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.