Day 3: Saturday, April 15, 2023

Started the day still in Dubbo. Said goodbye to Blizzardfield, our first campsite (appropriate for a Minnesota girl, no?).

We pulled into downtown Dubbo, so Adam could go for a run and I could explore the farmers’ market. But first, it was time for me to christen the campervan shower. Let’s just say it made me envious of Adam’s lack of hair!

Learning #1: When parking the van to shower, park at a tilt toward the drain!

The shower is tight – it is also where our toilet is, so when you shower, the whole area gets wet. I thought I was going to have to master the art of the one-handed shower (thought you had to keep holding down the spray; turns out, you can set it to stay on, but it would take Adam showering later to discover this – Learning #2!).

Anyway, I was pretty chuffed to emerge from the shower clean. (This would prove to be short-lived.)

After my inaugural shower, I went shopping along the main street of Dubbo for some of our supplies. Some of you who know me will not be surprised that I stopped at Officeworks to buy orange and pink highlighters – I highlight everything on my calendars, to-do lists, and wine study books! So, I am now stocked up!!!

I also got one-ply toilet paper (sad, pitiful little toilet paper), garbage bags, and chocolate for Adam (this too would later prove to come up short).

Adam and I reunited at the farmers’ market. He’d run along the Macquarie River and spotted his first snake (about a metre, or three-plus feet, long). Another reason I can add to the list that I hate running.

A quick stroll through the farmers’ market – it was not very big – and we sat down to enjoy a bacon-and-egg roll for breakfast. Or, as I now call it, the “eggsplosion”! (See below.)

So much for clean Kasey. Moving on …

After I got cleaned up (again!), and thanks to Adam for scrubbing the egg out of my shorts – no mean feat! – we explored the main street of Dubbo.

Remember how I said I came up short in the chocolate department? Adam had to make a second stop at the supermarket to buy:

Yes, the chocolate is multiplying in our campervan, well, like rabbits!

Suffice it to say, you would not know that Easter is over in our humble little rolling home. And you could be forgiven for assuming that we were bringing these to some kids we love, but no … these are all for Adam. Not for me. For Adam.

Anyway, we headed out of town, me behind the wheet. Took a break in Nyngan. In Nyngan, I felt like I was in one of those post-apocalyptic movies where the family emerges from the bomb shelter to find they are the only survivors! There was no one there! In the middle of Saturday afternoon!

Adam called it “clean, cute, and quiet,” and it was all of those things.

But Nyngan is also home to “The Big Bogan.” For the Americans following along, the Cambridge Dictionary defines “bogan” as “an insulting word for a person whose way of dressing, speaking, and behaving is thought to show their lack of education and low social class.”

Accordingly, this supplied Kodak moments galore:

Alas, we kissed ole Bogie and his faithful Rusty goodbye, and headed toward Cobar for the night, this time with Adam at the wheel. Our first critters – some wild sheep – crossed the highway in front of us. The rain started. We pulled into the Newey Reservoir campground – a recommendation from our friend Nigel. There were about 10 other campervans by the time we pulled in (just as it was getting dark), but we didn’t venture out of the campervan in the rain. What a shame – we had to crack open the wine and bring out the cheese and settle in for night 3.