From the Goldy to the Dusty Outback - a Poem by Bob Fairless

From the Goldy to the Dusty Outback by Bob Fairless

A poem about a recent Outback Trip August 2025

From the Goldy, with its ocean spray,
We turned our wheels and rolled away,
Westward bound where the wild things roam,
To the red, raw heart we call our home.

Then came the rains, and oh, what bliss!
The desert bloomed with a painter’s kiss.
Greens and golds, in colours rare,
Danced like jewels in the evening air.

Through rolling plains and skies so blue,
The Cruiser growled, the Rangers flew.
John took the lead, with a grin so wide,
And Maggie laughed from the passenger side.

We hit the track, Innamincka bound,
Where red earth sings without a sound.
Cameron’s Corner stood proud and still,
A compass mark of explorers’ will.

By Cooper Creek we made our camp,
’Neath river gums, where the air lay damp.
Bob lit the fire with Anne by his side,
While Michael and Michelle let the world slide.

Through dusty tracks and channels dry,
The emus wandered ’neath cobalt sky.
Galahs squawked in a coral swirl,
Sunrise kissed the land like a flag unfurled.

Geoff reminisced till the stars shone bright,
And Lis, as always, gave help and light.
Gazza, in his way, brewed billy tea,
While Smithy stoked coals — mateship’s decree.

Anne took a fall, but proved she’s tough,
While Carol tended her shoulder cuff.
Near Birdsville, the Cruiser slowed,
Smithy coaxed her — she bore the load.

Teana arrived with a tow-truck grin,
Got us to Ben as luck rolled in.
A new fanbelt, a rumbling sound,
The old girl’s growl once more was found.

Big Red loomed on the horizon ahead,
We walked its crown, with Geoff who led.
Cameron’s Corner proved too far,
So Nuccundra called us, up the tar.

Haddon’s Corner, we could not deny,
Where Queensland meets South Australia’s sky.

At the Dig Tree’s roots, we stood in awe,
Of men and maps and dreams once raw.
We listened to yarns from the wide outback,
As Jane poured wine from a cardboard pack.

We talked of life, of love, of loss,
Of idle chatter, gains and costs.
And under stars that barely blink,
We let the fire’s deep heat sink.

Solving the world, one tale at a time,
With tawny sips and words in rhyme.
Kites and eagles soared on high,
Etched in blood-red outback sky.

The silence spoke, then so did we,
Old friends bound by life’s grand fee.

At Charlotte Plains, we bathed in the bore,
While flies feasted well on Geoff’s sore.
At Nindigully we gathered last,
To toast the journey, the miles just passed.

So here’s to dust and riverbanks wide,
To laughter that echoes countryside.
To memories made, and thoughts of home,
Till wheels turn east and phones find tone.

To colours bold and lessons learned,
To roads ahead, and roads returned.
Another adventure laid to rest,
One more ticked from the bucket list’s quest.