Chapter 3 - Queensland

Chapter 3 - Queensland


Day 8 - Tuesday 20 June 2017                 >> Home Page & Intro

It had been declared a rest day so we started slowly. Egg for breakfast and a leisurely start.  I did however have time to sneak out earlier for a sunrise photo – but not one of my better ones.

Cunnamulla sunrise

We drove to the other side of town and visited the “Cunnamulla Bushlands”, a 2 km walking track that illustrates six of the eco systems that are found in this area.  Each area features plants and soils typical of the different eco systems. 

Cunnamulla Bushlands -Featuring 6 Different Eco Systems

We then visited the information centre (again), gathered more brochures, then found the only coffee shop in Cunnamulla.  After some shopping and strolling we headed home for a restful day - but not before we took a photo of the Cunnamulla Fella – made famous by the Slim Dusty song.

Cunnamulla Fella

Windcheaters were quickly discarded as the temperature quickly rose into the high teens - before lunch. Beanies were replaced with hats.

Later in the day we re-joined the happy hour camp fire and I was privileged to talk to a Yorkshire couple (Cliff and Mary who have been in Australia for 38 years.  They spend 6 months per year in Melbourne and 6 months on the road in their miniature caravan.  They are both in their 80’s and are marvellous people.  They both love cricket and we had an immediate topic for lots of conversation and “stirring”. We had a great two hours together.

Mary claimed to be a great grand-daughter of one of the English cricketers who was a part of the team that created the "Ashes" legend, so many years ago. 

Day 9 - Wednesday 21 June 2017 - Cunnamulla to Quilpie

A 3000 kg Diprotodon

We meandered out of Cunnamulla about 8:30 and headed north and north west on roads that we have never been on before. 

Our first stop was Eulo (population about 100) whose main claim to fame is being the principal home of the Diprotodon dinosaur. It was apparently around 3000 kg and sort of a wombat on steroids.

We moved on to the opal mining town of Yowah (85 and some dogs).  This was a town sort of similar to other Australian opal towns – remote, rocky, eclectic, dry.  We moved on.

Yowah - Opal Mining Town

We stopped for lunch at the Toompine pub (well the carpark anyway) and was amused at a couple of signs. There is nothing at Toompine apart from the pub.

Toompine pub

The countryside had turned distinctly outback and rocky. We crossed many cattle grids and flood plains – obviously not in flood. The live stock was mainly emu, with a few kangaroo and sheep and cattle to break the monotony – but not many.

We arrived at Quilpie around 2:30 and were advised to check out Lake Houdraman for camping options.  The lake is on private land and the “free camp” site cost us $10 per night.

It was a great spot to relax and get out my gas bottle BBQ to cook a stew and have dinner by the “fire”. Another couple (Colin and Judy) wandered over and chewed our ears over a glass or two.  Life is OK at times.  Colin is a lawn bowler and he agreed to maybe pair up if we meet at Maroochydore - as long as I was a decent bowler. I presented my credentials.

Our camp-site at Lake Houdraman, Quilpie

Stew in Campoven on Top of Gas Bottle BBQ

We sat by the fire until it died down then hit the sack with our respective books.

Day 10 - Thursday 22 June 2017 - Quilpie 

The sun rose about 7:25 and I was there with chair and camera. A couple of spoonbills let me get close enough for a photo. 

A Couple of Mates Looking for Breakfast

 It was chilly but a lovely morning.  The early birds provided musical accompaniment to Shirley’s snoring.

Sunrise Over Lake Houdraman

I turned on the gas heater so that Shirley would wake to a warmer environment than I had.  Once she opened her eyes and sat up I cooked her breakfast of bacon and eggs.

After a slow start we headed in to Quilpie, which is the end of the railway line from the east.

We first visited St Finbarr's Catholic Church which has opal inlays in the main alter, the baptismal font and the lectern.  It was amazing.  It is a lovely modern church, where mass is only conducted on the fourth Sunday of each month.

St Finbarr's Opal Alter

We then headed to Baldy's Tabletop lookout which is a "jump up" that has few trees. The view from the top was pretty impressive.

View from Baldy Tabletop Lookout. Note our car in picture.

 

Gidgee Tree

It also has a sister “tabletop” which has significantly more trees.

I also took a photo of a Gidgee tree, to acknowledge how good this wood is for a heat and cooking fire.  The wood is so hard that locals use a diamond tipped chain saw to cut it.  This tree is mature, but lives in an area usually devoid of water. It is probably about 7-8 metres in height and has a trunk about 250 mm wide.

We then headed in to town and visited a number of museums and galleries that illustrated local history.  Quilpie is a very remote town and its history reflects that.

We found a coffee shop (Gallery Café) that sold superb coffee and then moved on.

We wandered back to the caravan and pondered the magnificent views, trying to work out how to get a good photo of the (often present) magnificent birds.

Eventually we succumbed to the pressure of relaxation and read books and did Sudoku.  Around 4:30 we lit the fire and heated our pea n ham soup for dinner.  It was accompanied by fire-toasted-bread.

Although the following photo is not a great photo is does give a good representation of the colours of the Outback sunsets, which have to be seen to be believed.

Outback Sunset

We were both fascinated by the stars during the night.  We were in an area that had no light except for the stars.  No moon, no campfires, no caravan lighting, no public lighting.  If you have not been to central Australia in the dark then you have not seen stars in the way that they should be seen.  At one time Shirley and I were one metre from each other and could not see each other.  Touch is a wonderful thing!

Day 11 – Friday 23 June 2017 - Quilpie to Windorah

We left our wonderful lakeside camp spot and headed in to Quilpie (population 654) where we knew that there were free showers.  Not that we are misers, but we had not showered for two days.  They were hot and magnificent.  We felt good.

We drove the 100 or so km to Eromanga (population 85) which has three main calls to fame:

-        Firstly, they are the town in Australia who are the most distant from any ocean.  So we must have been in the middle of Australia somewhere.  All coastal points are over 1000 km away.
 

-        Secondly, they are one of the primary (but low key) oil producing areas of Australia, and
 

-        They are the location of one of the major dinosaur finds of Australia.  Shirley and I actually got to touch and pick up a dinosaur bone.  Cool, eh?  Their major (local) dinosaur – a Titanosaur - had a length of over 35 metres and a height of 6.5 metres.  They were too big to forage in the forests, so they just stripped the edges of the forest.

We visited the dinosaur work place and had a tour of the workings. It is fascinating how they go about finding, recovering and preserving of dinosaur parts.  These people live a long way from anywhere, in hot and dry conditions, and have to be very patient with what they do. Amazing.

A Titanosaur Zig Saw Puzzle

The Titanosaur Bone that we held - about half a house brick

We were in a dry and very baron part of Australia.  Rocks seem to dominate.  There were places that seemed to have few emu or kangaroo. However I did manage to get a photo of one of my favourite birds - the Wedged Tailed Eagle - trying to enjoy his lunch.

Wedged Tailed Eagle and Friend (partly hidden crow)

We departed Eromanga then headed first north east then north west to Windorah (population 80).  This was a road that had old and new parts – read thin and wide parts.  Much of this area of the world can be flooded at times.

We stopped somewhere and gleaned some Gidgee wood that was asking to be gathered and fed into a fire.

Around 12 km short of Windorah we reached Coopers Creek.  Coopers Creek is a waterway that can be very docile, a raging river, or a water supply that can create inland Australian seas.  We camped on the banks of the docile creek for the night.  It was a lovely spot and was enhanced by our intimate campfire. Left over stew was the menu for dinner.

Camped on the Bank of Coopers Creek

Our campfire at the above site

Day 12 – Saturday 24 June 2017 - Windorah to Longreach

We enjoyed our mildest night since leaving Melbourne. We broke camp about 8:15 and headed into Windorah, which has two claims to fame.  Firstly it has a solar farm of five 13.7 metre dishes to supply day time electricity to the town.  This is an experimental town by Ergon Energy.  Secondly it has some majestic buildings. I have provided a couple of photos of the above features of Windorah.

Solar Farm for Town Electricity Generation

Majestic Local Home

I also took a liking to the following sign, aimed at travellers heading to Birdsville.

 

We stopped and took a photo of the “Natives Well”, which is a natural hole in the rock that usually contains water.  In days gone by the local indigenous people knew that they could get water from the well.  It is probably about 700 mm wide.

Natives Well

 

In due course we moved on and drove through some very stony country, soon arriving at Jundah (population 85).  We did not dwell here and moved on to Stonehenge (population 30). Stonehenge is the Defence Department’s site for the “over the horizon radar” that helps to protect our coastline. 

Many of the roads that we have been travelling on are single lane bitumen with significant passing room on both sides.  This allows vehicles to get right OFF the road as a road train appears.  None of us want road trains in the dirt spewing dust and stones from their 50 or so wheels.



Narrow Bitumen but lots of width for passing

Stonehenge also boasts its “stone address book” where numerous travellers have written their name using some of the many available rocks.  Shirley joined the list of famous people with the artwork shown below.  The rocks are about the size of a fist – give or take.

Shirley - Forever in Stone

Not long after leaving a Kelly name in rock we moved from red rocky plains and hills to grey  flatter plains, with trees few and far between.  The rock, soil and vegetation had changed significantly.  At this stage we were around 90 km out of Longreach.  As we moved closer to Longreach the quality of the farm land appeared to gradually improve.  However we saw very few sheep or cattle, and very few kangaroos and emus.  The lack of kangaroos and emus meant zero road kills and hence no birds of prey. 

New Travel Game - Spot the Tree

Around 2pm we arrived in Longreach and camp was soon established.  Then a good shower and clean clothes were the order of the day.

Over the past two days we have driven around 650 km through areas that we had not seen previously.  The roads were mostly good, although often narrow.  As an indication of the volume of traffic only ONE car overtook us in those two days and we never caught or overtook any vehicles.  Perhaps 30 to 40 vehicles passed us going the other way.  Many of those vehicles were grey nomads, like ourselves.  Luckily only a few were road trains.

Around 5pm we moved to the camp kitchen/restaurant for some entertainment from Graham Rodger – a noted country singer (whom we also saw/heard in this area some years ago).  It was an enjoyable 90 minutes which we enjoyed with our new neighbours Gene and Ken.  Graham has won a number of Golden Guitar awards.

Day 13 – Sunday 25 June 2017 - Longreach

I was up and in to the laundry at 6:50 am to start catching up on washing.  By 8 am two loads were on the clothes line as Shirley appeared. We had breakfast together as we planned the day of shopping for our upcoming venture into the serious Outback (read Birdsville).

Longreach is billed as the “Capital of the Outback”. Like good grey nomads we injected some funds in to the local community, such as $66 for accommodation, $140 for food, $194 for diesel and $101 for pre-dinner and dinner refreshments. 

If you think that seems a lot please remember that we are about to move into the Diamantina Shire which covers 95,000 square km and contains a mere 300 people.  So we had to build up our stocks. However, the population will probably soon swell to a number greater than 10 times that number - for the Birdsville Big Red Bash. 

Brolgas

I also had to fork out $3.50 for a battery for the water tank level gauge.  It is the first time we have replaced that battery in 10 years.  Not bad.

We enjoyed the brolgas who casually walked around the park.

It was a quiet afternoon before we joined forces with Gene and Ken and had a pleasant happy hour. Far too soon it was time for dinner and going inside as the temperature dropped to a frigid 20 degrees.

Day 14 – Monday 26 June 2017 - Longreach to Winton

We departed Longreach about 8:15 and had a casual 180 km drive to Winton.  As the Tropic of Capricorn passes through Longreach, our departure meant that we were in the tropics.

At our coffee stop a Willy Wag Tail put on a show for us.

Willy Wag Tail

Winton is the home of "Waltzing Matilda" and where the Qantas company had its first meeting.

Continuing the "cultural" theme of our trip Winton had scheduled a Film Festival for the week, celebrating "Women in Film". The town was really buzzing.  Even part of the main street was blocked off.

We got a caravan site about 100 metres from the start of the main street, so we strolled the town until it got too hot.

It is interesting to note that Winton's entire water supply comes from bores, and enters our world at about 83 degrees C.  Pretty warm. The local claim is that it is as good as any water if you let it stand and allow the sulphur  to dissipate.

After lunch we used the car for transport and visited a few local sites.

Arno is a local character and the following two photos of "Arno's Wall" demonstrate that.  The photos represent about 80% of one side of his house block.  Anything and everything is in the wall.  [My apologies for the poor quality photos. It is hard to take a photo of a 100 metre fence.]





Two Sections of Arno's Wall

Shirley had to return to the Musical Fence to give me another musical recital.  She has not improved in six years.  The musical instruments are made from various things metal.

Shirley Making Music

Continuing my idea of showing interesting signs, I present the following two signs - from the walls of the Tattslotto Hotel.

There were a couple of famous Aussie actors in town and we watched them as they strolled past.  The feature film tonight is "Red Dog" - which we have seen before and have the DVD at home.  So in we stayed for the evening.

Apparently it was about 28 degrees at 4pm.

Tomorrow we start the 740 km drive south west to Birdsville - culminating in the Big Red Bash musical festival at the Big Red sand dune (three days).  We have never been on any part of that road so we are really looking forward to it.  We plan to take six days for the journey - so we are not in a rush.
 

So far we have travelled 3112 km in 14 days, a daily average of 222 km.  We probably have at least twice that to travel before we get home.

 

This posting is complete (except for maybe some minor edits).
Last updated at 8 pm Tuesday 27 June.

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Chapter 2 - New South Wales

Chapter 2 - New South Wales

Day 3 - Thursday 15 June 2017                 >> Home Page & Intro

As was the trend so far this trip the day started chilly and foggy. I had slept like a log and missed my pre-sunup stroll.

It was to be a day of history and culture.

The morning was dedicated to Yanga National Park. 


Shirley in the Yanga Shearing Shed

 

Our first stop was the woolshed that did its last “shear” in 2005.  In its heyday the shed could shear 3000 sheep in a day resulting in up to 100 bales of wool – each one weighing around 140 kg.  The shed could accommodate the entire flock for one day.  The place would have been buzzing back in the day.  The Murrumbidgee River is around 50 meters away, allowing paddle steamers to be the main source of wool transport, before more modern options became available.



Shearing Blade Embedded in a River Gum Tree

In its prime the farm was nearly 200,000 acres and had an annual wool clip of 2000 bales.  As many as 95,000 sheep stocked the land.  There were also 350 acres of grain crops.

For entertainment the shearers would throw their (retired) shearing blades into a river red gum tree and try to stick it in the bark - as high as possible.  We saw at least two examples still in a tree.  It sounds like an unsafe tree to walk under - although we did.



Yanga Shearing Shed

 

The farm house was a (former) majestic building that sits beside the Yanga lake with water on three sides.  One can imagine how good it was when it was a working homestead.

Yanga Homestead

There are some local noises to return the home and shearing shed to their former splendour, for educational and other purposes.  For example the shearing shed could be a reception centre, and the homestead could be an educational base. However it seems that the holders of the purse strings have other ideas in mind.

First Emu for the Trip

Our trip to the homestead produced our first sightings of emu for the trip – even before we have seen a (live) kangaroo.

Portable Baby's Cot

We returned to Balranald and visited the local museum/goal where Ronald Ryan (many years later convicted of murder in Melbourne) was held for some time as a teenager after some light fingered activity.

Another small museum gave us some amusement as we pondered the portable baby’s cot that packed into its own suitcase.

A guided tour of the men’s shed, by a very friendly local, illustrated what lonely & bored men can achieve when given some tools and a target in life. I also picked up a couple of project ideas for myself.

After lunch we visited the shed/garage where some locals are building a replica of the “Southern Cross”, the plane flown by the famous Sir Charles Kingford Smith. At some time in his history Sir Charles landed the plane in Balranald. 

Next we visited a local art gallery where some excellent works are displayed.  At the moment the feature paining is a portrait by Anh Do, which won a “People's Choice 2015 Outback Art Prize”.  It is an excellent painting, titled Stranger at the Bus Stop.




Part of the Birdless Bird Walk 

Our last physical activity for the day was a 2 km walk through a bird sanctuary. It must have been siesta time as the only bird we saw was another emu.

Balranald is also a place visited by a number of early explorers.  Oxley ran out of interest only 20 km before he would have found the rich Balranald region. Burke & Wills, Major Mitchell and Sturt fared better as they moved through the area.

Day three was only 56 km, and very enjoyable.  The weather did not reach the warmth of the last two days.

Day 4 - Friday 16 June 2017 - Balranald to Hay

It was not quite so cold as we left Balranald, but the sun was absent.

Soon we saw the long term effect of our forebears, somewhat like what the Kelly’s did to the Wimmera.  Early explorers reported that the Balranald area was no good for grain crops as it was too heavily treed.  Sometime later settlers used a bullock team and a large roller to clear the trees, often as much as ten acres in a day.  From then on Balranald enjoyed the justifiable claim to be a very rich area for sheep and grain crops.  The Murrumbidgee River was a handy transport mechanism for moving the wool and grain crops.

However we now know that salinity is the big issue as grain and wool crops are depleted.  In addition to that the clearing of snags from the river, to allow paddle steamers to operate safely, unwittingly upset the eco systems of the rivers, as the broad spectrum of river life needed those snags to survive.  The fish population has never fully recovered.




Countryside between Balranald and Hay

So we travelled ENE to Hay and observed that the former rich plains were virtually sheep and crop free.  The salt bush is doing well.  The photo above gives you an idea of what we saw.

As we moved closer to Hay we saw lots of white “puff balls” on the side of the road.  These were little balls of cotton that had come from large bales of cotton that had been harvested locally.  Hay is apparently doing well with crops of cotton and rice.



Left - Bales of Cotton Ready for Transport      Right - Road Side Cotton

We checked in to the caravan park and went into tourist mode.  Our first stop was the railway station which now serves as a museum that explains Hay’s WW2 role as a POW camp.  Apparently Britain sent some of their “enemy aliens” and real POWs to Australia.  Many of these people were housed in camps in Hay.  Many of them remained in Australia after the war.  Click here for more details.




Hay Railway Station, Now a Museum & Offices



Heat Driven Fan

We then visited the goal museum which houses many of the relics of days past.  Different categories were housed in different cells in the goal.  I was intrigued by the “Heat Driven Fan”.

We did some shopping and then relaxed for a while.
 
Dinner was at a local pub within walking distance of the caravan park.  The T bone steak was superb.




Day 5 - Saturday 17 June 2017 - Hay

It was another chilly morning as we drove to "Outback Shear"- effectively the Shearers Hall of Fame.  We read all about the process of shearing, the politics of the shearing industry and we learned about a day in the life of a shearer.

"Outback Shear" Shearing Shed

We watched a sheep being shorn and had the process explained to us. The shearing shed had been moved (in recent years) from its original Murray Downs location, near Swan Hill. The shearer wears special moccasins that are comfortable, non-slip and minimise plant thorn from getting inside.

Shearers Moccasins

It was interesting to compare the cotton we found yesterday, with the wool we had access to today. From a distance they look the same.  Once you touch them the dry cotton is vastly different to the lanolin enriched wool. 

In addition the quality of cotton is roughly similar from one plant to another, whereas the wool from one sheep can be vastly different to another.  Things like breed, age, gender, location, local plant life, quality of feed and water all have an impact on the wool.

After lunch we paid our $2 and entered the Hay Merino Sheep Show.  It is the premier sheep event in this part of the world.  We saw some magnificent animals and watched a shearing demonstration using old time shears.

The photo below shows the comparison of the two types of tools that we saw demonstrated today.



Left - Modern Handset                  Right: Shears

A Magnificent Merino Ram

We have been impressed with both Balranald and Hay.  There are both tidy towns with an apparent strong community spirit.

We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon.

Day 6 - Sunday 18 June 2017 – Hay to Cobar

It was about 5 degrees as we left Hay around 8:30 and headed north east.  At soon as we left town I enabled cruise control and enjoyed the ride.  It was such a flat road that all I did was steer for about 100 km. No change of pace, no change of gears.


Goolgowi Hotel - The Black Stump

Our arrival at Goolgowi forced me to take over as we turned left and headed north.  About 20 minutes later we stopped for morning tea at a little place called Merriwagga.  Folklore has it that the Aussie term “black stump” came from Merriwagga. Apparently according to the macabre tale, a drover and his wife were setting up camp for the night and the wife was organising dinner on the campfire as the drover was rounding up stray stock.  Apparently the drover's wife came to grief in the fire and by the time the drover returned she was (in the drover’s words) “just a black stump”.


Golf Hole at Mount Hope

Anyway the local pub trades on that story.

As we moved back on to Kidman Way (the name of the highway) we were blessed with a slight tail wind and more easy driving ensued. 


We stopped for lunch at Mount Hope (of which it has little) and I chuckled to see the golf course, particularly the holes.  There was no putting green as such, just part of a metal drum with holes. That golf hole is complete when you get your ball inside the metal drum, either via flight or through any of the holes.

Our superb driving conditions continued, all the way to Cobar.  We arrived about 2:30, with the temperature about 18 degrees.  Around 420 km for the day – our longest day yet.


I had to take another photo of one of my favourite towns signs.  See below.

We set up camp and then went for a walk in to town.  I cooked some damper to go with our home made soup.

Damper

Day 7 - Monday 19 June 2017 – Cobar to Cunnamulla (QLD)

As John Fogerty would sing, “Déjà vu – All over again”. Again, 5 degrees, and sunny and ideal driving conditions as we left Cobar just after 8 am.  Again cruise control was enabled and I just sat back with the Sudoku.  Only joking but driving was that easy.  The road was so straight that I did not need to steer around corners. The main issue was boredom.  Boredom got so bad that Shirley starting knitting.



Road to Cunnamulla, heading north

The land north of Cobar seemed to be a rich cotton growing area.  There seemed to be plenty of irrigated land. However the quality of the landscape soon deteriorated.


We passed through Enngonia, mainly known because of a local identity “Captain Midnight” - bushranger.  Shirley was impressed that the only thing that seemed “alive” in town was the mobile coffee stand on the edge of town.  She was less impressed when she realised that I was not going to stop.

Not long after we crossed in to Queensland (QLD) and moved further north.  The land became even poorer as the most popular animals seemed to be emu, goat and kangaroo.  I was able to get a photo of a bird of prey who was waiting for us to leave the site of his/her lunch.

Land on the Queensland side of the border

Around 2:30 we arrived in Cunnamulla. After seeking road advice (into Birdsville) from the information centre we booked into the Warrega Riverside Caravan Park.

Our trip today was around 415 km.

Around 4:30 we accepted our hosts invitation and joined the party at the campfire beside the river Warrega.  Shirley is immediately left of the tree in the blue-backed chair in the photo below.



Campfire beside the Warrega river

It was a pretty spot and a pleasant three hours.  Shirley got talking to a lady from Tamworth and gleaned some information for our trip to that town next year.

By the time Shirley took me home and cooked dinner the fire looked like the photo below.

This posting is complete.  Please come back to read about Queensland in Chapter 3.

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Chapter 1 - Silo Trail

Chapter 1 - Silo Trail

Day 1 - Tuesday 13 June 2017                 >> Home Page & Intro

It was cool and overcast as I moved the caravan out of the driveway, so that Shirley's car could be locked away.  Friends who have been to our place will be pleased to hear that I was able to back the caravan into our driveway to make packing and maintenance that much easier.

It was around 10am as we locked the unit and started the car, and headed to the ring road - destined for the Ballarat freeway.  Hopefully all of our "departure" tasks had been completed.  I know that both the oven and the iron were off.  It was about 12 degrees C.

We headed towards Ballarat and within an hour or so we were rewarded with a clear sky and lots of sun.  The temperature had skyrocketed up to 13 degrees.  Every 60 to 70 km the temperature went up by one degrees so by the time we moved passed Stawell it was 17 degrees.  Pretty hot by recent Melbourne standards.

Our first major stop was the painted silos at Rupanyup, an excellent taste of what was to come.  The magnificent art work was let down by the lack of a sign advising when, who and who were the subjects.  However the art work was well worth the trip. Later on we had to do some research.

It was painted by Russian Artist Julia Volchkova who is actively involved in the graffiti and street art movement in the places
she travels. Julia's work usually focuses on portraits and the Rupanyup Silo Art mural is apparently inspired by the Rupanyup Panthers Football & Netball Club.




Rupanyup Silo



Fireman on Wall of the Pharmacy Guild

We had an added bonus of a mural on the wall of the Rupanyup Pharmacy Depot (whatever that is).


We then moved to Minyip, the town that my forebears called home for many many years from the early 20th century.  The remaining Kelly land was sold only 15 years ago.  A visit to the cemetery allowed us to ponder the life style of my great grandparents who died in 1897 and 1907 respectively.  Their monument is the highest in the cemetery.  Click here if you would like to read a summary of early Kelly Aussie history.

James & Nora Kelly, Minyip Cemetery

We headed north towards Brim, another artistic spot. However a sign on the side of the highway reminded us that we had forgotten Sheep Hills, the second of the silo murals. So we quickly did a small detour. Again it was magnificent. 
 
We saw a GIANT mural dedicated to Indigenous culture.  Sheep Hills was the third silo to be painted, following Brim and Patchewollock. It features Wimmera Elders Ron Marks and Regina Hood, along with a young boy and a young girl.

It was painted by Adnate - an internationally renowned street artist, famous for his work with Aboriginal communities across Australia.  He completed the mural in December 2016. The four indigenous faces now watch over the tiny community of Sheep Hills and the starry background of the towering portraits has symbolic significance to the local people.




Sheep Hills Mural

Sheep Hills also has a lovely old pub with character.


Commercial Hotel - Sheep Hills

Then we turned our attention to Brim, where Guido van Helten (a Melbourne based world renowned street artist) has turned the tiny town into a tourist destination overnight (early 2016).  There are four characters, standing 30 metres tall, on the iconic Australian structures (as in grain silos). They are not specific local people, but an artists representation of who the local people are.

Brim Mural - First to be painted

You really have to see this art work from a distance and up close to appreciate it.  Why some woman had to clean out her car in front of a wonderful piece of art really amazes me.

Anyway we moved on about one km and we paid our $10 at the (old time) service station - the pub was closed for the day - and camped near the bank of the Brim weir.  A hand held Crown Lager and a camera produced the following photos.  Pre-cooked curried sausages and rice were tabled for dinner.  It was an early night.

Day one was 390 km, and pretty impressive.


Day 2 - Wednesday 14 June 2017 - Brim to Balranald

As is usual for me I was up before the sun and made the mistake of not taking a torch to the shower.  There are no lights.  Still I think all bits got washed, and my clothes remained dry.

It was very foggy and not ideal for sunrise photos.  I updated the blog while I waited for Shirley to wake and the sun to appear.  However the lure of a photo beckoned so I headed off to snap the following view.  My apologies to the pelican who did not quite make the photo.

Foggy Sunrise at Brim Weir

We had a healthy breakfast of cereal and fruit and departed around 9am. We headed through Hopetoun with Patchewollock as our first stop - for the last silo painting.

Patchewollock - Local farmer ‘Noodle Hulland' - by Fintan Magee

The painter - Fintan Magee - is a Brisbane based street artist who painted the Patchewollock Silos in October 2016. Local farmer ‘Noodle Hulland' was chosen for the inspiration of the artwork because he was slim enough to fit the two narrow silos and had "that classic farmer look", embodying the locals' spirit.

There are two more silos earmarked for a painting, at Lascelles and Roseberry - possibly later this year.

Our movement north east took us through Walpeup, a regular summer mention on the ABC Weather Bulletin as the hottest place in Victoria for that day. We then headed east through Ouyen and started to cross the salt plains that have ruined this part of the world.  I did manage to get a photo of a mural in Ouyen.

Ouyen Mural

Our disappointment at poor countryside was soon replaced by the beauty of the lush country and river gums as we approached the Murray river.  The "Swan Hill Wine Region" sign marked our entry into this region.

We stopped at Tooleybuc for lunch and I took the following photo of the bridge over the (currently not so mighty) Murray river, as we crossed into NSW.



Tooleybuc Bridge over the Murray River

One hour later we were in Balranald and talking to a lady at the information centre who learned to ride a bike at her auntie's place - who lives about 200 metres from us in Melbourne.

She convinced us to stay in Balranald so we booked into the caravan park for two nights. After a coffee we went for a walk and took the following photo - about 200 metres from our caravan.

Murrumbidgee River at Balranald

Balranald has a proud record of their people who fought in great wars and they have memorials to their soldiers in a number of streets.  They also have memorial reminders of famous people who visited here like Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and explorers like Sturt as well as Burke and Wills.

We settled in for a chilly night and planned our next couple of days.

Day two was 312 km.





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