Month: June 2016

Qld, Well Bugger Me!2 Comments

A Turkey Shoot?

Itching for Hitching

We were wandering about Central Queensland when I heard a story on ABC National about the mating habits of brush turkeys. Brush turkeys are those curious native chooks that inhabit coastal NSW and Qld. The interviewee went on to describe that the nesting mound is made from several tonnes of leaf mulch piled up by the male bird to attract a mate. The guy with the best pile of leaf litter gets the girl basically. A few days later we are watching clay target shooting in Roma and I ask one of the club members mothers what the odd shaped hill … Continue reading A Turkey Shoot?

Freedom Camp, NSW5 Comments

Newey Recreation Reserve, Cobar, NSW

Itching for Hitching

We camp the night on the other side of town at the Newey Reservoir Reserve. There is a large sealed parking bay overlooking the reservoir. It is reedy, moody and filled with the chatter of a million birds. This is a wondrous free camp. Walking around the lake shore and on the lawns is a treat and campers sit watching the sky turn pink over the lake at sundown. Continue reading Newey Recreation Reserve, Cobar, NSW

The Characters You Meet, WA1 Comment

Politics

Itching for Hitching

Our friend Cee regales us with tales of his recent brief foray into politics. It turns out that he took up a petition to stop the tiny, one square mile East Fremantle council from being swallowed up by the much larger City of Fremantle and won. Initially East Fremantle council had sent out a questionnaire asking residents which council they would prefer to merge with, Cee replied “Peppermint Grove” (Perth’s wealthiest suburb on the opposite side of the Swan River). Continue reading Politics

NSW, The Pubs2 Comments

Homebush Hotel

Itching for Hitching

The Homebush Hotel dates back to 1878 and is situated 30kms north of Balranald on the Ivanhoe Road at Penarie, NSW. Chooks peck about the grounds. Out front there is a cairn commemorating the sealing of the road in 1969. The rather small pub has been extended to include a dining room and a function room at the back. Above the bar there is a pump action shot gun and shearing paraphernalia. This is an area of sheep stations, really big sheep stations. The walls are adorned with photos of sheep and wool and a shearing mural.This pub is a … Continue reading Homebush Hotel

National Park, NSW, Point of Interest1 Comment

Yanga Station

Itching for Hitching

Ten kilometres down the Sturt Highway and east of Balranald, NSW, is Yanga homestead. Yanga station is large, so large that it has 160kms of river frontage to the Murrumbidgee River. The homestead is situated on a peninsula overlooking vast Lake Yanga. Now a National Park Yanga station was once 85,000 hectares and the largest privately owned station in the southern hemisphere* From the homestead one can see both the sunrise and the sunset over the lake. Chiefly a sheep station it was established in the 1840’s. Construction of the homestead was commenced in the 1870’s of drop log design … Continue reading Yanga Station

Places, Vic8 Comments

Victoria’s Volcanic Western Plains

Itching for Hitching

Across Victoria’s western plains there are the remains of around 400 volcanoes. Stretching from Melbourne to Mt Gambier in South Australia the last was thought to have erupted 10,000 years ago. Nowadays they are little more than pimples on the landscape or rolling hills of wheat or grazing land.The most spectacular is Tower Hill situated just north of the historic seaside town of Port Fairy. Tower Hill is a nature reserve and home to emus. It is well worth taking the time to drive through the crater. Better still take a picnic and enjoy the lakes, the wildlife and surroundings. … Continue reading Victoria’s Volcanic Western Plains