……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?