A day of complete relaxation - we read, had a look around the town, chatted to some people who were parked nearby & finally went to the Bowling Club for dinner.
News bulletins suggest that the UK is having some severe weather. Hope we won't hear of too many catastrophes. A news flash has just reported that a teenage girl, in Kent, has been killed by a falling tree - oh dear, that's already one sad incident too many.
Monday 28 October 2013
Sunday 27 October 2013
Sun 27 Oct - Cowra to Coonabarabran
We left Cowra at 9.20am on a beautiful sunny morning. It was a lovely place &, as I looked at the rose garden on our way out, I was sorry we couldn't have stayed longer. People obviously took pride in their homes & the town, as everywhere looked neat & well cared for. I envied those who were sitting outside their caravans, enjoying cups of tea or coffee, in the sunshine. We set off for Dubbo, which was 204kms away.
The countryside was undulating & mostly cultivated, with some horses, cattle & sheep grazing here & there. It was described as "Australia's Food Basket". A fair amount of harvesting was going on but I couldn't tell whether it was hay or a crop that they were cutting. Roses also grew well & several gardens boasted beautiful displays.
We by-passed Dubbo & continued on in the direction of Gilgandra. The countryside was becoming browner, with scrub-like vegetation but the cattle looked healthy & so the pasture must have been more nutritious than it looked.
At 1.30pm., we drove into Gilgandra, "town of windmills & home of the Cooees", which we'd visited before. We decided to stop for lunch & enjoyed light meals at a lovely coffee shop that we remembered, which had 'classy' gifts & beads (I'd bought a necklace on a previous visit).
Having filled up with Diesel, we continued on towards Coonabarabran. Two kookaburras were sitting on telephone wires, a sight which always delights me. The temperature had now reached 27C, so things were heating up!
On reaching the town, we booked in at a caravan park, did some shopping & settled in for the night.
The countryside was undulating & mostly cultivated, with some horses, cattle & sheep grazing here & there. It was described as "Australia's Food Basket". A fair amount of harvesting was going on but I couldn't tell whether it was hay or a crop that they were cutting. Roses also grew well & several gardens boasted beautiful displays.
We by-passed Dubbo & continued on in the direction of Gilgandra. The countryside was becoming browner, with scrub-like vegetation but the cattle looked healthy & so the pasture must have been more nutritious than it looked.
At 1.30pm., we drove into Gilgandra, "town of windmills & home of the Cooees", which we'd visited before. We decided to stop for lunch & enjoyed light meals at a lovely coffee shop that we remembered, which had 'classy' gifts & beads (I'd bought a necklace on a previous visit).
Having filled up with Diesel, we continued on towards Coonabarabran. Two kookaburras were sitting on telephone wires, a sight which always delights me. The temperature had now reached 27C, so things were heating up!
On reaching the town, we booked in at a caravan park, did some shopping & settled in for the night.
Saturday 26 October 2013
Sat 27 Oct - Canberra to Cowra
By the time we left Canberra at 9am., it was sunny & the temperature was 12C. We re-fuelled at Yass, then set off for Cowra, which was 121kms away. It was a pretty drive, spoiled only by a lot of blood on the road from a large number of recently killed kangaroos.
On arrival in Cowra, we settled in at the Cowra Van Park, which was a lovely leafy site on the Lachlan River. We had a quick lunch, then set off to find the Japanese Garden, which was the main reason for our visit - it had been recommended & sounded well worth looking at.
Cowra had been thrust into the headlines for what became known as "The Cowra Breakout", when 235 soldiers lost their lives. On Aug 5, 1944, 1104 Japanese prisoners launched a mass escape from the P.O.W. Camp just outside the town. Many of them, as well as four Australian soldiers, were killed in the attempted escape & the town's RSL members have maintained the graves ever since. This care & respect has resulted in a special relationship between Cowra & Japan and the Garden is just one of the ways in which the town has contributed toward world peace.
What a beautiful place! It is tranquil, peaceful & exquisitely maintained. There are lush gardens, cascading streams & fish-filled lakes, all of which have been designed to represent the landscapes of Japan. Exploring this delighful place is a memorable experience & one which we were glad we'd taken the time to enjoy.
From the Garden, we continued on to the P.O.W. Camp & Guard Tower, the Cowra & Japanese War Cemeteries, Australia's World Peace Bell & the beautiful Rose Garden. All in all, it was a perfect day. We loved the town & would like to have stayed longer but this is a big country & we still have a lot of kilometres to cover!
On arrival in Cowra, we settled in at the Cowra Van Park, which was a lovely leafy site on the Lachlan River. We had a quick lunch, then set off to find the Japanese Garden, which was the main reason for our visit - it had been recommended & sounded well worth looking at.
Cowra had been thrust into the headlines for what became known as "The Cowra Breakout", when 235 soldiers lost their lives. On Aug 5, 1944, 1104 Japanese prisoners launched a mass escape from the P.O.W. Camp just outside the town. Many of them, as well as four Australian soldiers, were killed in the attempted escape & the town's RSL members have maintained the graves ever since. This care & respect has resulted in a special relationship between Cowra & Japan and the Garden is just one of the ways in which the town has contributed toward world peace.
What a beautiful place! It is tranquil, peaceful & exquisitely maintained. There are lush gardens, cascading streams & fish-filled lakes, all of which have been designed to represent the landscapes of Japan. Exploring this delighful place is a memorable experience & one which we were glad we'd taken the time to enjoy.
From the Garden, we continued on to the P.O.W. Camp & Guard Tower, the Cowra & Japanese War Cemeteries, Australia's World Peace Bell & the beautiful Rose Garden. All in all, it was a perfect day. We loved the town & would like to have stayed longer but this is a big country & we still have a lot of kilometres to cover!
Friday 25 October 2013
Fri 25 Oct - a second day in Canberra
Canberra is COLD, even by my standards - it was really hard getting up! However, we had bright sunshine & a blue sky.
It was a great day. First, we drove to the Telstra Tower, on Black Mountain from where we had panoramic views all over Canberra & the surrounding countryside. We felt that specific landmarks could have been more clearly indicated & were disappointed that they had run out of postcards & stamps. However, the coffee was to die for!
Our next port of call was the National Portrait Gallery, which had a magnificent collection of pictures showing those who have been instrumental in forming the Australian nation from earliest times to modern day. People from all walks of life were included - industrialists, explorers, artists, business people, sports people, entertainers, etc., etc. The collection was all-encompassing & stressed the variety & value of people's contributions.
Finally, we chose to visit the National Museum of Australia, which has a stunning location with magnificent views over Lake Burley Griffin. The Museum is referred to as "where our stories live" & brings together the history of the First Australians, the European settlers & those who have resided here in more modern times since the formation of Federation.
A rotating theatre presents images, sound & music which combine to tell Australia's story. This is further expanded by galleries & a wealth of fascinating exhibits.
We found Canberra to be a very interesting city & felt that we could have spent much more time there. You should always leave something to come back for ... and, we did!
It was a great day. First, we drove to the Telstra Tower, on Black Mountain from where we had panoramic views all over Canberra & the surrounding countryside. We felt that specific landmarks could have been more clearly indicated & were disappointed that they had run out of postcards & stamps. However, the coffee was to die for!
Our next port of call was the National Portrait Gallery, which had a magnificent collection of pictures showing those who have been instrumental in forming the Australian nation from earliest times to modern day. People from all walks of life were included - industrialists, explorers, artists, business people, sports people, entertainers, etc., etc. The collection was all-encompassing & stressed the variety & value of people's contributions.
Finally, we chose to visit the National Museum of Australia, which has a stunning location with magnificent views over Lake Burley Griffin. The Museum is referred to as "where our stories live" & brings together the history of the First Australians, the European settlers & those who have resided here in more modern times since the formation of Federation.
A rotating theatre presents images, sound & music which combine to tell Australia's story. This is further expanded by galleries & a wealth of fascinating exhibits.
We found Canberra to be a very interesting city & felt that we could have spent much more time there. You should always leave something to come back for ... and, we did!
Thursday 24 October 2013
Thurs 24 Oct - A day in Canberra
We didn't have a good start to the day - the Tia Maria bottle had leaked in the under-sink cupboard (a real "ant attraction") & so we started the day sweeping out the van & washing the floor - well, Bob did; I was busy with other chores. He is considering drinking more in future, in order to avoid the alcohol going to waste - that's the newest excuse I've heard!
As we were leaving the caravan park, Bob backed into a lamp post that he hadn't noticed in his mirror (every vehicle has a blind spot). Oh dear, a broken indicator light & some minor damage to the rear light casing! We drove to the Visitor & Information Centre, quite near to where we were staying, & found out about attractions to visit &, most importantly, where to get a replacement indicator bulb which, fortunately, Bob was able to fix himself. We parked in a beautiful tree-lined street whilst he carried out repairs. We noticed that Canberra is a city of trees - every road is lined with different types of trees, which is lovely.
Eventually, we arrived at the Australian War Memorial, which was high on our list of places to visit. It is a wonderful memorial with landscaped gardens, stunning sound & light shows, galleries, a Pool of Reflection with an Eternal Flame, a Hall of Memory, Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, Roll of Honour & a daily closing ceremony which commemorates someone who has died serving his or her country.
It would take many hours to see all that the Memorial has to offer - we were there for four hours & found it fascinating, informative & extremely well presented. It showed conflict with startling clarity &, at the same time, brought home to us the tragedy & futility of war. Many school children were also spending time at the Memorial & we could only hope that it would show something of the debt we all owe to those who died for our freedom.
Bob was particularly impressed by the way in which "War in the Air" was presented - the sound & light shows were most dramatic. I admired many of the paintings by war-time artists, as well as the wonderful Changi Quilt made by women who were interned by the Japanese (we heard the women's camp choir singing whilst the quilt was being displayed, which was very moving).
The closing ceremony was very poignant as Private John Saunders, who fought in the Korean War & whose body was never recovered, was remembered & honoured. A lone piper played a lament, followed by a bugler who played the Last Post. Members of Private Saunders' family were present & several people, including children from the various schools that were visiting, laid wreaths.
As we were leaving the caravan park, Bob backed into a lamp post that he hadn't noticed in his mirror (every vehicle has a blind spot). Oh dear, a broken indicator light & some minor damage to the rear light casing! We drove to the Visitor & Information Centre, quite near to where we were staying, & found out about attractions to visit &, most importantly, where to get a replacement indicator bulb which, fortunately, Bob was able to fix himself. We parked in a beautiful tree-lined street whilst he carried out repairs. We noticed that Canberra is a city of trees - every road is lined with different types of trees, which is lovely.
Eventually, we arrived at the Australian War Memorial, which was high on our list of places to visit. It is a wonderful memorial with landscaped gardens, stunning sound & light shows, galleries, a Pool of Reflection with an Eternal Flame, a Hall of Memory, Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, Roll of Honour & a daily closing ceremony which commemorates someone who has died serving his or her country.
It would take many hours to see all that the Memorial has to offer - we were there for four hours & found it fascinating, informative & extremely well presented. It showed conflict with startling clarity &, at the same time, brought home to us the tragedy & futility of war. Many school children were also spending time at the Memorial & we could only hope that it would show something of the debt we all owe to those who died for our freedom.
Bob was particularly impressed by the way in which "War in the Air" was presented - the sound & light shows were most dramatic. I admired many of the paintings by war-time artists, as well as the wonderful Changi Quilt made by women who were interned by the Japanese (we heard the women's camp choir singing whilst the quilt was being displayed, which was very moving).
The closing ceremony was very poignant as Private John Saunders, who fought in the Korean War & whose body was never recovered, was remembered & honoured. A lone piper played a lament, followed by a bugler who played the Last Post. Members of Private Saunders' family were present & several people, including children from the various schools that were visiting, laid wreaths.
Wednesday 23 October 2013
23 Oct - Merimbula to Canberra
We left the Sapphire Valley Tourist Park at 11.10am with several people waving us goodbye. I had already swum with Yvonne at 8.30am & we'd both enjoyed pancakes in the camp kitchen again, at 10am. It was a lovely park - one we'd recommend & stay at again.
We hadn't seen much of the town but, as we drove out, it seemed to have all that anyone would need & the harbour looked lovely. We departed along a tree-lined road, passing the small airport on our right. This was an attractive area with hills, forest & ocean. We were 35km from Bega, home of a well-known cheese we'd seen frequently in the supermarkets.
The view of Merimbula Lake, down a steep hill overlooking the water, was particularly picturesque. The occasional lorry, loaded with tree trunks, passed us & we concluded that logging was one of the local industries.
What a beautiful day & how fantastic was the panorama that opened out before us as we drove towards Bega! Large herds of dairy cattle grazed upon the green hills, which became ever more steep as we entered the Snowy Mountain Highway towards Cooma & Canberra, the latter being 216km away. Apparently, we had about 60km of steep hills & winding road ahead of us as we crossed the Brown Mountains & travelled over the Great Dividing Range, which results in the marked contrast between the fertile east & the dry interior.
At times, a strong head wind blew, seriously hampering our progress. In Bemboka, we stopped to photograph the views & saw a shop advertising "Teddy Bears & Wool/Crystals & Lace" - I would have loved to take a look inside but realised that we should press on towards Canberra.
We entered the South East Forests National Park & began a seriously steep & winding climb, which slowed us down to a crawl. The forest was full of tree ferns & the gums grew straight & tall. We were very high up & stopped to take a picture at the "Fred Piper Memorial Lookout", where a really strong wind was blowing. On the western side of the Divide, tougher tussocky grasses grew & the area became less green. Animals still grazed but not on such lush pasture as that east of the mountains. As we descended, the trees became less tall & the terrain was more frequently strewn with rocks & boulders. Where water is less abundant, a marked contrast in the landscape soon becomes apparent. Gone were the dairy cattle, their places taken by hardier sheep.
We stopped at Lake Williams, in Nimmitabel, for lunch & were soon surrounded by ducks & moorhens, which Bob fed with his crusts (he hadn't been trained to eat them up!) The wind almost wrenched the car & caravan doors off, when we opened them!
The scenery was still magnificent &, when we passed a sign saying "Great Dividing Range", we realised that we were travelling right on top of it.
Soon, the terrain opened out into wide plains, bordered by far-distant mountains - completely different scenery from that through which we'd travelled during the morning. A few cattle re-appeared but of the beef, rather than the dairy, variety.
Cooma nestled in the surrounding hills & was set on either side of a wide main street. We climbed out of it passing the "Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre" on our right. Canberra was still 115km away.
Eventually, we passed a sign saying "Australian Capital Territory", which indicated that we were nearing the city. Negotiating it & finding a caravan park was quite another matter! There was only one such park in the vicinity with no directions to it & so we had to rely completely upon maps & our SatNav - goodness only knows what we would have done without them. We finally located the Exhibition Centre Park (nothing like as appealing as the one in Merimbula) & settled down for the night.
We hadn't seen much of the town but, as we drove out, it seemed to have all that anyone would need & the harbour looked lovely. We departed along a tree-lined road, passing the small airport on our right. This was an attractive area with hills, forest & ocean. We were 35km from Bega, home of a well-known cheese we'd seen frequently in the supermarkets.
The view of Merimbula Lake, down a steep hill overlooking the water, was particularly picturesque. The occasional lorry, loaded with tree trunks, passed us & we concluded that logging was one of the local industries.
What a beautiful day & how fantastic was the panorama that opened out before us as we drove towards Bega! Large herds of dairy cattle grazed upon the green hills, which became ever more steep as we entered the Snowy Mountain Highway towards Cooma & Canberra, the latter being 216km away. Apparently, we had about 60km of steep hills & winding road ahead of us as we crossed the Brown Mountains & travelled over the Great Dividing Range, which results in the marked contrast between the fertile east & the dry interior.
At times, a strong head wind blew, seriously hampering our progress. In Bemboka, we stopped to photograph the views & saw a shop advertising "Teddy Bears & Wool/Crystals & Lace" - I would have loved to take a look inside but realised that we should press on towards Canberra.
We entered the South East Forests National Park & began a seriously steep & winding climb, which slowed us down to a crawl. The forest was full of tree ferns & the gums grew straight & tall. We were very high up & stopped to take a picture at the "Fred Piper Memorial Lookout", where a really strong wind was blowing. On the western side of the Divide, tougher tussocky grasses grew & the area became less green. Animals still grazed but not on such lush pasture as that east of the mountains. As we descended, the trees became less tall & the terrain was more frequently strewn with rocks & boulders. Where water is less abundant, a marked contrast in the landscape soon becomes apparent. Gone were the dairy cattle, their places taken by hardier sheep.
We stopped at Lake Williams, in Nimmitabel, for lunch & were soon surrounded by ducks & moorhens, which Bob fed with his crusts (he hadn't been trained to eat them up!) The wind almost wrenched the car & caravan doors off, when we opened them!
The scenery was still magnificent &, when we passed a sign saying "Great Dividing Range", we realised that we were travelling right on top of it.
Soon, the terrain opened out into wide plains, bordered by far-distant mountains - completely different scenery from that through which we'd travelled during the morning. A few cattle re-appeared but of the beef, rather than the dairy, variety.
Cooma nestled in the surrounding hills & was set on either side of a wide main street. We climbed out of it passing the "Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre" on our right. Canberra was still 115km away.
Eventually, we passed a sign saying "Australian Capital Territory", which indicated that we were nearing the city. Negotiating it & finding a caravan park was quite another matter! There was only one such park in the vicinity with no directions to it & so we had to rely completely upon maps & our SatNav - goodness only knows what we would have done without them. We finally located the Exhibition Centre Park (nothing like as appealing as the one in Merimbula) & settled down for the night.
22 Oct - A relaxing day spent at the Sapphire Valley Tourist Park in Merimbula
What a night - it absolutely poured! We hoped that the bush fire areas had received some of it.
We had some lovely neighbours called Yvonne & Geoff - they were very sociable & we spent quite some time chatting with them. Yvonne loves birds & was able to tell us a lot about Australian ones. She also likes painting & has done some stumpwork, too, so we had a few things in common.
We had free pancakes & cups of tea in the camp kitchen - apparently, they also do a sausage sizzle on Friday evenings (a good way of bringing people together).
I had planned to swim with Yvonne after lunch as there was a lovely pool & hot tub. However, it became wet & cold, so I stayed in the caravan & brought this blog almost up to date (no mean task, as I had fallen very far behind with it).
At 6pm., we joined Yvonne & Geoff at the local Bowling Club for dinner. We ladies had Seafood Baskets, which were very tasty & the men had excellent steaks. After coffee & a chat, we spent a short time playing the Pokies - we didn't win anything & left our friends there still trying to "get lucky".
We had some lovely neighbours called Yvonne & Geoff - they were very sociable & we spent quite some time chatting with them. Yvonne loves birds & was able to tell us a lot about Australian ones. She also likes painting & has done some stumpwork, too, so we had a few things in common.
We had free pancakes & cups of tea in the camp kitchen - apparently, they also do a sausage sizzle on Friday evenings (a good way of bringing people together).
I had planned to swim with Yvonne after lunch as there was a lovely pool & hot tub. However, it became wet & cold, so I stayed in the caravan & brought this blog almost up to date (no mean task, as I had fallen very far behind with it).
At 6pm., we joined Yvonne & Geoff at the local Bowling Club for dinner. We ladies had Seafood Baskets, which were very tasty & the men had excellent steaks. After coffee & a chat, we spent a short time playing the Pokies - we didn't win anything & left our friends there still trying to "get lucky".
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