On the road again

This weekend I'm taking a 6 hour spin up the coastal plain to reacquaint myself with HRH Prince Leonard.

On 21 April 1970 Prince Leonard declared independence from Australia, and bestowed the name Hutt River Province on his 75 square kilometre sheep property.

It’s a speck on the map.

But according to the province’s website – yes, the Prince who turned 80 in August is online and retains a royal web master – Hutt River is the second largest nation on the Australian continent.

And I've decided to see the new year in from another nation, so to speak.

The prince is a jovial and peace-loving fellow, who welcomes all comers to his realm. But beneath the benign exterior lurks the steel-trap mind of a bush lawyer who has kept the authorities on the hop for four decades.

These days Hutt River is more a stop for weary travellers than the hotbed of insurgency it was in the early 1970s.

Prince Leonard informs me that, unless there's a late rush, it'll be pretty quiet around the province on new year's eve.

Just me, the Prince, and the flies.