Captain Starlight Rides Again

Monday 4th August.

The short run into Longreach had us there by 9:30am where our first visit was to the post office to collect our mail and the Ecopot parcel which had been sent ahead for us to collect upon our arrival.

We had purchased this Ecopot off Gumtree from a guy in South Australia at an exceptionally good price so the additional cost of postage to Longreach was of no concern.

We then to went to the "Outback Shop" operated by Kinnon and Co. This company is an institution in Longreach as apart from having one of the best shops, (built in a very old ex hotel building) selling everything related to the outback. They also operate the Cobb & Co. Stagecoach rides and camp-outs from the stagecoach as well as the dinner cruise on the Thompson River. We have done these excursions on previous visits to Longreach as well as the Stockman's Hall Of Fame.

However on this occasion we decided to do a show at the Kinnon & Co. shop which had been recommended to us by several travellers we had met in recent weeks.

The live show which was conducted in the large yard at the rear of their premises centered around the legend of Harry Renford, better known as Captain Starlight.

There were only three characters in the show but the one hour show was one of the best value for money events we have attended for a long time. It was hilarious from start to finish and involved all sorts of farm animals including dogs, roosters, a pig, a cow, a donkey and several horses including one horse with its tail where it's head should be! Ask us about this sometime.

Lunch at the Merino bakery then it was a short drive of about 9 km's out to a camp spot beside the river which once again had been recommended by fellow travellers. This location was nowhere near as crowded as our usual spot adjacent to the old highway just north of town. Upon arrival there mid-afternoon we found only two other camps already set up. The previously mentioned spot generally hosts up to 50 plus vans and Motorhomes each night so this was a welcome change.

Overnight I dropped our two crab nets into the murky brown water and was rewarded the next morning with one very large Redclaw, which was returned to the river.