We had heard about Tambo from We who had been there to visit a couple of years ago with an old beau ... we won't go into the details of that here ... but we can see now how they knew he was in town ... because there isn't that much of it! But what they do have is picturesque ... and has Fanny Mae's Cafe (where the atmosphere was great, and the coffee drinkable) and the Tambo Teddies shop. We thought about expanding the family but weren't sure how Bethany and Ollie would cope with another little one in the back seat with them!
We stopped at Barcaldine for lunch and one of the restaurant folk was able to confirm we had been mispronouncing the town's name and it should have been "Bar-call-den" rather than what we were saying - which wasn't even close really. Barcaldine may be familiar to those who know their Australian history as the site of the negotiations during the great Shearers Strike - as commemorated by the Tree of Knowledge ... which replaces the original gum tree that had been there - just outside the Barcaldine Railway Station.
Longreach was a surprise - especially as we drove in to town and one of the first things we saw was a Boeing 747 aircraft at what turned out to be the edge of the airport, and the Qantas Founders Museum. As it turned out it was right across the road from our accommodation for the night at Kinnon & Co's Lodges.
We arrived at 2-ish which meant we had a little while before we were due to be picked up by the bus for the Sunset Cruise on the Thomson River. Sooz had a rest while I went off for a little explore of Longreach ... which included parking in the Qantas Museum parking lot and taking a photo of the 747 and one of the other planes there - a DC3 (I think).
At 4:30 we joined the bus with a few other folk and were driven out to the banks of the Thomson River for our Starlight Cruise. The tour was run by members of the Kinnon Family who have diversified from "the land" into tourism as a way of surviving the vagaries of the drought. Uncle Graham was the bus driver and host on the boat and Jeremy was in charge of the boat, the safety talk, and emceeing the entertainment on the riverbank when we returned to shore post-cruise. The cruise was amazing ... the sunset was amazing ... the night was amazing! Jeremy introduced us to Captain Starlight who managed to navigate the outback (with a mob of "borrowed" cattle) - the same quest that had proved non-viable for Burke & Wills only a few years earlier. Jeremy also introduced us to a new term - for those kangaroos who didn't quite make it across the road - wasaroos.
Dinner by the river - around the campfire - was traditional bushman's - beef stew, mashed potato and break from the local bakery, followed by apple crumble, cream and custard, and then, after the film, tea and damper. While it may have been billy tea, we did not see it "twirled" by the campfire, but we did see Jeremy twirl the plate stand with the last of the desserts (that would be the "seconds") ... that was a pretty nifty trick!
After Dinner Scotty (a family friend of the Kinnons) entertained us with poetry reading - and he was very good. It was only later that we realised he wasn't wearing shoes. On the trip back into town, Uncle Graham told us that Scotty, when he was younger, had been in a riding accident where the horse landed on him. He had been in a coma for three months - and the prognosis had not been good for him. But he survived ... but his sense of balance had not - and the only way he can maintain his balace is to not wear shoes. This was manageable in the real world - until OH&S issues arose and he couldn't continue his work in government or as a landscaper ... ... but a solution has been found ... and as well as being an integral part of the Sunset Cruise and whatever he does for a day job, Scotty also does garden tours at the Stockman's Hall of Fame on a Sunday morning.
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