Birtles vs Australia

penguineer

just luscious
Very nice! :clap:



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Camera numbering puts this mine between Merriwagga and Cobar. There are so many mines that memory fails
as to exactly where it is, but it did impress as being really rather large.

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That's from the Fort Bourke Hill lookout just outside Cobar. I took a photo just like this(not hard considering that the lookout is a cage) when I was there a bit over a week ago......

It's the old opencut gold mine and the entrance to the new underground at the bottom....

Cheers!
 

robbieb

Tassie Daddy
At Alexandra we head back into the hills via the Maintongoon and Sonnberg Roads, on winding gravel leading to Lake Eildon
and Bonnie Doon. The end of the Maintongoon Road has a familiar little cottage right next to the high tension lines.
I check to see if the Kerrigans are there, looking up contentedly at the lines and revelling in the tranquility, but the place is
empty - they must be back in Melbourne at their other Castle.

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Lake Eildon is just across the road and over the water floats the soothing sound of an outboard motor at full throttle.

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How's the serenity? :D
 

robbieb

Tassie Daddy
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Life on the road isn’t all beer and skittles, sometimes it’s just bread and water. To pack down small, this bread has
had its volume reduced: take a fresh sliced loaf, divide it in two, rewrap the halves and compress them. On the spot
jogging with one half under each foot is the most efficient method. The loaf reduces to about a fifth of purchased size
and with few air pockets left it stays fresh for ages. Individual slices can be peeled off like pages of a book. Just add
some warm water and there it is, a quick lunch for the busy tourer.

A previous trip with AusTouring members brought home the importance of food to the bike tourer, with meals being
photographed as enthusiastically as was any scene. In this report we will try to satisfy the food-lover with photographs,
such as this, of the trip comestibles.

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I hope that bread was photographed in triplicate, with under and over exposed shots combined to create the perfect mix of light and shade.... :bees:
 

platypus121

Tour Pro
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ACT 4
In which the roads are long but not winding, Birtles is plagued by wind most foul, and an old art form is observed.


Cobar to Cunnamulla ....

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Crikey, that's not much to look at, is it? Try the satellite view ....

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Service roads run alongside the highway south of Bourke. Good enough to ride on at Birtles’ speed, but there is always
a risk of punctures from the occasional glass and metal debris.

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Bourke was closed … no tennis today, thank you.

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… and definitely no pole-dancing.

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Leaving Bourke.

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Since crossing into NSW the wind has been against us, literally. When it’s full-frontal our speed is reduced to a wide-
open-throttle 50kph. Birtles struggles to make progress, then when it changes to the side he shows off his dancing
skills by waltzing left and right in time with the gusts, cutting a dapper sine-wave path down the road. The big test
is to remain on our half of the road when passing shelter belts of trees as the alternating gusts and lulls force Birtles
into an even more vigorous dance - possibly a two-step.

Crossing into Queensland at Barringun the wind becomes a relentless gale and we stop frequently to take a break
from it - and to laugh at the fences and sheep being blown over.

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In amongst it all there are calm spots where it would be hard to keep a kite up, and the temperature is rising.

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After the last food-related post there was a veritable flood of comments and requests for more in the
same vein, so here it is. Compressed bread is nice, but when it comes to fine food I have to confess to being a true
gourmet. Below is another handy road food tip, a bit more upmarket this time - Sandwich Thins. In packets of six
and resembling thin buns, they are lightweight, cheap, and last well. Their main advantage is that each thin is pre-sliced,
thus saving an awful lot of time when it comes to adding a filling. Peanut butter improves them …. anything improves them!

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Cunnamulla
I like Cunnamulla. Hard to say why - perhaps it’s the music in the name.

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“Dream with ya heart and not ya head”
Sounds like one of those sayings that we believed would change the world way back when we were seventeen - remember?
Pity about the spelling, but the sentiment is there.

- “If you love something, set it free”
- “You are a child of the universe”
- “Never trust anyone over thirty”

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In the back blocks, people make their own fun, and it’s great to see
the ancient art / sport of stone stacking is alive and well out here.
Starting in 17th century Scotland as “stane stook” it became more popular than tossing the caber or even haggis hurling,
but lost popularity in the 20th century when radio broadcasts started. This one is just a beginner’s attempt.
We hope to see more advanced examples as we move into more remote areas.

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Another NZer ?

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Whatever the attraction of Cunnamulla, this guy likes it enough to stay

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Us? We’re off to Eulo and points West …..




To be continued ……
 
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jo

I'm a wimp!
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Hey Jo, look what I found on the interweb. Bet you wish you still had the Little Red Machine rather than that silly old BMW.

Yes-postie bikes are dangerous as that's how I hit my head and blacked out! Since I lost my mind maybe that's why I end up married to Nev :)
 

platypus121

Tour Pro
Yes-postie bikes are dangerous as that's how I hit my head and blacked out! Since I lost my mind maybe that's why I end up married to Nev :)


Just another example of how Posties can change our lives.

PS: Want to borrow Birtles for a second try ?

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