17th September – Thursday
A bit blowy this morning as we set out for our cruise on the PV Jandra along the Darling River. The paddleboat leaves from a mooring near the caravan park, so we didn’t have far to go. It was a very pleasant way to fill in an hour and as there were only a few tourists on board, we had plenty of room and choice of seats. We travelled upstream (or maybe it was downstream) for nearly half an hour before turning and paddling back the other way until we came to the old bridge. This hasn’t been opened since 1929 and because the wind was more than 20 kmh, we were unable to pass underneath. Apart from the flies, a most enjoyable morning. The only downside was to discover that Bourke’s water supply comes direct from the river, although the drinking water is filtered. We are now drinking bottled water!
Fred Hollows is buried in the cemetery at Bourke, so we decided to pay our respects. His grave is topped with an enormous granite boulder and the area is marked out in the shape of an eye. Quite moving, actually.
By 11.00 am the temperature had risen to 35 degrees and the wind made it extremely unpleasant walking down the main street to the post office and supermarket. It is quite sad, really, that this town is virtually held to ransom by an unruly minority with no respect for others – any shops that do have windows (most don’t have any!) have steel shutters and doors to protect them.
The afternoon was spent sitting inside with the air conditioner going and hoping the awning didn’t blow away – we had quite a severe wind storm, with huge dust clouds on the horizon. Quite a stressful afternoon, actually. One little thrill, though, were the four red rumped parrots which came to bathe in a puddle made by the hose – such beautiful coloured birds!
A bit blowy this morning as we set out for our cruise on the PV Jandra along the Darling River. The paddleboat leaves from a mooring near the caravan park, so we didn’t have far to go. It was a very pleasant way to fill in an hour and as there were only a few tourists on board, we had plenty of room and choice of seats. We travelled upstream (or maybe it was downstream) for nearly half an hour before turning and paddling back the other way until we came to the old bridge. This hasn’t been opened since 1929 and because the wind was more than 20 kmh, we were unable to pass underneath. Apart from the flies, a most enjoyable morning. The only downside was to discover that Bourke’s water supply comes direct from the river, although the drinking water is filtered. We are now drinking bottled water!
Fred Hollows is buried in the cemetery at Bourke, so we decided to pay our respects. His grave is topped with an enormous granite boulder and the area is marked out in the shape of an eye. Quite moving, actually.
By 11.00 am the temperature had risen to 35 degrees and the wind made it extremely unpleasant walking down the main street to the post office and supermarket. It is quite sad, really, that this town is virtually held to ransom by an unruly minority with no respect for others – any shops that do have windows (most don’t have any!) have steel shutters and doors to protect them.
The afternoon was spent sitting inside with the air conditioner going and hoping the awning didn’t blow away – we had quite a severe wind storm, with huge dust clouds on the horizon. Quite a stressful afternoon, actually. One little thrill, though, were the four red rumped parrots which came to bathe in a puddle made by the hose – such beautiful coloured birds!
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