Day 25 - Friday 7 July 2017 >> Home Page & Intro
We moved off our site at 7:10 and by 7:11 we were in a holding pattern, waiting to move forwards. There were about 6 main roads in the camp all leading in to one exit road. Twenty cars were allowed out at a time, from each road in turn. So we moved on (about 20 vehicle positions) then stopped while other roads got their go. We saw the sun rise while in the queue.
The boys in blue at Birdsville,
directing traffic, assured us that we could reach the bakery. So we did, for a sausage roll for now, a pie
for later, and some bread for whenever.
We departed Birdsville about
10:10 headed for Bedourie, in a constant line of grey nomads and others. The typical speed was around 70 kph on the gravel roads. |
| Big Red Bash People Going North - On a Dirt Road |
We were amused by some of the road side “art” that adorned the road.
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| Hats n Boots |
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| Kitchen & Household Stuff |
After a coffee mid trip we
reached Bedourie, got the key to the 40 degree artesian spa, and leapt in. It was SO good. We got out when the wrinkles appeared.
Next stop was the Bedourie
Racetrack in readiness for the Camel & Pig races tomorrow. The rules were “free camping as long as you
pay the $16 to go to the races”.
We soon found out that we were in bindii (or bindi-eye) territory - small plants that produce flower heads full of nasty little spines or thorns. They stick to nearly anything, and hurt when they stick to bare skin. Very annoying.
We soon found out that we were in bindii (or bindi-eye) territory - small plants that produce flower heads full of nasty little spines or thorns. They stick to nearly anything, and hurt when they stick to bare skin. Very annoying.
We set up camp,
went for a walk, talked to new neighbours, and lit a fire – for cooking of
dinner (stew and damper) and heat. It was good.
It had been a long day and sleep came easily.
My phone indicated that it was 7 degrees at 7:30, so I lit the gas heater and wrote these words. It was a slow start. I was even too lazy to venture out to get a sunrise photo.
We had a dampener put on the start of our day when we realised that we had a leak from our water pump and a virtually empty water tank, and after being very frugal with water while at the Bash. I attempted some repairs, but to no avail. However tomorrow will be another day, and we will move on.
Around 9:30 we wandered over to the racetrack entrance
and paid our $16 entrance to the annual Bedourie camel & pig race
event. We soon found out that it was
much more than that. The whole day
consisted of camel races, pig races, human foot races, wood-chopping, golf
putting and chipping, damper cook off, camp oven throwing contest. Again the Crackup sisters were a feature of
the day, and the day was to finish with Ray Ryder and his band playing into the night.
The camel races are a chaotic event with the jockeys
apparently having no control over the camel.
He or she sits on the back of the camel and hangs on. Sometimes the
camel would go backwards, sometimes they would veer all over the track,
sometimes they would lose their rider, sometimes they would start before the
gun, once one chased the ambulance.
There were seven events, the major “Cup” event having a first prize of
$2350.
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| Lucky Girl came Third - Shirley's Bet |
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| We Love a Winner - Not Ours |
There were two on-course bookmakers, who also did other
Australian race events. They took some
of our money and never gave it back.
The pigs were the major attraction and a major source of
income. Each of the five races had a
Calcutta sweep. Patrons would bid for
the right to own the pig for the duration of the race, normally around $180
to $250 per pig. The income from those
sales went in to a pool. The “owner” of
the winning pig would take half of the pool, with the other half going to the
local community. So the “owner” could
win around $600 from their $200 purchase – all dependent on the sale prices and
the total pool for that race. The pigs
had a novelty course and the winner was the pig who first put their snout in a
bowl of milk. It was a fun event. The contestants were about 10 weeks old. They all ran about five races for the day.
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| This Way Guys |
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| Winners Have to Share |
Click here to see more camels and pigs.
The wood-chopping was a popular event. There was men’s and ladies singles, men’s and ladies pairs and mixed pairs.
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| Winner of the Ladies Singles, Ladies Pairs and the Mixed Pairs |
Truck loads of damper was cooked by many and varied
contestants. I decided not to enter.
During the day we met up with Peter, Ann and Cash who we had
first met at the Birdsville Caravan Park, prior to the Big Red Bash. Cash (the
Australian Shepherd) did not fare that
well as he scored a lot of bindii in his woolly hair.
As the light started to fade I was able to get a couple
of photos that showed the cloud formation and the sunset. The grey photo was taken at 5:19 pm and the
red sunset was taken at 6:05 pm.
We had a wonderful day and it wound up with a pizza for
dinner while listening to Ray Ryder and his band playing from the back of a
truck.
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| Ray Ryder - Second from Left |
Day 27
- Sunday 9 July 2017 We did not like the look of the threatening dark clouds, so we packed up promptly and departed Bedourie about 8:20 am. We turned north and our first stop was Boulia, 190 km away.
On the way we passed the Tropic of Capricorn, so we were now back into the tropics. According to the car the temperature jumped from 13 to 14.
Once we reached Boulia it was
time for a coffee and a walk. Shirley
bought some good quality and great value fruit – not bad for this remote part
of the world. Diesel was $1.80 per litre
so we bypassed that outlet.
We again drove through some magnificent country and it was hard to work out where to take the best photo.
We again drove through some magnificent country and it was hard to work out where to take the best photo.
We had planned to stay at the Middleton Hotel, an outback pub that has a song about it. However, we were unimpressed with the mud that was all over the place, courtesy of more rain than we had seen. So we moved on.
The driver would change horses and move on, sometimes finishing his shift to allow another driver to take over. “The mail had to get through.” Passengers could use this break as a welcome meal, drink or comfort stop.
About 60 km later we found an
excellent free camp spot, with toilet, among the scenic beauty that typified
the drive from Boulia to Winton.
We went for a walk and took some photos of the common plants. I do not know the botanical names of these plants, but most have a common name that is unprintable – due to their prickly or other annoying feature. Their common feature is that they are all growing in a rocky and harsh environment.
We went for a walk and took some photos of the common plants. I do not know the botanical names of these plants, but most have a common name that is unprintable – due to their prickly or other annoying feature. Their common feature is that they are all growing in a rocky and harsh environment.
We had covered around 465 km for the day, but still had set up camp by 3pm.
Shirley served Curried Camel pie (from the Birdsville Bakery) and veges for dinner. We went to bed as very dark clouds hovered. However we were on top of a big hill on a very rocky base, so flooding was not an issue.
We were in bed very early. Lights out very early.
Day 28
- Monday 10 July 2017
You know the story. Early to bed, early to rise, etc etc. And so it came to pass that we (sorry I) were up early – in time to appreciate the colours of the early morning skies that the Outback can provide.
You know the story. Early to bed, early to rise, etc etc. And so it came to pass that we (sorry I) were up early – in time to appreciate the colours of the early morning skies that the Outback can provide.
The first photo was taken at
6:51 am and the second at 7:17 am.
We were on the road around 7:45
and headed towards Winton. Shirley was
starting to wake up - her first coffee was 92 km away. Along the road I took a photo of a “Grid”,
which is a row of about 10 steel girders that prevent animals (mainly cattle
and sheep) from moving from one property to another. We have probably crossed 100 or more grids on
our trip so far. They are rarely on main highways, but can appear occasionally on those roads.
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| Stock Grid |
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| Shirley at the "Home" of the Crackup Sisters |
After a stroll we relaxed and then at 5:30 we listened to some cove called Fred Troughton who was singing at Happy Hour. Sausages in onion gravy and veges were for dinner.
Today was "W" day. WASHING of clothes, bodies, car inside, car outside, sheets, towels, clothes, caravan inside and anything else that we could find. Much as we loved Birdsville and District we have been removing evidence of having been there - and evidence of being away from washing machines for a while.
Last update on Tuesday 11th at 7:30 pm.
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It is all sounding really good. Love the photos. Love the little piglets racing and ending up in the food bowl.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the next instalment. Cold and wet in Eltham today. Take care.