We spent two very pleasant nights in Dalwallinu. We have stayed before, but only ever overnight, which means we hadn't really experienced the ambiance of the town. Our "Slow Boat to China" itinerary is proving to be quite to our taste, thus far. We are travelling in bites of only a couple of hundred kilometres, with few "pack-up and push-offs" the next morning.
Dalwallinu was founded in 1910 on the Great Northern Highway. A spacious town, similar in population to Beverley, Dalwallinu boasts of wheat and wattle. Broadacre farming is definitely the order of the day, the wildflower season attracts legions of tourists, but there are also substantial light industry areas. About a third of the population is employed by these enterprises, with much of the goods heading for the minesites further north.
The main drag is very attractive with gardens, banners, shade, BBQs, play equipment and a myriad of different shops and services. We ate last night in the pub, where the dining room was empty except for us, but the bar was jumping. Today, we visited the Dally Cafe for lunch which was typical country food, but tasty enough with a pleasant atmosphere.
We spent quite some time at the Visitors' Centre, chatting to Jo, who is retiring next week. This was well worth the visit - very interesting with plenty of brochures, displays and information. I also bought a few items at the local Foodworks and hardware. We cruised around town later in the afternoon and spent about an hour walking the cemetery. We both agreed that we learnt a great deal about the early pioneers from reading and contemplating the headstones.
The weather was truly glorious all day. Sun and blue skies with warmer temperatures meant only two layers of clothing instead of four. I even resorted to wearing my hat on a stroll from the caravan park into town, to protect my useless British skin from developing any more skin cancers!
The Dalwallinu caravan park has also proved to be an excellent choice. We stayed away from the main road, so the noise was lessened. The shower had ample hot water with spacious single cubicles, hooks and a bench. The loos were also roomy and clean. High season has yet to commence so only one set of ablutions were open, which was absolutely fine as the park was sparsely populated. The camp kitchen also had copious hot water and all the basics, more than enough for our needs.
We move on tomorrow to Yalgoo, where we intend to fossick in the old tip just out of town. And relax some more. Like in Dalwallinu, the caravan park there is a familiar friend and we look forward to making its acquaintance once more.
Until next time.
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