Abandoned – in the Australian Outback
Birdsville Track
Remote (In Outback Australia)
The Bethesda Lutheran Mission Ruins, Lake Killalpaninna, Outback Australia
Photo: The Landy
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The Birdsville Pub (Outback Australia)
Pud waits patiently for his master…
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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It sure beats working (The Australian Outback)
Today we are making our way home and will pass through the major townships of Dubbo, Orange, and Bathurst.
Travelling along the Great Western Highway to the town of Lithgow were we will head down the Bells Line of Road and through the tiny apple growing hamlet of Bilpin.
We’ve spent a couple of great weeks Out and About in this great country of ours, drank a toast to Brian, my father who passed away last year, and who always longed to drive along the Birdsville Track.
But he was with us in spirit.
And as the years pass by we will recall this trip like it was only yesterday that we packed ourselves in “The Landy” and made the journey west…into the Outback!
Click here to see where Baz, “The Landy” is today…
Photo: Baz, the Landy
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The Birdsville Pub (Quench your thirst)
Birdsville is a town that needs little introduction and its appearance on the horizon signified that our journey along the Birdsville Track was coming to an end.
There is much to see and experience in this small outback town, and of course we gravitated to its epicentre, the pub after setting up camp.
After bidding farewell to Mungerannie we continued along the dusty road towards Clifton Hills Station, and Pandie Pandie. Not too far south of Birsdville we crossed the border into Queensland and made our way to the caravan park on the banks of the Diamantina River.
Until 1882, Birdsville was known as Diamantina Crossing and was set up to collect tariffs on goods passing between South Australia and Queensland. A man by the name of Burt opened a store and it was given the name Burtsville, which was subsequently changed to Birdsville.
Of course the town is most famous for its annual race day and the running of the Birdsville Cup in the first week of September, a race that was first run in 1882!
Click here to see where Baz, “The Landy” is today…
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Lake Harry Ruins (Outback Australia)
At the turn of the twentieth century this site was part of a vastly different scene; an oasis of date palms, abundant bore water, camels and Afghan Cameleers.
The ruins are a reminder of that era and highlight a recurring theme in Outback Australia – the optimism and enterprise of the early colonists’.
Click here to see where Baz, The Landy is today.
Photos: Baz, The Landy
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The Birdsville Track (Outback Australia)
Heading north along the Birdsville Track we passed a number of stations that up until now have only been places on a map. These included Dulkaninna and Etaduna.
We called into Etaduna and obtained permission and directions to visit the Killalpaninna Mission Ruins, a side trip that took us for a short distance to the north-west amongst the sand dunes.
The Bethesda Lutheran Mission was established at Lake Killalpaninna, although I suspect there are long periods of time between the Lake seeing any substantial water, but on this visit we were fortunate to see water in it!
Continuing our journey north we arrived at the Mungerannie Pub where one of the first things we did was to have a thirst quenching beer! The pub and store where established by Richard Sullivan and his wife in 1886 and they remained until 1889. We enjoyed another few beers before the night was out and and we drank a toast to those who have passed this way in days long gone, and a toast to those who are absent…
Here’s to you, Dad!
Click here to see where Baz, “The Landy” is today…
Photos: Baz, The Landy
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The Birdsville Pub (An Icon of the Australian Outback)
The Birdsville Pub is synonymous with the Australian Outback and has been the watering hole for many a weary traveller, both in days gone by and still today.
And over many years of outback travel we have often gone out of our way to quench our thirst in the front bar of the hotel.
A bar where you can hear the different accents of the many foreign tourists who come to wonder at the splendour of Australia’s Outback mixed amongst the laughter and our unique Aussie Drawl.
TomO is very accustomed to the Birdsville Pub.
Oh, but don’t worry, he is yet to quench his thirst with a beer, perhaps that will come in time, but he has made many friends over the years in the front bar. Plotting adventures with a local boy, playing snooker with the many visiting pilots, and even fallen in love with the policeman’s daughter, at the tender age of three!
And he tells me he is looking forward to this visit…
What do you think he will find this time?
Photo: Baz, The Landy
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Touring the Australian Outback (Where is Baz – The Landy)
Whilst it may seem I have disappeared from the face of the earth, rest assure, I am alive and kicking, still larger than life, head-down and exercising…
And I have been preparing the troops, and yes, that would be Janet and TomO, for an upcoming adventure into the Australian Outback.
In about one week’s time we will be pointing ourselves westward towards the Flinders Ranges and the Birdsville Track.
In fact, this will be a sentimental journey, of sorts, for us as Brian, my father, longed to take a trip along the “Track” in the footsteps of Tom Kruse, The Outback Mailman.
Many may recall that Brian passed away last year and so as a tribute to him we are making the journey accompanied by my mother, Fay, the love of Dad’s life for near on 60 years! But he’ll be with us….for sure!
Our trip along the Birdsville Track will take us in the footsteps of the famous Australian Outback Mailman, Tom Kruse.
Tom delivered mail to the many cattle stations along the track in a “Blitz Truck” arriving at Birdsville, in far Western Queensland, before loading up for the return trip to Marree. His story is one of human endurance, courage, and perseverance. Despite facing considerable challenges each and every day out on the Track, Tom got the mail through, a lifeline to those who lived and worked in the area…
Before arriving in Birdsville, we will pass through one our most well-known outback towns, Broken Hill, and visit Wilpena Pound in the Flinders Ranges.
Wilpena Pound is an ancient landscape over 800 million years old, a mountain range rising out of the landscape that has the appearance of being an old volcano. It is also home to the Adnyamathanha people.
After a couple of days resting in Birdsville following our trip up the “Track” we will head towards Innamincka, a small locality that is infamous for being the end of the ill-fated Burke and Wills Exploration.
Passing back down into New South Wales though Wari Gate, we will overnight in Tibooburra and visit the family hotel where the famous Australian artist Clifton Pugh, who once painted a mural on the hotel walls. In fact, he even owned it at one time.
A favourite place we like to visit is Trilby Station. Trilby is a working sheep and cattle property on the banks of the famous inland river, the Darling River, and as usual, we will camp by the Billabong. And whilst in the area we will take the time to revisit Toorale National Park to further our knowledge of Australia’s first people.
And as we make our way back to Sydney via Narromine, Orange, and Bathurst I’m sure there will be plenty of stories to recount from our couple of weeks “Out and About with – The Landy”.
As we tour I will put up some photographs of the Australian Outback, perhaps just to whet your appetite for a visit, Downunder!
So keep you eye out for those…
Photos: Baz, The Landy
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The Shed (The Sweat Room)
The training shed up in the backyard was in full action this morning with a 10,000-metre row to the sounds of Deep Purple at silly o’clock…
As much as I enjoy strength and weight training, I can’t expect to be a 100-kilogram gorilla and climb mountains, but the weight training has kept me going over these past few months…
Hey, keep your fingers crossed that my Achilles tendon that I had surgically repaired earlier this year holds up!
And it seems to be as I start ramping up the cardio exercise and I must say it makes a pleasant change to the weight training.
As part of training for the mountains I am working towards a 100 kilometre-running race (I use the term running sparingly) through the mountains that I regularly hike and that takes place in September 2014.
And I’ll need every bit of that time to prepare, and the last mountain running I did was in one of the world’s toughest endurance races, the Speight’s Coast to Coast Adventure Race in New Zealand in 2012.
And yes, that Kiwi brother-in-law of mine is hot on my heels pushing me, again!
I’m also planning to cycle the iconic Birdsville Track in outback Australia in April 2014. It is roughly 500 kilometres in length and the aim is to ride as much as I can on my Canondale 29-er Mountain Bike.
Dream big I say, and of course, live to the motto that “those that don’t think it can be done shouldn’t bother the person doing it.”
Cheers, Baz – The Landy
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