Back o' Bourke & beyond

After voting in Cunnamulla (hasn't it been an interesting week of politics!) we headed south towards Bourke. Vince had heard of a good place to camp called Kidman's Camp north of Bourke so we travelled along a dead straight road with lots of emus in paddocks and arrived just after lunch. We unpacked the tent which was still sporting lots of Innamincka mud and set up the annex as we planned to stay a few nights.

The camp didn't disappoint with a great camp kitchen and some interesting travellers to talk to. Vinnie found some bait and grabbed the fishing rod and yabby trap, and drove down to the river to fish. No luck. Not even a bite after 2 hours. He put his energy into cooking tea. Vinnie outlasted all campers when he stayed glued to the TV when the election results came in.

The weather started to come in and we were glad we had changed our planned route as many of the dirt roads were being closed. I rang Cathy McWilliam, former colleague from St Joseph's in Alstonville, who moved here when hubby Paul got a job in Bourke with Country Energy a couple of years ago. We organised to meet up the following day.

In the meantime Vince was chasing fishing spots in the Darling so we explored the weir and other spots to find a fishing venue. Cathy had recommended the Back o' Bourke Exhibition Centre so we thought it would be a good day to explore indoors. We weren't disappointed. it was excellent. I particularly liked the way poetry was an integral part of the display, especially the poetry of Lawson and Will Ogilvie. The Centre has only been opened for 12 months and it is technologically superior to any other display we've seen on our travels. Well worth the visit.

Where we were staying was about 10km out of Bourke "Northy" as the locals called it and it was a lovely park with lots of trees. Unfortunately the raindrops off the tree dropping onto the tent kept us awake for most of the night as the rain continued to fall. The park was becoming boggy, but not as boggy as the Bourke cemetery where we went to pay tribute to Fred Hollows. We could have spent ages in the cemetery except that the puggy clay mud was adhering to our walking shoes and we were growing taller by the minute! There is quite a history of Afghans in Bourke, even a mosque in the cemetery!! Not quite like the mosques in Doha, Luke!

There was a paddle boat in the river so we took a tour of the river, which had apparently risen a metre in the past week. The boat was a replica of an old boat that used to operate in the river last century. It can travel in less than a metre of water, but hasn't had to do that this year. I had the brief joy of putting the car into 4WD as we slid our way back to the caravan park.


We had a wet pack up and decided that a cabin in the caravan park at Moree might be a good strategy for the next few days. (no it's not cheating, it's called sanity!)

We bypassed Lightning Ridge and decided we would come back on one of our days in Moree. At $64 a night, we reckoned it was a bargain. The park had its own mineral springs, at 38C, it was blissful. We've been managing 2 spas a day so far.

Lightning Ridge was a 500km round trip & although interesting, not worth the extra days travel back over roads already travelled! I was amazed at the shacks that have sprung up on the outskirts of town, apparently there are no council regulations on dwellings on opal claims. Like Coober Pedy, I can say we've seen it but have no plans to return any time soon.

Our trip is coming to an end. It has been a wonderful journey and I continue to marvel at the immensity and variety of townships and landscapes in our marvellous country. I feel very thankful for this opportunity to explore a small part of Oz and we are already talking about our next trip taking the road less travelled. Our mantra of "No regrets" has allowed us to make changes and amend plans as the need arose and we have certainly met some interesting people and seen some great travelling rigs. The tent has served us well and the few nights in cabins has saved our sanity, it's not a bad way to travel. The Plenty Highway, Oodnadatta track, Birdsville, is calling us. Roll on retirement.......(Insert Vince's reply here).