Back o' Bourke.....

Thursday 23rd March 2017


After a rather warm night, we woke to a beautiful sunrise.   After a leisurely breakfast we once again packed up, and hit the road.   We took a short tour of Cobar, refueled and moved on.

     Our journey today took us to Bourke, a historic town on the Darling River.  

     The highway between the two towns is fantastic, wide, well maintained and frequented by numerous large trucks.  These trucks pose no problems, they are courteous, and thanks to the UHF, happy to give warning when overtaking.   (Listening to their general conversations also gives warning of what heavy vehicles are about)

     We arrived at Bourke late morning, Bev managed to do some washing and after an early lunch we toured the town.

     Bourke in the past has been a major paddle steamer port and rail head.  It played a major role in the opening up of outback N.S.W.   Paddle steamers travelled between Bourke and the Murray River ports.

    We visited the Back o' Bourke Centre, which tells the story of the area, from the local native inhabitants, to the early explorers, to the pastoralists.  





Friday 24th March, 2017


     Once again we woke to a beautiful morning. We packed the van, hooked up and took off down the Darling River.
    
    Oh yeah...... forgot to mention the bit where we boarded a paddle boat and took trip. The Darling is the longest river in Australia, we didn't go the entire way, just a short section. It was very picturesque with towering red gums, an abundance of native birds and a historic bridge. A very peaceful way to begin the day.









     Today we travelled from Bourke towards Cunnamulla, along the Mitchell Highway, a short hop of 200 k's.     It is surprising how much the countryside changes in a relatively short distance.   From thick scrub to open savannah and back again.   They also know how to do a straight road up here.




     We reached the Queensland border at lunchtime, where we found "The last pub in NSW", we stopped- (Who would have thought that such an iconic pub....wouldn't do meals?)- We opted for the obligatory beverage, and moved a little down the road where we stopped at the border. We lunched in the van, because it was a warmish 34 degrees on the roadside.

    We continued on to Cunnamulla, where we refueled (again) and  took in the sights of the town Cunnamulla is a very pretty place, it is obvious that the local take great pride in the town.