We get up early and enjoy breakfast with a shy cockatoo before hitting the road. Our host waves us off, handing us a bag full of tomatoes and spinach fresh from his garden.

We head out through the opal fields, stopping off in Grawin, enticed by a car bonnet sign for art craft and opals.

We head inside for a quick visit and walk out with paper bags full of handmade gifts.

As we leave the opal fields, the road turns from a dusty grey to a rich sunburnt red. It has rained recently and there are carpets of flowers by the roadside. Vast blocks of colour: purple, yellow, and white.

The road takes us to Brewarrina and we make the necessary stop at the local tourist information centre for a sticker and iron-on patch. Brewarrina is the site of aboriginal fish traps and the friendly lady in the tourist information centre tells us all about them.

“The rocks they used aren’t river rocks, they’re brought down from Narran Lakes” she tells us “and where you’re staying tonight in Gundabooka, you’ll see the rock art there where they’ve painted the traps”.

We had passed through Narran Lakes on the way, so this new information gave added significance to our route. It had taken us a good couple of hours to get from Narran Lakes to Brewarrina and it will take the same time again to get to our camp site, so these are not short distances.

“Since the traps were heritage listed they haven’t been maintained, and I’ve seen some go in my lifetime” she tells us.

On our way out of town we visit the remaining traps. They are clearly working. Pelicans sit on the rocks, harvesting fish from the traps.