Hebel, Dirrinbandi and Surat

On Friday the 21st May, we left Lightning Ridge and drove north to Hebel. It is just a tiny border town but it has a bit of character. There is a great old pub there with lots of character pieces. The bar has a massive slope (not by accident I am sure). I couldn’t really start taking photos inside and be the rude tourist so I just got this one of the outside.
Then there is this sign which claims ‘Free Grog’.
But you get closer and it says, ‘Free Camping, Cold Grog’.
Then we moved on to Dirranbandi. It was a nice tidy town with some old buildings, well preserved and nice displays.
I was looking to see if there was anything about the ‘Dirrinbandi Dandy’ from the verse in Slim Dusty’s song, ‘The Cunamulla Fella’. And yes there was. There was this horseshoe sculpture and plaque.
We moved on to St George and stopped there for lunch. The park there on the Belonne River is lovely and that is where we headed to for lunch. I have been there before so I knew it is a good spot. The Information Centre is right there as well. Following lunch we moved on to Surat. Once I got there I recalled the town and our visit there. We pulled into the free camp there. It was a beauty and I remember seeing it the last time and thinking I would be keen to stay there someday. The amenities are amazing for a free camp. It is a nice spot on the Belonne River.
After setting up we started on a walk into town which was not far. We then got to see the river. Right next to the river there was this man and woman playing banjos. It sounded great. Sorry about the unsteady video. Must remember to keep the hand steady.
We crossed the bridge into town.
We got to the town centre and Information Centre right on 4.30pm which was closing time. The lovely girl there let us go through the museum whilst she shut everything down before leaving at 5pm. It is a great museum which mostly displays an exhibition of the Cobb & Co coach business and the sheep industry, which, of course, was the mainstay of rural life back in the day.
On our return walk to camp there was a ‘Freedom Tree’ display which commemorates the men in the area who went to war. I love it that country towns do so well to remember their soldiers who sacrificed so much.
There was also some very helpful diagrams which displayed the position of various rivers in the area which I often find confusing.
Back at camp we relaxed and enjoyed this beautiful sunset. Another great day.

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