17/8/2012
Longreach An early start, saw us at the McKinnon & Co office by 8:30 am for a "Gallop through the scrub" - fantastic.

Richard started out by giving us an insight to the life and times of Cobb & Co before we boarded our stage coach for the rough and dusty southern track out of town . We were inside the coach, the area set aside for commoners and drunks - the cheap seats.

The more agile ones climbed up top to sit beside the driver or at the back - in Cobb & Co days, these seats were usually used by the richer folk as they cost more. The seat up front with the driver did not cost more but you had to be prepared to help with the horses, gates etc.

On the way out we trotted at about 15kms and hour past old trees and a billabong. Then we turned in a very tight turning circle - quite a feat for 4 Percheron horses and a stage coach, before settling into a gallop to "run the storm" at about 40kms an hour. This really gave us an idea of how rough travel was in those times, when it was usually far dustier and/or muddier than the day we did it.

The ride was followed by tea and scones with jam and cream (some of the best we have ever had) then they screened a digitally enhanced version of the old time movie "Smiley".

An added surprise was coming across a couple of Kerry Blue Terriers (Sean's breed) right next door to McKinnon & Co.

This left us just enough time to book into the Longreach Tourist Park - a huge place with around 300 sites, before heading off to the Qantas museum.