Can't Stop the Music

You can't stop the music,
 nobody can stop the music.
Take the cold from snow,
 tell the trees, don't grow,
Tell the wind, don't blow,
 'cause it's easier.

Village People









So we found ourselves at Mundulla,
As Melbourne's winter encumbers.
A neat little spot
On the map just a dot,
Near the border that night we did slumber.

But hark! At dawn what a noise.
A cacophony;
Our slumber destroyed.
Cheep cheep, cark, cark, screech screech.
Out here it's pure freedom of speech.
But along came that song
To righten the wrong
The magpie.......no law does it breach.

Turn south at Bordertown on the Victorian/South Australian border.

 Just 9km down the road took me back many years. The camp spot was the local sports ground and the juniors were hard at training. The girls were on the netball courts and the boys were with the footy on the oval. What a great community vibe. They came into town off the farm or wandered straight from school in this picturesque, historical town. When the sun began to set and the lights came on, the juniors went home and the bigger kids rolled in for more serious training.

 The kids here were alive and happy. Their laughter and ball bouncing echoed through the trees as parents gathered in groups, talking. That was the big difference. Our parents were not around. They were either  still at work or cooking dinner. 

I remember training until it got dark. That was our curfew.
"Be home before it gets dark." Ah yes. And we felt alive and happy.

And Dingo Was his name-oh

Dingo, Dingo - why you runnin' scared?
Dingo, Dingo - why you runnin' scared?                         Guard dog of the mountains
Keepin' the rats from eatin' it all away

Dingo, Dingo - koori warragul
Dingo, Dingo - koori warragul
Guard dog of the plains
Keepin' the sheep from eatin' it all away

Dingo, Dingo - why you get so mad?
Dingo, Dingo - why you get so mad?
Guard dog of the desert
Keepin' the roos from eatin' it all away

John Williamson

The Dingo Barrier Fence was completed in 1885. It extends 5614km from Jimbour in Queensland to Nundroo in the Great Australian Bight. Built to protect sheep and fertile land in the south east of the continent from dingoes, it is one of the worlds longest structures.

But I remember Jimbour for other reasons as well as the Dingo Fence. Not far away is the small town of Jandowae. Going to a butcher out here takes time. Firstly, I goggle at the cheap price of that delicious fillet steak.

      "My son, down the road prepared the meat," said the butcher remembered from childhood; that typical personality that butchers all seemed to have way back then. Happy, jovial and ready to tell a story. So, half an hour later we emerged from that little wooden shop with a neat little swag of vittles to see us through the next few days.

Jandowae

And then down the road a few kilometres for a visit to the Jimbour Heritage homestead and station.

 Such a contrast to the little townships.

Just a little round trip in the Darling Downs.

Small Town

The little yellow church in Bell 

Well I was born in a small town               And I live in a small town
Probably die in a small town
Oh, those small communities
John Mellencamp

Little Bell
Little Bell
Where shall I find thee?
Up in Queensland not far from Dalby.
Little Bell
Little Bell
What have you there?
A little yellow church for you to kneel in prayer.

Wander in to admire the colourful frescoes that adorn the walls of this picturesque church. Was Michelangelo here?

Outside, in the Biblical Gardens, artists have helped to create a space for contemplation as you follow the path to each Station of the Cross.

                      

                        Creative Country Folk.

At the Information Centre, there is home-made cake, hot coffee and tea. Art works hang on the walls and local crafts, books and preserves all vie for attention. But the friendly conversation of the ladies volunteering was priceless.

Little Bell
Little Bell
Rich in arts and culture
Little Bell
Little Bell
A tapestry of colour.

Shirley

In the Forest

By the sacred grove, where the waters flow

We will come and go, in the forest                 In the summer rain, we will meet again

We will learn the code of the ancient ones

In the forest.

Van Morrison

45 minutes NW of Coonabarrabran, along a picturesque road, is Baradine. Just 45 minutes! And to think for all those years we had tunnel vision and just pointed the car northbound, driving through that endless 100km stretch of straight road, with trees on either side, blocking any distant view. Oh, the folly of our ways. What we found hidden inside those trees was surely the mother of surprises. But before you head off into the deep, dark woods, stop at the Pilliga Forest Discovery Centre in Baradine. It's fantastic. Armed with a bounty of information to satisfy any interests, follow the maps and be prepared.

SCULPTURES IN THE SCRUB

The road to Sculptures in the Scrub. Corrugated in places, pot-holed and bulldust.
Great driving Bill. 

                                                                                 

Campsite...all alone until nightfall when headlights in the distance approached.
Eerily, the car cruised down into the trees. Tell-tale tapping of pegs being buried into the ground told us we had company for the night. Be prepared for flight. But in the light of a sunny morning we discovered fellow travellers from Inverloch. How small is this world!

                                                       Some of the sculptures

Sculptures in the Scrub walking track, in Timallallie National Park, takes in the award-winning Sculptures in the Scrub, a project that was four years in the making.

Each sculpture is the result of an artist collaborating with local Aboriginal Elders and young people on a piece that tells a story of local Aboriginal history and culture. Take some time to look at these works - you’ll find some information about the artist’s background and the methods used to create the sculpture, along with its deeper meaning.

(from National Parks NSW)




Tell me your story
I am interested
You know this land well
It is a part of who you are
So help me understand
The land
And all that dwells here

I can see it is home
Cared for naturally
Accepting abundance with scarcity
As is the way of Nature
Shrinking and streaming
Spirit land
To all who dwell here.
Shirley


















                                                                 

Ground Control to Major Tom

Australia's largest optical telescope

Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom (Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six)
Commencing countdown, engines on (Five, Four, Three)
Check ignition and may God's love be with you (Two, One, Liftoff)
David Bowie
West of the coast, where hearts are free
West of the coast, your heart can come to me.... (with apologies to Toni Fisher and Wayne Shanklin)
A fleeting sojourn gave lasting memories of treasures found away from the popular coast. Taking a road less travelled, guided purely by instinct, revealed secrets that have remained hidden from us for years. The usual mad dash for Queensland sunshine gave way to a more relaxed pace as we decided that those little towns, west of the coast and so often ignored, deserved consideration. And so we stopped.....

Warrumbungle National Park

Up the Newell Hwy to Coonabarabran, approximately 550km north west of Sydney and 990km north of Melbourne, is where you turn off for that scraggy looking mountain range. But don't be fooled. These ranges contain everything from bushwalking to star gazing. The National Park was still recovering from wild fires in 2013 when we arrived a year later. A year further on and I'm wanting to go back. And why would anyone not want to return to hot showers (yes, I did say hot showers), fabulous kitchen facilities, great walking tracks and loads of furry and feathered friends. And did I mention no steep roads? Shh, keep it our little secret. The above photo was our camp spot.

Coona-bara-bran
Is where our jaunt began.
In previous trips it was just a place
To fill up the watering can.

Coona-bara-bran
Is where we stopped the van.
In previous trips it was always the place
For a warming Black and Tan.

Coona-bara-bran
Is where we found the plan.
In previous trips it was never a place
To become a Renaissance Man.

Coona-bara-bran
Come quickly if you can.
In previous trips it was just the sticks
But treasures are close at hand.

Shirley.

Aah yes. Renewed, reinvigorated, revived, rejuvenated, revitalised.

For a change of pace, take the car to a coffee shop with a difference. Leave your car in the carpark of the Siding Spring Observatory and head inside to explore Australia's leading astronomical research facility. It's hands-on so kids, big and small, love it. Wander up the path and enter the telescope. It's bound to get you wondering, "What's out there?"

View from the observatory

Above and below are remnants of the 2013 wild fires

                                                      Warrumbungle National Park.

Wolverton Mountain

Lake at Mt Beauty

They say don't go on Wolverton Mountain if you're looking for a wife
Cause Clifton Clowers has a pretty young daughter
Who's mighty handy with a gun and a knife
Her tender lips are sweeter than honey and Wolverton Mountain protects her there
The bears and the birds tell Clifton Clowers if a stranger should enter there ........
Claude King

I used to imagine Wolverton Mountain protecting a pretty village such as Mount Beauty. 

Looking down to the village of Mt Beauty

Lunch spot

Meander if you would
Rest a while
And see what is there for you.
An easy jaunt 
Through the winding hills
Bids you stop to soak in the view.
Mt Beauty and Bright
And Myrtleford too
All pretty and leafy and rural.
De-stress, unwind
And breathe in fresh air
No need for an epidural!

And so we came to see brother Tom
In that quaint little town, Yackandandah.
We found him sitting in the sunny main street
Sipping coffee beneath the verandah.
Folk music festival we had just missed
Now that would have been a hoot.
Brother Tom was singing and playing guitar
Ladies, raise your champagne flute!

Main street, Yackandandah