Lightning Ridge to Bourke NSW 30/1/12 - 2/2/12

Leaving Lightning Ridge we came across this plaque which indicated how Lightning Ridge apparently got it's name. We have read other versions of how the name came about, but we thought this one sounded quite good.

On leaving Lightning Ridge we only travelled 10 kms down the road before stopping for the night at a rest area beside the road as the weather was pretty bad (lots of rain) and we weren't sure if the roads were open or not due to flooding. It was here that we met "Willy not Nelson" and his wife who stopped to change a wheel and were on their way home from singing at the Country and Western Festival at Tamworth. Apparently he is well known in this area. A bit of a character!!!

Brewarrina camp site

50m pool in Brewarrina (not a good photo)

Next day we travelled to a small town "Brewarrina", but the caravan park was closed due to upgrading and was the only one in the area. Fortunately, Carol spoke to one of the guys working there and he allowed us to stay there the night, at no cost, and we had the facilities of water, electricity, showers and toilets. We were very relieved to be able to stay there even if it was a bit run down. Only ones again. As a bonus the caravan park was right next door to a beautiful olympic 50m swimming pool, with an entrance fee of $2 each. As it was a very hot day (one of the few days we need to put our air conditioner on), it was most welcome.  On driving through these small, very run down towns, we noticed they all seem to have  nice big 50m outdoor swimming pools, with hardly anyone in them.
Not very much to see in Brewarrina except the fish traps at the weir on the river which were constructed by the Aborigines thousands of years ago to catch fish as they swam up the river.

Brewarrina Weir

These towns are often deserted and the roads and streets are empty. Most of the shops and pubs/hotels are closed or derelict. The shops that are open seem to have shutters or bars on them for security reasons which reminded us of some of the pacific islands we have been to. In the 1800's early 1900's these towns were booming with gold, silver and opal mining but populations declined as supplies ran out and people had to move away.

"Mosquitoes" .  These little insects plagued us, especially Carol, who comes out in large red bumps, once bitten. She found relief by rubbing vegemite into the bite. One morning Nigel woke up and asked her if she was 'a happy little vegemite', to which she replied "yes, why?" Because you smell like one!". We had a good laugh. A nightly routine is hunting for the mozzies around the inside of the caravan with a torch and eliminating them before going to bed. While in Carol found a recipe from a pharmasist which we made up and it seems very successful in keeping them away.

Tuesday, 31st January took us west from Brewarrina to Bourke (Back o' Bourke). It rained very heavy during the night so we were hoping there would be no flooding on the roads, but there was no problem. The distance we travelled was a little over 100 kms and the road was practically deserted.

The caravan park at Bourke was in complete contrast to the one we had just left. We stayed a couple of nights at Kidman's camp which was recommended to us. More upmarket than we are used to but a beautiful spot and apart from one other caravan and a tent we had the whole place to ourselves.

As the camp was 7 kms north of Bourke, we rode our bikes into the town to explore.

No where to go

Kidmans Camp pool (2 pools)

The Darling River is running quite high and will be higher when the flood waters from Queensland arrive in a few weeks. Again Bourke seemed to be deserted of people and vehicles. We expected Bourke to be bigger but only has a population of 2,200.

Bourke was a bustling river port in the late  1800s as wool was transported down the Darling and Murray Rivers to Adelaide where it was shipped off to other parts of the world. 

North Burke Bridge

A lift bridge still exists from this era. There is a paddlesteamer here which takes tourists up and down the river but unfortunately because the river was so high it was unable to pass under the electricity cables.

Back o' Bourke Gallery (Jenny Greentree)

Near the Caravan park is an art gallery, owned by a lovely Christian lady, Jenny Greentree (appropriate name), whose art work features Australian artback scenes. Her work in pastels is just superb and the colours are amazing, influenced by her love of creation.


The next part of our journey takes us to Cobar, White Cliffs and then on to Broken Hill.  To be continued: