Tag: Blog

Qld, Wildlife7 Comments

Eating with Brolgas

Itching for Hitching

When we’ve pulled into the Kynuna (Qld) Roadhouse the two very funny ladies who run it have warned us not to feed the brolgas and no sooner had we parked the van than a brolga wandered over and took ownership of us. We were warned “When you leave the toilet close the door the brolgas poop in there and then people complain when they step in it. They don’t like brolga poop between their toes.” Thus I’m now eating lunch while a big grey brolga peers through the window at me, I daren’t eat outside or else I’ll lose my … Continue reading Eating with Brolgas

Point of Interest, WA2 Comments

It’s a Long Walk

Itching for Hitching

In 1897 they built a jetty in Carnarvon, WA for the shipping of supplies and live cattle from the inland. The town has an unusual situation on a blind bight beside the river and well behind the dunes and mudflats. Thus to reach deep water the jetty is one mile long and a small train now runs the length of it. The jetty is well worn and rusted but a great walk. When we reach the end we chat with a woman who is fishing for tailor. She tells us that the water which is quite brown is still murky … Continue reading It’s a Long Walk

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?

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