Nevertire, Warren, Narromine and Dubbo and on to Narrandera

The countryside certainly changed once I arrived in NSW and as I was in a more agricultural area. The locals are happy to get some rain to aid their crops. The weather, too, changed and I am now experiencing rainy periods, something I haven’t had since Cairns, back at the end of June.

I’ve been through a few quaint little towns such as Nevertire, Warren and Narromine and finally on to Dubbo to meet Jenny, another friend from Perth. Again I struck some cold wet weather. So I spent some time getting organised and preparing some meals for the next few days.  I also had the opportunity to do some shopping as this is the biggest town I've been in for several weeks. I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven when I actually came across a Myers store.

Our first stop on the way out of Dubbo was the Dubbo Zoo. We spent a delightful few hours looking at the animals before having lunch in the park. We decided that the zoo is like going on safari because of all the African wildlife. The zoo offers 15 kms of bike and walking trails but we managed about 5kms and felt so good, especially as the weather was so warm and sunny after the previous few days which had been quite wet and cold.

Then it was on the road again to Gilgandra, some 60 kms away. We browsed through the Coo-ee Heritage and Info Centre and found it to be  very well organised with interesting information about the Coo-ee March, the WW1 recruitment walk, along with WW2 and Vietnam War memorabilia.  A walk through town revealed just a few little shops, nothing of real interest, and a pub where we decided to have a beer. A group of bikies turned up. Drove out to Acropolis Caravan Park, also known as Barney’s and booked in to a powered site and we also went on an interesting walk along the river with several windmills dotted along the way which have been collected from various properties.

On the road to Mudgee we passed through Mendooran, Dunedoo (meaning Black Swan), and Gulgong. Gulgong is a 19^th century gold rush town and it’s like stepping out of the car and back in time 50 years. It’s such an attractive little town with some 130 buildings listed with the National Trust. The narrow streets wind between clapboard and iron buildings with verandas and iron lace.

Gulgong has the Henry Lawson Centre. This historic weatherboard building houses a fine collection of books, memorabilia and writings of Lawson and is a living memorial to this great Australian writer’s life and times. There is also some fine art representing his work displayed there.

Mudgee itself is well known for its wine production. The Mudgee streetscape is dotted with cafes and restaurants and we certainly checked these out, as the weather while we were there, was cold and wet, not really suitable for bush walking. Instead, window shopping was “the go”.  We noted the early Australian architectural facades and historic buildings which line the wide streets, many dating back to the 1850s. The two churches really appealed to us. Mudgee is definitely worth putting on your travel list.

Then it was on the road to Wellington. However, we weren’t all that impressed with the town, especially after Mudgee. The weather by now was on the improve and as it was a warm balmy evening, we sat drinking our wine and waited for the roast to cook in the turbo cooker. It was well worth the wait and we felt even better when we finished off with apple crumble. (Note the white table linen and crystal glasses)

With only a couple more days to go we decided to go out to Lake Burrendong and a night of camping in the national park near the lake. Simply stunning scenery. We both enjoyed the sunshine and walking by the lake. A brown snake interrupted our thoughts and chatter but fortunately, we both saw it in time to give it a wide berth.

All too soon Jenny’s visit had come to an end so we spent the last day together at  Burrendong Botanic Garden and Arboretum, which has native plants and animals and a mass of subtropical vegetation. Fern Gully was a complete surprise to us. It’s a dry bush gully which has been transformed into a rainforest.

Since Jenny’s visit I have travelled through a number of towns including Parkes, Forbes, West Wyalong and Narrandera as I travel towards Melbourne.

Peak Hill is a quaint little town with a history linked to the discovery of gold in 1889. Even a century later the mine was operating and the mining company set up a tourist mine with walking trails around the five new pits and the original open cut.

Parkes’ CSIRO Radio Telescope is affectionately known as “The Dish” and is one of the greatest landmarks of the Central West.

Forbes is a very rich primary producing area with green and gold paddocks and hillsides. Forbes is an historic town nestled beside a natural lagoon, Lake Forbes, with lots of little eateries and speciality shops. I certainly enjoyed looking through some of the lovely little boutiques and gift shops. While there I also visited  McFeeters Motor Museum which is a purpose built facility to house a collection of cars ranging from Veteran to Custom Builds, all of which have been meticulously restored. Truly amazing.

 One of the remarkable people who contributed to the development of Forbes is the notorious bushranger, Ben Hall. He was linked with hundreds of robberies during his 3 year bushranging career in the 1860s.

Wyalong is another place which has a rich history of gold mining and the crooked main street is a result of  the original bullock track which curved around trees and gold diggings.

Narrandera is called the town of trees and has huge street trees, parks and gardens. The Murrumbidgee River,  Lake Talbot  and the koala regeneration area are places I’m going to check out later.

And after that I’m on my way to Wagga. See you later.