July 9

Today we visited Gundabooka National Park, about 50 km SW of Bourke. It consists of the Gundabooka Range which rises about 300m above the surrounding plain, so stands out from quite a distance. It was a good day as we achieved everything we set out to do, starting with a visit to an aboriginal art site. I got a bit annoyed here because an elderly gentleman (who should have known better) had actually entered the enclosed area and was lying on his back photographing the art work. This really pissed me off because if everybody did that there would be no art work – I said to him, “Do you really need to be in there?” His reply was, “Probably not, but there was a gap in the fence!” Unbelievable! From the art site we went to Dry Tank picnic area and walked from there to Little Mountain lookout from where we had an excellent view of the main range. The walk was through mulga bush, an interesting plant where the branches and leaves act as a funnel to direct any water which falls to the roots of the plant/shrub/tree. Mum and I were delighted to find some flowering eremophila growing on the side of Little Mountain. Our last stop was at Bennetts Gorge Picnic Area where we went on another short walk to a small hill which gave a close-up view of the Gundabooka Range and a view over the surrounding plain. We had planned to return to Bourke via Louth and the Darling River but time was short so we returned the way we’d come – the round trip was over 200 km. I only put 60 L of petrol (172.9 cpL) in the car as I’m banking on the price being a little lower in Cunnamulla tomorrow!