Episode 7

Leaving Moree, Rick travels through the traditional lands of the Gomeroi people, where he meets First Nations’ pioneer Kerrie Saunders, who is leading a community initiative to reintroduce the use of native grains. Kerrie introduces Rick to native millet (guli), and bakes him some 'damper' – bread cooked in the coals of a campfire.

Continuing west, Rick ventures further into the sparsely populated outback. As he recalls, it was his travels into the outback as a 19-year-old that allowed him to experience a new freedom, away from the protective confines of his family. He admits that as much as he loves the coast, it is this beloved sunburnt country that speaks most powerfully to him.

Driving through the once prosperous former port of Bourke, Rick reflects on the fragility and vulnerability of remote places like this. Heading into the red dirt of the outback, beyond the back of Bourke, he joins Gary and Samantha Mooring, who are working to keep their 60,000-acre sheep station going in the face of changing tastes. Rick reflects on how first mutton, and then lamb, was once the nation’s national dish. To honour his hosts and this tradition, he cooks a rack of lamb with glazed carrots in an old camp oven and reflects on the outback’s enduring allure, despite the hardships.