Life is a journey

Images by Leanne Nelson

Following our few days in Griffith we headed west to Robinvale (actually in Victoria) for the second part of our SW New South Wales trip.  We’d planned to take the Sturt Highway through Hay and Balranald, about 350kms.  I didn’t do much research for this part of the trip.  I’d heard that the country around Hay was very flat and dry with not much to see, so I assumed (wrongly as it turned out) that there wouldn’t be anything worth stopping for.

Heading out of Griffith, we were again reminded what a difference water can make to the countryside.  Crossing to the south side of the Murrumbidgee we went from irrigated to nonirrigated land.  What a vast contrast.  Rows upon rows of orchards and rice fields on one side of the river; dry, grey seeming barren land on the other.

True to what I had heard, the land along the Sturt Highway didn’t provide a lot to look at.  There was the odd woolshed, close to no trees once the river was out of sight and surprisingly very little stock (although we probably shouldn’t have been surprised by that).  In fact, sadly I saw more dead stock than live over most of the trip.

Murray Downs woolshed

Despite our experience with the dust storm, this is where the real effects of the drought hit home for us.  Just how the farmers out there are able to make a living is beyond me.  It was just heart wrenching.  I have absolute admiration for the people that are able to stick it out in those conditions.

I had briefly seen an ad for the Shearers’ Hall of Fame in Hay.  As we’d planned to stop in Hay for lunch I thought we might as well pay it a visit.  The Thinker wasn’t so keen, having wandered through many a crappy country museum in our travels.  After all, how many rusty ploughs can you feign interest in?

Shears through time

How wrong he was!  We could see the enormous front panels of the museum rising up out of the plains as we approached.  It became clear this was a “proper” museum.  There was the Hall of Fame; the Shear Outback exhibition, with static and interactive displays (always fun for the kids); Murray Downs woolshed with shearing demos; and a great sheep yard maze.  Rather than a quick stopover to stretch our legs we ended up spending quite a while there.  I thoroughly recommend paying a visit if you’re passing by.

In fact, my preconceptions of Hay itself were quite off the mark.  Being the administrative centre for the surrounding sheep farming district (one of the largest in the world), it should have been no surprise that it was as large and (in good times) prosperous as it was.   The main street, lined with lovely historic buildings, was busy with locals going about their business.  There were quite a few tourists like us, stopping off for lunch.

Leaving Hay behind us we again followed the Sturt Highway through the dry plains.  As we neared Balranald, the Murrumbidgee and it’s life giving water again started to change the landscape.  As inviting as the riverside shade looked, we were keen to get to our final destination, so we pushed on.  Next time I think we’ll stop for the night though.  The caravan park right by the river and the quintessential small country town looked perfect for relaxing.

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