(4 Days)
Goodooga was only 45mins away from Lightning Ridge., The roads from LR to this place were sealed. We were intending to stay there for a minimum of one week, as Rob and Kate spoke highly of it.
Though it was true that camping was free with a hot spring just a few steps away, there was hot shower, gym, and stuff, there were no other things to see aside from these. I liked it as I’ve got lots of space for workouts + gym equipment.
Let’s talk about what else Goodooga actually have aside from the basics (schools, police station etc) and free camping-amenities-artesian-bore bath.
It has one pub with three tables and a few seats, one grocery store, and one post office that looked like a sari-sari (neighborhood sundry) store inside. Felt like the post office was busier than the pub. 😉 It has an old (looked burnt) but charming church-looking building. They’ve got dogs and cats on the streets too, which was nice if they don’t bark and run after you (which only happened once. They’re mostly friendly.)
They’ve got enough. It’s spacious. It was peaceful and quiet, but the opened fences could actually mean (maybe), they also do socialization among themselves(?)
“At the 2006 census, Goodooga had a population of 265, with 81% of the population of Aboriginal descent.”
Source:
As mentioned, daytime in Goodooga was as peaceful and quiet as the night. I asked a resident why is the town so quiet? She answered, “That’s the way we like it.” She asked me if I enjoyed the pool. I said I did. She then uttered, “As long as we all respect the place, we all can enjoy it.” Our very short conversation explained a lot about Goodooga. I initially felt sad for the residents, (because it’s too quiet and there’s nothing much over there). It was such a relief to hear they wanted it that way. Knowing that they can choose what they want for their village, and actually have it their way makes me feel happy for them. Now, the silence feels even more special.
I also asked her the most important question of all (to me) “Can I actually run around…quietly?” (It was that quiet, it felt like they won’t appreciate a stranger running around the village.) She said “Running is OK”, and so we ran around safely in the dark. 🙂
I liked Goodooga. The village has enough of what I think I needed too. T didn’t feel the same about this place. For the first time (during this whole trip), he said he was bored. I,on the other hand, liked it because I’ve got my space for workouts.
*** It’s also important to mention Dave. This man made our stay in Goodooga more memorable. He cleaned the BBQ by the pool every night as a volunteer (according to him), and every night he would also say hello and talk to us. We witnessed him help a man (he didn’t know him) get fuel from the next town, and didn’t charge him a thing. I will always remember Goodooga partly because of him. He’s just inspiring. Travel is not just about the beautiful places we’ve visited, its also about the beautiful people we’ve met. So far, we’ve met a lot of nice people, but Dave is next level. Hopefully, we get to meet him again next time.***
I guess, other things worth mentioning are; the sunrises and sunsets were beautiful by the artesian bore bath, and I witnessed the planets aligned there one Sunday. We also went on a half-day trip to another historical town, Brewarrina (about 1 hour away) because that’s where we could buy the souvenir magnet I was collecting. It’s the biggest town in the shire if I’m not wrong.
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Where did we stay?
Goodooga Artesian Bore Bath: Free camping, amenities, gym hot shower, and toilets. It has great sunrises and sunsets. Though it was away from everything, nothing much around, I appreciated the silence and the idea that these were enough. They’ve got a town pub, convenience store, and an all-in-one post office, a busy one. Loved this town.
A Woman in Search 