Day 24 and 25

Hello again

It was a cool 1 degree in Gunnedah this morning,( day 24) but turned out to be a lovely sunny day. We left for Uralla, about a 2 1/2 hour drive.












We left our caravan at my nephews place in Uralla as the road to Gae and Graham's is not suitable for our van. We met Gae and Graham and went to lunch in Uralla before going to Graham's sister and brother- in- laws property for afternoon tea. Tony has a large museum which he proudly showed us. Peter could have spent a whole day looking at all his antiques and memorabilia.









I liked this cloud formation as the sun was setting-




On our way back to Gae's the temperature got down to 1 degree. They have a wood heater in the house so it's lovely and cosy.

Day 25
Another fine but cool day today at Uralla, at around 8-10 degrees most of the day. We went to Armidale and after a tasty lunch, we went to the local museum.




Peter was impressed with this camera. However, I think it would be a bit heavy to carry around to photograph a wedding!!!









These are some of the historic buildings around Armidale, some dating back to 1850.












We arrived back home to this beautiful sunset on the 2,500 acre sheep station.




And here are just a couple of Graham's 1,600 sheep.









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





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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.



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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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