Left our beautiful riverside retreat very reluctantly this morning, passing out through the front gates at a very tardy 9.30. Much later than we had hoped with a 400km plus drive ahead of us. Destination Broken Hill.

There were 2 roads to choose between which skirted either bank of the Darling. We opted for the road north of the river for no other reason than we were already on that side of the bridge. It was dirt all the way to Wilcannia- quite corrugated in some places- which gave us a chance to practice our vibrato as we blasted the Mundi Mundi playlist.

Stopped briefly at the Tilpa pub on the way through- like all these outback pubs it has its own  rustic character- its claim to fame is the writing/signatures all over the walls and roof. They were only serving schooners and sausage- with a big drive ahead of us we decided neither of those was suitable at  11 am, so headed off quickly to avoid sharing the road with those that had partaken.

Next stop and many a dusty mile later- Wilcannia- sporting some beautiful old sandstone buildings AND  a cafe with great coffee.  Also had the last petrol stations before broken hill the first we went to had  a 250m queue (we estimated more than an hours wait) to refill.  Chasing daylight we opted for the ‘other’ one which had a very short queue but was 25c/litre dearer.

From Wilcannia to Broken Hill was tarmac road – yay- with nothingness as far as the eye could see.

Arrived at Broken Hill Racecourse around 4.30, tired and starving. Like last year the grounds are filling up fast with excited pre-bashers. 

We are camped right in the middle of the course with the first drops of rain of our holiday falling on the tent. We ordered dinner from the Thai food truck (one of the many food vans that have come in)- while our pad Thai was probably no more Thai than I am, it was delicious- especially to two starved travellers.

Now tucked up, heater on (we have power tonight) looking forward to tomorrow when A & J join us (they’re currently camped about 3 hours away).

We were  woken up just before sunrise by gangs of kookaburras along the river calling out to each other (no doubt saying ‘get out of bed you lazy buggers’) . We had a leisurely breakfast  then donned out glad rags (ie put on clean jeans and shirts) and headed into Louth to the races.  

Louth is a tiny town on the opposite bank of the river to where we are camped. It has a population of 40, and the pub is the only non-residential building in town. Once a year people flock to town from all over central NSW (and beyond), for the Louth Races. And we were lucky enough to be in town that day.  Most people camp either at the race track, behind the pub or along the river.

Dress code varied – most wore checked shirts, moleskins and  an akubra.   Others went the whole enchilada and dressed to the 9s. Sadly I’d left my fascinator and heels at home so couldn’t compete in ‘fashions on the field’  (David had also left his heels at home so couldn’t compete for the ‘best dressed bloke’.

It was a hoot of a day.  There’s nothing quite like leaning over the barriers as the horses pound by in a cloud of dust- exhilarating. 

David managed to back 2 winners. I used my usual (random) approach ie back the mare because she was the only ‘woman’ in the race, and managed to get a couple of second places. At $5 a bet both our winnings and losses were modest.

Because race going is such thirsty work we stopped at the pub- Shindy’s  Inn – for a cool one on the way home. 

Got back to camp at 5.30 managing to avoid both cattle and goats on the road, and were tucked up in front of the fire eating dinner by 6.30.

Have an early start tomorrow as we have a 5 hour drive to Broken Hill ahead of us.

Left our little camp site in Brewarrina very reluctantly this morning and headed to Bourke – or the back there of.

Stopped for an hour or so in  Bourke (about an hour down the road). Given its iconic identity I think we were expecting it to be more than it was. The Back ‘o Bourke museum was definitely worth a visit to understand the diverse history.

From Bourke we followed the east side of the Darling Mostly on red dirt but in good condition – no corrugations. We didn’t see the river despite not being more than a few hundred metres away.  National park (scrub) on one side and vast farm land – cattle mostly, on the other.. There were feral goats EVERYWHERE – they thrive on the ‘eat anything’ food supply.   Apparently local farmers herd them up and sell them for meat every now and again but market for goat is poor so it seems they just do this when numbers get high.

We arrived at our camp spot mid afternoon – a bush camp on Dunlop Station and our little spot is right on the bank of the Darling. We are totally alone out here – absolutely  magical. 

The other side of the river and down the way a bit is the town of Louth. Louth races are on tomorrow- a big local event and we can hear the town beginning to buzz (or perhaps roar?) in the distance. We are very glad to be on this side of the river.

Now sitting by campfire, glass of red in hand. Life’s good! I

Left Lightning Ridge round 8.30 after a world record 30 minute pack up and minimalist breakfast. We did stop to pick up a latte and a muffin for ‘Ron  as we passed through town and then we were on our way.

Had to back track through Walgett and then started our Darling River Run.  The road was quite a way from the river system (the Barwon in this section) so it was pretty much flat, treed, yet dry as a chip landscape.  The litany of road kill reminded us of the importance of getting to our  destination before roo hour.

We arrived in Brewarrina n time for a late lunch. It’s a historic town right on the Barwon River – at the highest point where the old paddle steamers used to be able to reach on the Darling. It has strong aboriginal history including the 40,000 plus  year old fish traps constructed by 8 tribes of Aboriginal people.  It remains a significant meeting place.

We did the local Aboriginal cultural tour. A young aboriginal man shared stories about the local aboriginal history, the design and construction of the traps and how they work (they’re still used by locals today) as well as the much more sobering impacts  of colonisation on the local aboriginal people.

Tonight we are camping on a local farm right on the edge of the Barwon River – Beds on the Barwon- only a few campers here and an enormous gang of kookaburras who have been chortling at us for the last half hour. Very tranquil spot – ot it will be once our feathered friends drop off to sleep.

We’re about to light a fire and settle in for the night, and enjoy our first campfire cooked meal for the trip.

Lightning Ridge is a remote, quirky town packed with interesting characters all with a story to tell.  Over 85% of residents are born overseas and have come to try their luck with the opals. A bit like gambling most find nothing of note, some find dribs and drabs of ‘colour’ and a (very) few strike it rich – and those that do make millions.  LR is the only place in the world where black opals have been found and 1 Karat yields $10k, so opal fever is a real thing.

There was loads to see in our 1 full day here . We planned our mission carefully and tried to leave no stone unturned. This was made easier by the Shire’s self guided  ‘car door routes’- four  routes covering all the local attractions – art, mining, history and sunset, signified by spray painted car doors. Some took more finding than others but we managed it – photo evidence below.

Flat and dusty, the outskirts of town (or suburbs as they call them) are full of 50x50m ‘claims’ – no permanent dwellings are allowed on claims so those trying for opals generally live in makeshift dwellings over where they sink their shafts.

Well, day 3 slipped by in an entirely  un-blogworthy way – with me spending the day in Dubbo library attending to some very historical (aka 37 years ago) work – a definitely a story for another day- however in Day 4 we’ve finally made our way to the gateway to the outback- so may the adventure begin!

Managed to roll out of Dubbo fed, watered and packed up at 8.30am, half an hour later than we had hoped but  half an hour earlier than we expected.

Then the search for coffee…  not that easy to come by in this neck of the woods. The information centre at Gilgandra offered up a great cup and we shared a table with an amazing couple Gen 3 of 5 generations of grain growers on 14000 acres in West Wyalong  (their kids and grandkids now run the farm).  Very interesting to hear the ins and outs of the industry and how it’s changed over the years. Coffee soon turned into an hour long convo before we continued our journey north. 

Our other stop was Walgett – a small historic town about an hour out of Lightning Ridge.  Many businesses were closed (not sure if that was just today or permanent, but grey nomads are clearly an important part of the economy.  Big farm equipment and quirky street art also featured.

Arrived in Lightning Ridge round 3.30 to a balmy 24 degrees- at last we’re in the land of T shirts.

We are staying in the local Big 4. Absolutely chockers (I guess because there aren’t any free camps within cooee) but pretty calm and with a bit of a vibe.  Ground here is solid clay, totally impervious to tent pegs – even drill in ones- so have ditched the awning.

Have just been listening to two self professed ‘old Sheilas’ reciting bush poetry – a mix of old faves and hilarious poems they have written themselves ( their act is called ‘The pen is mightier than the vacuum cleaner’. – they perform here at 4.30 every night during winter and then do a ‘summer circuit’ down south. We will definitely go again tomorrow night.

Had a fabulous nights sleep despite the sub-zero temperatures.  Thermals, doona,  wool  blanket and woolly  hats pulled down over our noses kept us cosy. 

We had a leisurely start, eating breaky in the sun waiting for the ice to melt on the tent.  First pack up for a while so took us nearly an hour to get on the road- we will need to lift our game in that department.

Travelled to Dubbo via Forbes and Parkes.  Being a Sunday almost everything was closed but we did manage to find excellent coffee in Forbes and to enjoy a walk through the really pretty town  full of Gillie & Marc sculptures and heritage buildings.

Next stop Parkes and of course the mandatory visit to ‘The Dish’ which was actually quite mesmerising. Buzzing with electricity so we may well glow in the dark tonight.

Elvias also features prominently in Parkes but sadly we are here at the wrong time for the annual Elvis impersonator festival.- but maybe next year?

Arrived in Dubbo late afternoon (have booked 2 nights in the caravan park here).  Arrived right on wine o’clock so we were watched by many as we set up camp.  It’s a fairly quiet park but a bit noisier than last night.

Cool weather is setting in but the upside of being in a caravan park is we we have power so we may just ‘cheat’ with our little fan heater.

Day zero: We got up bright  and early (yes really) and armed with pre-trip enthusiasm and a detailed packing/chore list we got to it. Then the knock at the door…….letting us know the gas pipes were being replaced in our street , the road would be closed and they needed to dig a pit on our nature strip. Fortunately the let us put our car on the street for packing, but the flip side of that was being dodged by a steady steam of bob cats and dump trucks. And we learned there’s nothing quite like the performance anxiety that goes with being watched by about 20 workers while you try to work out how the heck to strap a tyres and gerrys to you roof for the first time (and the second and third time by the time we got it right).

We fell into bed exhausted but with firm resolve to be on the road by 7am. and we were- at least by 8.06, so within coo -ee of our KPI.

A long leg today so we can do some exploring tomorrow. Breaky in Seymour (if you call scones with lashings of cream breaky) then with a sense of deja vu we pulled in to Strathmerton to consume our last pieces of fruit before the border. Then on to Jerrilderee, Narrandera (with note to self to visit there for longer some time), arriving in West Wyalong at about 4.30.

We are staying at the Showgrounds. Very few people here and great facilities. A gorgeous sunset and clear skies which promise a cold night- we’ve been told it’s to expect  -1.  So currently hugging our soup bowls and wrapped in blankets. It will definitely be an early night for us.