7 June 2014

Well today was another long day on the road. Started with a random grey nomad deciding to not see the Count and turn his 4x4 and 25 foot caravan across the highway to get to the petrol station. Thankfully I managed to miss him, though not really sure how, and didn't even toot and swear at him either.

The area on the east side of Bourke is more what I expected the area on the west side to have looked like I have decided. The west side was lots of trees and vast paddocks with mostly pale green, quite long grass, which I did not expect at all. The area on the east side heading for Walgett is much more what I was expecting, still lots of trees, but everything was dry and there was almost no grass anywhere, much like this

It really is amazing how someone first  came to the area and though "Great look how barren and harsh the land is here, I know I'll buy it and raise livestock". I know I am missing something, I think it would be a hard life waiting for the rain.

Walgett was a nice looking little town, looks farly sleepy on a Saturday morning though was nice to see. Had a chat with a nice fella at the petrol station, isn't it amazing how people want to talk to you when an old car is around, about a old Hillman Hawk that he once had, which I have just looked up on the net as I didn't even realise they had made one, back in the mid 30's it seems, would certainly be a nice car to have still. He also had restored a Armstrong Siddley "Sapphire", which someone bought and exported to Belgium, so it must have been amazing.

Main Street Walgett

Then it was on to Lightening Ridge for a brief visit and look. Strange thing is that I reminded me of Byron Bay of some years back before it got mega trendy, obviously without the sea or any water for the matter really. It was very eclectic, lots of different types of people and lots of different types of building styles. Surprisingly, well to me, there were many cafes and most of them were open even on a nearly Saturday afternoon, actually the place seemed to be very busy with people everywhere, the tourist trade seems to be a big winner. Though other than the cafes and the mine tours and opal shops there didn't seem that much to do. Actually I was surprised on going to the Tourist Information office to see a brochure for Canberra in the line up. I think the pick of the place would have to have been the Waffle, Pan Cake and Ice-cream van!

Driving through Lightening Ridge

Now today I was thinking I would head for and stay at Hebel, not knowing anything about it, it just seemed like the right amount of driving for a day. Hebel is a very small town not all that far from the New South Wales border on the Castlereigh Highway. It has a population (well it and the surrounding area), according to a 2006 census of 149 people, so you get the idea of how big it is going to be., and no they don't make Hebel bricks at Hebel. Given the size of the place and that it was still relatively early in the day I opted to drive on and found myself 291 kilometres later at St George, which is really a very nice looking small town on the banks of the Balonne River, though as it was getting dark when I arrived I shall have to try and get some pictures tomorrow morning.

Main Street - Hebel

Random Pictures follow

 Looking back towards Bourke in the distance

(probably look better once it's been photoshopped)

 Is there a collective noun for a gathering of grey nomads in the middle of nowhere?

 It's art by the highway don't you know!

 This is Stanley. If you need scale for it to appreciate it, then the body of the "emu" is actually....

 a Volkswagen Beetle!

 Really does no need to "explain" art? Yes it seems!

 This may just be the turn for Lightening Ridge, just might.

Finally, just crossing the border into Queensland, only 4 kilometers until Hebel

6 June 2014

Right well the day started in Parkes and has ended up in Bourke. Would be hard to get lost on the drive as it is fairly much a straight line with just a few corners thrown in to make sure your awake. Again it was a long way on very quiet roads, there was really very little traffic and not even many trucks so was a nice relaxed drive in the Count, who is still running just brilliantly.

There is not a huge amount to say about the drive, it is long and straight, there are a couple of towns along the way. Nyngan is a tidy place, has a helicopter on a pole and well that is about it really. There are a couple of other small (very) towns along the way and you do get to travel right across Bogan Shire (I kid you not).

Getting close to Bourke there were hundreds of wedge tailed eagles sitting on the road, they would lift off as you approached and do a circle or two before landing back on the road. Was an amazing sight, I have never seen so many in one place and who would have thought that wedge tailed eagles would like playing chicken.

So it took about an hour (being generous) to walk about town and see the River and wharf and the main strip and the court house and the Police Station. There really doesn't seem to be much else out here and I guess there really doesn't need to be. It's just that the heavy duty roller shutters on every store in the main street, well except the ones that don't really have windows at all anyway, and even the 12 foot man fence made out of heavy gauge reo rods with sharpened ends on the car park to the pub I am staying in don't really paint a terribly nice picture of the place. Mind everyone seems very nice and friendly and it all seems ok when all the shutters are open, so who knows really.

 Made it! The Front of Bourke

 I just like that it is 4WD, 4WD, 4WD, Morris Minor!

 Made it here too! The Back of Bourke.

Actually it's not that far from one side to the other.

 Looking along the Darling River, used to be one of the busiest ports in Australia for the wool trade.

All the birds are wedge-tail eagles.

 Looking back at the Wharf, this river must seriously flood.

 Saw the Front and Back of Bourke, this is the middle, note the heavy duty roller shutters

Very few windows and it looks a bit bad for it, no point having them if they just get broken though I guess

5 June 2014

Well today was all about more miles and I certainly got some of that done. The Count is running exceptionally well and just seems to be enjoying the run along some out of the way roads through out of the way places, there really is some lovely country out there. Mind I am not really all the way out there but some of these places most travellers seldom see, well so I judge by the negligible amount of traffic on the roads today. Start was Canberra, which is not that surprising, and then back along the Barton Highway back out to Yass and the Hume Highway for a short way heading back south.

About 13 kilometres out of Yass is the turn to the Lachlan Valley Way which heads up through Boorowa and Cowra and then onwards by various roads to Parkes. Boorowa has certainly changed a bit since the last time I went through there and it really has brightened up and is looking good which is great as it looked quite depressed for a long time. Cowra is as it always seems to be and not a great deal seems to change. It is always an impressive drive into town along the avenue with the golf club on one side and the big old trees along the other.  I also went out to visit the Japanese Gardens which don't seem to have changed a bit in years and years. I know that they actually have, but it always seems to be comfortably the same and so peaceful (well it is when they turn off the ride on mowers and the blower vacs). I must say though I am not too sure about their town claim of being the Centre of World Friendship, who knows maybe there is a much friendlier place out there in the world, but I guess then again it may be. Cowra is driven by the "Breakout" that occurred in 1944 when 1104 Japanese Prisoners of War, who were imprisoned at a make shift camp near Cowra successfully overcame the machine gun posts using improvised weapons and bolted for the bush. This resulted in 231 Japanese prisoners being killed and a further 108 injured, and 4 Australian soldiers killed. The breakout is known for being the largest and bloodiest escape attempt of WWII. No wonder they aim for a bit of peace now is it.

Onward then to Parkes. Nice little country town, though not really that little at all, after all the major chain supermarkets don't invest in a town if it is too small do they, and they are all here. I went out to the tourist information centre to see what there was to see and who knew they actually have a small car museum on site, and they currently have two Morris Minors in there too! A 1955 SII Ute and a 1971 (late) Traveller in great condition. Actually all of the cars there look to be in very good condition, they are all privately owned and loaned to the museum for a period, so I guess that means the cars change over too to "keep it fresh". The on again further out of town, like 21 kilometers out of town, is the structure that the towns name is most widely know because of, The Dish. No it isn't some over enlarged plate of food from Masterchef or My Kitchen Rules (is there possibly a chance that somewhere out there someone doesn't immediately think of them when the hear that highly over used word, dish), it is the CSIRO Parkes Observatory that was the subject to a rather popular Australian movie of that name in 2000. The 64 metre diameter radio telescope has been in use since 1961 and was one of several radio telescopes used to receive the live TV footage from the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969. It is a big beast and to be honest for something of that size I was surprised how quickly it can actually be repositioned.

Anyway tomorrow is heading for Bourke...

 We're at Cowra, but is it really as the advertise?

 The Cowra Japanese Gardens

 The CSIRO operated "The Dish", over the Visitors Centre

 Lovely afternoon for some intergalactic messeges

 Count, meet the Dish

Nice sunny afternoon to visit Parkes and the Dish

4 Jun 2014

So yep I messed this one yesterday unfortunately, ran out of time trying to do too many things at once. Anyway...

So the morning started out quite grey and dull, though luckily it didn't rain and once the cloud/fog burnt off it was a nice sunny afternoon, as you can see by the pictures below. Started out trying to get hold of some bolts to put through the rear bumper brackets that I actually thought were missing so dropped into Bunnings hardware to see what I could get. Once I got back to the car and managed to get everything out of the boot i discovered at some stage in the past i have actually put the bolts back in there and thus it is obvious that is not where the water is getting into the bottom of the boot from. Though I also discovered that I have forgotten to install the grommets around the wires for the rear lights, so chances are that is where the water is coming from. Quick liberal application with the silicone around the areas and hopefully that will be a good quick fix to any further rain getting through there, mind it should not rain any more because later in the afternoon my friend Simon very kindly sorted out "mastic-ing" the back window seal so that hopefully there will be no further leaks through there either.

After that I drove over to the Parliamentary Triangle area to have a look around and to get some pictures of the Count in the area, so heaps more of them below, which have the cloudy and sunny aspects as per above, bit circular but there you go. Anyway I managed to get the car into some reasonable areas and was able to stop and take pictures as there was actually very little traffic about, fantastic not to be at work on a weekday for doing things like this.Was then off to the Yacht Club for lunch, sounds flash, and a spot of lunch with Simon closely followed by some more pictures of the car on the lake shore behind the club.

The Australian War Memorial rounded out the afternoon plans and to be honest it was over run with some exceptionally noisy school excursions, so a quick look at a few exhibits and then a hasty retreat out of there. It really is an impressive place and there is just so much to see, always worth visiting as quite often things change in the public galleries, there new things to see all the time.

From there it was over to Simon's place where he expertly sealed up the rear windscreen for me and then off to dinner at Jamie's Italian with Goran, good dinner, great conversation, really good evening. Isn't it amazing how it's possible to not call someone or send a message one day and then suddenly it is so many years later and you just can't figure how that happened.

 Looking across the lake to the Australian War Memorial and Mt Anslie

 The National Carillon and the Australian-American Memorial Eagle Statue

 Old Parilament House, with the new House Flag Pole visible

 Waiting for the sun by Yarralumla Bay

 Australian Merchant Seamen's Memorial

This massive bronze sculpture used to be inside the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial before it had to be relocated when the Unknown Australian Soldier was entombed there 11 November 1993

 Guarding the Tomb and the Eternal Flame

Members of the Federation Guard at the entrance to the Hall of Memory

3 June 2014

Had a wander around the City proper and around to New Acton and the London Circuit/Marcus Clarke street area today, all very interesting and so much development it's amazing, buildings have sprung up everywhere and some old hovels that looked like that should be demolished when I lived here some years back have become a refurbished new hotel. Times change I guess and property becomes worth so much that they just have to develop it.

Just a few random shots from the day.

The Academy of Science Building

Is this what you call POP art? It's all popcorn!

Modern Man statue at New Acton

What a shop front awning! New Acton again

I fairly much limited the day to that area and unfortunately didn't get many good photos as the sky was terrible, though at least it didn't rain! YAH! The New Acton area is certainly worth a walk around and there is quite a bit packed into such a small area worth looking at. I went there specifically looking to have breakfast at Mocan and Green Grout as I have heard good things about it, though it was packed with suits at 0930 (what does no one actually work in this town, or perhaps it was a "working Breakfast") as it is only a small space. It is funny you know, I am happy to drive around the country at 80 kilometres and hour, but expect me to wait to get a seat at a cafe and you can just forget it, nowhere is that good that there isn't another place around the corner.

I also want over to the National Film and Sound Archive, wow it has changed there is a huge extension out the back of the building, but the actual display space is about less than half what it was 12 years ago and to say that the whole thing was rather dated and low budget primary school kids excursion spot would be an understatement. Really it used to be quite something special, I guess that times and expectations change and probably more telling so do budgets, you can only do what is able to be paid for when your annual budget is slashed. They must have so much information and objects in storage there, it is just a shame that more people can't get to see it.

Anyway we're hanging with the rich and infamous tomorrow, Yarralumla around all the Embassies and the Parliamentary triangle, lunching at the yacht club and then old and new Parliament houses, followed by a quick drive along the lake edge before crossing over and heading to the War Memorial to see the latest changes since my last visit. Should be a good day, supposed to be fog then sunny! Woo Hoo! 

2 June 2014 - Day Two

Well this morning was wet, not just tiresome drizzle, it was chucking it down and to be honest everything in the car was wet or damp, really have to locate the leak in the boot! Anyway hit the road and it was really very uneventful, along the Sturt Highway to the Hume Highway and then through Gundagai to Yass and the Barton Highway to Canberra. It was a really good run through and the car just cruised along brilliantly, mind you can tell when you're getting close to Canberra as the air temp is just right for the car to really respond and it really just loves the crispness of it. The rain finally started to drop out just before getting to Canberra and then kicked back in for a huge downpour, luckily I was able to find a undercover car park at the shops to meet up with some good friends for lunch and then this afternoon has been rain free, YAH, I just hope it stay that way long enough to dry the car out!

Arriving into the ACT, been here before

I'm back in town for a few days now, hopefully the car will get a chance to dry out and I have family and friends to see, and hopefully some photos to take, so it will be a bit of a break before we're off back inland heading for Bourke

1 June 2014 - First day travelling

Set out about 0800 into a raining morning and that rain has stayed all day, car leaked through the windscreen seal as expected, which is very frustrating. Echuca wasn't terribly thrilling, some interesting bits and reasonably nice, but nothing really attention grabbing, though perhaps the weather had a lot to do with that. It was a bit Daylesford with less eateries and a big muddy river. Actually went to the Beechworth Bakery for a spot of lunch and there would have been about twenty people working there and only one of them actually serving customers rather than just standing there looking at everyone, interesting business model.

Deniliquin was just another quiet country town, looking a bit down on its luck in some places and again the banks have a lot to answer for in relation to awful buildings stuck into what would otherwise be quite a nice "heritage" streetscape. It looks like some work is being done in areas of the town, but there are quite a few empty shops and the only places open were the the $2 / bargain basement shop, over all though it is a quite nice and tidy looking town. The site for the ute muster is certainly substantial and not far out of town, it is just beyond imagining that the whole area is filled to capacity with utes and all if the existing infrastructure out there is all just for one weekend a year, quite amazing.

Jerilderie (is that how you spell it?) is really quite an attractive looking small town and surely must be an official Tidy Towns entrant because it just looks so clean and well kept. Admittedly I only really saw the main strip but it really was impressive. It is another "Ned Kelly" town, the gang raised merry hell in the town, from and officials point of view, but mainly went there to have his manifesto printed, known as the Jerilderie Letter. I am sure that the next town along would have been quite something as well, Lockhart "the veranda town" as they call it, certainly seemed to have a very nice heritage streetscape with whole rows of very wide shop awnings, though by this time it was really getting dark, so was hard to really tell.

The trip up was really quite relaxed and there were sections along the way where I was quite literally the only car for miles around, very quiet roads and mostly in quite good shape. The car has just ticked along brilliantly , though a bit damp, with no problems whatsoever which is great. A nice steady 80-82 kilometers per hour seems to make it feel quite happy so there it is going to stay. That speed makes for a much longer day of driving, but you do get to see a lot more too.

Staying the night in Wagga Wagga, well actually outside of there in a sub town called Gumly Gumly (they like using words twice around here when naming things obviously). It's certainly no thrill and actually I have decided that driving through the day is great, you see so much, but once night hits forget it, There is no fun in it and it becomes a chore, so unless absolutely necessary no more early evening driving on this trip (famous last words I bet).
Canberra tomorrow and hopefully much better weather!

The Murray River at Echuca

 The Count finds a friend at Echuca

 And in really beautiful condition (bet it wasn't leaking in the rain)

 What else would you do with a Holden Ute?

Ok, so The Count isn't a ute, but really, closing the gates is just a tad unfriendly