Longreach

 Sunday, September 18

After a long drive to Winton for a night, the trip to Longreach only took us a couple of hours and we were able to drop off the van at the Longreach Tourist Park and head over to the Stockmans Hall of Fame. We have been through Longreach several times before but have never been to see the complex.

It was well worth the experience. We had brunch in their cafe first, then watched the film in their theatre. Wonderfully done and on a huge wraparound  screen. As a bonus, I was able to use my new hearing aids on Telecoil, which put the soundtrack directly into my ears.

From there, we went out to the undercover show ring where we were entertained by a very funny and accomplished stockman and horse trainer, who also played his guitar and sang his own compositions. The first horse he showed was a performer herself and participated in some very funny antics - collapsing when he wanted to ride her, pulling off the horse blanket, refusing to obey. Then when he tried to do her hooves, he pretended he had a bad back, so she laid down with feet in the air so he could do the job. He then swept her with a broom and finished off using a leaf blower to groom her.



 

He demonstrated his training techniques with a stock horse, loaded up a pack horse to show us what that involves and showed us how a horse can be ridden bareback, without reins or hands, using only knee pressure. He used four horses in the show.

The show ended with a demonstration of sheep-handling with his trained sheepdogs.

 We had time afterwards to enter the extensive interactive display area showing all aspects of the history of stock men and women and the role of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, including a complete RFDS plane hung from the roof.

All in all, we spent about three hours there and found it worth every moment.

We weren't interested in the Qantas museum across the road, so went back to the van and did a google search for somewhere to go for dinner. The Branch looked like the go, and was an excellent choice. Tucked down an alleyway next to the Tavern was a lovely outdoor area almost completely covered by a huge tree and lit with fairy lights. Just as well we booked, as the place ended up fully booked. It was Sunday roast night, with roast pork and wagyu beef cooked outdoors on a huge spit barbecue and oh! the tenderness. Just perfection. The best roast ever, served with cheesy mash, BBQ corn, tasty salads and bourbon BBQ sauce.


 

What a lovely day. Nowhere near as hot as predicted. Hurrah!

Now it's two long days of driving, to Emerald, then Monto, and from there to home.


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