Roon and Family around Oz

T+200 Bourke & Cobar, Go West young man or East to Eden?  We're at Cobar, a NSW crossroads. Literally and figuratively. We go west to South Australia, self-isolate for 2 weeks and continue on our big-lap, albeit with a chunk missing? Or, we head east and meander slowly through Central NSW in the direction of Coffs Harbour? Cobar Another crossroads in our lives. Like most, we've had a few and as we weigh the pros and cons can't help think of those life-changing decisions, some well considered, others fanciful, which have led to the present day and yes, Cobar.  I've written earlier in this missive about our charmed life in Zambia and how 3 weeks turned into 5½ years. Leaving was a wrench but had to be. Personnel in London, known these enlightened days as HR or the Spoiler Police, had decreed that Zambia long-term was no place for a mid-20's bloke with a degree of ambition and perceived potential. Matters had been made worst by winning...

T+ 180 Winton to NSW Border via Longreach, Barcaldine, Blackall, Tambo, Charleville and Cunnamulla.   One door closes. and another opens or is it the other way around? Officially Queensland is open for business, the hospitality and tourism businesses rubbing their hands together, sprucing up the old place and hanging out the welcome flags. Problem is they're not. Longreach, which we were looking forward to, is to put it mildly, comatose. The iconic Qantas Museum is closed. The even more iconic Stockmans Hall of Fame closed. The sing-along, clap along outback evenings around the camp-fire - closed. So with nobody willing to part us from our hard-earned we continue our trek south.  The plan now is to time our itinerary to arrive at the South Australian border in time for the grand opening on the 20th July. As the Beast refuses point-blank to get down and dirty on gravel this means transiting across South West NSW which we reckon shouldn't be too much of a hardship. First u...

T+160    Dinosaur Trail  Part 2      Richmond - Julia Creek - Hughenden - Winton Who Dunnett? Tough as it was to say farewell to Penny, we    headed towards Hughenden via Julia Creek,  which turned into a two night stopover at a free  camp site by the creek itself. If you're a Dunnet  fan this is the place to be as the Visitors Centre  feeds their Dunnets' at 10:00 am on the dot.  Don't be late otherwise you may well miss the  chance to see the very rare, mouse-size  marsupial and very cute they are too. Highlight though,was a bike-ride along the creek accompanied by 4 curious and sociable Emu's trotting alongside for a km or so. They turned out to be very good listeners and only tried to peck me the once when I told them that the barmaid in the Top Pub almost refused to serve me when I asked for a splash of lime in Jane's lager. The other 10 or so patrons, all in Stetsons and Wranglers, didn't seem that ...

T+157       The Dinosaur Trail Part 1 - Richmond & Penny the Kronosaur ' So 'ere I am 'avin a nice kip when this geezer comes in, plonks 'imself outside me case and sits there just staring like. I'm thinkin' he's just a weirdo or his missus has slung him out of the caravan when - and cop this - he starts jabberin' on.  He says he's Ian but call him Roon and that he wants to interview me!  Wants to know me mornin' glory like. Looks like a bleedin' fossil himself if you ask me. Now, I've been lying here quite happily since 1989 and nobody's said a dicky-bird to me. I've been prodded, sawn, chiselled, moulded and even super-glued but last time I had a natter with anyone was at the end of the Cretaceous. So, I looks at the diary and next appointment isn't until the 41st century so what the 'ell, he looks like he's got a kind boat-race so I sez go for it Parky but watch out for the bleedin' mega-fauna emu, heh...

T+153       Burke and Wills, Roadtrains and Roadhouses Due south from Normanton to Three Ways - around 200 km and an overnight stay at the iconic Burks and Wills Roadhouse.  There's some serious Aussie folklore round these parts most of which is to do with the achievements and sad end of these legendary explorers. They set off from Melbourne in 1860.  The aim was to find a route to the Gulf of Carpenteria for a Telergaph Line.  They give it a real go and despite numerous well documented setbacks and intrigues very nearly made it. Beaten by the mangroves they were, just a few miles from the Gulf.. The return journey was beset with yet more horrendous challenges and to cut a very long story short their remains were found at the Dig Tree where Queensland meets South Australia, a long way from Melbourne sadly. Died from beriberi so they say. Not sure they would have liked the roadhouse. Reckon they preferred a quiet swag by a billabong to the noisy, ...

T+ 147   Savannah Way Part 2 - Mount Surprise to Karumba Croydon is a tidy little goldrush town, so tidy and clean that I had this sudden urge to have a shower and give the Beast a thorough wash and manicure.  Even Toby gave himself a quick lick, after all, you don't want to let the side down do you? It has rows of fine heritage buildings which to the untrained eye all look identical., Post Office, Court House, Council Chambers, Police Station. There's gold in them there hills but sadly not any more and we saw only 4 local people in our overnight stay and one of those was from Dublin.  They'd opened up the free camping at the Rodeo Ground for us which was very kind and we had a peaceful evening, just us and the entire insect population  of the outback. The next morning we visited Lake Belmore, 4kms out of town, which was even tidier than the town and has the cleanest most gleaming toilet facilities this side of Zurich. Feeling clean and tidy we heade...

T+142     The Savannah Way Jane and I have now lived in Australia longer than we lived in England.  We're Aussie citizens, 99.4 is a magic number, I like AFL and Jane has a penchant for Vegemite. Dinky Di cobber or what?  Yet we still haven't a clue how the Australian preferential voting system works, can't stand on a surfboard and have never been to the Outback, save a brief sojourn when Adam was a lad. Therefore, we are not true blue and cannot in all good faith wear an Akubra or boil a billy. As such, given that the first two noted above are not and never will be within our competencies, the only chance of redemption and broader peer acceptance is a long and meaningful trip to the Outback. As such, on June we filled up with fuel and sardines for Toby, said farewell to the coastal fringe, turned right at Ravenshoe and headed due east along the fabled Savannah Way aiming to emerge in two weeks or so at the Gulf of Carpenteria. We made it 40 kms before s...