In the final few days of our trip we've spent time with family and had the odd excursion.
We drove to Canberra via Cooma. This is a pretty drive on which we spotted our first snow caps. There is a great lookout just a few kilometres along the Cooma Jindabyne road at Mt Gladstone. It is a good road to the top and you get views of the mountains.
In Canberra we took to time to visit the War Memorial and after 3 hours we still hadn't seen it all in depth. This memorial has to be the highlight of any trip to Canberra and don't miss the shows in the World War 2 area. The way they use video, lighting and the exhibits to give you a sense of bombing raids and aerial combat is really well done. Both old and the new parliament houses are also worth a visit. The views from Black Mountain Tower and Mt Ainslie are excellent. Of all the places we saw in Canberra, only Black Mountain Tower and old parliament house had an entry fee.
Whilst in Cargo we drove into Orange and stocked up on local products at a 'Slice of Orange' before driving to the top of Mt Canobolas for the views. We took the long way back to Cargo driving past properties still in the family and reminiscing about properties that have been sold on.
On a very rainy Saturday in Cargo we decided to go help the local ladies in the canteen at the rugby league game. We can happily say that Cargo beat Condoblin 48 to 32 and we didn't have any disgruntled customers.
We arrived in Dubbo in time for lunch on Sunday but not before stopping at the gelati factory in Molong for coffee and gelati (of course). On Sunday afternoon we hired a zebra striped buggy to tour around the Taronga Western Plains Zoo. The best thing about the ticket is that it lasts for 2 days so we were able to head back on Monday morning to catch the animals we didn't see clearly (or close up) the previous afternoon. We did the second trip around the zoo in the motorhome with no problem as the roads accommodate tour buses.
Following the trip to the zoo we headed straight to Tamworth via Coonabarrabran and Gunnedah. The bakery in Coonabarabran has great bread and Gunnedah is famous for being the birthplace of Dorothea Mackellar ... how we love a sunburnt country.
This morning we drove by some of the country music sights in Tamworth before heading up the Moonby Range onto the New England Tableland. The Moonby Range has a great lookout and can be accessed from the north and southbound lanes. It is best to visit this lookout in the morning or early afternoon to avoid looking into the sun. We also stopped in Tenterfield to see the Tenterfield Saddlery of Peter Allen fame and finally arrived in Stanthorpe on dusk.
Tomorrow we head for home and normality. Barbara has to go back to work and Chris will start planning the next trip. Before signing off this time we want to thank the family members who hosted us the past few days: Melena, Andrew and Ginevra, John and Peter, Butch and Beverly and Pauline and Peter.
A selection of our insights post trip follows:
Most useful gadget - The double walled Thermos water bottle which held ice and water all day (Barbara); a laptop (Christine)
Most useful clothing/accessory - back pack (Barbara); padded vest (Christine)
Best tip - research before you leave and visit information centres on the way (Barbara); don't forget your laptop (Christine)
Best day tour - they were all good and worth the money, but if we have to pick favourites ... Skytrek tour of the Flinders Ranges and every tour taken in Coober Pedy (Barbara); the Harry Nanya tour to Mungo National Park and the Seal Cruise and Penguin Parade at Phillip Island (Christine)
Worst place visited - we are both agreed there were none.
Best place visted - we can't pick just one but it is safe to say that the wild, remote, quirky and beautiful places were a hit and we tried to stay clear of the big cities.
So after 16,000 kilometres, countless litres of diesel and footsteps, thousands of photographs and one heck of a good time it is goodbye from Barbara and till we meet in print again from Christine.
No comments:
Post a Comment