It's a long drive through the Pilliga Scrub but the scenery is marvellous — cypress pine (Callitris) and ironbark on red sand. You'll have to picture it because I didn't have a chance to pull over and take photos. There aren't many rest stops on that part of the Newell Highway.
I eventually took a coffee break at a service station somewhere between Narrabri and Moree. Bellata, I think. Or Edgeroi. Anyway, I was sitting quietly, drinking a cuppa and counting caravans as they passed, when two police vehicles turned up. Damn! I thought. This was bound to happen. It's just like Thelma and Louise. Without either Thelma or Louise. And without Brad Pitt. Or Harvey Keitel. Or violence. Definitely no violence. But apart from all that — and a lack of canyons — it was exactly the same.
There I was, well over 1,000 km from Melbourne and less than 200 km from the Queensland border, and they'd found me. Oh, sure, they weren't actually paying any attention to me but I knew that ploy. There was nothing else to do but finish my coffee, return the mug to the counter and continue the journey as if nothing were happening.
I'm certain that the convoy of over-sized vehicles and their escort that I encountered shortly after was a cover ... They sure have pretty police cars in New South Wales.
New birds today: brown falcons and ringneck parrots.
It's stopped raining and the sky is now crisp and clear. I expect to be chipping ice off the windscreen for the next few mornings.
