Cattle grids on the road suggested we were passing through private property where stock were roaming but I don't remember seeing any. Mungo National Park (part of the Willandra Lakes World Heritage Area) was formed in the late 1970s from two large sheep stations Mungo and Zanci which were settled in the 1800s.
As we reach Lake Mungo the remains of an old homestead comes into view. I try to imagine what it is like to live in these dry isolated places with a magnificent but inhospitable view out the window. Amazing enough today but what about 100 years ago when transport was slow and instant communication non-existent.
It's hot and dry, and you'll soon discover the "lakes" are a mirage ... they dried up 14,000 years ago!
You have to wonder what was going on in their heads when they thought
ReplyDelete"yep, this is the place for me".
what a rugged, desolate place...a bit like western oklahoma! :)
ReplyDeleteI suspect that western Oklahoma gets more rain then this area. I don't imagine they had any problems with their neighbors. I am really enjoying your road trip.
ReplyDeleteLetty, my thoughts exactly.
ReplyDeleteLea and Bill, I've not has the pleasure of visiting Oklahoma or much of the central parts of the USA (other than a few cities which don't count when it comes to landscape) so I can't offer any insights into the comparison. Annual rainfall in this area is around 320mm (12 inches), taking a quick look at the web this is somewhat less than Oklahoma.
The isolation is astounding, as you say. But then so is the sound-scape, and the skies at night.
ReplyDeleteIt takes a magnificent type of person. A conundrum really. I admire their approach to life and their down-to-earth-ness ... but not their social attitudes. Well, SOME of their social attitudes. Isolation breeds strange bedfellows.