We took the Newell Highway which runs through Toowoomba, Dubbo, Parks, Shepparton and Melbourne. The trip is approximately 2000 km but the inclement weather caused the Murrunbidgee river to break its banks and forced an extra 100km looking for a place to cross it.

The Newell highway is primarily used by freight trucks but has the attraction of passing through the Western Plain Zoo in Dubbo and the famous radio-telescope The Dish in Parks. We used the opportunity to see our friends Maggie and Jaco in Parks.

The first leg of the trip Brisbane to Dubbo was made under constant rain. This was the beginning of the storms that caused the terrible floods in the Southeast part of Queensland and eventually all east coast of Australia.

We slept in Dubbo on our first day and the next day we spent it visiting the Western Plain Zoo and The Dish.

We spent the second night in Parks and left on the morning of 21st to Melbourne. The drive was almost uneventful with the exception of the detour we had to make due to the overflowing of the Murrunbidgee river.