I’ve Seen a Lot of Country

In book 6, the conclusion to 'I’ve Seen a lot of country,' the four swaggie’s 'twisted track' has taken them from Mildura over into South Australia, then back into Victoria with a visit to 'Jen’s' pub in Mount Gambier along the way.Travelling from Naracourte to Kybybolite in a wheat truck, Longtack falls asleep and is almost smothered in the wheat load. At Kybybolite they run into their old mate Hurryup the shit shoveller and his track mate Painfull.At Bordertown they lose track of their dog, Cadger and delay leaving to search for him. Chooka tells the story of how he had almost died trying to rescue Cadger from the bottom of a mine shaft.In Nhill they discover an unconscious swaggie who had fallen from a train and help him recover. After tangling with the rail bashers again, they end up back at Jimmy Sharman’s Boxing tent where Tomcat fights with an old enemy and wins.After suffering severe dehydration they reach Tocumwal and face a beehive attack which forces them into the river where they meet a female swaggie armed with a rifle.Back in Mildura they eventually get work 'grape snatching', but Chooka runs into the cop he had punched, and receives news that his mother is in hospital. He decides to return home and Tomcat goes with him. The two mates have plans to start a motor garage with Tomcat’s boxing tent winnings.Longtack and Stumpy part company with Tomcat and Chooka, Cadger going with their mates, while Longtack and Stumpy follow a twisted track back to Melbourne.Meeting and helping a Pommy bloke, Reggie 'the Weasil', on the road home, Longtack and Stumpy finally reach Melbourne. Settling into home life again, Longtack acquires some milking cows and dreams of a future on the land. Longtack and Stumpy develop a roof repair con where they charge people for slate roof repairs, but pinch copper gas fitting out of roofs at the same time to sell for scrap. The two mates finally part company in Melbourne after their mate Reggie visits and Stumpy is offered a job in Sydney.Longtack, once again, faces an uncertain future, but knows from years of struggle that whatever the future holds, he can handle it.