Steve The Northern Territory, our last frontier with deserts to tropical wetlands offers endless pleasures to those who visit here. Having moved on from the Daly my next venue was Harts Range race weekend 1365 k's south. Just short of Alice Springs I turned left down the Plenty Highway and an hour and a half later turned right down a sandy track to where the racecourse is nestled in beside the rugged foothills of Harts Range. An old mate, Jock McPherson calls the race . The annual event held here is run by the surrounding stations and the last place you can witness unique bush sporting events run as they have been since its inception in 1936 and not a re-enactment by some try-hard...
Steve and Sass For years I have browsed the second hand book shelves and collected stories about Australian history, individuals life experiences in the bush and classic stories about those who chose to record their sometimes brief stay in this wonderful country, a country which offers endless opportunities for out of the way places to work, to explore or simply live in. The Daly River visit resulted from a novel I read years ago , written in the late 50's by a young lady with an exceptional education who chose to go bush to the Daly River with her new husband, an American soldier. Their problems were unimaginable, young children, no doctors, crocodiles cruising past their frount porch, isolation and then a flood that...
Trucking Iron Ore to Wyndham Port . Wyndham is where WA's most northerly port is situated, just over 3040 k's from Perth. During the dry season it's a scene of bustling activity as huge livestock road trains deliver cattle to the export facility and even longer road trains deliver iron ore to a dump for loading onto barges. Unfortunately the livestock activity has grounded to a halt due to the knee jerk reaction by our Government and remains that way even though the ban has been lifted. What they haven't told the public is that no further export is allowed until the regulators have had their day of glory. Thankfully most of the first round muster have been shipped before...
] Paintings at Emily Gap . Statue like. My run up through Queensland is over with the last show which is always a good one at the Curry (Cloncurry) . The next show at Alice Springs, a mere 1300 k's away via Camooweal, Three ways, and Tennant Creek is where I finally feel some space and enjoy the uninterrupted views to the horizon. Winter in central Australia can be severe, this year temperatures drop to zero at night however the days were perfect, around 20 and a bit more at times. Having a week to myself I stopped at Gemtree for a few days and from there followed tracks through the ranges over to Arltunga. This is where gold was...
8 Year old going on 40. The Queensland show run gets underway on the first of May at Goondiwindi, this is the most enjoyable time of the year as it takes me out in to western Qld and eventually up into the NT and just into WA After Goondiwindi I attend shows at Roma, Mitchell, Charleville and then further west to Isisford. This small town is situated on the banks of the Barcoo River which continues on south west and eventually joins Coopers Creek, then down through the channel country and finally the waters find their way into Lake Eyre. To give you some idea of this area the shire covers 10,500 square kilometres through which the Barcoo runs...
