Bylong to Coonabarabran

June 8th: Day 33 – Bylong to Coonabarabran

Definitely something militaristic about this one

Rode east to the Goulburn River along the valley from Bylong. Impressive mountain ranges either side but definitely nothing compared to the Newnes Valley. Apparently the Bylong valley is full of coal and the mining companies have been buying up the land and leasing it back to the farmers. One mining company has one chunk that is now 30,000 hectares. Headed for the Warrumbungle National Park, we did some road miles today.

So its a long weekend, apparently. Riding through Merriwa we found the main street closed and throngs of people coming and going from their “Day of the Golden Fleece”.

Afternoon light on the rolling hills above Coolah

The end of the day is a lovely time that I seldom spend on the road as it means riding when there are roos around, setting up camp in the dark and in this case riding on into the night. Photographically a wonderful time of day though

I was thoroughly buggered by the time we got dinner on this evening. Last nights events weigh heavily on my mind. My back went out in my sleep last night and I am getting some really strange and uncomfortable sensations whenever I turn my neck. Time for a good long rest.