Bonjour from Bourke,

I sadly left Tibooburra ’bout 9:20, despite having done the usual Corner Country Store breakfasting, refuelling and provisioning between 7 and 7:30. The delay was due to my desire to register for TAM Australia, for which online registration opened at 9 this morning. A similar event in London last year sold out within 15 minutes, and I wanted to make sure that I had didn’t miss out!

I headed east for Bourke, via Wanaaring. Morning tea was had by the roadside ’round 10:35, and lunch was had adjacent to a billabong of the Paroo River ’round 12.

That’s the most water I’ve seen for quite few days! The bird life was prolific, including seagulls and pelicans.

I was in my motel room by 2:35, after having covered 439 km, all but a few kilometers of which was on gravel roads, mostly in great condition.

I went without dinner tonight (and given the amount I’ve been eating of late, that’s probably not a bad thing). I selected the motel because of its on-site restaurant, but, of course, it’s not open on weekends! The proprietoress recommended the Chinese restaurant at the Bowling Club, a couple of blocks away.

I walked to the club, signed in as a visitor, and went upstairs to the restaurant. I was promptly seated, then apparently ignored! I wasn’t the only one; I overheard a number of agitated customers asking at the bar as to whether orders were taken there, or at the table, to which the response was “the boys will take your order at the table”. After waiting 25 minutes, I’d had enough, stood up, loudly exclaimed “fuck this for customer service”, and stormed out.

I could have gone to the RSL Club, or one of the hotels, for a feed, but was now too disillusioned to do so. In retrospect, I expect that my experience in Tibooburra unrealistically raised my expectations of service in outback towns.

Cheers,
Julian