meetings with other travellers lightened the mood . We continued .
Discovery
Descriptive passages found each night in Mitchell ’ s journal helped me seek the next steps of my expedition . It became easier to see what he was seeing so long ago . The landscape had changed yet remained the same .
Funnily enough , I had never ventured into the central west of New South Wales and what was presented was vast farmlands , it was easy to see why the early settlers had regarded this to be such good pastoral lands . Mitchell had the ‘ foresight ’ to see that where there were great forests there was also an opportunity to grow crops . Indeed , the land would be changed .
He described deserts with great detail , to the level of coarseness of the sands . On numerous occasions I was to discover this sand . The challenges presented were often extreme and confronting , yet well worth the effort . Ray surprised me with his tenacity and determination . At 75 years of age it couldn ’ t have been easy for him at times yet he pushed on and came out the other end , especially a 40 kilometre stretch of some of the finest sand I have ever encountered .
Mitchell suggested that Australia had a lifeless interior and went searching for greater riches . I too discovered these deserts , unlike Mitchell , I would never suggest these lands are lifeless . They are worth exploring , you might be surprised by what you find . The animals and plant life are rich and diverse , the human interaction with the landscape is just as so .
Variety is the spice of life . Presented with many differing trails , tracks and roads life was extremely spicy . Mitchell wrote that he encountered all sorts of travelling conditions , I understood what he was saying , the challenge of what I was riding was similar . At times , it almost got the better of me .
Mitchell ’ s expedition into the unknown lands of Victoria opened up some of Australia ’ s best farming lands , something that Europeans had already discovered in the area around what is now Portland , Mitchell was surprised to find a small community there prior to his arrival . In some ways , I discovered the opposite , where there were once villages and towns had become empty and devoid , the inhabitants leaving for better opportunities , the shells of their existence remain in the forms of ruins .
He was correct , his discoveries did change the landscape , environmentally and socially . For the better ? I couldn ’ t tell however , I did see what
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