Day 23

Hello again

Another fine morning as we woke this morning but soon the clouds rolled in. We only had a small shower or two not long after leaving Bathurst and the rest of the day was fine. It seemed like there had been a reasonable amount of rain in the last day, as there was a lot of water lying around in paddocks and beside the road. We went on the tourist drive instead of the main highway, going through Sofala, Mudgee, Gulgong, Coolah and Tambar Springs before arriving at Gunnedah.

It was 6 degrees this morning and stayed at around 10 degrees most of the trip, but by afternoon it reached 16 degrees for a short time. We didn't stop at any of the townships today so all the photos were taken as we were travelling. It was quite hilly at times and we got up to an elevation of 1100 meters. Those dark clouds on the hills looked very cold!






Then it cleared to become sunny.






We came across some drovers who were moving cattle and horses along one of the quieter roads. As we traveled along the road where the animals had been we had to dodge the patches of "fertilizer".




This brown on the left of the picture is ripe sorghum ready for harvest while the green is a new crop recently planted. The crops went for miles.



We didn't go into the township of Gulgong. I went there some years ago to a pottery expo. The historic main street is very narrow and curves around - from the old days of horse and cart. 2 cars can't pass in the main street, so I wasn't keen going there with the van on. It is a lovely old town with over 130 buildings with National Trust classification. Gulgong was also featured on the back of the original $10 note.

We are staying in Gunnedah tonight - it is the home of the largest population of Koalas in the world.

Tomorrow we are off to Uralla and will be staying with Gae and Graham ( my sister) on their sheep property for a couple of days.

That's all for now,
Till next time,
Cheerio and love from
Lesley and Peter.


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Day 22

Hi to all

There was sunshine this morning, after the storm that came through last night. It wasn't vicious as forecast, which I was pleased about. However we weren't far down the road on the way to Cowra this morning when the rain started and we drove through rain on and off most of he day. We continued along the Newell Highway, then the Burley Griffen Highway for a short time, then the Olympic Highway. We went through Temora and Young, before reaching Cowra.
Some of today's scenery-













Young- known as the "Cherry Capital of Australia".







Most of the farming area have crops growing which look like it could be wheat not long planted, and another crop which I don't know what it was. There are also large numbers of sheep and cattle. We have seen the occasional emu and kangaroo. In one area today there were cows in the "long paddock".



We then decided to continue to Bathurst, and as you probably know, Peter is a V8 motor racing enthusiast, so of course had to drive around the Mount Panorama track a couple of times. He's not sure how they can get around some of the corners at the speed the racing drivers do - 40 kph was too much on some corners in our car.
Here he is on the start line - only chance he will get!!!



Does it look like he's enjoying it ???







The photo above shows Peter "tearing" down Conrod Straight at 60 km/hr, 240km less than a V8 super car would do. (we are told that the police have speed cameras all around the track to ensure that visitors stick to the limit). The photo below shows Peter approaching the start finish line for the second time. (One lap was not enough)!



We are staying at Bathurst showgrounds tonight. Quite a few vans here.
Seems like it will be cold tonight, and the forecast for the weekend around these areas is very cold. It's still raining, so will be nice to hear the rain on the roof overnight.

That's all for today
Till next time,
Cheerio and love from
Lesley and Peter.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Day 21

Hello

It was a bit windy in Euchuca last night but we woke to a fine morning (no fog). It was 17 degrees as we headed up the Cobb Highway to Deniliquin. This is the bridge we went under on the paddle steamer yesterday. This bridge joins Echuca in Victoria and Moama on the other side of the river in NSW.



The landscape today was very flat and we had some strong head winds which really increased the fuel usage for the day.

We arrived in Deniliquin for morning tea. Peter caught up with a fellow from the Shed Happens Men's shed. We then strolled along the Edward River and the tree lined streets of Deniliquin.














Deniliquin is the home of "The Ute Muster". In 1999 a festival was born to muster as many Utes as possible, and a Guinness World record was achieved with 2389 legally registered Utes taking part. Each year since, Ute lovers from all over Australia roar into town in October.
Deniliquin is also a major wool and rice growing area. The rice mill here is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
The rivers are lined with Red Gums.





Some trees are desperate to hang on to the river edge, despite flooding which often causes them to fall into the Murray.


After lunch we were back on the road to Jerilderie - apparently famous for Ned Kelly raiding this town. We then headed on the Newell highway to Narrandera where we are staying tonight.
Narrandera is nestled on the Murrumbidgee river. The caravan park overlooks Lake Talbot, and this is the view from here.


Then we wandered to the waters edge -






The weather is supposed to get a bit vicious here tonight. I hope we miss it.

Till next time,
Cheerio and love from
Lesley and Peter.

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Day 20

Hello again

Another foggy morning leaving Bendigo. We hit the road at 8.30 and the fog got heavier as we headed towards Echuca.










Arriving at Echuca at 10am,( just 95 kms from Bendigo) the fog didn't look like lifting. After enquiring what time a local shopkeeper thought it might clear, he said "yesterday it cleared at 4.00pm and reappeared at 5.00pm". It did clear by about lunch time today, but was overcast all day.

Echuca, established in the 1850's was once the largest inland port in
Australia. The first riverboats and paddle steamers were used to transport goods and passengers up and down the Murray. Today the river transport has been revived to some extent - mainly to carry tourists on the paddle steamers and houseboats.
One thing on our bucket list for some time has been to go on a paddle steamer on the Murray river, so we boarded the Emmylou for a 2 hour lunch cruise. The food was great and it was a relaxing couple of hours.



Some of the scenery on our cruise-


















From here we went across the road to the National Holden Museum, which of course Peter was in his element, as he drooled over V8 Holden's (and wishing he still had one).
No, this isn't a V8, it is 1948 FJ.








Some other photo opportunities around Echuca-














That's all for today,
Till next time,
Cheerio and love from
Lesley and Peter.

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Day 19

Hi everyone

We woke to a very foggy morning. Peter was off to his gold prospecting adventure for the day so I dropped him off and returned to the van for some washing (seems to be never ending), before heading off into town. I was hoping that after the fog burnt off we would have a lovely sunny day (like we have in Brisbane). However it doesn't necessarily work that way here and the clouds just hung around all day. I went back into town at 10am still with heavy fog.



There is a "Vintage Talking Tram" tour which travels throughout Bendigo city where you learn about the history of the area and the grand architecture is highlighted. Sidney Myer opened his first Myer store here in 1900. He was years ahead of other retailers in offering visually appealing merchandise, set in an exciting shopping environment.



The tour started from the Central Deborah Gold Mine. This mine operated between 1939 and 1954, and was the last working mine to close in the Bendigo area during the goldrush. The mine is now used for underground tours.



Inside the tram with the conductor -



The Old Bendigo Post Office - the building on the left with the clock tower was built in 1887, and is the largest outside of Melbourne. The Law Courts next door opened in 1896. These matching buildings are among the most ornate in Australia.



With this tour you are able to hop on and off the tram at any stop during the day. I got off in town to check out the attractions. I walked around the gardens, up a very steep hill to a lookout. I walked up the 122 steps (I counted them)to the top to a 360 degree view of Bendigo and surrounding areas. This is the lookout-



And the views from the top -









Some more city and garden views-






After a leisurely stroll around town and a lovely lunch I jumped back onto the tram and back to the starting point.

From there I drove to Bendigo Pottery. This was established in 1858 when George Guthrie noted significant clay deposits while prospecting for gold. This chance discovery of clay suitable for pottery production lured Guthrie back to his trade and the first pieces of Bendigo pottery were made. The original site was abandoned after excessive flooding of Bendigo Creek and moved about 1 kilometre to the current location.
The old brick kilns are huge and are now part of the showroom area as shown below. The new kilns are now gas fired, unlike these old ones which would have been wood fired.




From here I went to see how much gold Peter had found. Unfortunately, Peter, the instructor and the other "prospector" came home empty handed. They did unearth old car bodies and tin cans, but nothing of value. Peter did say that instead of finding his fortune he saved a fortune as he has decided it's not worth getting a metal detector.





Scott left for Shanghai today for a 3 day conference. He will be back on the weekend.

Tomorrow we go to Echuca, then decide where we will go from there.
Till then,
Cheerio and love from
Lesley and Peter.


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