We’ve traveled almost due north for a while now, and we have been on the middle of the line defining low rainfall to occasional rainfall. This has marked a return to the best part of our Australian odyssey - a return to the songs and poetry of the Australian Outback. We are about level with Rockhampton on the Capricorn Coast, but 650km inland, about halfway to the Northern Territory border. From Dubbo, we stayed at Bourke (Back o’ Bourke), Cunnumulla, (the Cunnumulla fella), Charleville (the vortex guns), and Blackall (beyond the black stump). The common element of these towns is the rural decline, attempts to grow alternative crops once the golden age of wool was over, and the effects of Government incentives and constraints. They recognize that tourists are a major part of their survival and
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