Clem Walton Park

Camp spot at Corella Dam. 65km E of.., thru gate, 1^st Y veer left, 2^nd Y….., veer right to camp spots near river, toilets, no drinking water, rubbish bins, freshwater crocs, bird life-green parrots, ferral cats, kangaroos, kites, eagles, green budgies, kingfishers, willy waggies…. Fish-grunter, catfish, turtles…

Currently there are 4 vans camped along this section of the river, around the bend are another 2-Stein-we met at Clare back in January is at the end-he keeps to himself.  At ‘our’ end are; John and his dog Pat (Pat the Dog is her full name), Mark-whom we met back at Paradise Beach in February-chief chainsaw operator, and ourselves-we take turns at cooking the evening meal-tis lovely to go out for dinner every 3^rd night… no need to worry about whose turn to drive…

Now and again other campers stay the night-we met Terry and Karen-left work a week ago to get away from the rat race-now they have to keep moving to meet up with friends at various spots, they loved this spot-but they had people to meet, deadlines to keep-and they stopped work to avoid this! Karen had seen the Coopers creek flower about 10 days ago-she couldn’t believe she had met the creator!

It is cool at night, but during the day warm-t-shirt, shorts and jandal weather. Warm enough to have a solar shower.

We do all cooking on the fire; boiling the billy, using the camp oven for roasts, casseroles, damper date scones, bread-making, the bbq plate for pancakes, bacon/eggs etc.

Mark and Murray spent a morning wooding and we have a good pile. Wood and fresh water are precious commodities. Our pile has attracted other campers to enquire if it is provided-alas we inform them we have gathered it-it is a no touch zone-some campers joke that each piece is numbered or branded-that is how valuable wood is.

Drinking water is also a valued commodity. Most people carry plastic containers that only contain water from a safe known source; for instance we get water from Info centres, service stations, camping grounds, parks. You can buy a special tap from Bunnings that fits onto taps that do not have a handle. Or some campers have separate water tanks in their vans. We have 3/ 55 litre water tanks fitted on our van-all separate fillers-depending on cooking methods and showers-a tank will last 3-5 days. So when we are camped by a river – this water is used for washing and showering.

We fill in our days with walks-Murray, Mark and I tramped up a bluff to the dam wall, although we appeared to have tramped higher than the wall. We came across old porcelain power isolators-too heavy to carry back to our campsite, but the many stones/rocks of a sparkling black material were attractive enough to lug back in our pockets. The breathtaking views at the top of the hill left me – WOW – I made it to the top. Looking down on the other side-we decided to try and climb down the rocky hillside, only to find a huge rocky cutting. Clambouring over these, and up a steep track, we came to the dam lake.

We spent many happy evenings, making new friends, discussing where and how long each had been ‘on the road’. Some are green-having the most upmarket van-using 100litres of water in 2 days to those who have been on the road for 11 years. Some finance their trip with the pension determining their movements-park up until the next payment, rental investments, self-funded super schemes, working holidays, some are on holiday, or extended leave, some on benefits, most of us are free/bush camping. With camping ground fees around $30 per night, this would eat up your weekly budget/pension very quickly.

Each day is different, as people leave more arrive. Over 2 nights and 8 vans/campers, 14 were men and me the token woman.  We have come across more single men than women travelling, often the men have a dog. The couples we meet are retired and on the road on average 10 months a year.

All have a story to tell…

We have only met 3 vanners from WA. Many are from Queensland.

The most exciting event at this campsite has been the fresh water crocodile-apparently they are not man eaters. Even so, I am not game to kayaking or swimming in the water hole – we eye each other from a distance. During the drought 35 crocodiles were sighted.  Also I have seen a monitor lizard swimming-didn’t realise they swim!