The first few days…

Rolling Solo is a group for women who travel on their own. I've been a member for a few years now and I love it. There is a private platform which all can access, with an online chat forum, lots of helpful info, and a huge group of women who are so encouraging and supportive of each other. Anyone can put up an event, and events are frequently happening all around the country. Each year there  is an annual get together, with hundreds of women coming from all around the country.  This year's event was held at Ross River Resort, not far from Alice Springs. 
I've been to a few of these events before, but this year I decided to join a tag-along to the event.  The first two nights were to be at the donation camp at Jugiong, so the group could get to know each other. Unfortunately the river was in flood, the camp ground was closed, and the few of us who had arrived early spent the night squeezed in at the lookout high on the hill.  We then moved on to the free camp at Muttama where we spent a couple of days waiting  for all to arrive and getting to know each other. This was to be a group of about 20 women, some seasoned travellers, some on their first trip and some towing for the first time.  

Mist and Baa Baa Black Sheep at Muttama Memorial Park

The next few days of leisurely travel morphed into needing to beat the flooding along the river.  We all had the itinerary our trusty leader Noreen had prepared, and we set off in either small groups or individually and did some sight seeing along the way.  There was a core group of dedicated ladies who were very supportive of the local economies along the way, particularly the bakeries and coffee shops 🙂  Almost every night there was the choice of a caravan park or free camp ( I stayed at the free camp whenever possible)
We headed through Narrandera, Balranald, Mildura.

Mrs McGrath and her sheep, Hay
The Hay area is in what is widely regarded as one of the best merino sheep growing areas in Australia. In the 1920s and 1930s the McGrath family were caretakes of the bridge over the Murrumbidgee, which was on a stock droving route.
Mrs McGrath regularly used her mob of pet sheep to lead drover's mobs of up to 10,000 sheep across the bridge.  She would carry a bag of stale bread which she rattled to keep her pets interested, and once across the bridge they would stand aside while the drovers continued on with the large mobs.
Mrs McGrath's contribution to the area has been celebrated by the installation of these sculptures in the main street.

More photos from the Hay area below.

There is also a vey good gallery in town which is well worth a look, along with some art in town.