Today was an interesting day, a drive from Narrabri to Injune – some 7 1/2 hours. We left before 8am with the temperature around 7 degrees, but not a cloud in a beautiful blue sky. This gave the most beautiful views of the mist covered Dividing Ranges in the distance on our left, contrasting with the vast flatness on our right. We were headed for Moree, 100km north and passed through the little towns of Edgeroi (only a silo) and Bellata, with at least a truck stop, a few houses and a police car waiting for speedsters. The countryside as I said was so flat, with stubble from harvested wheat and cotton, black soil in places and a railway line following the mostly dead straight road. Next town was Gurley, supporting a silo, pub and 2 houses.
Moree is on the Mehi River and is a big, prosperous town with lots of silos, a country airport, lots of motels all boasting they have artesian spas and a lovely main street with well preserved old buildings and landscaping. We stopped for a coffee in a popular café (but it was Mothers’ Day). A first was using a modern automated toilet out on the footpath that washed the floor when you left, played What the world needs now! and flushed when you washed your hands.
Leaving Moree we headed towards Mungindi – 120kms on the Carnarvon Highway. Yesterday driving towards Narrabri and since, there has been so much cotton beside the road. It has blown from the bales of cotton being transported on big trailers. The landscape really was of cotton fields, with cotton growing and bailed up in the fields along this section of road. Traffic was almost non-existant.
[Paul] Paul was so excited to cross the Gwydir River about 5km out of Moree. He reminisced about the anonymous poem -“Spider from the Gwydir” – a favourite of his that goes –
“By the sluggish river Gwydir lived a hungry red-backed spider,
Who was just about as wicked as could be;
An’ the place that he was camped in was an empty Jones’s jam tin
In a paddock near the showgrounds, at Moree.
Near him lay a shearer snoozin’, he had been on beer an’ boozin’
All through the night and all the previous day;
An’ the rookin’ of the rookers an’ the noise of showground spruikers
Failed to wake him from the trance in which he lay.”
To find the rest of the poem and the tale it tells go to – https://www.bushverse.com/the-spider-by-the-gwydir
[Back to Leonie] In Mungindi we crossed the Barwon River and entered Queensland. Unlike other places where you cross the border and they list the items you cannot take into that State, here the only thing was “No Rabbits – $30,000 fine”. It was then on to St George – 118km away – the landscape flat, flat and more flat, with cotton still growing and blown off puffs of it lining either side of the road.
Paul had been told by a friend to watch for a sign that said “Free Beer, yesterday” and we almost missed it. There was a rough sign but only a dusty track off the main road. We did a U turn and went down the track a couple of hundred metres and behind some trees was the Nindigully Pub, 45km south of St George. What a place – a true (replica!) outback pub – the one where there is memorabilia covering every piece of wall or ceiling. This one had a big collection of hats nailed to the walls. We ordered a beer and then felt free to wander around the place. They had really developed around it, keeping it all looking similar to the pub. There were rustic “sheds” for eating in, open air covered area for music, and then free showers and toilets. The showers were in a corrugated shed with wording on the doors saying – “Exposed Tools”, “Old Tools”, “Silly Tools”, “Tool box”, “Private Tools only” – so outback!
St George is not a big town but is on the river, which gives it a pleasant place for open space and picnics. It does not look as prosperous as Roma, 200km further north and our next stop. The drive to Roma was through flat, scrubby land, with the soil getting redder. It was so dry.
Next was our destination for the night – Injune, 85km north on the Carnarvon Highway. We had booked our motel room and luckily we did as it is fully booked out – and on a Sunday. Paul has suggested that some of the cars are utes, and it may be full with workers. Last night we had felt sorry for the motels in Narrabri. There were only 3 of us in the one we stayed in (could take 14) and the motels close to it also only had a couple of cars in.
We arrived in Injune this May at about 4:30pm and turned up at the pub at 6:15 for our Mother’s Day meal. There were quite a few people there, including John the cowboy who we met last year with his young wife and with little John who was now about 18 months old and quite cute.
We ate our schnitzel and then engaged with a cyclist who was wanting to book into our motel earlier but could not get in because it was full. He had set out from the Gold Coast 3 weeks ago, heading for Ayers Rock. His name was Wayne and we had a very interesting chat about many things including life and people. Paul shared a love of Banjo Patterson with him – AND the Spider from the Gwydir. Both had gone to Walgett just to see the “river so brown, the Darling River at Walgett town”.
We got back to our motel about 9:30pm to retire and anticipate an exciting trip to Carnarvan Gorge the next day.
Jottings & Blottings 