LEODESTRAVELOZZ

We left St George for the 4th time over our 10 Years of travelling and headed towards Talwood, opps Des just missed the turn of, back on track again driving along the Barwon Highway, the road is very rough in patches but we’ve found that with most roads this trip. Stopping for lunch at Desies favourite town, Talwood were he would walk back and forth catching his yabbies every few hours. The amount of time we’ve been this way yet we have never called into the town of Toobeah, and now I know why, the only action in this town is the Hotel. Toobeah town started out as a small railway town servicing the growing sheep market, it has since grown into one of the strongest Cotton/wheat/livestock growing areas in Qld. The Coronation Hotel or Toobeah Hotel Motel was built in 1911. The beers and meals are a tad expensive but most pub’s are these day but they were big meals so Des and I shared a delicious plate. The Rovers are out and about as we slow down to let them pass and what a seen it is, I ...

Once again we find ourselves in St George, it’s one of those major outback town where most people stop for supplies before moving on. Our plane was to stay a night and head to the Nindigully Hotel to watch the State of Origin but the rain stuff that up so we stayed in town. Well if we’re staying I’m going for a ride so we removed my bike and I grabbed my camera and went exploring. I found a few shops to browse through, stopped for coffer and cake then went to check out the Cotton Farm tours which I’ve always wanted to do and for $50 which includes a Vineyard and lunch, that will do me. After the cotton is harvested they sit in the paddock until collection, bails can be left for up to 12 months, one bale is worth $3,000 and trust me there are lots in these fields. Growers usually choose to harvest the cotton crop once most bolls have opened and fully matured. It is extremely important that cotton is dry when it is picked. I was told the flower looks like a hibiscus, he was right. The ne...

As hard as it is to leave a great country pub we must move on and Dirranbandi is our next location to camp for a few days, hopefully if the camp ground is any good. Driving along the  Castlereagh Hwy/A55 when I s potted a river, that look good for yabbies Des, so he turned around and dropped a couple of pots to check it out, after an hour he returned yelling, Lee you want to stay a few day with a big grin on his dial, someone’s in his happy place. There’s no reception so that means no TV but I can have a fire and sit back and watch the sun go down and the stars shine, what more do you need. Off he goes with his pot and dog food, now the waiting game begins. Our camp spot for the next few day or I’m guessing until the freezer is full. The Narran River, a great place to camp and catch yabbies. You wouldn’t think someone could be in his element be-heading stinking yabbies. Sitting around our fire watching the sun set in the middle of nowhere with just the occasional truck passing by. ...

The road from Walgett to Lightning Ridge looks knew but man it’s rough, even a guy who stopped for some water for in alpaca said he could only travel 70km’s because of how rough it is. We stopped at Stanley-The big Emu to camp the night when I herd Des chatting away, and bugger me dead a guy called out saying is that Des Cathcart and it turned out to be an old friend he hasn’t seen in over 40 years, Pedro and his wife Kay who only just down the road in good old Birkdale. Once we set up out comes the beer and we sat chatted for a bit before they left for Lightning Ridge where they were camped. Well! Well, the people you meet in the middle of bum fuck, it’s hard to believe it’s been over 40 years so you imagine they had heaps to catch up on. Check out these pair of old farts I can just imagine the stories they could tell of the mischief they got up to in their younger days. This plaque marks the spot where Lightning Ridge apparently got its name, it was  around 1870, a shepherd, his ...