Up into the mountains
Touring New South Wales
September 2007
After leaving Cowra, albeit a little later than planned, we took the road to Bathurst. We basically drove straight through this lovely rural city, only stopping for fuel on the eastern side of town. This is the second time we have just driven through Bathurst. It is about time we spend several days exploring this interesting area.
This part of our tour takes us through the mountains for the first time. After four days of driving through very flat country it was a very pleasant change. The country is very attractive with green rolling hills in every direction. Because we didn’t stop I don’t have any photos to show you of this area. (We only stopped to refuel; posting a photo of a fuel station would inspire very few of my readers.)
After leaving Bathurst we travelled on towards Lithgow. A short distance out of town we took a side road and found a spot to have morning tea. We stopped in a lovely rural setting, not our usual picnic spot.
Near Bathurst, New South Wales
Chatting at Cowra
Touring New South Wales
September 2007
From Grenfell we drove on to the small town of Cowra. We had hoped to get there early enough to look around the town but a short detour into the Conimbla National Park west of the town prevented that happening. We were not all that impressed with what little we saw of this park. To be fair we only had a short time there and only drove through a small portion of the park. Both the park and the town deserve further investigation on another trip.
Cowra Caravan Park, New South Wales
We checked into the caravan park about four kilometres to the east of the town and settled in for the night. It was a restless night because of the cold and the constant passing of transport trucks and other vehicles on the highway next to the park.
Next morning before leaving we spent about a half hour chatting to a lady who is a permanent resident of the park. She occupies one of the cabins. She spends her day writing poetry and short stories and working in her small garden. This is what attracted us to her in the first place. Then we found out she is familiar with the local birds.
Red-browed Finch
These Red-browed Finches were feeding on the seed inside the cage of these two cockatiels. They were wild finches that came in for a free feed in the cage then they would fly straight out through the wide bars to freedom again.
A lunch break to remember
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
Weddin Mountains National Park
From Forbes we travelled south towards Grenfell. We didn’t go all the way into the town but turned off a few kilometres short of the town. We took the road into the nearby Weddin Mountains National Park. We had visited this park on our trip through this region three years ago and remembered that we’d enjoyed the experience.
Weddin Mountains National Park
We arrived a little late for lunch but we survived the extended wait. In the picnic and camping area the rangers have set up picnic tables, toilets, barbecues and some walking trails through the park. It is a pleasant spot to spend an hour or two or even several days camping. The bird life is quite good too. After lunch we had a chat to a man camping there for several nights.
Hideaway cave of bushranger Ben Hall
A feature of the park is the location of the hideaway of bushranger Ben Hall. The cave can be easily seen from the picnic ground. There is also a walking trail to the cave. We didn’t go on any walks through the park as we were running a little late at this stage. Despite the lateness of the hour, however, we just had to stop on the way out.
The trees bordering the exit road burst into bird song as we were leaving, so I just had to stop. I saw or heard many Brown Songlarks singing loudly, a White-winged Triller joined in the fun along with a Grey Fantail, a Rufous Whistler, Noisy Miners, Apostlebirds and several male Red-capped Robins hassling each other. All the time a majestic Wedge-tail Eagle soared overhead and the local White-winged Choughs joined in the chorus of birdsong. Meanwhile my wife was getting excited over the plants flowering near the roadside, including the native orchids shown in the photo below.
It was a lunch break to remember.
Weddin Mountains National Park - native orchids
Swamped by birds
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
One place I wanted to revisit on this trip was Gum Swamp just south of the town of Forbes in central New South Wales. I’d last visited the great bird watching spot three years ago. At that time the swamp was crowded with a vast array of birds. What I hadn’t considered was the recent drought years so I didn’t know if there was going to be any water in the swamp at all. I need not have worried. The level was down only a few centimetres.
Gum Swamp, Forbes, New South Wales
The bird life was good without being wonderful. Despite this I was still able to see some good species and add considerably to my trip list of birds seen. One bonus bird was a White-bellied Sea-eagle sitting in a tree on the opposite side of the swamp. After about twenty minutes of intensive birding we were on our way again, this time heading south towards Grenfell.
Gum Swamp, Forbes, New South Wales
Beside the Lachlan River
Our holiday in New South Wales
September 2007
From Lake Cargelligo we travelled on towards the town of Condobolin. Here we bought fuel for the car and a special treat from the local bakery. As we travel we love checking out local bakeries. We often compare the vanilla slice made in various bakeries around the country with the slice made by our local bakery back in Murray Bridge. Many fail the taste test.
Just a few kilometres out of Condobolin we had a minor accident. A small flock of Galahs feeding on the side of the road were too slow getting out of our way. One of them clipped the very edge of the windscreen and was probably killed instantly. I didn’t dare look back. The impact took a small chip out of the glass but it did not shatter. I’m thankful for this. If it had shattered I would have been wearing a mouthful of glass, feathers and blood. The Galah didn’t get off as lightly, and that upset me.
Lachlan River crossing, Waroo, NSW
Mid-morning we stopped at a locality called Waroo. We crossed a small rickety bridge and found a lovely picnic spot next to the Lachlan River. At the moment it should be renamed the Lachlan mud gutter. There is precious little water to keep it flowing. Rain is desperately needed in the catchment area.
Lachlan River crossing, Waroo, NSW