I awoke early to the sound of the tradesmen starting their trucks. Miraculously I was able to rouse Andy early and we had our breakfast before seven and were on the road before eight. Leaving Grafton was somewhat harder than finding it. In trying to find a more quiet road out of town we got lost and had to backtrack to the main drag out of town. At first I was a bit worried about the amount of traffic though it died down to but a few cars within a few kilometers of the highway. Today's trip was to be a very quiet one.
There was one town of consequence between Grafton and Casino. Otherwise there were just farms and forest. I'd hoped to see a couple of big kangaroos but the noisy squeaking of Andy's loose front rack scared all the animals away. In spite of the racket I heard the sing-song chirping of the birds and not much else for the first half of the day. Blue skies dotted with occasional clouds overhead, we sped across the vacant countryside. As we arrived in the only civilization between our starting point and destination --a three house \"town\" called Whiporie\-- the sun was just getting hot and it seemed time to take a break.
We purchased some water and snacks from the least social store operator we'd met in Australia. Normally clerks in general stores are likely as not to tell you their whole life story just after you say hello to them. This clerk grimaced, showing his rotting teeth and was not really very welcoming. The warmest moment was when he dressed me down for not knowing that the covered oil barrel in front of the store was actually a trashcan. He stopped short of punctuating his sentence with \"stupid\". The latter part of the day was spent riding through more lovely territory. Far less hilly than the early morning and equally untrafficked it was easy to retreat inward and spend some time in my inner space.
The mounting heat helped me space out. I found myself just a little homesick, if that is the right term. Not sure exactly where home is at the moment but I am missing in some small way Americans and American culture. Before I managed to dwell on that thought for too long we'd made it into Casino. Casino was actually named for one of the founding fathers of the town whose name was actually Cassino. Casino is the capital of beef farming in the west we were later told by Kim the helpful tourist information officer. Kim is actually not a worker in the tourist office, however she is a Noxious Weeds Inspector.
We weren't sure exactly what that meant, but assumed she'd be better located in Nimbin amongst the \"feral hippies\" with a job title like that. The Noxious Weeds Authority shares their offices and function with the tourist office. They are charged with ensuring that farmers control the spread of foreign introduced flora and making sure foreign fauna can find the sights in Casino. Kim and her coworker agreed that Casino is probably the most boring place in Australia in one sentence and somehow convinced themselves that it has a bit of everything in the next. Kim's hospitality was unparalleled. She invited us to spend the night out at her place in the country within a few moments of meeting her.
The only problem was that her place was about 30k beyond Casino and we were about to expire from heat exhaustion. We found the best option to be crashing at the \"Beef Capital Motel\" across the street from the public pool, taking a dip and having a nap. We had the misfortune of missing the big event of the year in Casino. \"Beef Week\" features such exciting events as the Beef Ball, Fashion Parades, Beerfest and the famed \"Hoof and Hook\" contest. The latter is a contest among young people who lovingly raise cattle for a show where the cow is judged for its looks.
Kim the noxious weed inspector told us that the cow virtually becomes a member of the family and is cared for as a sibling. Unfortunately for the cow and the family the last part of the judgement of the event is how good the beast tastes.