Along the Mitchell Highway

Tattersalls Hotel at Barringun

 Stopped for morning tea at a quaint hotel called Tattersalls in the tiny town of Barringun, right on the NSW/Qld border. This is the last hotel in NSW before the border. The elderly licencee served us a nice coffee and beautiful homemade cakes. She was a hive of information and told us about the happenings in the district

Cunnamulla Post Office

Cunnamulla is a beautiful little town in the south west of Queensland. It has a number of historic buildings and is famous for being the home of the Cunnamulla Fella. A country and western song made famous by Slim Dusty. Diane's great aunt (Aunty Alice (Evans) was post mistress here for 40 years in the middle of last century. The post office has been restored and is in very good condition.

Nadoo Station

Stayed a night at the Nadoo Station, a working cattle station. Just after we arrived 3 jackeroos mustered a large mob of cattle into holding yards within the grounds. The caravan park was actually inside the station. In the evening we were entertained by a family member with his guitar, mandolin and country songs. We mixed with the staff and heard stories of their life on the land. Nadoo Station has recently been sold and the park has to move as the new owners aren't interested in tourist parks.

Diane and her Hungry Friend

Spent a couple of days in Charleville at the Evening Star park. This again is a working cattle station and was very relaxing. Wild animals and bird life everywhere as shown in the photo. A nice tidy and clean town with some historic buildings and a RFDS centre. Visited the Cosmic Centre where we saw several stars, planets and the moon through their powerful telescopes

Bourke

The Show Grand Champion Merino

Bourke is a sleepy town of about 2500 people.One of the big events of the year is the Bourke Show and we were lucky to be there for it. The show featured horse jumping, sideshows and the highlight was the sheep and wool judging. We were fortunate to see Gabi Hollows (Fred's widow) present the prizes to the winners. Fred Hollows had a special relationship with Bourke and is buried there. The Darling River passes through Bourke but the water level was pretty low.

Freecamping

Glenariff Rest Area

After setting out from home on the 9th May, we had stops in very cold Orange and Dubbo before a free camp at a stop called Glenariff Rest Area. Very quite as we were the only people there. No problems, though but we will try to stay at free stops where there are other people in future. Red dirt everywhere (see picture). Set off bright and early the next day for Bourke.