Pretty chilly morning today, a sure sign we’re back in the higher latitudes (on the basis that -30 is ‘higher’ than -15). At least it was sunny and calm, which means it felt warmer than our first stay at Barkly Homestead. Some dark looking clouds blew over about 9:45, but disappeared an hour later.

We started by looking at the wharf in the centre of Bourke, which in the 1890s was a hive of activity, with three cranes loading up the paddle steamers with wool for export via Adelaide. Times have certainly changed, but the poor old river has never recovered.

Not much else happened. The road was deserted as far as Nyngan, but after Dubbo, with its busy roundabouts and traffic lights, the road was crowded with idiotic drivers in a blazing hurry to get somewhere. Welcome back to the big smoke. Why do we live here, again?