Beatin' round the bush in Euabalong
Just a short drive from Murrin Bridge is Euabalong, a sleepy little town on the banks of the Lachlan river, known chiefly for its good local cod and yellowbelly fishing, with a grain silo outpost called Euabalong West on the nearby Sydney to Adelaide railway line. A church, a pub, nothing very remarkable except for one of the most friendly and hospitable places between Sydney and Uluru - the Cafe Melaleuca. If you don't know what "melaleuca" is a visit to the cafe will soon teach you as much of the fencing around it is done in locally manufactured melaleuca brush. Indeed, the owners of the cafe, Julie and Trevor Ingram, also run a successful brush-cutting business.
The Cafe Melaleuca, which doubles up as the local Australia Post office and Visitors Centre, offers some of the best food in the region, with plenty of seating both inside and in the extensive gardens for groups of travellers small or large. Exhibitions of local crafts and the exotic birds in the backyard provide additional interest.
In recent years, the Cafe Melaleuca has also been at the forefront of organising the "Beatin' Round the Bush Festival", held annually over the October long holiday weekend. The main event of the festival is a bush poet's competition but there is much else to do and see: Indigenous dancing and craft exhibitions, country music, bush tucker, Alpaca shearing demonstrations, art and photography workshops, stalls and much more. For details of this year's programme, contact the Julie and Trevor at the Cafe Melaleuca, Nardoo Street, Euabalong, Phone (02) 6896 6604, Fax (02) 6896 6781, or email: yenbo@westserv.net.au