Cotton pickin', telescopes and toilets.

We are now camped on the shores of Lake Yarrie – alleged Mecca for over 80 species of bird, but unfortunately most of them seem to have gone off travelling elsewhere. Having said that, this is a lovely spot. Peaceful and quiet, with very few other campers. We are about 25 kms out of Narrabri (“forked waters”) and just down the road from Wee Waa, home of cotton country. We have arrived just as the cotton picking has started and this morning we had a look at some of the huge fields of cotton growing. A sea of brown, dotted with little balls of soft fluffy cotton, just as if there had been a light fall of snow. All along the roadside are huge bails topped with blue tarp, big enough to fill a truck each, waiting to be taken away. When we asked the children what cotton was we had some interesting answers. They had never really thought about “cotton” wool or “cotton” buds and it was only when they had the cotton in their hands that they really put 2 and 2 together. Later we visited the cotton museum where we learned everything there is to know about cotton – apart from any negative impact on the environment. A lot of space was given to the benefits of using GM cottonseed and a persuasive argument set, but the old cynic in me thinks there was a lot they didn’t tell us. Anyway, the industry has certainly had to clean itself up in the last decade or so and it is good that less spraying is going on. We learnt a few interesting facts though… Cotton is used in American and Japanese banknotes, margarine, paper, soap, explosives and tents. One cotton bale weighs 227kg and can make 4,321 pairs of socks. Two billion dollars of cotton is exported each year. Only America and Uzbekistan export more cotton than Australia. From there it was on to the CSIRO Australia Telescope, just down the road. This complex was just as impressive as Parkes in it’s own way. Write more later.