.JPG)
We’re really in the outback now! Dusty but beautiful terracotta earth and patches of green in all shades surround us. Our caravan park was interesting, brolgas greeted us in the park and the invitation to a campfire dinner and two poets made us feel right at home. Campfire dinners are a great way to meet people and Ian claims ‘he’s cooking dinner’!
After dinner and the poets which are an art form in themselves and each one different but all champion the challenges and victories of the bush with typical Aussie humour.
The water here is from artesian bores and is super charged with sulphur --- walking past the showers and laundry attest to this! We also had no water pressure in the van so we used the facilities here for the first time since South West Rocks. They were quick showers and I decided against doing the washing. Interestingly once the water is boiled it loses the sulphur taste and we were told it is very good for you. We’ll take their word for it.
The housing around Winton is in contrast to the Waltzing Matilda Museum which we walked to from the caravan park feeling in need of some work on the 10,000 steps again. The museum was so impressive we stayed until late and had lunch and tea together. We heard many versions of Waltzing Matilda and learnt a lot about swaggies and even the rules their union adopted!
In the many buildings which comprised the museum we again saw a plug and cord switchboard which we have seen at every museum we’ve visited so far, which I am finding a little disconcerting as I used these at a number of positions over the years – I am now feeling somewhat of a relic too! In fact we are familiar with a number of items in the museums! No comment required from Kate or Pete!
They also had a great textile exhibition here – how fortunate that in the absence of a quilt shop I was able to enjoy quilts on walls instead – I’m not sure how fortunate Ian thought he was though.
As a break from museums we drove out over the clay pans into a National Park seeing billabongs surrounded by dry sparse trees and bushes. To think that people actually worked here is unbelievable. In the museums you see photos of the English women who had to make their homes here and raise their children. Some of the letters they write give us an insight of how hard it was.
On to Cloncurry.
After dinner and the poets which are an art form in themselves and each one different but all champion the challenges and victories of the bush with typical Aussie humour.
The water here is from artesian bores and is super charged with sulphur --- walking past the showers and laundry attest to this! We also had no water pressure in the van so we used the facilities here for the first time since South West Rocks. They were quick showers and I decided against doing the washing. Interestingly once the water is boiled it loses the sulphur taste and we were told it is very good for you. We’ll take their word for it.
The housing around Winton is in contrast to the Waltzing Matilda Museum which we walked to from the caravan park feeling in need of some work on the 10,000 steps again. The museum was so impressive we stayed until late and had lunch and tea together. We heard many versions of Waltzing Matilda and learnt a lot about swaggies and even the rules their union adopted!
In the many buildings which comprised the museum we again saw a plug and cord switchboard which we have seen at every museum we’ve visited so far, which I am finding a little disconcerting as I used these at a number of positions over the years – I am now feeling somewhat of a relic too! In fact we are familiar with a number of items in the museums! No comment required from Kate or Pete!
They also had a great textile exhibition here – how fortunate that in the absence of a quilt shop I was able to enjoy quilts on walls instead – I’m not sure how fortunate Ian thought he was though.
As a break from museums we drove out over the clay pans into a National Park seeing billabongs surrounded by dry sparse trees and bushes. To think that people actually worked here is unbelievable. In the museums you see photos of the English women who had to make their homes here and raise their children. Some of the letters they write give us an insight of how hard it was.
On to Cloncurry.
1 comment:
Sue, I would not have worried about Ian I am sure that he would have put his time at the exhibition to good use. We had a discussion about having down time like that and I advised him to use the time wisely and in his mind hone up on his skills of sizing up customers for the new venture. APC said knowing Ian he thought he would be getting pretty good at it by now. Have fun and keep the info coming.
Love Stocky & Chris
Post a Comment