​Dry country beauty - late September 2017

Eremophila bignoniiflora - Bignonia emubush. Although eaten by emus and sheep, the fruits and leaves have a strong laxative effect on humans and were used as such by Aboriginals.

Eremophila sturtii - Turpentine bush. Gorgeous! Branches are reputedly fly-repellent and were used on outback stations for thatching meat-houses. 

It was an Eremophila kind of day - in fact many days! Everywhere I looked round Bourke, Byrock, Cobar- all dry country. Eremophila just thrive. Quite pretty driving along with bushes big and small in full bloom beside the roads. And in stark contrast dark-leafed White Cypress started to appear. But enough of flowers - for now. We spent a few days in Kidman Camp, North Bourke, just hanging out before heading further south. It's a lovely, relaxing spot on the mighty Darling river.

The water hole in the foreground was created by the local council for recreational use out of respect for the sacred nature of the aboriginal rock holes. The area looks desolate but no no no!

While there, we took a very interesting day-trip out to Byrock - and surrounds. This is dry country and it might look rather desolate - apart from the Eremophila and mulga and and lots of other plants - but .... you just need to look and voila! Let me tell you a little about this area.

Not a particularly  good photo but the flower of this Wavy Marshwort is a very pretty fringed lily and comes in yellow or white; I have seen both.

Ah another in the Eremophila story. This is longifolia. Yep long-leaf emu bush. It was used for food and medicinal purposes. The flowers were eaten and the leaves were boiled and the water used to treat skin ailments and stomach ulcers.

Cassias are wide spread in the dry country. This is commonly known as Punty Bush; its botanical name is far too long!

Byrock is the place of the Ngemba people, Stone country people and home to some important natural rock holes carved into a large granite outcrop. It was an important source of water for the area. According to Ngemba mythology, their creator Baiame started his journey near Cobar chasing after a wild bee. On his feet he put bird feathers. His eventually found the honeycomb and it is believed there is still a bee's nest there in a deep crack in the rocks but mortals can't reach in far enough to get it. He dug the rock holes with his stone axe. Obviously there's more to it than this, but it's a charming story. What interested me was the diet of these stone country people. We think the country looks empty and inhospitable but they had fruit such as quandongs, wild bananas, mistletoe, currant bush, wild plums and bush oranges. They ate wild spinach, yams and reeds, and seeds from native grasses, kurrajong and mulga trees. And there was a good source of meat - kangaroo and wallabies, pigeons and bush turkey, snakes and tree goanna, and crayfish - and when they met up with River people they ate freshwater fish. A fascinating peek into another scrap of history and another way of living.

Geijera parvifolia - Wilga tree. Its seeds were ground to make flour and its wood was used to make boomerangs and other items. The leaves were chewed to relieve gastric and were also mixed with the leaves of the sandalwood tree, boiled and placed over rashes

We spent quite some time there wandering over the rocks and checking out the plants and birds. And then we went to the pub for a cold one - as you do!

The bar and furniture in this pub are all made from local Mulga. The pub stands on the site of a Cobb and Co Staging post dating back to the 1800s. There are many old stage coach post locations up through the centre of NSW - and elsewhere.