26th to 28th April - Burrell Creek

We’re off again, headed to Trish and Randy’s place at Burrell Creek.    We had a stop at Gloucester for a couple of hours before heading to Burrell Creek via Krambach.   The road gets worse, obviously not a priority to maintain these little country roads in NSW. 

Gloucester is situated in a picturesque valley on the Gloucester River - bounded to the west by hills "The Buckets" and to the east by the Mograni range.  North of the townn is the junction of the Avon, Glocester and Barrington Rivers.  Gloucester is traditionally the centre of a rich beef, dairying and timber district and is close by to several World Heritage wilderness areas in National Parks and State Forests.  A view of Gloucester, with The Buckets on right.

One of a series of tiled murals on the walls of the Channells Newsagency in Gloucester, each has a significant story depicting history of this district.   This one is of Thunderbolt, the bushranger, who rode this country.   He is said to have never killed a man and was gentle with women.    A pretty nice guy then.  His real name was Fred Ward and was akin to the Kelly Gang. Gloucester boasts Thunderbolt's cave and stables towards the south end of the Bucketts Mountains near Baldy Knob.

My Darl always finds a mate where 'ere he goes, this one I don't think will talk back to you Darl.....at the pub in Gloucester.  The young barman here not too flash on it, had his ear elbowed in a local footy match, 15 odd stitched later and it looks like he's been mauled by a pit bull..   Now that would make for a good story and pic for the blog - but I was a little shy to ask.

Randy is at work over at Singleton for the week, Trish is laid up with a broken leg from a slip on the step in the pool, so we cooked her dinner and plied her with a few reds, we had a good yak and heaps of laughs.    They have a magic spot here, in a valley right by Burrell Creek which runs in to the Manning River.  

Another view of the Gloucester valley at Mograni lookout, 5kms out of town on Bucketts Way.

The craft and gift shop Open but not..... Had all the wares on the foot path, the Open sign out front but the door was locked, yes it was Thursday and it was before 2pm (closing time) so it should be open.   However, I discovered the owner was across the road at a ladies luncheon at the Krambach pub.  You'd think she would close up shop for the day.....I guess that goes on in these little country villages.

Settled in - the dogs Toby and Rosey are wondering what's going on....

Tara, Brendan and kids Willow, Seth and Eva turned up for the week-end.    Darl and I went in to Taree then decided to take the scenic drive over to Wingham.   We went for a walk around Wingham Brush Nature Reserve right on the edge of town.   It was  a nice cool walk, lots of giant Moreton Bay figs, flying foxes and brush turkeys here. 

This lovely tiled seat is dedicated to Mick Tuck memorial just in the park by the Wingham Brush reserve.   Mick Tuck was mayor here for a period.

The old town wharf at Wingham is one of the few remaining remnants of the Manning River's historic past.   The original wharf was constructed from turpentine timbers in the 1830's.  The wharf became a major shipping port in 1835.   It was used for the transportation of timber,farming and agricultural produce, at first by punt then sailing vessel, to Sydney.  Later steamers and other coastal vessels used the river.   All was very quiet and calm on the river today.

 Wingham Brush is a tiny remnant of the vast riverine rainforest which stretched unbroken along the Manning floodplain from Mount George to the river's mouth.  The Brush is a major maternity site for the Grey-headed Flying Fox.  The mature Moreton Bay fig trees form part of a diverse floristic community.   The flying foxes were a little noisy, we couldn't really see them high up in the trees. 

This gives an idea of how the Moreton Bay figs strangle the host tree once it takes hold.   Tiny seeds are deposited in the fork of a tree by a roosting bird or bat, the figs grow year by year down to the ground eventually taking over the host.  Massive buttress roots support the weight of the trees in the shallow rainforest soils.  

 In the middle of town, this building caught my eye. Gibson, Skinner Butchers Shop was constructed in 1911.  The interesting detail includes the awning and the parapet featuring a cow's head in relief work.  Use of the shop has changed recently with the inclusion of a cookery school and commercial uses. 

Central Park, this site is recognised of great significance in the history of Australian Rugby League.  In a rugby union match played here in July 1907, popular NSW and Australian forward Alec Burdon, suffered a serious shoulder injury.  Player unrest at rugby Officialdom's indifference to the plight of Burdon and other injured footballers was a major factor in the formation of the NSW Rugby League on 8 August 1907.

There you go, you learn something new every day.

We spent the rest of the week-end exploring the property – Willow wanted to take us for a walk to a waterfall, so Seth come too.    Over the creek and up a hill through the bush, the track got narrower, then the leeches attacked!!  Funny little things they are, move really quickly and boy do they suck on.   Willow lost the way a bit - how long ago were you here Willow? - about a couple years ago….  Willow recognised the path on the way back down but it was also pretty overgrown and the leeches kind of took the edge of this little adventure, so we continued back to the house to rid ourselves of any leeches catching a ride.  

My Darl making another friend, Eva looking awfully like a Sea Eagles supporter in her new jersey.   I hope you are not encouraging Eva to drink Darl??

Darl helps Willow and Seth get rid of the leeches.   But we missed a couple Tiger leeches and boy did they have a good suck, both Willow and Seth got one on their legs.   We found out that salt is the best thing for getting them off, it also kills them dead.

A bit of boy talk going on.......Seth decides he's a bit bored with that

Randy took us for a drive up another hill, via the cows right up to the top of the property, the views fantastic.    We went picking pumpkins and pimply squash, never heard of that one, it’s a squash like vegetable with a really nobby, hard thick skin.  



Yeehah!   Willow has a climb up onto Maisey. Seth had a go too.

My Darl the farmer Joe, pickin pumpkins and pimply squash



View from the top of property.....

It’s a great spot Randy and Trish have here, we always love coming to visit.   We left with a cache of fresh herbs (chilli, basil, lemongrass, curry leaf, chives), mandarins, avos, pumpkin and one of those pimply squash.    We are now starting to feel in very familiar territory, getting closer to home.

I can't leave out the girls, I don't recall all their names but I do know the brown one is "Sorry Chook" cause it played up and had to be segregated for a whiles.   I think the others are Silver Chook and Speckled Chook and??? Then again I could be wrong.

Watch out for Purroo the big black cat, if you let your guard down like my Darl did the night we arrived you could get a bit of a fright.   Purroo managed to get into the lower opening on tent door, when Darl tried to get into tent, Purroo went bolistic trying to get out.  Darl thought he had a tassie tiger on his  hands.   Don't know who got the biggest fright.

The old barn on the block built in the 1950's, these days converted to "Randy's Bar".  Very rustic and cosy.   How about if the walls could talk.....

SEE YOU GUYS AND THANKS FOR A GREAT STAY!

A little farewell drink before we hit the road......

25th April - Stroud stopover



A little dilapidated chateau along the way....somewhere.



We were thinking of getting to Gloucester today, but we’ll see.    Thought we would have a scone at Scone, but there wasn’t too much open today, being a public holiday, so continued on.   Through Aberdeen, Muswellbrook, Singleton…..   Let’s camp at Dungog – you  have to book and pay at visitor centre, but that was shut.   The camp ground was locked so we continued on to Stroud.

The Thoroughbred Hotel in Scone.   Yep apparently Scone is the Horse Capital of Australia.    Only in Scone would you call a hotel Thoroughbred.    A little disappointed about the scones, I was looking forward to a devonshire tea.

We know we are in horse country, as a lot of the towns on this route have these similar welcome signs with different pictures of a horse theme on them.    We flew through Aberdeen, found out later that this town was the scene of a very gruesome murder, I think I actually remember seeing a doco on TV about it.   It was a woman who did the nasty deed in a very horrific way....let's move on.

We don't seem to be doing too many k's today but we are flitting through the towns - this fly by shot at Muswellbrook.   I visited my friends here a lot of years ago and don't remember this town being so big, but it is quite a large township......moving right along.

Singleton, the next drive through town.    Mining is huge in this district.  They do a good job of concealing the mine landscape from the road way, but I managed to get a shot of it as we went by.    Doesn't do much for the scenery does it?

This area also has a couple of huge power stations, Bayswater being one of them.   Another fly by shot, all part of the scenery.    We had a stop at a pub in Singleton and it was packed.    Just a quick refreshment before heading on to Dungog. 

We were cruising round the hills past Dungog when we saw a random sign Bridge Viewing Platform 200 metres ahead...mmmm interesting let's stop for a look.   Missed the stopping bay, did a uey and back we come.   We walked through the metre high grass to get down to the bridge (no real viewing platform that we could see anyway).   The thing that struck us first was this dirty great big bees hive, what a prime spot and it looks like it is a continuing work in progress.    Gees I'd hate to upset all those bees, don't get too close Darl!

Now, back to the bridge - Pound Crossing Bridge when completed in 1994 was the largest cellular stress laminated hardwood timber bridge deck in the world!  Measuring 60 metres long and 8.5 metres wide, the deck was assembled on the western approach.  When completed the deck was launched into position using hydraulic jacks and bailey rocker rollers.  Weighing in excess of 200 tonnes this was the largest or heaviest structure ever launched in this manner.

Pretty damn impressive.... just a side view.

Love these old rail bridges also, though this one looks a little overgrown.  Stroud is another historic town…..   the camp ground is at the showground.   Saw a sign to contact council office to pay fees and get keys.    Guess what, not open on Anzac Day.   We drove through town to see if there was a van park but no, Darl didn’t want to drive on further as he had enough of the windy, hilly, narrow roads for the day.  Asked a guy at pub if there was a van park, no – but you should be able to camp at the showgrounds no worries, pay tomorrow.  

His missus chased me over the road to say that camping at the showgrounds is free…..anyway we decided to give it a go, we were the only ones there, the grounds were pretty boggy due to the recent heavy rains, but we managed to find a dry track to a nice spot under the trees and close to amenities.   The power boxes looked to be all locked, but my Darl found one that wasn’t…. sweet.   

We set up camp, had a relaxant and decided to walk up to the pub for tea, which also had a band playing. Got there at 6 – everyone was partying, obviously been at it all day. Great band/music – the feed wasn’t bad either.   Being a public holiday the pub shut at 8pm, so it was an early night after all.   Walking back to camp in the dark by the dim light of my Darl's torch.  He says this track a bit boggy go around, so I did right through another muddy hole, sandshoes covered in mud, great! 

The pub next morning, all washed down spick and span ready to go again. Did a walk round town in morning before we left.   Funny sign on post office notice board.   This is a company township first settled by the Australian Agricultural Company in 1826. 

The funny sign on PO - Lost One Road, sounds like the roads around here as bad or worse than some we have in Queensland.

This historic village had a heritage walk too, as they all do, which is a good thing but we didn't do this one, however this building impressed us, the PO.   I reckon the PO's in these little country towns would be a hub for local gossip, as would the pubs be.  

24th April - Mirrawa stopover



Pencil statue - Dunedoo - art show coming up

We had a score on the way out of Dubbo, we have been looking for either a new light or a charger for our 12v/240v camp light.   Our charger is broken – called in to the BCF they’re $99 for a new light, not really an option.  The guy reckoned he may have a charger out the back from a warranty job, sure enough free of charge – we’ll take it thanks! 

Dunedoo - Wedge Tail Eagle one of the many bird statues in this park

We drove through several little townships on and had a stop at Dunedo, the highway is the main street in this town.  Had a walk around then a drink at the pub.   Got a couple rolls and headed out to a rest stop for a picnic lunch.    As we left Dunedo the weather looked a bit stormy, at the rest stop we almost got blown away.    Not sure where we are going to end up today, but it wasn’t far as it turned out as we driving parallel to the ugly dark storm front.  

This rock formation just outside of Dunedoo - it was pretty amazing as it has split smack bang down the middle, I reckon it was a lightning strike.

The head of the storm front, followed by very dark clouds, it actually looked like it spread over a few kilometres and we were driving right along side it.   Actually we were trying to out run it, but that wasn't working.

Through some more small townships, we ended up at Merriwa and booked into a little van park by the creek (left).   A nice little town – it was blowing a gale when we set up camp, by the time we set up the storm had kept blowing by and the skies were all clear, phew!    It was only a small van park, but by nightfall it was pretty much full.

This tin mural celebrate local history and strength of agriculture in the Merriwa district.  The tin used in this mural came from the local district including the sheep dip of Collaroy Station est 1829, Denman Blacksmiths shed and one of the original garages in town.  Left to right is the old cobb and co coach, a sheep herd, a flock of galahs, windmills and horses. 

A quiet night, next day we left the park by 10.20am just in time for the beginning of the Anzac parade so we decided to stay and attend the service. A real good turn out for a small town.

We were actually surprised, the streets of this little village were lined with people of all ages.  The parade led by the light horse, followed by diggers young and old, school children and the local pony club girls.

We stayed for the whole service then afterwards the parade returned to the centre of town, where the RSL premises is located.   Though tempting to go share a drink in reflection with the old diggers and locals, we decided to get going.

23rd April - Dubbo Zoo!

We had a couple nights in Dubbo to do the Zoo – Taronga Western Plains Zoo.   It is a 300 hectare open-range sanctuary which undertakes a vital role in national and international programs for rare and endangered species.   We chose to drive around the circuit, it is 6kms sealed road which can be done walking, cycling or driving.   There is also 15km of bike/walking trails throughout the zoo.  You can bring your own bike, or they have bikes for hire and electric buggys for hire, quite expensive really, so we

take the ute for a spin around the block.

It’s all about the animals today, we’ll start with some of the smaller ones.  The Ring Tailed Lemur (above), how cute.  These are the only ones I didn’t record any info about.  They seem happy enough and well fed though.

The Slender Tailed Meerkats, one of my favorites, always on the lookout.   There is always one in the group, standing guard on the lookout for danger and sure enough here he was (or she).  This little fella hardly moved a muscle, the others were scampering around playing, not a care in the world.   Their long claws on the front feet are designed for digging, their tunnels can have up to 15 entrance holes and can be several levels underground, that’s a lot of digging for a little creature. 

White handed Gibbons – now you wonder why they think they are human when they go out building them little cabins to live in.   

We have seen a few swans along our journey, but this is the first baby swans we have seen.   My Darl tells me they are goslings, nah I am sure they are swanlings...... or maybe that's cygnets.   Either/or anyway they are cute.

African Wild Dog – these dogs are in rapid decline in the wild of Africa.  The Zoo is assisting with a successful breeding program and assists with funding to field work in Africa.  The African Wild Dog can reach speeds of up to 60km/h and maintain a hunt for up to one hour, not too many animals escape their hunt. 

Giraffe’s have no ordinary tongue – it is strong and flexible and nearly half a metre long and dark blue in colour, this protects it from sunburn.  The long legs and large hooves of the Giraffe make for a mean fighting kicking machine.   Giraffes fight each other by swinging their heads and landing blows to each others necks, vicious for an animal that moves so gracefully.

Hippo’s one of my favorites…. They spend most of their entire day resting either in or near the water.    They submerge in water to cool off, closing their nostrils and ears when going under.   They tiptoe on the bottom for 3-5 minutes, sometimes staying down there for up to ½ hour.   Hippos swim or rest close to the surface to warm up.   Oh my!  What a big mouth you have.... all the better to eat humans with I am told.   But they don't eat humans they just K.C.D. with a power snap pressure of 1 tonne!!

Here's looking at you baby!!

I had to add this one, spot the little willy wag tail on the hippo's back, hitching a ride.....so cute!!

We also enjoyed playing with Dora the Greater One Horned Rhino.  Now Dora is a boy, not sure how they work that one out, anyway we riled him up a bit and he put on a bit of a show for us frollicking in the water (if rhinos can do that), it was great. This shot shows clearly his tough suit of armour.  Now Dora's horn is not so horny, he has worn it down rubbing it on trees, fences etc.  It is made of Keratin the same as our hair and fingernails.   These Rhino's live a life of solitude, spending their days grazing, resting or swimming... how lonely.

White Rhinos were on holiday today, their enclosure deserted, ah well I did a pose with the statues instead.

My Darl’s favorites are the big cats – lions, tigers, cheetahs – any meat eaters really.     Cheetahs as we know are the fastes land animal on earth, stalking their prey to within 30 metres then running them down at speeds of 110km/h.  Their  long lean body and light flexible skeleton enable them to cover 6 metres in one stride, that's ten human steps.

King of the Jungle!!   As we went around there weren't too many animals up and about.  Most were just lazing around like this pair (Cheetah and Lion). 

We attended the rangers talk about the tigers.  It was a  little like where do you look cause this guy doing the talking had to keep adjusting himself, I was a little uneasy at that....  Anway back to the tiger - they had a very high pole with a chook (dead) tied in a bag with smaller treats planted around the grounds.   Now the tiger is supposed to do the strut around the grounds getting all the little treats, then climb up the pole for the big prize....BUT he wasn't too bothered with the little treats today, it was straight up the pole for the chook.   I think he has done this one was or twice before.

Here's a couple of the more unusual animals.    Blow, I didn't get this one's name - another lazy one foraging.    Some sort of deer related animal, but don't quote me on that one.....  I like the colour and markings.

The Brazilian Tapir - most unusual looking.  Believe it or not this one is most closely related to horses and rhinos.   Tapirs have a flexible extendable nose, which they use to grab forest plants and fruits pulling them into their mouths.  They live in lowland rainforest and always near water, they are excellent swimmers.

The Galapagos Tortoise are reptiles and the largest of the tortoises.   They are only found in the Galapagos Arhipelago.....and here.  Numbers have dropped dramatically in the wild from 250,000 to under 20,000.   Adults weigh up to 300kgs, up to 1.4 metres in length and can live up to 150 years old.    They are not very attractive looking are they, but still pretty awesome creatures.   Someone told us later in the trip that Taronga Zoo in Sydney closed down and moved all their animals out here.  It certainly is worth a visit if you ever find yourself in Dubbo with some time to kill.

For something different, we ended the day with a drive out to Terramungamine Rock Grooves – 150 rock grooves created by the Tubbagah people of the Wiradjuri nation.   This site of ancient artifacts is of historical significance and is located beside the Macquarie River at Terramungamine Reserve just outside Dubbo.  This reserve looks like a free camp also, vans, winnies set up here by the river, nice spot - it's probably in the Camps book.