THE INBETWEENS - CHAPTER 05

Sameness.

I wasn't planning on writing a post for this part of the trip.

We had two long days of driving before our next key destination. The landscape barely changed. Just kilometre after kilometre of open road.

Sameness.

Our planned overnight stop to break up the drive was the Daly Waters Pub. If you're anywhere near it, it's hard to drive past. Judging by the caravans pulling up in the hundreds, plenty of people agree.

The kids loved the donkeys, horses, cattle and goats wandering through the main street, popping into the pub and campsite like they owned the place. Then there was Tim, a local who gathered everyone for story time before dinner then headed off down the main street on his motor scooter to feed the animals carrots and molasses.

The whole place was every bit as quirky as we'd imagined.

But the never-never wasn't done with us yet.

It's funny how the places you remember most aren't always the ones you plan for. Sometimes it's the random roadside stops, colourful characters and unexpected moments that form the stories we tell over and over again.

It had been a long while between petrol stations, so the following day we needed to pull over and top up the tank from our jerry cans. Right on cue, a giant Pink Panther caught our eye and we pulled into the Larrimah Hotel.

I thought we'd grab a quick photo, have a coffee and get back on the road.

Instead, we stayed far longer than expected.

The whole place felt like it had seen better days. It was quirky, a little eerie and completely intriguing. We couldn't help but wander around to see what we'd discover next.

Everywhere we looked there was another little treasure. A freshwater crocodile out the front. A huge dancing macaw. Quirky signs. Random collections of... well... stuff.

But one thing stood out more than anything else.

Paddy.

His name was everywhere. There was even a whole section of souvenirs dedicated to him.

Who on earth was Paddy?

I definitely felt like I was missing something. Like there was one big inside joke that everyone else was in on.

A lovely woman must have noticed my puzzled expression.

"You've watched the Netflix series, haven't you?" she asked.

I told her I hadn't.

"Oh, you have to," she said. "It's why I've driven all the way here."

Then, as I stepped outside, it clicked...

There, right in front of me, was a huge wanted poster for Patrick "Paddy" Moriarty, the local man who mysteriously disappeared in 2017.

I vaguely remembered seeing a story about it on the news a few years ago.

But just as we thought we'd seen everything...

The owner walked outside and called everyone together.

"Come on everyone... it's feeding time!"

I had assumed she meant the little freshwater croc we'd seen out the front.

Nope.

She led us around the back to meet Sneaky Sam — the pub's resident 3.8-metre saltwater crocodile.

Watching a croc that size being fed wasn't exactly what we'd expected from a fuel stop.

The owner, who has only had the pub since last October, was every bit as much a character as the attraction itself. I suspect between her and Sneaky Sam, they've got a few stories to tell.

It was one of those moments you could never have planned.

We came for a fuel stop.

We left with a story.

Sometimes it's the in-betweens that leave the lasting impression.

Needless to say, for the first time on the trip, we'll be turning on Netflix to start Part One of the series.

Sarah.