Cobar to Bourke (Back O')

Cobar was an overnight stay and our site was on the corner of the main drag and another road. Noisy place with semi-trailers until midnight but relatively quiet until 6:00 a.m.
Headed for Bourke on June 21st - vegetation different to what I expected - whilst reasonably flat, trees line the road with low-lying salt bush. Feral goats with big billies and nannies with little kids abound. They don't run out to the road but scamper off when hearing a car horn. Between the sheep and goats, it's no wonder many of the paddocks are bare. They devestate the landscape.
Arriving at Kidman Camp, it felt a tad warmer with bright sunshine although it didn't last too long.
Bourke is different to what I expected - bigger although there are many closed businesses. Population of 2,500 with a lot of unemployment. This morning the main street was very quiet and cold. We're hanging out for some warmer weather - 19 max today. Still managed to get sheets and towels dry.
A visit to the Exhibition Centre was very informative although there was so much to read. Learnt more about Henry Lawson who was sent to Bourke to dry out - he was a drunkard in the city. Unfortunately his editor didn't know that there were 24 pubs in Bourke at the time!!!!
Bourke was a major port with transport of wool by riverboats being a major industry.
In the afternoon, we boarded the PV Jandra (a replica paddle steamer) for a trip down the Darling River.
The captain's commentary lasted for the duration of the hour-long trip and was very informative. His comments about the cotton growers made us wonder if the boat was sponsored by them - apparently it's a crop which grows in droughts and Australian cotton is the best in the world. What about the Lower Lakes of the Murray in SA?
I really enjoy river trips on large boats - it's quite peaceful and the different bird-life is always a highlight. Today we saw swallows, egrets, snake birds, geese, corellas, galahs and piping shrikes to name a few.
I just remembered the apostle birds at Cobar CP (caravan park)- when we pulled into our site, a number of fat "sparrows" appeared and began feeding and foraging on the ground. Not shy by any means and they made a really unusual sound - as Lorraine commented, "They sound like they're arguing with each other."
Looking up the field guide, we discovered that these fat "sparrows" were apostle birds. They were quite used to people as they came right up to our feet. Normally, I would be leaping around, trying to get away but these birds didn't bother me at all and I'm not too quick on the feet with the knee injury. Nana's walking stick is helping me to get around.
Home made pizza was on the menu tonight as the men weren't very successful at catching a feed of fish (I think a cold might be all that they catch).
We hope to get to Charleville tomorrow so it's an early night (not for me).
Our first week has been a good one but we're ready for warm weather so we're going to make a push for a few days with some long hours for the drivers behind the wheel.