Boulia – Monday

Apologies for the photos today my camera is barely surviving the dusty journey.

I forgot to mention yesterday two things, the first was the “Shoe Tree”, I’ve seen these before but they’ve always started with at least a bit of wood but not this one. I guess someone decided trees were too rare in the area so decided to start one growing.

Shoe Tree

The second thing was that while I was having a siesta as all wise people do in the heat of the afternnon, Alex went across to the pub and chatted with the barmaid. He was the only customer for a while and she said she was a German backpacker earning spending money for 3 months. When the Grey Nomads start coming through she won’t have time to chat! The weird thing was that she had spent time in Aviemore, Scotland, Alex’s home town.

Our day started with another soak in the hot artesian spa and a swim in the pool before we packed up and set off.

On our way out of Bedourie this morning we stopped at a significant old wooden pole. In 1970 the town was supplied with electricity and it’s apparently traditional on such occasions to bury a hurricane lantern to celebrate the occasion. The pole marks the site where the Bedourie lantern is buried.

Hurricane Lantern memorial

We checked out the “loo with a view”, it really does have a window so you can admire the view. The vast expanse stretched out in all directions is amazing.

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As you drive along the vegetation changes from bare stony ground to little shrubby bushes or subsantial trees along water courses. None of the floodways had any water that we could see but there were cattle tracks beside the road obviously leading to some water source.

Into the tropics

Does this look tropical?

Some Waddi Trees not far from the road are the second group of the three in existence so we checked them out before continuing on the Boulia. Alex says we now have to go to Old Andado Homestead to see the final group!

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Boulia seems to have changed a lot since we were last here …. can’t remember the year but we were driving the Mitsubishi and camping in our tent. The MinMin light experience is now housed in a flash new building and most other buildings seem to have been reinvigorated.

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The Caravan Park is situated beside the River Burke and a variety of birds were around when I went for a little walk. I hoped we’d left the flies further south but unfortunately that isn’t the case. What was a big surprise though were the butterflies and tonight cicadas are chirruping all around us.

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