You want to go out West?

along the waterways of the Bogan + Wambuul rivers

Maddy Hodgetts ~ Designer, Multidisciplinary Artist, Educator & Owner of fashion Label Yapa Mali

(Analog by Joe)

As a bush baby, the closest coastline or intoxicating hum of the big smoke usually takes first priority when I feel the need for an escape.

I love both, however I’d found a bunch of neat places & inspiring humans on my radar recently, & it all moulded into an idea for a trip - travel, connection, photography & the promotion of some very talented & creative business owners in Outback NSW. Luckily for me, some hands went up & I couldn’t wait to sit down & listen to their stories, learn new ways of doing business & soak up this untouched corner of our Orana Region.

All new territory. Somewhere between Euabalong & Nymagee.

We’d made loose travel plans, wanting to avoid the familiar stretch of the Newell Hwy/Dubbo leg & the sealed roads & towns which we’d driven through prior. From Griffith, we poked our way up to Lake Cargelligo and decided to go rogue through the centre to Nymagee.

On the other side of Euabalong, we’d certainly discovered that open land and rugged territory we’d craved.

It was mile upon mile of red dirt country and dusty roads, separated only by a new set of cattle grids and the occasional Toyota pulling out of their station with a friendly flick of the finger.

I was stunned with how much space we covered, yet how little activity we saw. Twas a beautiful thing, albeit shocking, to be surrounded by so much raw landscape. We gawked out the window and enjoyed the stillness for the 100km stretch or so, Zach Bryan echoing out the windows. After a brief lap of Nymagee, we cut across east to the Tottenham Hotel for some lunch and a mandatory brewksi, ready for our last leg of the day. It was an easy, little drive to Buddabadah, in search of Angie & Mike Armstrong’s ‘Callubri Station’, which we excitedly would be calling camp for the next couple of days. PS. Camp is the understatement of the year & if you’re done reading and just need a getaway with your girls or the lads, go book your trip now.

Callubri Station

Amid my fixation on the Central West, I came across Angie & Mike’s 4th generation Merino sheep station/retreat and was mesmerised from the get-go. I love everything about the fusion of the raw, rugged station life with Agri-tourism. I knew this would be up my alley to a tee, providing ultra-modern accommodation that allows disconnection in the outback, without the sacrifice of luxury.

Our stay with Angie & Mike (& little legend, Eamon) was so full of rich conversation, learning about the evolution of the station into the tourism realm, exploring the newly renovated woolshed & function facilities in their shearers quarters space & mostly listening to genuine passion. Passion that drives a dream into something magical like Callubri.

The full richness of Callubri is difficult for me to portray in words or imagery, however Angie & Mike’s ethos truly gives you an intimate experience, whilst maintaining that luxury & adventure you often seek in new places. Angie’s got you covered with her impressive knowledge in the garden (& she wears a chef hat, amongst all the rest) & we adored perusing through the grounds and gardens, learning about her farm-to-table approach. Interestingly, Angie’s an avid admirer for botanists who promote the use of edible weeds & it’s inspiring to see what sophistication she creates from the plots in her backyard. Her garden boats a unique array of native flora, and is overflowing with all types of vegetables such as limes, figs, cinnamon myrtle, olives, spearmint-chocolate mint and so much more fragrant, thriving produce. We struck gold to be able to taste Angie’s saltbush and mozzarella arancini & her divine lamb, apricot and date tagine. This is the elegance you can expect from your stay at Callubri.
Celebrate with your loved ones with a trip. You can thank me later.

Yapa Mali

Discovering Maddy, learning about what inspires her fashion label & how culture crafts her art,

is exactly the reason I wanted to do this trip.

A conversation about her artistry and a better understanding of life in Central West NSW. Connection.

Maddy is a Wangaaypuwan/Ngiyampaa and Wiradjuri artist based in Nyngan, New South Wales & is the owner/designer of fashion label, Yapa Mali.

We’d planned to spend the afternoon together at her local spot on the river, learning more about the evolution of the label & listening to stories from her creative journey. Wearing her red ochre and earthy patterned ‘Kaathi’ set, Maddy spoke about her weekend camping on country in Bourke, teaching art, dance & connecting with community, a cultural program she regularly facilitates with young mob to continue the growth of strong cultural identity.

Maddy welcomed us onto Country with a smoking ceremony & reflected with us about being drawn back to Nyngan, from her previous home on the Central Coast. Maddy’s move was centred around her strong family ties & she spoke about the value she’s found again in learning her Ngiyampaa language. Maddy’s deep love for the environment surrounding us was also crystal clear, speaking of her regular visits to the bush with her pup ‘Nhanya’ (which means persistent in Ngiyampaa), and their sacred time here on land and by the water.
In practice & in creating her beautiful pieces, Maddy explained her designs and the artwork being drawn from shared stories of Country, dreamtime and that each of the garments hold messages of cultural relevance. I think it’s so meaningful for fashion to resemble or try and translate that. What a special way to pay homage to culture.

As the sun dipped by the water, we appreciated the beautiful land we are lucky enough to call home. Support Maddy’s stunning craft here.

The Rural Trader

With Griffith connections, I’d seen & heard a great deal about Kat’s gorgeous Cafe, Gift + Pantry store “TRT” & it had been on my bucket list for a lifetime.

Nevertire-bound.

We zipped into Kat’s beautiful space for a brew & quickly perused the shelves, before our long trek home.The design of The Rural Trader oozes country charm & it’s a prime spot to pause, refill your cup (my coffee was standouuuuut), pick up some goodies & have a cosy little break from the bitumen. Also worth a mention were the lovely Courtney + Reece, originally from the UK. These guys snagged some work with Kat during their adventures around Aus & were such nice souls to chat to, helping us learn a little more about daily life in Nevertire.

The Nevertire Hotel is also right across the road from TRT & looks like a top place for a beer. We were unfortunately a little too early this time ‘round, however gives the impression of a stylish country pub with no doubt a big atmosphere!

Soul Food Depot & Gallery

After a very hairy trip from Nevertire with the fuel-light blaring on the dashboard, we made it safe + sound to Narromine. In typical Steph + Joe fashion, we scooted out of Nevertire without a glance at the fuel gauge & couldn’t find any fuel pumps in Trangie, so it may be worth being more prepared than we were if you’re following our route (or you can live on the edge like us).

Our final pit stop was at the delightful Soul Food Depot + Gallery, for a last snack & vino. Soul Food gives off a country-warehouse sort of atmosphere, with a huge variety of homewares, pantry goods and plenty of treats for loved ones when you get home. We had a gorgeous little break here & hit the road for the final four-hour odyssey back to Griffith.

Other talents worthy of your attention (& who I’d die to have a cuppa with):

Narromine Photographer Clancy Paine ~ https://www.clancypaine.com

Trangie Artist Lottie Rae ~ https://lottieraeart.com

Nyngan’s Entrepreneurial locals James & Emily Stanton from The Nyngan Boutique Hotel ~ https://www.thenynganhotel.com.au

Narromine Designer + Owner Kirsty from Dumble Collective ~ https://dumblecollective.com.au

Trangie Jeweller + Maker Emily from Peggy + Twig ~ https://peggyandtwig.com.au

Gin Gin Entrepreneur + Founder Grace from Buy From The Bush ~ https://www.buyfromthebush.com.au

Dubbo General Manager Danilo from Press ~ https://www.pressdubbo.com.au

Manildra based Artist Whitney Spicer ~ https://whitneyspicer.com/collections/original-artwork

It's an ever-growing list.

Cast your eyes on their artistry, their passions, go give them or follow or keep them in mind for your next gift purchase x

Can’t thank all of those involved enough ~ thank you for your time, collaboration & sharing your world with us.