24th May: Left Forbes travelling via Bogan Gate along the Bogan way for about 90km! We didn’t see any actual bogans or any living thing really, just derelict houses with piles of junk on their verandahs along the way! We passed through Tottenham and Nyngen to reach the Mitchell Highway leading into Bourke. This road was lined with Mulga scrub with deep trenches on either side of the road, presumably for the wet season. There were many, many goats along the way, unperturbed by cars and too sensible to end up as road kill! There was hardly another vehicle on the road, let alone any caravans, so we were very surprised to find the caravan park full! (We had booked in advance luckily!). Bourke looked like it was a dying town with many deserted houses and boarded up businesses, and those occupied residential properties all had high security fences. The Port O’Bourke Hotel- thriving last time we were in Bourke- was almost deserted and not serving any meals tonight! We had a mediocre Chinese meal at the Bowling club, the only joint in town open, a pleasant 1.5km stroll from our campground. We planned our stops for the next week or so- Charleville, Baracaldine, Longreach, Winton, Hughenden, Mt Garnet and Cooktown..
Tottenham
Mitchell Highway
Planning next leg




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  1. NicMay 31, 2026 at 8:57 PM

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  2. NicMay 31, 2026 at 8:59 PM

    FUN FACT: The Bogan Way, which runs from Parkes through Tullamore to Peak Hill, is not linked with the current slang use of ‘bogan’, that is unless, as is speculatively and probably improbably surmised by some, the louts at Xavier College in Melbourne, where the term is said to have originated in 1984, used the term to bully boarders from Bogan Gate, which is on the Bogan Way.. The route follows the Bogan River along which the indigenous people had traditional camping grounds. ‘Bogan’ refers to the birthplace of a notable headman (great leader) of the Wiradjuri &/or Ngiyambaa people.

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