After a very nice stay in Tumut it was on the road again and heading off towards Cowra.   We were interested in seeing the old internment camp from WW 2 that was used for the POW’s.  when we arrived in Cowra it was finding the local show grounds to stay in for a few nights then off to the local information centre to get  few ideas on what was good to look at in the area.  First thing to look at was the Cowra Prisoner Of war Camp that is right on the edge of town.  There is not much left to see which is a real pity as it would have been quite an attraction if there were a few buildings remaining standing.  Now it is just a large paddock with a few old building foundations to wander around and a replica guard tower at the entrance.  The main feature of the camp is the story of the breakout from the camp of the Japanese POW’s and the subsequent deaths from both sides and the capture of the escapees.  Still worth going to see though and you do get to understand the whole story a bit better by being closer to it.  The Japanese gardens are worth the effort to go and see while in Cowra.  They have really done a good job of setting these up and the upkeep of them is very impressive.

We also drove over to a small town called Canowindra for an afternoon to have a look at the Canowindra International Balloon Challenge Fire and Light Spectacular.  They put on an afternoon of food stalls with a local rugby union football game then when it gets dark they put all the hot air balloons on the oval then inflate them and light them up in the night and sequence the flame burning to some music.  It was pretty well done and filled in a day for us.  We also did a drive the next day to the Conimbla  National Park and did a couple of small walks around it.  It was a bit dry and wasn’t as picturesque as it would normally be.  We feel that spring would be the best to do most NP’s to see them at their best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After an enjoyable stay in Cowra it was off again and this time towards Bathurst.  Seeing we were so close we decided a quick detour to Bathurst wouldn’t put our tight schedule back to much.  We decided on a farm stay just out of Bathurst at a small place called Perthville.  Besides a pub, fuel station and a few houses Perthville was literally a dot on the map.  The farm stay was right on the edge of Perthville and only about 8 kilometres from Bathurst.  While in Bathurst we did the obligatory drive around Mt Panorama Racing Circuit a couple of times which is a normal road used by local residences all year except when the race is on.  I never realised there were wineries and houses in the centre of the track until now.  We also did the Bathurst Heritage Drive which takes a couple of hours to drive around Bathurst looking at local landmarks and quite a pleasant way to see the town.  The Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum is an excellent visit and well worth the visit.  This would be one of the most comprehensive displays we have seen and to be in a country town is even more remarkable.  We also went to the Botanical Gardens and looked at the Begonia Flower Display which was also very impressive.  One great feature of Bathurst is the old street lights they have in the town centre.  It is a credit that they have kept these to this day and they rally do add character and feeling to the town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Bathurst we went to wellington and stayed at nice park alongside the river.  We decided to stay for three nights as Kaye had fallen behind in some of her domestic duties and needed time to catch up.  Wellington was a neat little town with a few good sights near the town worth driving around to look at.  We drove one afternoon to the Burrendong Botanic Garden and Arboretum  that has been set up in 1964 and covers around 164 ha.  Some of the displays were very well done and it was good to see that they are still developing the place.   The Burrendong Dam is also nearby and this would be the emptiest dam we have seen on the east coast which was a real surprise to us as most dams have been pretty full.  We also did a couple of walks in the Mount Arthur Reserve on the edge of town.

 

 

 

 

After Kaye had caught up with her domestic chores we were able to leave Wellington and this time we headed for a place not far out of Coonabarabran called Pilliga Pottery where you could stay in the camp ground.  It is advertised as an “artisans retreat” which we both thought was another term for hippies hideaway but we had a great stay for a couple of nights and did some excellent drives and saw some really interesting sights.  The Pilliga Nature Reserve and the Timmallallie National Park have some really unique vegetation and they have done a great job with some of the walks.  The Sandstone caves were well worth the detour to go and have a look at and the Sculptures in The Scrub  were also very well done.  When staying at Pilliga Pottery it is just like free camping and we were able to have a fire each night and cook outside over the hot coals which was really nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Pilliga it was on the road north towards Queensland and Goondiwindi and the local show grounds.  When we arrived at the show grounds there we quite a few carnival people setting up and getting ready for the local show on the weekend.  We will be gone by then which we don’t mind at all.  Goondiwindi is quite a large town and is really famous for Gunsynd The Goondiwindi Grey.  Other than that there really wasn’t all that much to see in Goondiwindi that we felt was worth spending to much time looking for.  We did a bit of a drive around town and had a quick look at the Botanic Garden, the River Walk, Historic Border Bridge that connects Goondiwindi to NSW and a couple of other bits around town.

 

 

Tomorrow it is on the road again and heading towards Stanthorpe.  Some very nice friends we have in Wickham have a small property in Stanthorpe and have offered us to stay there for a while so we will set up our squat and join the other locals in the hills, so thanks Wayne and Julie and we’ll send you a photo when we arrive…………

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Wilsons Promontory we had a decision to make on where we would hide for Easter away from all the families etc that would be packing up from Melbourne and heading to all points everywhere.  We decided on heading towards Port Albert that seemed to be a small coastal town not far up the road and you could free camp at the old abandoned race course.  We did think that there would be a few travellers like us that would be doing a similar sort of thing and when we arrived we were the only ones there which was good as we had the choice of all the best spots to set up.  We set up our “camp” near the finish line which was nice and grassy and even had some flushing toilets which is a big plus when your free camping.

To our surprise we ended up being the only ones camping there during the whole Easter break which we were both quite happy with as we had the whole place to ourselves.  The only visitors we had for five days were some locals that came out to collect fire wood, go for walks with their dogs or others that were just doing a bit of exercise.

Port albert itself is a very small place and it was a great place to hide over the Easter break as there isn’t to much to do for families.  The old race track has some great spots for free camping and you could easily hide out there for a lot longer if you wanted to as it was quite close to the town but far enough off the road that you couldn’t see anyone.  We did a few small walks around the town and even visited the local markets which were something different to look at.

 

 

 

 

After a pretty relaxing Easter we headed off to Bairnsdale/Paynesville for a couple of nights to catch up with some friends who lived on Raymond Island which is a very short ferry crossing ride from Paynesville.  It was good to catch up with Dianne and Kerry to see what life is like living on an island.  The only downside was we had some pretty wet and cold weather while in Paynesville which makes a place seem gloomier when your there.  We had a great pub meal at the local the first night then an even better meal at Dianne and Kerry’s the next night.

 

After a wet goodbye to Paynesville it was off towards Cooma for a few nights.  While in Cooma we headed over to Canberra and catch up with Jade, Gordo, Declan and Lachlan for a couple of nights as well.   We left the van in Cooma and drove to Canberra.  We had ordered some bits for the caravan and had them sent to Jades house and we also had left some things there from Christmas so it was a bit of a stock up trip as well.  We didn’t do much in Canberra, well that is Kaye didn’t, Jade had a list of jobs for me to do that kept me busy most of the time we were there but then its also good to keep your mind active by doing some handyman stuff, or that’s what Kaye and Jade told me.  We did pay a visit to the Canberra Arboretum with them which was good to see again.  The Canberra Arboretum got severely burnt out during the bushfires they had several years ago and has been replanted with all new trees.  We hadn’t been there for a few years so it was good to see that most of the trees are growing well.  It will be one of those places that will be quite spectacular in about ten years time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the quick Canberra visit it was back to Cooma for a couple of nights.  The next day we were heading off to walk up Mount Kosciuszko.  As the weather was predicted to be fine with fairly light winds it was do it now or probably never.  It was a short drive down the road to Thredbo where you can catch a chair lift part of the way up then its a 13 kilometre return walk to the top of Kosciuszko.  The walk up is reasonably easy with a dedicated grid mesh path all the way to follow.  There were lots of people doing the walk also, they must have checked the weather forecast as well.  Any how the exercise was good and the views worth it but I don’t really know how we can call it a mountain it really is just a big hill on top of other big hills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Cooma it was on the road again towards Tumut, the birthplace of Steve Candotti.  Steve is a good friend of ours who we met while on Nauru but unfortunately is overseas working for the Australian Government so we are not able to catch up this time.  Tumut is a very neat picturesque town and it has really turned on the weather for us while here.  We decided to stay for three nights and have a reasonable look around the area.  We did a day trip out to Batlow and then to the Sugar Pines then to Adelong.  This was a great drive through some nice country side that makes you see how lucky some people are in Australia to be able to live in these areas, though they probably don’t really see it that way.  The Sugar Pines were really worth the drive to see.  They were planted in 1928 in the Bago State Forest and have now been left for prosperity.  This species of pine are the largest and tallest of all pines.  What was also surprising was how large the pine cones were that came off these trees.  It was also nice to see all the trees with their autumn leaves starting to change colour and fall off.  A visit to the Tumut Broom Factory is also worth while.  This is where they make the millet brooms and you are able to watch them do it and he also explains the whole process as well.  One thing we didn’t know was that millet can grow anywhere between 2mtr to 3.5mtr before it is harvested and it is done by hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Tumut we are heading off towards Cowra and then Wellington before then making our way towards the Sunshine Coast again to catch up with Anika and mum.  We have just under a month to get there so hopefully we wont feel the pressure to much…….