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Published: April 20th 2006
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Road to Wyandra
This road seems to stretch out to infinity Most people spend Easter break at the beach but we decided to head off the beaten track of the Australian Outback….destination - WYANDRA.
Wyandra is a very small remote town South West of Queensland. It is 12 hours drive to get there so we left really early in the morning. We used to live in Wyandra (for just over a year) and finished grade 12 (senior HS) in Charleville. We then moved to Brisbane after graduation to start University studies.
As we reached Miles, a town halfway Wyandra, I relieved Jamie from driving and took over the wheel. There are quite a lot of trucks on the road driving slower than expected. There was this one truck hogging the road and blocking my view, so I decided to over take him on the narrow two way road. As I almost drive past him, I had such an adrenalin rush when the bull-headed of a truck driver started to gain speed on me reluctant to let me drive ahead of him. So I sped up and had over taken him eventually. Few words of advise: don’t try to cross an asian chick on the road with
Bogged Car
This is our car that got bogged ! license to drive ‘coz you’ll never know what hit you when she goes
kamikaze on you….(haha). I’m just kidding of course. I’ve been driving since I was 18 and never been in an accident (* knock on wood*), apart from this one time when I drove my car into a drain. I am not going to blog about it much as it was one of the most embarrassing moment of my life.
As I was driving, the approaching motorists on the other side of the road either raise an index finger or the two “peace fingers” as a way of saying hello. They also flash their beam lights few times to warn you that there are Speed Cameras ahead so better slow down to avoid getting a fine. It is very rare that you’ll see in the city this sense of camaraderie in the outback.
We expected to see lots of kangaroos, emus and other wildlife on the road. Kangaroos are nocturnal and are most active at night. Country locals will warn you to avoid driving at night ‘coz that’s when kangaroos go kamikaze on the road. I guess that explains the carnage we drove by
This is Wyandra !
A very remote small country town with population less than a 100. every kilometer or so. We had to hold our breath for few seconds everytime we pass a dead kangaroo ‘coz the foul smell of decaying carcass was just too nauseating. We saw some emus with chicks, which was nice.
Just past the town of Morven, my little Ryan threw a tantrum and took his seatbelt off. So we pulled over the side of the road to settle him down and fasten his seatbelt back on. As we drive back on the road, we realized that our car got bogged. It’s been raining that day and it dampen the clayish soil off the road. Surprisingly, six cars came to our rescue: three 4WD, one utility car, a van and a green station wagon. The first time they tried to tow our car, the rope snapped. Then they used a steel rope, but it was too short and didn’t do any good. The first 4-wheel drive that was towing us also got bogged. The utility car managed to tow it out. The white 4WD used a long snatch strap to tow our car. Everyone cheered with a great sense of accomplishment as our car got pulled out of the mud.
The country locals are very friendly and seemed to know each other. We all shook hands, exchanged praise and thanks then went on with our journey. I kept trying to recall where I’ve seen the guy who helped me steer the steering wheel while our car was being towed as he looked very familiar to me. Then I remembered who he was. His name is Russel
D.,
the bad boy of the West. I remembered seeing him beating up a guy in front of the pub. He kept kicking this helpless guy even when he’s already lying on the ground. I even recalled yelling “please call a cop”. He stopped beating up the guy ‘coz he either heard me and got startled or he just simply got tired. Who would imagine that he’ll be the first one to stop and help us out from a bad situation. Life is certainly full of surprises. It just proves that there’s kindness and compassion in everyone.
We stopped over at Charleville to buy some chocolate Eater eggs. We finally arrived in Wyandra around 5pm. We stayed at a century old cottage which certainly had seen its better days. There’s just something
about the cottage that makes you feel light and easy. Ryan kept jumping up and down and running around the cottage with so much enthusiasm.
I was sitting at the veranda when I saw Russell
I., a classmate of mine in grade 12 driving a utility truck with three hunting dogs at the back and a small fluffy dog at the front. He waved at me and smiled. We used to catch the same school bus from Wyandra to Charleville, which is an hour and a half drive. I remembered him being so madly in love with a girl in our class named Lana. But it was so rare that you’ll end up with your high school sweetheart. He is now married to Leanne and have a beautiful son. I also heard that he is a “Roo Shooter”. He shoots kangaroos for a living. The kangaroos end up as leather goods and processed meat. Even the kangaroo scrotum is made into a coin bag and get sold in souvenir shops.
My sister and I reminisced and talked about high school (grade 12) in Charleville. One of our classmates named Troy
J. gave my sister an emu
Century old Cottage in Wyandra
This is where we stayed, right across the Wyandra pub. It felt like living in a cubby house :> egg with an inscription on it saying “Happy Birthday”. My sister kept that egg to this day.
Easter Friday we had fish for dinner, thanks to Dida, a local woman in Wyandra. Dida loves to fish in the Wyandra river but don’t like eating them. So, she always gives them away...lucky for us :>
It came to me as a revelation that if you’re a foreign tourist from far far away land and struck a friendship with the locals, don’t expect flowers or a box of chocolates for your birthday, ‘coz you are more likely going to get an emu egg, kangaroo scrotum or fish instead 😊……Cheers !
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