Today we do another section of the 643km long Kidman Way named after Sir Sidney Kidman (1857–1935), a prominent pastoralist who built a massive cattle empire once owning several properties along this route. At its peak, the company was the largest private landowner in Australia, controlling over 3% of the continent, with over 68 stations and 600,000 cattle.
But first, a quick look at the Newey Reservoir at Cobar – a birding hotspot.
Black-fronted dotterel at Newey Reservoir
Black-fronted dotterel at Newey Reservoir
Hardhead duck
Black swan landing
Vibrant galahs in Cobar
Cobar mine open cut from Fort Bourke Hill Lookout
Peak Gold Mine underground operations
Grey mulga from Fort Bourke Lookout
This sign shows the isolation in the outback. Only one hotel in 254km between Cobar and Hillston.
We travel south on the Kidman Way through cypress pine forest.
Landscapes between Cobar and Gilgunnia
Gilgunnia Goldfields Rest Area. This is the site of the former Gilgunnia township on a road intersection and travelling stock route. The Gilgunnia Hotel was established here in 1873 followed by the discovery of small amounts of alluvial gold in the area around 1887. This is the Gilgunnia Miner – just an ore-dinary man mining his own business.
Empty road train at Gilgunnia Rest Area
Royal Hotel at Mount Hope (1881) – one of the 79 named Royal Hotels in Regional NSW.
The Kidman Way at Mount Hope
Nombinnie Nature Reserve south of Mount Hope
Silver cassia (Senna artemisioides)
A purple Bluebell – Wahlenbergia oxymoronus?
Nombinnie protects many different habitats such as this mallee area.
Kidman Way sign at Wallanthery
Lachlan River at Kidman Way – Wallanthery Rest Area. The Lachlan River is 1440km long with its source near Goulburn and its end at the confluence with the Murrumbidgee River downstream from here.
We had travelled a further 5km at 110km/hr from the rest area at the Lachlan River when my travelling companion asked (in an agitated voice), “Where’s my phone?” After determining it was not inside the car, we discovered it was OUTSIDE the car. Full marks to the case for holding on.
Lachlan River Swing Bridge at Hillston
Emu Antics at Hillston – some local b-emu-sement. (not included in today’s emu count)
Yellow-billed spoonbill at Lake Woorabinda in Hillston
Corellas at the Lachlan River
The Black Stump Hotel at Merriwagga is renowned for having the tallest bar in Australia – supposedly built to accommodate stockmen who could ride their horses inside to enjoy a beer without having to dismount! It is roughly between 1.3 to 1.45 metres high.
A horse walk’s into a pub and asks for a schooner of beer, the barman says, “That will be $15 please.” The horse pays and trots over to a counter near the window. The landlord walks over and says, “Well this is a strange occurrence, we haven’t had any horses in here before”. The horse replies “At $15 a beer, I’m not surprised.”
These rustic stools enable comfortable seating at the elevated bar. The horses sometimes caused a a bit of bother at the bar – they were known to stirrup trouble.
Another Black Stump is not far from Merriwagga – one of the towns that lay claim to the term “Beyond the Black Stump”. The others are Coolah in New South Wales and Blackall in Queensland. So I suppose two of them are barking up the wrong tree …… or stump.
A ripped shirt on display in the pub from a local fauna control officer – encounter with a dropbear?
White-winged chough among the weedy Gazanias at Merriwagga.
We arrive at the agricultural powerhouse of Griffith – home to extensive orchards, fruits trees and vineyards.
Male red-rumped parrot at Griffith
Mrs Red-rumped parrot.
Griffith bird hotspot – Campbells Swamp
Great egret at Campbells Swamp
Great cormorants
Australian kestrel
The walk around a low escarpment overlooking Griffith to Hermit’s Cave
Hermit’s Cave was once the home of Valerio Ricetti, a miner from Broken Hill who lived the life of a hermit in his cave on Scenic Hill for many years.
Overnighting at Quest Griffith
Emu Count today: 5
