Stock routes.

Ahhhh yes ! A drover's vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended.

Last year we came across a mob of cattle, 1500 in all, being driven from the NT across the channel country to SE Qld. A young fella and his dad with the support rig down the track setting up camp. Nice fellas. Stopped and had a nag and found they came from Rylstone NSW and did this trip twice a year, takes about 2 - 3 months they said.

What you are looking for is the "long paddock", TSR's or "travelling stock routes" (do a google search with these words, no exclamations). There's plenty to see there if you want to follow up some of the pastoral boards.

TSR's exist all over Australia and you have probably driven along many not knowing they were there. The easy ones you will realise are where the property fences are set well back from the road edge. They generally don't use the busier roads but there is a huge network of TSR's all over most states.

A great book to read is Pieces of Blue by Kerry McGuinnis a fairly recent story about a droving family. Talk about a tough, but great life. You can see a review here: http://www.westprint.com.au/Articles%20&%20Stories/pieces_of_blue.htm

Most of them are still in use to either graze stock or moving mobs slowly. The road trains you see are generally, but not always, moving stock to markets.

Hi Eric
If you have travelled up the Newell Highway through NSW then you have already travelled along one of the Long Paddocks. Next time you travel it you willk see the fence back from the raod and about every 15 miles there is a large area of to the side of the road which is the overnight stop and quite a few have water
Ray

there is heaps on Google as I looked up some routes last year for a drover
http://www.nrm.qld.gov.au/products/cat_services.php?category=646&description=Stock+Routes+Maps

search for things like
queensland government stock route
queensland government stock route maps
and then for the other states