On The Road

Lake Wallis 26 4 05
Peter’s Birthday!! We left Penrith after buying a new motorbike helmet and gloves for Heather. Popped up to see Fiona who had a chocolate cake for Peter’s birthday (yum, yum) then we headed off to Lithgow for lunch. Jimmy is going well so far, except for the really steep hills, which he takes in 2nd or 3rd gear. On to Lake Wallis for the night – a beautiful lake at Wallarawang.
We were harassed by three geese when we arrived and they kept it up most of the time. In the end it seemed they were just trying it on for food.

Kandos 27 4 05
After a late start, we headed to Portland to see some friends – Bev and Clive, but only Bev was home. They have built a beautiful home on 4 acres just out of the town and Bev is busy collecting animals, while Clive has collected 7 tractors! Portland is an interesting town with vintage signs painted on the shop walls. Arrived at Kandos and found a camp site at the local oval.

Dunns Swamp 28 4 05
In the morning checked out Kandos Museum. It is a very large museum with some artefacts from the ‘Lady Bushranger’– Jessie Hickman- including her teapot that was found in her hidden cave. On to Rylstone – an historic town, with lots of great buildings. Had lunch and then headed towards Dunns Swamp. It was a terrible road going in, about 25 kms of a bone shattering dirt dusty track! The motorhome seemed to handle it better than us and came through without any problems. Dunns Swamp is amazing, is only a few kms long but has an abundance of wildlife. We shared a large camping area with one other person and had a warming camp fire. Greater glider possums (the biggest glider possums) sat looking at us as we sat around the fire.

Dunns Swamp 29 4 05
We enjoyed ourselves so much we decided to stay another night! Went for a long walk in the morning to the Weir and the Long Cave. There are some extraordinary rock formations that seem to spring out of the sandy soil.
We have had no phone coverage for 3 days and we have a faint concern about what might be going on but that is fading, so we must be “letting go”.
The area is extraordinarily beautiful and a bit surreal with a large area of water against beautiful rocks but all edged with really large amounts of very lush green reeds full of birds. Of course Jimmy is right up close on the edge facing north waiting for the sunrise.
All the mornings are a bit cold to get going when we wake at 630. The evenings are very comfortable temperatures in the home and the nights very warm in bed since we closed most windows. On the first night we left lots of windows open and found out how cold it gets at 430am.
We are going to bed early exhausted and happy. Heather has been sleeping more as if to catch up. We are certainly settling in well.

Gulgong 30 4 05
Set off early and headed for Mudgee. Despite the terrible road, we made it without shaking the motorhome to pieces. Mudgee is a delightful thriving town that has an historical shopping centre and a number of shady parks. After stocking up with supplies, we drove to Gulgong, an old gold mining town. We stayed on the outskirts of the village, near a polo ground. Unfortunately, there were some hoons that drove their cars around most of the night and meant we had a disturbed night!

Mendooran 1 5 05
Lazed around Gulgong all morning and set off for Mendooran – literally a one horse town. Heather is very excited because it reminds her of her youth and delighted that the small villages of her youth have still survived. We stayed at a camping area next to the Castlereagh River – very peaceful.

Walgett 2/3 5 05
Set off for Gilgandra then Coonamble. It is very dry out here and we passed herds of cattle along the Long Paddock. Walgett was a shock for Heather, as she hadn’t been there for 8 years. The town seems to be slowly dying, with many boarded-up shops. She was able to catch up with old friends such as Trevor and his parents and Ron and Rose. Tonight we are staying at Trevor’s camp site about 3 kms out of town.