The Road to Becoming OZ Experienced - Dingo from Bargara

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On the Bus...

From Bargara to Dingo on the big green bus, we travelled through more sugar cane fields and small towns until we reached the Raglan Tavern for lunch. This place is billed as offering the best value meal on the OZ Experience east coast route and they have a visitors book that is chok-a-block with endorsements. Being in cattle country I had steak. When my meal was delivered I thought I was seeing a steak and salad hovering a few centimeters above the surface of the table. Then I realised that like the sun during an eclipse, the plate was merely obscured by the size of the steak. At just $6 it wasn't just pretty good, it was one of the best I've ever had.

At Rockhampton the beef capital of Australia, the bus stopped to pick up and drop off a few passengers. It was also an opportunity for the rest of us to fill water bombs, which were supplied by our fearless driver Alex for a later mission.

Dingo


Somewhere inland between Rockhampton and Airlie Beach is a town called Dingo. In that town of open bush-land, red dirt and big skies is 'Namoi Hills Cattle Station', (07 4935 9121), also an overnight stop for those on the OZ Experience. What I didn't know, but was reliably informed by owner Scott Parks, is that Dingo is actually the centre of the World where cowboys are Australian, gunshots echo at dawn and where real men eat leather boots and drink bourbon, YAHOO mate! Scotty also proposed that life after Dingo was just a myth.

After a short welcome by Scotty, our first night at Dingo began with a mass line dancing lesson, taken by Scooter and Jeanette, the Australian version of Torvil and Dean on dirt. Moving on from a shuffle and step came the tug of war between North-bound and South-soft-bound OZ Experience passengers. This was a fine event where the South bounders fell victim to a surprise attack by the North bounders and a barrage of water balloons. More fun and drinking games followed, the end is unclear to me. I went to bed leaving a small group of hardcore in a last-man standing competition.

The next morning Scooter took a group of us on a farm tour where we were given an informative impression of outback life. The tour was well worth taking as it was hands-on and offered a taste of Australia that many would not otherwise get.

It wasn't long into the tour when Scooter pulled out a rifle, giving one of our group the chance to shoot a tree. Then the obsession with guns carried on and Scooter then pulled out a pump-action shot gun. Scooter's sideline as a stockman was fashion and he demonstrated his claim as a legendary designer by offering to shoot (for free) any item of our clothing. Several pairs of jeans, wallets, bags, credit cards, my hat, and two cartridges later, the demonstration was over. Where else in the world can you have small bullets holes put into your belongings in a controlled fashion. In LA they have a similar trend, although they rarely have the courtesy to allow you out of your clothing, before they pull the trigger.

Next on the agenda was whip cracking and boomerang throwing, followed quite often by running away fast from boomerangs that actually came back. The tour ended with Damper, a traditional form of bread cooked on an open fire.

Staying On...

Dingo isn't a big place and you're only likely to stay longer here if you choose to stay on at the Cattle Station. Many do, as there are plenty of activities to have a go at. For $140 you can make your own Didgeridoo from scratch helped by a local Aboriginal man. The Didgeridoo's that I saw, which were made by other travellers, were actually the best I have ever seen in Australia. Sapphire mining is also on offer and what you find is yours to keep and they even offer a guarantee. If you don't find anything you can cut into a piece of jewellery, you can have your money back. There have apparently been a number of finds worth thousands of dollars. Namoi Hills Cattle Station also offer overnight campouts on horse back where you can sleep under the stars or if you're lucky / unlucky get a 'shag in a swag'.

Australian Saying

"Breaking off teddy bear arms" (Having a shit)


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