While enjoying a great coffee at the Emmdale Roadhouse, I overheard a woman (Hanna) advising her children to prepare for a long trip ahead. She said, almost as an aside, "the next town is Wilcannia, it's about an hour from here, but we're not stopping there."

Curious, I asked her "so why not stop in Wilcannia?".

She basically replied, "Oh, we were told not to stop in Wilcannia. In fact we have a map that is marked "DO NOT stop in Wilcannia".

I sort of joked, "you're not serious, are you?" and she was.

We laughed, me saying, "hey, I've gotta see that .. that'll make for a good story." So she showed me the map.

And there it was. marked in pink - "DO NOT stop" in Wilcannia. Crikey.

I was so amazed I asked if she would mind me photographing the map (see photo), and while I was at it, asked if I could get a shot of her and the family -- I told them I would be posting on the net at this site. (see right).

When I've been minding the Miss Barretts coffee shop, around 9 out of 10 people who come in and enjoy a coffee say the same thing "We were told not to stop in Wilcannia."

Not being a local to the town, I wonder why all the negative perceptions.