Yes, you read the title correctly and I’m sorry but we had a road trip revolved around the cinema. You’re probably thinking “Steph, you’re in Oz, surely you could take a road trip to some spectacular sandy beach or some never ending waterfall right?” WRONG. Let me explain…
When you’re in the outback, on a farm and the only thing that gets you excited is a once-a-week grocery shop, I’d take a road trip for just about anything. With Farley being a film buff, he was having withdrawal symptoms from the movie world, so we found out where our local cinema was and off we went to see not one, not two but three movies over the course of a two day trip.
Now when I say ‘local’, I mean it’s 3 hours away in a town called Goondiwindi… Yep you heard me, the so called ‘local cinema’ takes 3 hours to get too and 3 hours back. Now can you see why we turned it into a road trip? I can’t quite get my head around what people do for fun in the outback.
Goondiwindi, what a great name. It makes me smile each time I say it. Go on, try it. See… First impressions were that the town was rural, old fashioned, quiet and friendly. There weren’t heaps of shops but there was plenty to keep you busy; a rustic bookshop by the hairdressers, a shoe boutique right next to the fashionable workwear warehouse, an all important chemist, a reject store, Target and a newsagent that doubled up as a gift store and stationary shop. I wasn’t exactly able to have a retail therapy session but I’d reached a little more civilisation than the farm.
The cinema wasn’t what I would call a cinema. It was more of a converted town hall with a big screen run by the local council. Cheap though! $8 a ticket. Farley’s three chosen movies were Avengers Infinity War, Deadpool 2 and Solo. By the end of our movie antics, it seemed we’d made good friends with the staff who just so happened to give us their movie release dates for the rest of the year. I didn’t feel like breaking it to them that we probably wouldn’t be back. I mean I cannot see myself living on the farm forever. 88 days and then East Coast here I come.
We didn’t spend our entire time in the darkness of Goondiwindi’s converted town hall. We explored the Border Bridge over Macintyre River which would take you from Queensland into New South Wales, Gunsynd memorial, The Tree of Knowledge and let’s not forget this really cool sign I found. 
Had we of stayed longer I’d have certainly found a cotton tour to go on. However, we see enough cotton as it is on the road. I reckon I could make a small fortune from picking up all the loose bits of cotton that have fallen from the road trains.
As well as exploring the top 3 things to do in Goondiwindi, we also ate our way through the town, and no, it wasn’t just popcorn. I had a tasty, hot, homemade sausage roll from the local bakery, a to-die-for Thai dinner from Lucky Thai Restaurant (inc. first glass of wine in two months, lucky me) and a delicious fry up and chocolate milkshake from OK Milk Bar, which was a very cool and quirky place. It reminded me of an American diner with its retro red leather seats, black and white floor tiles, records hanging from the ceiling and a vintage juke box blasting out music. 
We stayed the night at O’Shea’s Royal Hotel. It was basic, which I expected. We didn’t want anything fancy, it was simply a bed for the night. The room had a small double bed, TV, wardrobe, dressing table, sink and a fridge. Unfortunately bathrooms were shared so if you had to go in the night it was a bit of a hassle, but no major drama. Most importantly we had WiFi, so I was able to video call home and check in with my mum, dad and two sisters. Oh and of course the cats!
After overdosing on superhero’s and sci-fi, our bellies busting and Farley’s new trim, it was time to get back on the road and head off on the 3 hour kangaroo dodging drive to the farm. Goondiwindi is not somewhere I would visit out of choice. It’s a long way from the East Coast and so it’s not exactly a popular tourist spot. It’s somewhere that backpackers, such as myself, end up during their 88 days regional work for a little bit of civilisation and the odd movie fix.
Catch you later
Miss Health & Safety aka Steph
P.S. Just 30 days left on the farm!!!!!