Casino NSW - BlazeAid

So the story goes: A busload of Japanese tourist arrived in Casino NSW one day looking to do some serious gambling and was very disappointed. Probably an urban myth but it sounds good.

Casino, a very busy town, is not all that far from the fire ground. Rappville, a little village to the south-west, is pretty much in the centre and the devastation to the town is confronting. Over twenty houses were lost to the fire and hundreds of kms of farm fences, sheds and farm machinery from miles around.

The BlazeAid camp has about 40 volunteers going out each day ripping up, replacing or repairing fences. The locals in Casino via clubs and service groups are providing evening meals, cakes and bottled water. The work is sometimes very dirty but always rewarding especially when the farm paddock has been locked up and cattle contained.

They saved the Pub three times!

But not this Koala. 

Some very long fences need work.

All that is left.

NSW on fire.

New stops heading north.

Northern NSW and south-east Queensland are copping it big time, and it is not summer yet. Time to do a bit for someone else. A new BlazeAid camp is starting in Casino NSW and I'm headed that way so I will stop in for a bit.

This time heading north I'm trying out a few new overnight stops that appear to have merit. The pub at Coopernook being one of the better ones. The pub is only a km or two off the highway and its quiet. Popular tonight but still enough room in the back yard for my MH. Counter meals, hamburger and beer for me tonight and rugby world cup on the telly. Nice, well except that Australia lost.