Hopefully we will be heading off again in the not too distant future.
I am just adding a photo of the map of our total trip.
Hope to be on here again soon.
Tuesday 18 August 2015
Thursday 13 August 2015
Hi to all from back in Victoria, Beechworth.
How bad is that. We are almost home.
Since my last visit to this page, we have spent a few days in Wagga Wagga. This is one of the biggest country towns in N.S.W. with a population of over 60,000. For a town that size, we didn't find a lot to do. Did the customary town stroll, which was huge, and into the shopping centre mall for a coffee. The town itself is really spaced out, with a huge shopping precinct.
It's amazing when travelling around, how you keep seeing the same people, at different caravan parks. We met up again with people we had befriended in Lightning Ridge, had dinner with them at Dubbo and after a change of plans, met them again at Wagga. Had a really good night playing cards in the camp kitchen. They only live in Upway, so we can catch up again when we get home.
The following morning we headed off to check out the Botanical Gardens. They have lots of little separate gardens, for camellias, proteas, roses and the like. They also have a little zoo, which is really quite good. Only passive types of animals there, plus, a really good aviary. Sorry, but yes, more bird photos coming, and plant photos.
They have some really beautiful lyrebirds, just walking around the zoo, as well as a really flashy peacock that was attempting some sort of rendezvous with another peacock. Wasn't having much luck but at least we liked his plumage.
Got back to the park and went down to the river to check out the local flying fox population. There is a really big colony just down the back of the park. I think they must destroy the local trees, as the trees they had all congregated on appeared to be dead.
The following day the weather was pretty good, about 15C, but at least no wind. Deb decided that we should get the bikes out for an easy ride into town. I had already picked up the map and checked out the bike path??? A relatively easy 2 Klm ride into town, get off the bike track and into a café. It doesn't get any better than this.
They only problem was, I hadn't explained my perfect ride to 'Deb, the personal trainer, torturer'. After the first couple of Klms I sadly watched the exit to the café disappear behind me. ' Deb the torturer ' was on a mission to check out the track??? We pressed onwards, ever searching for the track, until we came to a stile. Not to be dissuaded, I picked up the bikes and put them over the fence. By now we were riding on an ever disappearing track, up and down hills, into the never never. Running low on water, and of course, with our map safely back in the caravan. Does this ring a bell to you all.
Onwards we continued, over another couple of stiles, through the wilderness, searching for the end of the track and salvation. Even Deb was scanning the horizon at this stage, looking for a rest stop. After about 5 klms through the forest, we finally came to a road, and pressed onwards into town, looking forward to having a lie down on the footpath with my coffee. These fold up bikes are great, but, they are not made for orienteering and mountain bike riding.
When we got into town I checked out the Memorial Gardens, which were really well done, with a different garden area for each war. The centre piece, with an eternal flame is a marvellous tribute to the soldiers. Whilst I was checking this out, 'Deb the torturer' was resting on a park bench, enjoying a life giving cigarette after our tough ride.
Finally back to the van park for a resting afternoon before heading off the next morning.
Of course, over night it rained and rained. By the time it came to hitch up the van, our site was sodden, which means of course, that I also got wet. The temperature was about 6C and it was freezing cold. Unhooking the hoses and stowing them away was not much fun at all. By the time I got in the car to drive off I was bloody frozen.
It rained most of the way to Beechworth, and when we pulled into the town, the car temp told us it was 7C outside. How awesome is that. We pulled into our soggy site and set up, and of course, now frozen again. How much fun is this. They only thing to fix the body was a trip in to the Beechworth Bakery for a coffee and of course, a cream cake. How awesome. I felt better immediately.
The next day we just did a bit of a trip around the town. Went and checked out the Woolshed Falls, about 5 k's out of town. After the recent rain they were really impressive. Then checked out the local cemetery where there are about 2000 Chinese graves, dating back to the gold rush days. There is a couple of burning towers at the entry to the Chinese section. These towers were used by the mourners, who would burn paper prayers and leave meals for the deceased.
We took the scenic drive around Beechworth, about 5 klms, but alas, it was spitting with rain and the clouds were really low. We never got to see any of the 'wonderful views of the valleys', 'scenic vistas' or 'beautiful views of the mountain range', as we couldn't see any of it. We checked out the local powder storage museum on our travels. This is where the gunpowder was stored, back during the gold rush era. It was so designed that if it happened to explode, the blast would be diverted upwards, this not destroying a huge area around the town.
Checked out another little waterfall at the end of the 'scenic drive'. Not as impressive as the first one, but in the distance you can see an historic bridge. This bridge was built way back in 1872 and it was built without mortar. It just has big granite blocks held together by keystones? It is supposedly just as strong now as it was back then. Pretty impressive really. Had a final visit to the Beechworth Bakery and when walking back to the car Deb saw some Antique Shop signs on the next street. Now, we must have been away too long, because Deb said she didn't need to look in them, as she had her own antique. How cheeky is that. Of course, being the gentle soul that I am, I was deeply hurt. Probably need a cream cake to get over the pain.
The saddest part of this entry, is that tomorrow we are heading off to Seymour, for a one night stop and then heading home. I hope that any of the stayers still reading have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed typing it.
If you have any suggestions for improvements for our next trip just email me at barryd1955@gmail.com
By4now.
Barry and Deb.
How bad is that. We are almost home.
Since my last visit to this page, we have spent a few days in Wagga Wagga. This is one of the biggest country towns in N.S.W. with a population of over 60,000. For a town that size, we didn't find a lot to do. Did the customary town stroll, which was huge, and into the shopping centre mall for a coffee. The town itself is really spaced out, with a huge shopping precinct.
It's amazing when travelling around, how you keep seeing the same people, at different caravan parks. We met up again with people we had befriended in Lightning Ridge, had dinner with them at Dubbo and after a change of plans, met them again at Wagga. Had a really good night playing cards in the camp kitchen. They only live in Upway, so we can catch up again when we get home.
The following morning we headed off to check out the Botanical Gardens. They have lots of little separate gardens, for camellias, proteas, roses and the like. They also have a little zoo, which is really quite good. Only passive types of animals there, plus, a really good aviary. Sorry, but yes, more bird photos coming, and plant photos.
They have some really beautiful lyrebirds, just walking around the zoo, as well as a really flashy peacock that was attempting some sort of rendezvous with another peacock. Wasn't having much luck but at least we liked his plumage.
Got back to the park and went down to the river to check out the local flying fox population. There is a really big colony just down the back of the park. I think they must destroy the local trees, as the trees they had all congregated on appeared to be dead.
The following day the weather was pretty good, about 15C, but at least no wind. Deb decided that we should get the bikes out for an easy ride into town. I had already picked up the map and checked out the bike path??? A relatively easy 2 Klm ride into town, get off the bike track and into a café. It doesn't get any better than this.
They only problem was, I hadn't explained my perfect ride to 'Deb, the personal trainer, torturer'. After the first couple of Klms I sadly watched the exit to the café disappear behind me. ' Deb the torturer ' was on a mission to check out the track??? We pressed onwards, ever searching for the track, until we came to a stile. Not to be dissuaded, I picked up the bikes and put them over the fence. By now we were riding on an ever disappearing track, up and down hills, into the never never. Running low on water, and of course, with our map safely back in the caravan. Does this ring a bell to you all.
Onwards we continued, over another couple of stiles, through the wilderness, searching for the end of the track and salvation. Even Deb was scanning the horizon at this stage, looking for a rest stop. After about 5 klms through the forest, we finally came to a road, and pressed onwards into town, looking forward to having a lie down on the footpath with my coffee. These fold up bikes are great, but, they are not made for orienteering and mountain bike riding.
When we got into town I checked out the Memorial Gardens, which were really well done, with a different garden area for each war. The centre piece, with an eternal flame is a marvellous tribute to the soldiers. Whilst I was checking this out, 'Deb the torturer' was resting on a park bench, enjoying a life giving cigarette after our tough ride.
Finally back to the van park for a resting afternoon before heading off the next morning.
Of course, over night it rained and rained. By the time it came to hitch up the van, our site was sodden, which means of course, that I also got wet. The temperature was about 6C and it was freezing cold. Unhooking the hoses and stowing them away was not much fun at all. By the time I got in the car to drive off I was bloody frozen.
It rained most of the way to Beechworth, and when we pulled into the town, the car temp told us it was 7C outside. How awesome is that. We pulled into our soggy site and set up, and of course, now frozen again. How much fun is this. They only thing to fix the body was a trip in to the Beechworth Bakery for a coffee and of course, a cream cake. How awesome. I felt better immediately.
The next day we just did a bit of a trip around the town. Went and checked out the Woolshed Falls, about 5 k's out of town. After the recent rain they were really impressive. Then checked out the local cemetery where there are about 2000 Chinese graves, dating back to the gold rush days. There is a couple of burning towers at the entry to the Chinese section. These towers were used by the mourners, who would burn paper prayers and leave meals for the deceased.
We took the scenic drive around Beechworth, about 5 klms, but alas, it was spitting with rain and the clouds were really low. We never got to see any of the 'wonderful views of the valleys', 'scenic vistas' or 'beautiful views of the mountain range', as we couldn't see any of it. We checked out the local powder storage museum on our travels. This is where the gunpowder was stored, back during the gold rush era. It was so designed that if it happened to explode, the blast would be diverted upwards, this not destroying a huge area around the town.
Checked out another little waterfall at the end of the 'scenic drive'. Not as impressive as the first one, but in the distance you can see an historic bridge. This bridge was built way back in 1872 and it was built without mortar. It just has big granite blocks held together by keystones? It is supposedly just as strong now as it was back then. Pretty impressive really. Had a final visit to the Beechworth Bakery and when walking back to the car Deb saw some Antique Shop signs on the next street. Now, we must have been away too long, because Deb said she didn't need to look in them, as she had her own antique. How cheeky is that. Of course, being the gentle soul that I am, I was deeply hurt. Probably need a cream cake to get over the pain.
The saddest part of this entry, is that tomorrow we are heading off to Seymour, for a one night stop and then heading home. I hope that any of the stayers still reading have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed typing it.
If you have any suggestions for improvements for our next trip just email me at barryd1955@gmail.com
By4now.
Barry and Deb.
Saturday 8 August 2015
Hi to all from Cowra.
Well we made it safely, notwithstanding that the road is not that great. We stopped at the town of Parkes on the way through, which is a good size town. It has the CSIRO radio telescope there, but we decided to see it on our next trip. One of the things we want to do is go to the Elvis Festival, which is held there in January every year.
I spoke to one of the locals and she told me that we should have our accommodation booked already or we might miss out. She said that the town is just full on 'Elvis' for the week. Sounds great to us.
From there we continued on and stopped in the little town of Eugowra ( population 533) for a coffee. Keeping in line with so many others, they had some really good murals. Its claim to fame is that it was Bushranger central way back when. It has the dubious honour of having the biggest ever gold robbery committed in its area back in 1862. Bushranger Frank Gardiner robbed the heavily defended gold cart and stole 2700 oz of gold. Eventually most of it was recovered, with the remainder allegedly buried in the hills around Eugowra. Must get that gold detector straight away.
Into Cowra and settled in at the Showgrounds. Much cheaper than the caravan park and has all that we need. The town is a pretty good size (population 9000) with plenty of shops and a good size hospital.
Got up bright and early to the sound of trotting horses running around the track. Pretty cool really. Then it was off to a full day exploring.
The first stop was to the Info centre, to watch a hologram of the famous Cowra Prison Break. I hope you have your pen and paper because the history lesson starts here. During the 2nd World War, there were several prison camps in Australia, with a big one at Cowra. On August 5th 1944, at 1.50am, the Japanese prisoners broke out of the Cowra Prisoner of War Camp. Over 1000 escaped and during the escape 231 Japanese prisoners and 4 Australian Guards were killed. 2 Australian Privates were awarded the George Cross (post humus) for their heroism during the breakout. They manned a Vickers machine gun at the point of escape and were responsible for most of the deceased prisoners. It took about 9 days to round up all of the escapees after the break out.
Also held at the camp were Italian and Indonesian prisoners, but no other groups took part in the escape. Conditions were so good that on one occasion, an Italian prisoner that had been left in town by mistake, walked back to the camp himself in the middle of the night, and demanded to be let in. The Japanese were so different to all other prisoners, as to them, being captured alive brought shame to their families, and they were prepared/hoping to die during the break out.
The Info centre has a really good hologram show that explains the breakout and aftermath. Well worth a look. They also have a Vickers machine gun and other camp memorabilia.
We headed out first to check out the Japanese and Australian War Cemetaries. They are so well kept and a real credit to the area. Only this week, being an anniversary of the breakout, the Ambassador of Japan was in Cowra for a dedication at the Cemetary. Just walking through the graves, it is incredible the ages of the Japanese deceased. Most of the Australian war graves are of young men 18 - 40 whereas most of the Japanese graves were aged from 50 - 76. A lot of these may have been from internees kept there during the war, but a lot were also obviously soldiers, dying during the breakout. One interesting fact is that this is the only known Japanese War Cemetary in the world, except in Japan of course.
We then headed up to where the Prisoner of War Camp had been. It is a pity that there are just very basic remains left. After the war the entire camp was broken up and sold, right down to the electrical equipment. Maybe the government just needed the money. Since then they have put up a replica Guard tower, which is pretty good. When you stand near the tower, a tape starts, and the story of the break comes out over the loud speakers. It is really well done.
We continued our stroll and checked out the local kangaroo population and some of the birdlife. I was lucky enough to get a photo of 2 kangaroos, both with joeys in their pouches.
It was then time to go and check out the Peace Bell in town. It is really pretty cool. Deb tested it out while we were there. It is another place that has the story played through speakers when you stand near it. The bell weighs 477Kg and it was made up from coins donated from a vast amount of other countries that also have a Peace Bell. This is the only Peace Bell that is not in a capital city and it was awarded to Cowra for their efforts at reconciliation with Japan.
After lunch it was time to head out to the Japanese Gardens. These were built in Cowra, with a lot of financial assistance from Japan. The gardens are really beautiful, with the usual water features and finely manicured gardens. There is a really cool tea house in the centre, as well as a Japanese house. There were lots of birds there as well, and I did attempt to get some photos of them, if only those pesky tourists would get out of the way when I want to get a photo. Even managed to get a photo of a bee inside a flower.
After the gardens it was up to the lookout, to check out the area and then back to the van. It is such a beautiful area, no wonder the Italian prisoners wanted to stay here. Pity it is so cold. The forecast when we got here was for -2 overnight and 0 the next night. Yeh, I know, toughen up princess.
Off to Wagga Wagga bright and early tomorrow.
By4now.
Well we made it safely, notwithstanding that the road is not that great. We stopped at the town of Parkes on the way through, which is a good size town. It has the CSIRO radio telescope there, but we decided to see it on our next trip. One of the things we want to do is go to the Elvis Festival, which is held there in January every year.
I spoke to one of the locals and she told me that we should have our accommodation booked already or we might miss out. She said that the town is just full on 'Elvis' for the week. Sounds great to us.
From there we continued on and stopped in the little town of Eugowra ( population 533) for a coffee. Keeping in line with so many others, they had some really good murals. Its claim to fame is that it was Bushranger central way back when. It has the dubious honour of having the biggest ever gold robbery committed in its area back in 1862. Bushranger Frank Gardiner robbed the heavily defended gold cart and stole 2700 oz of gold. Eventually most of it was recovered, with the remainder allegedly buried in the hills around Eugowra. Must get that gold detector straight away.
Into Cowra and settled in at the Showgrounds. Much cheaper than the caravan park and has all that we need. The town is a pretty good size (population 9000) with plenty of shops and a good size hospital.
Got up bright and early to the sound of trotting horses running around the track. Pretty cool really. Then it was off to a full day exploring.
The first stop was to the Info centre, to watch a hologram of the famous Cowra Prison Break. I hope you have your pen and paper because the history lesson starts here. During the 2nd World War, there were several prison camps in Australia, with a big one at Cowra. On August 5th 1944, at 1.50am, the Japanese prisoners broke out of the Cowra Prisoner of War Camp. Over 1000 escaped and during the escape 231 Japanese prisoners and 4 Australian Guards were killed. 2 Australian Privates were awarded the George Cross (post humus) for their heroism during the breakout. They manned a Vickers machine gun at the point of escape and were responsible for most of the deceased prisoners. It took about 9 days to round up all of the escapees after the break out.
Also held at the camp were Italian and Indonesian prisoners, but no other groups took part in the escape. Conditions were so good that on one occasion, an Italian prisoner that had been left in town by mistake, walked back to the camp himself in the middle of the night, and demanded to be let in. The Japanese were so different to all other prisoners, as to them, being captured alive brought shame to their families, and they were prepared/hoping to die during the break out.
The Info centre has a really good hologram show that explains the breakout and aftermath. Well worth a look. They also have a Vickers machine gun and other camp memorabilia.
We headed out first to check out the Japanese and Australian War Cemetaries. They are so well kept and a real credit to the area. Only this week, being an anniversary of the breakout, the Ambassador of Japan was in Cowra for a dedication at the Cemetary. Just walking through the graves, it is incredible the ages of the Japanese deceased. Most of the Australian war graves are of young men 18 - 40 whereas most of the Japanese graves were aged from 50 - 76. A lot of these may have been from internees kept there during the war, but a lot were also obviously soldiers, dying during the breakout. One interesting fact is that this is the only known Japanese War Cemetary in the world, except in Japan of course.
We then headed up to where the Prisoner of War Camp had been. It is a pity that there are just very basic remains left. After the war the entire camp was broken up and sold, right down to the electrical equipment. Maybe the government just needed the money. Since then they have put up a replica Guard tower, which is pretty good. When you stand near the tower, a tape starts, and the story of the break comes out over the loud speakers. It is really well done.
We continued our stroll and checked out the local kangaroo population and some of the birdlife. I was lucky enough to get a photo of 2 kangaroos, both with joeys in their pouches.
It was then time to go and check out the Peace Bell in town. It is really pretty cool. Deb tested it out while we were there. It is another place that has the story played through speakers when you stand near it. The bell weighs 477Kg and it was made up from coins donated from a vast amount of other countries that also have a Peace Bell. This is the only Peace Bell that is not in a capital city and it was awarded to Cowra for their efforts at reconciliation with Japan.
After lunch it was time to head out to the Japanese Gardens. These were built in Cowra, with a lot of financial assistance from Japan. The gardens are really beautiful, with the usual water features and finely manicured gardens. There is a really cool tea house in the centre, as well as a Japanese house. There were lots of birds there as well, and I did attempt to get some photos of them, if only those pesky tourists would get out of the way when I want to get a photo. Even managed to get a photo of a bee inside a flower.
After the gardens it was up to the lookout, to check out the area and then back to the van. It is such a beautiful area, no wonder the Italian prisoners wanted to stay here. Pity it is so cold. The forecast when we got here was for -2 overnight and 0 the next night. Yeh, I know, toughen up princess.
Off to Wagga Wagga bright and early tomorrow.
By4now.
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