Gismo Queen and her King

Day 2 - Darlington Point to Cobar

We're officially in Outback NSW now, after we saw the sign on the Kidman Way. Our 400km of travels today took us through some pretty ordinary countryside although there were a few scenes worth describing. The sun rose on a beautiful morning in Darlington Point this morning, after a few showers and a thunderstorm during the night, We had a leisurely breakfast and pack up and were on the road by 10am. The drive to Griffith took us past cotton fields and citrus farms, the latter intermingling with vineyards as we approached Griffith. It was probably still a bit too early for wine tasting at that hour so we kept going. Griffith was a bit sleepy on a Sunday morning so out the other side we came and headed up the very straight road. There was little to entertain us on the roadside then, so we read up on stories of the local towns. Like the hamlet of MerriWagga (population 34) which boasts a Black Stump Hotel, named after the unfortunate Mrs Blain, wife of a bullock driver who left her to make camp for the night while he tended the stock. The day was hot and windy and while Mrs Blain prepared dinner, the campfire raged and she was burned to death. When people expressed their sympathy, the bullock driver simply said "When I returned, my wife was dead - she looked just like a black stump".

Further up the road, the wildlife started to come out - goats by the hundred and a few emus. Conscious of Neill and Jude's attack two years ago by the mad Billy Goat Gruff only a bit up the road, I took the road slowly when I saw them out - or even on the road (a kid found the warm bitumen a pleasant place to sleep).

We arrived in Cobar in time for beer o'clock (it was a pleasantly warm 27C today) and have settled for the night in a rest area.

posted by Tracey @ 5:59 pm