Go West they said

It seems I"ve had a gap year courtesy of Covid. I decided to try pick up the blog again and share my adventures with anyone keen to read. But before I kick off, here's an express version of the past year's highlights:

·      
·      I finished my chef certificate in August (hooray)
·      I haven’t continued flying lessons sadly but I miss it
·      Richmond Tigers won the AFL Grand final again !!
·      I watched some awesome TV shows – The Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things and The Last Kingdom and I eagerly await the next seasons
·      Macey Moo turned 12, Cricket turned 8
·      We renovated the laundry and 2^nd toilet and we're still together
·      I cooked with celebrity French Chef Gabriel Gate at work
·      I started doing my certificate in Patisserie which is proving delicious and fattening and what a suprise, our Dr checkups revealed our cholesterol is now 'apparently' too high :o
·      Gentleman Jack started filming Season 2
·      And I got my first tattoo, and fainted in the process.

 Well that’s the express wrap on the gap year so let me tell you about our current adventure as we were able to get some days off, at the same time for a change, and decided to do a little road trip out west to visit some country towns. 

 

Day 1 – Cowra. It was a very late departure as we both slept in as Deb was coming off overnight shifts and I finished work very late the night before. We had to pack bags and organise the dogs as a friend was housesitting for us. We arrived late afternoon and soon went to the local Services club for dinner. Who knew but Cowra was hosting an antique bottle show that weekend so there were interesting folks around and it was quite busy. No bottle trading for us so it was a quiet night for us.

 

Day 2 – Cowra is a small town (pop 10,000), but it has a McDonalds and KFC so it’s not too small. We were up at dark o’clock (615am) to go and have breakfast with the dogs – a good choice by Deb. We went to a local farm and had a sturdy bacon and eggs breakfast and then watched the owners demonstration of their working dogs (Border Collies). It was below zero overnight and a frosty morning so the campfire and breakfast was awesome. There were 13 dogs and they were simply amazing. They told us how they train them, how the dogs have their own personalities and how they operate. They did have one dog (Barry, named after Barry Allen aka The Flash) who was a kelpie dad/collie mum cross.  Barry’s dad herds cows, bulls and goats so he was pretty tough and it showed in Barry. He was a beautiful brown colour and we loved Barry. It was a great morning and we will likely return with Cricket and also stay in their farm accommodation cabin. We had a warm shower back at the motel and packed the car and headed off.

 

  

  

Cowra is largely famous for the Cowra Breakout in 1944. We visited the information centre and it had lots of information and a great short hologram movie about the breakout. 1104 Japanese POWs attempted to breakout of the POW camp because they were told they would be split up separated the following day which upset the Japanese. At 2am they set the camp on fire and stormed the fences. Gunfire and violence broke out ending with 231 Japanese dead, 4 Australian soldiers dead and 359 escaped but were recaptured. Some of the Japanese committed suicide or killed each other to avoid the shame of being a POW. The camp no longer stands except for a few concrete slabs. Cowra has a Japanese POW cemetary to honour the dead. Cowra was also chosen by the Australian Government as the site for the Australian World Peace Bell in recognition of its unique contribution to international understanding, promotion of peach and as a centre of world friendship. The bell is a replica of the original world peace bell located at the UN headquarters in New York. Deb couldn’t resist donging the bell either....about 3 times!!  We checked out the old POW campsite but passed on the Japanese Gardens because it was $15 admission fee – maybe next time. 

 

  

We headed off to the next town of Canowindra, a very small town (pop 2200) that was very quiet on a Sunday afternoon. Our main reason for visiting was to see the Age of Fishes Museum because my dear scientist friend Peter recommended it. We went the long way to get there so added an extra half hour to the trip and then found the museum closed despite me checking it would be open. Luckily I rang the museum and we discovered it was further down the road and indeed open. We were at a different museum. We had a coffee and snack first which was pretty terrible actually despite my smile in the photo (pre-sip). I was amazed to count at least 4 pubs in this tiny town, 2 places for coffee and lots of buildings named after someone called Finn!! Now this museum is run by local volunteers. In 1955, fish fossils were accidently found when the Council was grading the road about 11km from town. Long story short, 80 tonnes of fossils was unearthed and the fossils are from 360 million years ago – I can’t process that length of time really? These fish were the first animals to move from the water onto the land and these fish helped prove that the continents were once joined together because they have been found in Greenland and Antarctica. This find is hugely significant and they still have more fossils to dig up but more money is needed. The museum was fascinating and to see the fossil slabs was quite extraordinary. The locals are very proud of their fish museum and I’m glad my friend told me to go there. I would never have blinked twice at it if he’d not told me. 

    

Our journey continued to Orange which was a bigger regional town (pop 40,000). They not only have a McDonalds but they also have a Harvey Norman store (for my international readers, this is a massive home retail chain). I’ve been to Orange before for a mountain bike race. It’s well known for fruit production and I think I’ve visited briefly with a friend years ago to buy some fruit from the farmers. We only drove through today so nothing more to report on Orange. We continued to Bathurst.

 

     

Bathurst is about the same size as Orange and we are about 3 hours from Sydney. My best friend comes from Bathurst and I’ve visited a few times to see her (and they have a Harvey Norman too just in case you’re wondering). Aside from being my best friend’s home town, it is also the home of the Bathurst 1000 – the annual supercars race. Every year, the best supercars race around a 10km circuit (Mount Panorama) for 100 laps to decide who is the King of the Mountain. This has been the Ford versus Holden competition since I was a kid and there are a sprinkling of Japanese cars also. Despite Deb’s resistance, I said we need to do a lap of the mountain – you just have to. I did one years ago in my mini cooper and loved it. With all the skill of Peter Brock (Holden legend), I burned around the mountain and the s-bend corners complete with my personal sound effects. I may have done more than the speed limit and forgot it was now 2 way traffic at one stage forcing Deb to remind me to stay left…ooops. 

 

We finally arrived at Mudgee late afternoon. Mudgee has a population of 12,000 (and I haven’t seen a Harvey Norman yet). It’s a huge wine making district and it’s been super popular since Covid as people are travelling domestic now. It was hard to get accommodation but I found a fabulous AirBnb…a luxury loft above a vineyard wine cellar. We overlook the vineyard and we can walk around the vines or sit downstairs amongst the visitors. It’s very private and comfortable. The owner greeted us and she was holding a golden retriever puppy called Tipsy. We melted instantly. It brought back so many memories of Macey and we were cuddling the puppy within minutes. 

It's not such an early start tomorrow thankfully but Deb has planned some eBikes for us to ride around. 

 

I’ve just read this blog to Deb and I think she’s now asleep. I’ll be back in a few days to post on our Mudgee adventures but here’s a few random pics of the pups to finish this post.