Hi dear Bloggers a week out of range and much to catch up on. We have been staying mostly at National Parks and they are so nice it's hard not to stay a while. We looked around Thargo for an hour or so before we headed off. They have some old buildings but the best of these is this historic house. It used to be owned by one of the cattle barons in the early days and has been lovingly restored with great wide wooden floors and the original fireplaces back to back in kitchen and livìng room. It also had an interesting back yard - see for yourself.
There have been some incredible rigs out here that people are travelling in and this one was one or the ritzyest we've seen. The car was a V8 and the whole thing wouldnt quite fit into the space at the caravan park!!! Not the ones above the one just below. Lol
T
We noticed these swallows nests on one of the houses. They had nearly taken over.
Once on the road we headed west again and one of our main reasons for being in this area was to see the Dig Tree. It's in an isolated spot near Innaminka. The area is very remote but right on Cooper Creek. The afternoon we were there it was bitterly cold and I took a video where you can hear the wind howling. The absolute misery of the men when they realised the support party had left 9 hours earlier after waiting 4 months for Burke, Wills, King and Grey must have been enormous. Their return meant that they were left there with only minimal food. Grey had perished earlier but the remaining 3 were very weak and Burke was a poor leader and wouldn't acknowledge the skills of the local aborigines who were really quite friendly. Of course Burke and Wills perished but I was not aware that is was mainly because of a Vitamin B deficiency - they were cooking Nardoo Cakes just like they had seen the aborigines do but had not realised they had to rinse the Nardoo seeds as they ground them to get rid of a noxious chemical. This chèmical didn't allow their bodies to convert Vitamin B as it should. They died in an area rich with fresh water and food that the aborigines have survived in tens of thousands of years. King on the other hand was very canny and joined the aborigines and stayed alive until he was rescued by a search party about 6 weeks later. At the site there is also the Face Tree where an image of Burke was carved into a nearby tree last century.
After leaving this sad spot we headed off to look for a nice spot for the night. Kerry had remembered Cullyamurra Waterhole from last visit with his Dad so we headed there and found the best place. We stayed 3 nights and would still be there if there wasn't so much more to see. We were treated to a huge variety of birdlife, warm days but very cold nights (thank you Anna for my Fox gloves), lovely meals in the camp oven and much reading. sleeping, and an almost full moon to top it off. Kerry went on a huge bike ride to explore the area more - almost to the Innaminka Choke which is a rocky wall across the Cooper which he had canoed to with his Dad when they were here last. I have got an embroidery masterpiece which won't be finished before I am 90 but it is very relaxing to do a bit and listen to and watch for the different birds.
this trees - a River Gum - was 6m around. These trees and the Coolibah like the Dig Tree that abound in this area are around 250-300 years old
the ubiquitious crows
some nasty 3 pointed burrs
a lone pelican in the early morning
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