From Parkes to Lightning Ridge

We left Parkes at a respectable hour and travelled via the Newell and Castlereagh Highways to Lightning Ridge. It was a good run especially once off the Newell. We left all the semi-trailers behind and the traffic was decidedly light until closer to our destination. It is obviously the road less travelled! We certainly saw less of the grey nomads heading north.
The country side was quite different as we headed along the Castlereagh. It was much drier and very flat. Trees were eucalypts mainly but what I did notice was that there was no mistletoe in them which is quite common elsewhere. Also, the number of birds reduced as we got further along but earlier there were quite a lot of hawks or other birds of prey hovering near the roadside. Obviously, the greeener sections support more wildlife and hence predators. I would love to try to photograph those magnificent birds one day!
We had a nice lunch in a cafe in Coonamble and passed the turn-off for "Come By Chance" twice! I love the names of towns in Australia. That one is an easy one to say but some others sure take a bit of practice to get your mouth around!
Hotel-Motel here is good; free wireless internet access (big plus! - uploading photos to Webshots), restaurant (basic fare but reasonable), they book tours, and the pub right next door. We have booked a 3 hour tour for the morning after a brief look around town this afternoon.