the next morning for the country experience and we weren’t disappointed. We enjoyed watching Brook, Stephen’s granddaughter, taking part in the horse-riding events very successfully.

We viewed the exhibitions and enjoyed a diverse range of food, some of us even came home with goodies. Our day was complete with another fire, enjoying the peace and quiet, and stargazing.

Day 7 and 8 Koorawatha: Very different from or last stay but not bad, the caretaker had mowed the grass in an area close to the new facilities and had even mowed the oval in case we wanted to have a game of golf there. We found an area out of the wind to light the fire and had our now traditional blue cheese and red wine Happy Hour.

The town consisted of a Pub, and a Post Office which also stocked a few basic groceries, (although the Skim is only stocked for the cats so it was out of date; they must have a lot of cats because they had more Skim than Full Cream milk). We booked to have dinner in the pub the second night and our group of ten took up the whole of the dining area. Everything came with chips, including my bangers and mash.

Day 9 and 10 Harden: The Showground didn’t disappoint; there was plenty of room and new facilities, including the first tiled toilets I’ve ever seen at a campground. The caretaker informed us they are always under surveillance.
We were informed that if we planned on having a fire we had to set it up over the fence on the trotting track, we got plenty of exercise climbing over the fence and we kept our eyes peeled whenever we heard a horse whinny.

Harden shopping area is very run down other than the very impressive Supabarn, with some of the shops just crumbling into the ground. The Golf Club has a beautiful new building, courtesy of a grant from a local resident. We completed our rally with a group BBQ around the fire on the first night and the sharing of food we didn’t want to take home on the second night. Everyone agreed they were two of the best meals we had.
Although there was initially some concern about doing this rally, we were welcomed everywhere we went, and I felt it was one of the most relaxing rallies held, and hoping the other attendees felt the same.