The Joy is in the Journey

Monday 19th July If we had a day up our sleeves, I would be visiting Opalton to fossick for boulder opal, its beautiful. Eric has his nose in the direction of home though and I might have had trouble convincing him of this side-trip. A game of golf in Darwin awaits and besides, we have dear friends who have arrived in Darwin in our absence that we hope to catch up with before they leave. So, once again it is time to refuel ($1.52) and hit the road, t he Smiths and Munros parting ways.. We are heading north-west and they are returning to Ilfracombe and heading south. While we are very compatible travelling on our own, it has been a nice change to share some of the journey with old friends. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.  Not long after taking the Matilda Way toward Camooweal, our music skipped from F to G and we listened to Galileo by the Indigo Girls. The landscape was unchanging, flat black soil plains with the occasional mulga or gidgee tree which manage to  thrive in ch

 Saturday 17th July We drove to Winton after the show at the Stockman’s Hall of Fame and once again reflected on the toughness of those generations of men and women who came before us. People like Nat Buchanan who made several successful trips droving cattle from Qld and NSW all the way to the NT’s Top End and Kimberley in the west. The animals in Lachie’s show were amazingly well trained and cared for. I have never before seen a horse willingly lie down on its back with all four hooves in the air and we enjoyed the lyrics of his original songs. Sadly though, the 20 odd sheep in his flock is more than we have seen in any flock for weeks.  Approaching Winton we could see the Forsythe Range way off to the left. Can you spot them?  Up until then the land is flat in all directions for as far as the eye can see and appears featureless yet you know you are crossing Mitchell grass plains, spinifex country and channel country just waiting for the wet season. Once again there was barely any sto