LEODESTRAVELOZZ

20190831 As we prepare to leave locking all the cupboard and packing items away when I looked up there was Dick driving out with not so much as a goodbye, now that’s bizarre, but then again that’s Dick. OMG I can’t believe I managed to capture a fly by shoot of five Brolgas together, how cool is that. We arrived at Cunnamulla to the street markets and a festival on at the show grounds and was greeted with the horse and carriage monopolising the streets. This old relic belonged to an old timber cutter from the 1950s, his main job in the forestry was cutting sleepers, gaining experience adzing hogback sleepers in the local railway yard all for £3/7 shillings per hundred, that’s what I call hard labour. We camped in the truck stop and watched the truckies, one after the other stopping to check their load and ensuring the cattle are safe before heading to their destination and there's some really spiffy trucks. And then there’s these guys c...

20190829 One town we haven’t yet explored is Wyandra, apparently a must-see town half way between Charleville and Cunnamulla and like most of these town the locals are more than happy to have you stay awhile and help support their town, but not before we stop to check out the bridge explosion memorial.  The Angellala Bridge Explosion  Classed as the most powerful explosion in Australian transport history, at 9.50pm in Sep 2014 a truck carrying 53 tonnes of ammonium nitrate caught fire and crashed then exploded, a police car travelling to the scene was damaged 200mtrs from the blast and the effect was felt over 30klms away. It was described as a miracle that no one was killed with eight people injured but thanks to the bravery of six men who were awarded the Star of Courage for their acts of courage in circumstances of great peril. The site looked nothing short of a war zone, demolition the road bridge and destroying the Angellala rail bridge that had stood sinc...

20190825 About 12ks before Charleville there’s a Rock Pool that was once a quarry and in the summer months a great place to take a dip and cool off but now it’s a great place to camp while sitting around a fire with good friends enjoying and cold ale and what better reason but to catch up with Dick. We joined Dick for a run into town for supplies and stopped to check out the Tower Mural, featuring the youths of Charleville intertwined through sports, painted in a 3D style around a tall, narrow 30-metre-high tower. Our camp for the next few days with Dick’s music blasting out the camp and yes, we had to turn it down because it was keeping a baby awake, next time I’m putting up a sign “NO KIDS ALOUD”. The boys go in search of wood and drags back a large log, now that’s the way to do it Dick. Sit on the log Dick, so I can get a photo, ya sure that will never happen, spoil sport. Gee! somebody looks pleased with himself; anyone would think he cooked it, I guess it...

20190824 Driving through the towns of Amby, Mitchell and Mungallala to get to our destination, Morven, to camp the night at the showgrounds and walk the town taking in the sites. The hard times certainly took its toll when in 1929 Wall Street took a tumble, sending the country into the great depression, unemployment tripled leaving 32 per cent of Australians out of work. Due to the hardship ‘Tin Hut’s’ like this were built of flattened kerosene tins, these were common homes for many pensioners. Sadleir’s Water is a lovely spot surrounded by Red River gums, the waterhole was once a stopover for Cobb & Co Coaches and bullock teams.  But now it's home to these fellows who come and go at their leisure. T he town was once known as "Sadlier’s Waterhole" until the Post Office was built in 1876 and renamed Morven, that makes the PO 143 years old This was once Morven’s only Hotel until it burnt down in 2016 and although there was talk of a rebuild the land i...