Log Fifty Five – Emptiness and Rodeos

4 August 2019

Our drive from Winton to Cloncurry  took about 4.5 hours through what is very empty country.  We drove through two towns that could claim a pub and petrol station and that was pretty much it. The town of McKinlay is the site of the Walkabout Pub which was made famous by the Crocodile Dundee movie.

We saw few cars and road trains and in general it was vast expanse of open, empty country.  The horizon was clearly visible from 360°.  A place you could navigate with the assistance of a sextant.

There were a few cattle around water holes and the country looked pretty good after the destructive floods of March this year.  It’s hard to imagine floods in country that is so dry and flat.

It was pure serendipity that we arrived in Cloncurry for the biggest event of the year – the Curry Merry Muster, a three day rodeo. Now a rodeo was not on our bucket list but this was an opportunity not to be missed.

Prior to the rodeo I completed the local Parkrun.  Rather than a manicured park this run was through thorny scrub with the odd horse grazing  in the bush.  There was one gate to be closed so the horses didn’t get out.  This was very much in the feel of this country.  The field of runners was small as most had been at the pub the previous night celebrating the first day of the rodeo.

We spent the day at the rodeo watching barrel races, calf wrestling, bull riding, bronco riding, and calf roping.  It was amazing to see what the little kids could achieve not to mention the riding skills of the professionals.  One dad led his three year old mounted on a horse around the barrels – too cute.  The little boy got an encouraging round of applause from the crowd.

We were obvious tourists wearing shorts, short sleeve shirts and the wrong hats.  We should have been wearing cattleman hats, jeans and western shirts.  Even my belt buckle was too small.  Regardless we felt very comfortable in the rodeo crowd.  From one day at the rodeo, we are now committed to listening to both country and western music.

Not sure that we will follow the rodeo circuit but it was a fun day.

My finally observation of this country.  The gardeners at the van park were challenged to clear up the garden beds.  Their creative approach was to use a fork lift to remove the weeds from what is very hard ground. Love the ingenuity.