Posts Tagged ‘Roadtrip’

……well, home and shaved actually.

Its been 2 days since I arrived home. A 780km trip from Hay to home, with a couple of little detours. I am still going through the photos. Its a long and boring job. Going out and taking the photos is far more fun than processing them. God knows how much I would bitch if I was doing all in a dark room.

To break up this little chapter of the Blog, I am going to scatter the odd photo through it to break things up a bit. Like this….

The famous Ireland Beanie that has seen lots of the Aussie Outback.

After 3400kms and meeting so many terrific people, it is very difficult to pick out highlights. None the less, I will have a go. The meatworks at Bourke were certainly a stand out. I love any old buildings or derelict places, and this was a ripper as far as a run down spot is concerned. My mate Duncan from Bourke organised it and I think he is probably the only one that will ever know just how much I enjoyed it. So thanks to the big feller.

An old train station on a now unused line.

The people I met along the way will stay in my memory for years to come. Rick, Tom and Allan at Bourke. The guys at the Louth pub. The service station owner ad Menindee. And Miriam, from Stockinbingal, a tiny town on the railway line between Temora and Harden. I had stopped for a nature break and was walking back to the car when I saw Miriam. As usual, I said “gday” and she said “hello, how are you?” Well, we got chatting and ended up sitting at a park bench for a while. She told me I was the 1st person apart from the storekeeper and butcher that she had spoken to in the flesh for 6 weeks. Her kids, and grandkids all lived interstate, and although she spoke to them quite often, she was desperately lonely. Her husband of 60 years, Bill, had passed away late last year and as you can imagine, she missed him. We chatted about a few different things, then I had to go. She gave me a big hug and I was away. I have thought about her alot since I got back and I should have got her phone number. To busy thinking about where to next and not about her I suppose.

Aussie landscape.

So between seeing this bloody big place, and meeting some fantastic people, I can chalk up another fantastic road trip. I am glad to be home with the bride. But I look forward to doing it again next year at some point.

I can really recommend a trip out to the outback for any Aussies that havent been out there. The skies are blue, the air is clean, the food fantastic most of the time and the people are friendly. What more could you want?

Here are a few videos that have now been uploaded.

Day 9. Hay. from Todd Norbury on Vimeo.

Day 8. Broken Hill. from Todd Norbury on Vimeo.

Day 7 Broken Hill from Todd Norbury on Vimeo.

Day 6, Broken Hill from Todd Norbury on Vimeo.

Day 5, Louth from Todd Norbury on Vimeo.

Day 4, Fort Bourke from Todd Norbury on Vimeo.

Well I am glad I decided to go to Bourke on this trip. I had heard alot of negative comments about it, b ut I found it to be a terrific place. Both days I was there I ended up chatting to old blokes by the Darling River. What a treat! The 1st bloke was Rick Hopton, a retired constable. He is still recovering from stomach cancer and isn’t in the best of health, but he is still out there getting about. The second day I was there, I was waiting to go and meet a mate, reading a book at the old wharf, when an old aboriginal bloke wandered past. I said g’day and then he sat down and we had a chat. Tom Vincent was his name. He was blind in one eye and had a buggered leg from a car accident years earlier. His mate Alan Sullivan showed up and they managed to down a bottle of port in about 15 minutes, all the while telling me stories of their past. They had been mates for 40 or 50 years, depending on who you listened to. They were terrific old blokes.

I left Tom and Alan and headed of to meet my mate Duncan. He had gotten permission for us to take photos of the abandoned meatworks in Bourke. It was a fantastic place to look around and take photos of. Dangerous, creepy and full of surprises. I had a ball. We spent a good couple of hours wandering around. Thanks alot Duncan.

Part of the abandoned meat works at Bourke.

Well, I have driven 1800kms, and seen a thing or 2. The videos will have to wait until I either get a stable and fast net connection, or til I get home in a week or so. I have been having a ball. Bourke was everything I expected and more. I left Dubbo nice and early as it was a bit of a drive to get there. I was passing through Narromine when the sun came up.

I wandered around Bourke and saw the old wharf there. I also ran into a character called Rick Hopton. I will put a photo of him up when I have sorted through all the photos.

That afternoon I went out exploring and found this dam/lake.

That was day 1 in Bourke. Stay tuned for a trip to the meat works, a chat with a couple of indigenous Austrlians, and a night out with my mate Duncan.

Wow, what a trip so far. Bourke was terrific, Louth, err, a bit of a let down, Tilpa, I was there 35mins and now I am at Broken Hill. Photos and videos and more Blog entries when I get a better net connection, this one is like dialup!

Today is day 1 of the 2008 roadtrip. A trip that will take me to Bourke, Toorale station, Broken Hill, Ivanhoe and Hay, amongst others. Today I was supposed to drive from home to Crookwell, but when I got to Crookwell, I found there was not alot to see or do, despite the signs on the way into town saying otherwise. I found 1 sign a bit disturbing.

That was enough to convince me to high tail it. I am going to try and video some snippets to put on the interweb for people to have a look at. Todays one is here….

Day 1 of the 2008 Roadtrip. from Todd Norbury on Vimeo.

More next time I get net access.

To the fan that reads this page, I am about to head of into outback NSW for a couple of weeks on a photographic road trip. This is the 3rd annual trip I have done, and something I look forward to immensely. Keep an eye out for some photos on my Flickr page and the odd post in here.