Day 4 - The Ridge Black Opal Tour and Black Queen & more

Monday 20 September 20, 2010

This morning I spend a bit of time trying to catch up on journalling, fairly unsuccessfully. Then we need to talk to Margaret, our hostess here at the Bluey Motel. We need advice as to activities and routes that should be ok to explore after the rain of yesterday and overnight. I take an executive decision to book us onto a Black Opal Tour which Margaret’s manner suggests is a better option than driving yourself.

We are delayed in Margaret’s little shop by a discussion of Ion Idriess and the various titles. For those not familiar, Ion Idriess is a great Australian author who belongs in my articles listing 10 Greats from each Australian State. Unfortunately he is yet another of NSW’s eminent sons, and I got past my 10 with others who could not be denied. Idriess had a very interesting life in interesting times, he writes beautifully, telling true stories about this great land in earlier times. Most places you travel in Australia you will be able to find an Idriess title about that area. Most hard cover editions are collectible to say the least. Margaret ‘s little shop is another source of collectable Idriess editions and I choose two, irresistible ones . I have to get Lightning Ridge obviously, though I understand it overlaps contents of The Silver City which I already have. I also cannot resist another he co-authored called Secret Service about the Australian Navy between the world wars. I resist Australia Must Fight, which is either $550 or $450 depending on which copy you buy.

Time is a tickin’ away and we finally drag ourselves away from the Idriess shelf and head off. We need to get some supplies. Just around the corner from the Bluey is a Khan's Super IGA supermarket. We mosey on in to find that it is really excellent. They have a good fruit and veges section and a deli section that is well above average. Good range of specialty cheeses as well and some really good breads.

We pick up a caraway rye Vienna (yum) and a soft and delicious looking fruit loaf. Daughter grabs some fresh ricotta and of course we need some more bananas. Over in the yoghurt section we are surprised to find that they stock king island yoghurt, 400g tubs for $4.38. You pay $4.99 or thereabouts for 300g in Woolworths usually. Looks like it’s yoghurt for brekkie tomorrow! Mum grabs some sliced ham. Some jarlsberg cheese and a range of crackers including the delightfully versatile Sao biscuit and we’re done.

We stowe our bounty and head of up along the highway to explore some bird/flora/geology sites armed with several brochures picked up from the Bluey for 50 cents each. You can also download these brochures from the website if you’re organized. I’m not and anyway the professionally printed ones are glossy and nicer to use. With any luck they’re making a little profit on them too, and getting a direct return on the effort that has gone into developing them..

We decide to tick off the lake at site 7. This is usually a fossil lake but the Naran lake has overflowed and this lake has filled this year. We struggle at first but finally we make contact with the large sheet of standing water. I’m sure this place we’ve pulled over is not the spot we were supposed to be finding, however the only roads off to the left we’ve seen are badly wet and chewed up looking and we’re not game to risk getting bogged there or further along the track so we stick to surfaces we’re confident in. We wander across the highway and across between the trees. It’s a beautiful scene with Royal spoonbills feeding skimming their black spoon shaped bills back and forth in the soup, extracting all manner of aquatic life for their sustenance.> Further down more spoonbills are either feeding or roosting up in the trees. A couple anonymous ducks fly up nervous at our intrusion. Near our feet a bright red emu bush is flowering. Ruby saltbush is springing up all around among the other vegetation, as yet no sign of the bright red little jewel berries that give the plant its name.

Having seen what we can at this spot, we head back to another site closer to town. This is at the old dam and we expect to find white winged wrens and variegated wrens in the thick vegetation near the drain from the road. As the guide instructs we pull up under the weeping myall. I change into my hiking books and head off on foot the 30 metres odd that is required to get in among the wrens. At first it is all very quiet then after we’ve been there a time the wrens get a bit more used to us and start to show themselves. I see a coloured up male variegated, and another variegated wren not in male plumage and with the rich russet eye makeup. A little later some small soft brown wrens are flitting and it’s clear these must be white winged wrens simply by a process of elimination. No eye makeup.

Sheep are grazing in the paddock on the far side of the lake. They don’t seem even slightly fussed by our presence. They are clean and happy looking. Mum and I note that these seem to be “augashorn” sheep. This is a running joke in between mum and I. Some years ago we went to the Royal Easter Show in Sydney. We both like looking at the animals and watching the judging of things and on that occasion we went along to the sheep judging. During the announcements they kept referring to "augashorn" sheep. Talking to an official after it was all over mum pipes up and asks “by the way what is an augashorn sheep?” he looked a bit dumbfounded and replied “its august shorn, means they were shorn in August.” We’ve been laughing about augashorn sheep ever since.

The budda trees everywhere around the district are flowering heavily.

It is so peaceful here at the old dam.. except for the periodic rumble of the traffic along the Castlereagh Highway. Tomorrow we really must get out early and get away off from the road. Maybe to the parrot ponds.

From the old dam we head futher towards Walgett to find site 2 which is an enclosure of regenerating quandong. Originally, Margaret told me, they just fenced a quandong tree. They were puzzled why no quandongs were springing up anywhere near it. Then they decided to try an experiment. They put a rabbit proof fence around a much larger area. I think it might have been 50 x 50 m (same as a mining plot) and waited and watched. Young quandong sprang up all over the place. My god I hate rabbits. What they have done to this country is a tragedy. Anyway, we are all interested to see a quandong. There are trees and things that we all hear about all our lives but have never seen, we’re ticking some of them off on this trip.

A little way on we find the turn which is signposted Lorne Road. This road, according to my map will take me back into lightning ridge along the dirt. We’re travelling through some beautiful country with understorey of saltbush. We stop to check out a bird. Only a galah. Daughter spots another bird in a tree by the road. Australian Kestrel. Cool.

We come across a group of young cattle. Their hairstyles seem consistent with their age, or so it seems to us.

A quick bite to eat back at the motel and then we’re climbing on the bus for our Black Opal Tour. Our driver is Chuck and he’s a really friendly and really funny bloke. Our first stop for the day is to visit Alex’s tribute to Copernicus. The building is quirky and interesting. The real attraction is Alex’s story. It is simply extraordinary. We are very glad Margaret encouraged us to do the tour. You just could not get the same experience of this place, or the ridge, driving yourself.

We also have a quick photo pause for Amigo’s Castle which is also accompanied by a story that is pretty amazing. Then its time for “smoko” and we adjourn for afternoon tea at the Black Opal show rooms which are located in an old red rattler train carriage. We hear some stuff about cleaning and polishing opals etc while we have refreshments including Devonshire tea. Then we head inside for a run down on the various sorts of opals, solids, doublets, triplets, honey opal etc. I didn’t realize opal is actually found all over the world, but quality, naturally occurring, black opal is found only one place – Lightning Ridge.

Next up we visit the walk in mine. this one gives mum a bit of a work out as it has quite a few stairs. We hear about the purpose of the wooden struts which appear to be supporting the roof, but actually don't, as well as other interesting mining information, history of the Walk in Mine and so forth. Again we have an opportunity to browse the opal shop on site.
On the tour we also pay a quick stop to hear interesting things about the bore baths. Towards the end of the tour we head up to Lunatic Lookout where Chuck explains the hame of the place and various strata in the open cut and we see the Idriess plaque that Margaret was telling us about, in position.Apparently they are planning on setting up an Idriess walk. I looking forward to doing that some time. There are also a number of interesting information boards about the area.

Finally we head to a heap where we can fossick for a bit and get some lessons in how to spot opal. This last was way more fun than I expected and useful for people too as it’s essentially a lesson in what to look for so you can get your eye in.

I’m starting to get a bit anxious about the time. We are due at the Black Queen by 5pm. We have learnt so much on this tour, it really has been excellent and I would recommend it to anyone visiting the ridge. The ridge is all about people and the interesting stories of the people who live and have lived here. So many characters. ...and did I mention, Chuck is really funny as well and a character in his own right. We are pleased to be able to spend the afternoon with him. We are so glad we tok this tour.

We’re among the last to be dropped off and we rush to get into the car and away, just a quick few words to another guest at the bluey who is keen to see the local birds, but we’re still about 5 mins late. The show has started without us. Bugger. Gale recaps for us though and we catch up OK.

We complete the first act, which is really fascinating, then we move to the next building for Act 2. The story continues here and I’m not going to tell you a thing about the contents of the show. Not a thing. Act three takes place after another change of location. It’s a complete surprise and again fascinating. An amazing privilege. That’s all I’m saying other than I found the show inspiring and empowering. We leave through the gift shop rather than the way we came, which I’m thankful for.. no, not explaining why.. go to Lightning Ridge and see the show! It's much better you come to it without specific expectations.

The gift shop is well endowed with great gift options and it costs me a fortune, but even now in the cold light of day I don’t think I got carried away, its just that Gale has managed to stock the store with cool stuff that I actually wanted before I stepped foot in this place. Getting them here was simply a delightful bonus. Even managed to tick off some presents for my soon to arrive first grandbaby, a large hand puppet greater glider, I mean honestly, you don't see recognisable greater gliders around just anywhere and its a hand puppet to boot..

We chat with Gale and Roger after the other guests have departed. Gale gives us some information and recommendations for things to see later in our trip. Recommending we make sure we see an artist named Jenny Greengtree in Bourke she takes us inside to show us a fabulous mixed media artwork up close that I had been admiring during the show. We adjourn back outside and admire the beautiful leopardwood tree by the door. The builder of these buildings, Joan Andrews, built around the leopardwood trees on site. What a wonderful feature they make with their beautiful spotted and textured trunks.

Having left our email address and promising to send Gale the details for Scott Marr, and natural pigment pyrography we head off. What a great evening we’ve had. What a privilege to share the stories of the Black Queen.

It’s 8pm by now and we head directly the club and grab a spot of dinner. We intersect with the Rural Health Union group of students who have just arrived in town for their local program. Turns out some of their party bailed at the last minute and they have some places paid for but unoccupied on their tour of Chambers of the Black Hand tomorrow. Daughter is a member of the Rural Health Union as part of her John Flynn Scholarship, and had it not been for a prior commitment travelling with her rellies would quite likely have been on this RHU trip, so we figure its not too dodgy to tag along with the group tomorrow.

Dinner completed we’re well and truly ready to hit the sack. We're loving the ridge!

Day 3 - Morning Walk at the zoo and on to Lightning Ridge

Sunday 19th September
I sleep really badly and am almost inclined to skip the early morning walk at the zoo. But its 5 am and I can hear mum up and about downstairs. I drag myself from the bed without enthusiasm and begin the process of dressing, packing up and quietly loading the car. We’re on the road and in the queue at the entrance gate by 6:35. We pay for our walk, park and get assigned to one of several groups heading off and being lead by volunteers from zoo friends. A bit of a delay as we organize a wheelchair for mum and daughter and I manage to miss the bit about the African hunting dogs, but eventually we’re on our way. We’re all set and the walk really gets underway.

The route is adapted to the circumstances of the times, and with all the construction, at the moment the tour is heading down the back route and up through the behind the scenes area. First stop is the black rhinos.

The buses from the zoofari lodge are ahead of us and the keeper is feeding the rhino some branches. The differences between the black and white rhinos are explained and eventually, having taken our time here, we move along. Up through past Barbary sheep pens and camel pens and on to the giraffes. Quite a good herd and a number of babies among them. Our guide has a bag of carrots which are fed to the giraffes and gives a great opportunity for photos.
We also visited the enclosure for the white rhinos and the difference between white and black rhinos is explained, it having nothing to do with their colour of course. It’s all about their lips.
A stop at the Eland enclosure gives an opportunity for our guide to explain that the black bar on the backs of their knees helps them to locate eachother in bad conditions and that in dust storms where they cannot see eachother, eland communicate with eachother by clicking their knees! Wow!
There’s a stop at the hippos and while there’s nothing much doing with the hippos determinedly dozing, at least they are visible. Their enclosure is undergoing a revamp. Dredging and new fencing so there’s not much in the way of water in it at the moment. When they finish and let the water back in it will be 5 star hippo facilities, but the down side is that it gives the hippos max opportunity to just sit under the water where they cannot be seen.
Moving right along we stop for some entertainment from the white handed gibbon. As strong as six men their strength would not be guessed at from their slim proportions. And next door we have the siamangs. They wait for the groups to assemble and then they put on another fabulous display for the crowd. The groups are all back together at this point and I take the opportunity to listen in on the commentary from several different guides, all of which have something interesting to impart.
By this time the zoo is open and we are nearing the end of our tour, so with thanks to Sharon, our guide, we head our separate ways. I need to go check out of the accommodation which we should have done yesterday but I didn’t. Oh well. It’s only a short drive and I’m back meeting up with Mum and daughter at the café. Mum’s tucking into a pie. Not something I would choose at this sort of outlet, but each to their own.
We have hung on to the wheelchair for our wander in amongst the spider monkeys, lemurs, meerkats and aviary. These are located around the Savannah picnic area. This is a wonderful space with electric bbqs, extensive play equipment and some toilets. In the redeveopment it appears that this will be accessible without paying zoo entry, encouraging locals to utilise the facilities.
Heading first to the meerkats we stop at the army memorial. Apparently the zoo sits on the site of the old army camp from WWII. Interesting.
We spend some time talking to a volunteer observer at the meerkat enclosure. She is helping out by recording events in the enclosure. This is necessary because a new female has been introduced and there has been some ructions as a result. We get lots of interesting information about the meerkats and recent events re the new female. All very interesting indeed. We have been very lucky to be here when a volunteer was here to talk to us.
Conscious that time is moving on and I want to be at the otter feeding on time, we move on to the aviary and find it has a number of very beautiful birds. Diamond Firetails flit past you with their flashes of brightest red. They perch and we can see the beautiful black with diamond spotting along their wings. They are truly a gorgeous bird.

One of my most treasured birding memories was during my first visit to the Capertee Valley we were driving along in a farmers wheat paddock with the windows open and a small flock of diamond firetails decided to amuse themselves by flying alongside. You can never get a better view of a firetail than that.

Back in the aviary, a couple of turquoise parrots in great condition fly right in front of me to land nearby. Superb parrots sit at a feeding station and forage on the ground. It is awesome. I head along the path and find a mallee fowl happily steering clear of trouble. Nearer the exit a couple of white browed woodswallows are perched within easy viewing. Lovely birds, woodswallows like to roost in large communal groups where they snuggle up to one another. Acrobatic flyers they feed on the wing and are very impressive to see in a flock by a dam as we did out in the pilliga driving the birding routes of Baradine. We make our way out. We pass on the wombat and echidna and head back to the car.
Our next stop is to the Asian smalled clawed otters. Feeding will be happening soon. On the way around the loop again we find the addax herd is out and they have the cutest little baby among them.. aaaah..
We park as close to the otters as we can. Mum’s not feeling well but she drags herself in. Otters are as cool as meerkats. Daughter reminisces as we walk about seeing the sea otters at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. They were soooo cool. There’s quite a crowd waiting it is hard to get an even reasonable viewing spot. The otters are waiting too, bounding around and standing up against the fence looking for the keeper.

At the scheduled time the keeper arrives and starts flinging green prawns around in the enclosure. Some into the water, some into the rocky area across to the side. The otter pair (a partnered male and female) race like demons to the food and position themselves one in each area and are going for it for all they are worth. The one near the pool swims down and grabs several prawns and heads back up onto the step to munch away enthusiastically. Otters are very active animals and need a lot of sustenance. This is their fourth feed for today.

The keeper makes his presentation and it’s all over fairly quickly, which is handy as we want to have a look at the Indian rhino.. which I should be calling by its proper name, hmm, I think that’s something like greater one horned rhinoceros or something cumbersome like that. At any rate this Asiatic rhinoceros is way cool. It’s armour plating is more well, more like armour plating and it moves as the beast walks. These rhinos came so very close to extinction, but over the years the program for recovery has been pretty successful and there’s now a few thousand of them. At one point we are interested to read the remaining rhinos in Nepal were protected by 1000 troops. Pretty impressive effort there by Nepal. Well done.

Time is getting uncomfortably close to the Cheetah talk and that is way over on the other side of the zoo. Mum is really feeling crook now and is obliged to stop by the path. She manages to rid herself of just a little of the contents of her stomach, she’s hot and really not doing too good, but she feels a little better. We definitely blame the pie. I wish I had been there to stop her buying such a thing. Pies can be risky and you need to be choosy about where you buy them. Buying a pie somewhere like the outlets here is like buying a pie at a servo. Not a good plan. Not a good plan at all. I hope mum doesn’t get really drastically ill.

Anyway, we head on as quickly as the 10km speed limit will allow, over to the African section. Park the car and I dash up the path to the cheetah talk. Mum was going to wait and see if from our report if they are really king cheetahs, but as there’s no time before the talk she drags herself in keen to see a king cheetah. It is a very interesting talk. The four young cheetah on display are two spotted males and two king cheetah (striped) females. They are just awesome. Cheetahs are sooo cool. I am so glad we made it to the talk. We loiter for a while until the keeper is one his way, listening to questions being asked and admiring the female cheetah who is pacing in front of the water filled moat and giving a cute sort of squeak, begging the keeper for some more tasty treats. Apparently these guys aren’t stupid either, and without the treats offered by the keeper they would probably just hang out over at the back of their large enclosure near the bamboo.
Just one more stop to make. Daughter is determined to see the maned wolf. One our way round past the lake we spot a pair of purple swamp hens and their family of 6 fluffy black chicks. The chicks are all feet and they look like a wind up toy as they walk along their short little legs rotating these enormous feet.. or like a cartoon where they have the legs rotating in full circles, they are seriously cute.

At the maned wolf display Grandma is too unwell and tired to worry about it. It looks like the entrance to the enclosure is really close to the parking area, but there’s a long boardwalk ramp in to a high viewing platform. We look around the enclosure. No joy. We’re just on the verge of leaving when daughter looks back and there it is. These animals come from South America and live alone rather than in packs. I am rather surprised to find it is a very very beautiful animal. I mentally name it Eva after Eva Peron! I tried determined to get a shot which may do it justice, but I don’t think I really succeeded. Long legs like a race horse, black socks, white tail, elegant silky looking coat. Glad to meet you Eva! We find also that mum was right. I do like the smell of the enclosure. It does indeed smell like mint bush or sidonie lavender. Yep, it’s Eva Peron in there alright.

With the maned wolf viewing out of the way, it’s time to say farewell to Dubbo and head north to Lightning Ridge. I don’t know how we managed it but we failed to stop at the Cooee Centre in Gilgandra. I really am amazed because I really wanted to do that. Oh well, I guess we will have to come back for that!
It’s a straightforward drive north. The road is lined with shrubs smothered in yellow. From the road it appears to be beautiful golden wattle. It is certainly putting on a display. Its great to be on the road again.
After a while, we come to what I now refer to as Gulargambone parrots. At first there is one, depicted flying. A bit further on there is a group of two.. still flying… then closer still to Gulargambone there are three flying parrots.. once you get into town the parrots are perched in the town. Made from corrugated iron, I really enjoy looking out for these birds which from our previous explorations, seem to be erected on all the various routes into Gulargambone. They were a great idea. Quite unique.
Heading up towards Walgett we are roughly following the course of the Castlereagh River. We cross it at Coonamble. The last time we were in Coonamble it was hot and dry as a bone. There’s been a couple of floods through since and everything is much greener. Daughter excitedly recognizes the servo where we had an ice cream on our last visit. Man that was a lovely cold treat on a hot dusty day.
As we approach into the Walgett district it is rainly lightly. There is standing water on either side of the road. Mum and I begin a game of spotting water birds. Pacific Heron! White Ibis! Two more pacific heron! Straw necked ibis! Pacific Heron flying… no, sorry, that’s a white faced heron. On and on we go I’ve never seen so many pacific heron in my life. Keeps us entertained for the drive! Crops are looking happy. It’s a cheerful drive with wipers running. We make a stop for something or other, probably to change drivers, and take the opportunity to photograph the roadside environment and the beautiful view up the highway. We really love he grasses that line the route..


We cross the Castlereagh again further north and it is flowing high. Vegetation which is clearly not usually in the river stands with feet submerged. I think of the poetic references to this iconic river as we excitedly snap a photo or three. .. actually pretty much all rivers in Australia are iconic aren’t they? At any rate I’m gradually ticking off those that are in NSW at any rate.



Drawing ever nearer to Walgett daughter is rather taken by the road sign to Come by Chance. Have I ever mentioned we are easily amused?

Finally we arrive in Walgett itself and add to our growing collection of town name signs.

It’s getting dark as we head on from Walgett to the Ridge and lightly raining. I’m sleepy and only indulge in opening my eyes for an occasional glance as the scenery round about. Luckily, daughter is taking a turn at the wheel!
Arriving in Lightning Ridge we find a respectable small town with street lighting and to all immediate appearances, quite like many a small town.
We check in to the Bluey Motel. It’s clean and comfortable. A bit of an aroma from, I believe, the cleaning products, which mum is a little concerned about, but which with an airing is no problem. Mum isn’t hungry, but daughter and I head over to the bowling club across the road for a spot of dinner. There's not too many options around for an evening meal so the decision regarding where to go is not a difficult one. The girl on the desk is very diligent about checking ID for confirmation of postcode. Daughter has left her ID behind so goes back to get it. I wait and amuse myself by admiring an awesome painting in the lobby. By local artist John Murray it is a desolate outback scene with variegated wrens here and there. Devoid of Murray’s usual wry humour, well, at least in any way that is obvious, it is very striking.
At the bistro, I go for a pork schnitzel and veges, daughter goes the lamb roast which she reports was very nice. My schnitzel was nice and the veges not overcooked which is always good. LLB from the bar for daughter, I stuck with water. Drinks are good value too at only a couple of dollars.. maybe $2.80 for a schooner of LLB.
We waste no time retiring after dinner. It’s been a long but very enjoyable day. Still, one has to be very tired to not check email and here at the Bluey we have free wireless internet. This place is outstanding value for money and you couldn’t have a more hospitable hostess.

Finally it's lights out and we rest up for what turns out to be a brilliant couple of days in the Ridge.

Day 2 - Taronga Western Plains Zoo (aka Dubbo Zoo)

A slow morning. Daughter is working her way through a “clinical” lecture in preparation for a clinical exam on her return to uni. I slowly blog and field teasing from mum who cannot imagine why I would want to know the colour top the young land rover driver was wearing, (I am sure he was wearing a white singlet top) or how one would describe the way the lady at the strawberry stall was walking. Oh yes, and I am deeply remiss in failing to mention that the plate of bruschetta at The Harrison looked like three neat pigs trotters sitting on the plate. Have I ever mentioned mum spent many hours in childhood finding images in clouds and peeling paint? She has never lost enjoyment in the practice. Oh well, breakfast and blogging completed. Daughter finishes her lecture and we set about preparing for our day at Taronga Western Plains Zoo.

We are in dire need of a trip into the supermarket, so we explore down into central Dubbo for the first time and find it to be another charming town, somewhat reminiscent of Orange with the bare deciduous trees lining the streets. A group of primary school aged kids are selling raffle tickets. We buy one. Maybe win a car.

As we queue in the line of cars entering the Zoo we get a call from the info centre, anxious that we should be signing the disclaimer in preparation for our Big Cat Encounter which is only half an hour away. We seek advice from the lady on the gate as to when and how to hire the electric carts, but she advises that it will not assist us as you are required to park the carts in the parking areas same as a car and are not allowed to take them into the paths in those areas where a cluster of exhibits requires some walking.

We navigate the fencing and witches hats where the construction of a new information centre is nearing completion and find a convenient parking spot. Having done the necessaries, promising to behave ourselves and not blame the zoo if something untoward happens to us during our encounter we make our way around the circuit to the Sumatran Tiger enclosure.

We meet the keeper at the entrance where the signage indicates. Some people are trying it on and suggesting to the guide that perhaps they could each take in their own private photographer? Nice try but no. We head around and enter the behind the scenes world of the Sumatran tiger. With plantings of bamboo and dense greenery the zoo has attempted to provide an environment somewhat similar to the natural environment the tigers prefer.

First up the brush wood paneling is opened to reveal the tiger whose turn it is to entertain the tourists this morning. The general hoi paloi only get to see one tiger at any one time. Today this is a young sexually mature female who is very important genetically as she introduces new blood into the breeding program in Australia. This young lady was hand reared at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast and took part in their experiences until she was judged to be getting a bit too risky in the way she was behaving. Queensland is the only State in Australia where you are permitted to get up close and personal with such large carnivores without an intervening barrier. This feisty girl is judged to need the barrier.

Tigers being solitary animals they are kept separate from one another and take it in turns in the various areas to provide some change of scene. The pay off for having to entertain the tourists is that you also get the large public display area to play in overnight. Each of the tigers has a large space with some grass in which to play around. Much effort is put into designing enrichment experiences to keep the tigers from getting bored. The tigers supplement these with their own efforts. Maybe catch a possum passing through. This sort of opportunistic predation is by no means unusual. Indeed daughter saw a snow leopard pull a possum through the wires of it’s cage when she did roar and snore at Taronga in Sydney. She reported that you look closely you could see bits of fur where other possums had met a similar fate in the past.

We each take it in turns to feed chicken necks to the tigers through the wire mesh with a long pair of tongs. The tigers stand up against the wire and know the score. In description it sounds quite a tame activity but when you are there in the flesh it is really cool. Our second tiger is a male at the peak of condition. He is so much larger than the female. He is a magnificent creature and when he stands up on the wire, all 100 or so kilos of him, there’s only one thought in our minds. “Gosh I wouldn’t like to have him hunting me.” You would have no chance. He’s thirteen years old and from here on in its all down hill for him. The oldest tiger at the zoo is 19. Nineteen is extremely old for a tiger. This elderly female would not be alive in the wild and her behavior suggests she knows it. She couldn’t be bothered coming over for a feed, but that’s OK. It’s tiger sleep time if they had their “druthers”.

Having met all the tigers and listened to a great deal of information about the way the tigers are managed and entertained, as well as the international breeding program for them we finish up with a briefing on the current campaign to have manufacturers label products to show whether or not it contains palm oil. The only hope for the Sumatran tiger is to preserve some habitat. Same habitat is required for the Orangutan. Apparently Coles has indicated that it will introduce this labeling on it’s brand of goods. You can join the campaign online via www.taronga.org.au/palmoil

We check the timetable and find that the next feasible destination is to the Siamang feeding. We head around there just in time to see the keeper in his little tinny departing one side of the enclosure and making his way to the far shore. Two siamang have been sitting on the grass and periodically putting on a marvelous display swinging around the the network of ropes in their enclosure. Then all of a sudden the two apes commence a wonderfully impressive and loud display of calling, displaying and general showmanship. It is like a choreographed performance. They are most impressive apes. They are so seriously cool. A must do if you’re visiting Taronga Western Plains Zoo that’s for sure.

There’s not time to get round from the Siamangs to the Cheetah talk which follows soon after, but we’re all pretty hungry so head to the streets café to eat and watch the small herd of zebra and their young calf. We find the fish and chips is pretty good. Real, fresh fish and quite good chips. Reasonable price too at only $7.50. This was a bit of a surprise because the same outlet sells those individually packaged cakes and stuff, which I find is usually a sign that you need to take a good deal of caution with what you buy... so I have been waiting to see what this stuff mum and daughter have bought is like. Meanwhile I opted for yoghurt and muesli. Silly me I was expecting the thick greek style yoghurt but its just strawberry ski and the muesli is soggy as. Disappointing, but not surprising I suppose. Daughter’s hamburger has potential but they have opted for a quite sausagey meat patty which while a fairly good one for its type is not what we like in our burgers, so that’s a bit of a disappointment. I guess kiwis would like it.

It is only about 2pm or so, but the weather has cooled and we’re getting pretty tired. We decide our last stop for the day will be the tortoise talk at 3pm. On the way around there we watch as a keeper throws bread to the greater rhea and guanaco. Mum tries her hand at getting a photo of the Brazilian Tapir and we note the group of Cavies across towards the back of the enclosure. Time is pressing though and we need to get into position for the Galapagos Tortoise talk that daughter is so looking forward to.
Cruising around the circuit we pass a pretty lake which features a nesting colony of sacred ibis. We understand they have changed the common name of these birds. Not sacred any more apparently. I wonder if they've decided to adjust the accuracy and perhaps now they call them bloody pest ibis. Nah, but seriously you wouldn't want to get into the habit of feeding these guys in this zoo. Could be a problem. I'd also choose somewhere else to picncic. Speaking of picnics, there are a number of nice picnic areas around the zoo. the generally have electric barbeques and I would recommend that the best way to feed yourself at the zoo, if you have a couple of days there is to bring a bbq picnic. Has to be better than the food outlets on site at any rate.

The tortoises have a large enclosure, but at this time of year when it is still quite cold, these tropical reptiles are provided with a heated house with under floor heating. There are 5 tortoises here of unknown age. It is apparently very difficult to tell the age once it is an adult and they have an inordinately long life span. Totally herbivorous at this time of day they are just given a snack of fresh green grass. Once a week they get some high energy fruits and things, which they really love. The keeper relates a range of information about the care and management of these beauties and several people in the audience enthusiastically ask questions. We take some still photos and some video and head back to the car. The maned wolf is next door but we can’t summon the enthusiasm required just at the moment and it’s back up the very slight incline, so for mum we’d need to do another circuit of the zoo. We’re back tomorrow so decide to call it a day and head back to our apartment.

Before we leave the area we decide to take a bit of drive around the tourist circuit. Dundullimal Homestead is only open during the week, but we head in for a bit of a look around Dundullimal Reserve. This involves a good dirt track that winds its way down along the river and back up to the road. We pass a motley crew of heavy horses, a donkey and a shaggy pony who are clustered together under a tree. The donkey looks very fat and oddly misshapen.

We continue on the circuit past Dubbo observatory and a vineyard, which seem to be the same premises. There is a lot of potential for future tourist enterprises along this route.

It’s a simple route back to town, we follow the signs to sus out where Old Dubbo Gaol is, surprised to find its smack bang in the middle of the main road, down a little alley way. Then we miss our turn and turn in the next street. We need some milk, so pull up at the mini market and daughter heads on in to do the deed.

She seems a long time but eventually returns with the milk and a white bag. All smiles she offers us the bag. Lollies. Looking inside these are things we’ve not seen before. One is wedge shaped and striped green white red. Sour watermelon gummy. Yum. Apparently this modest little store has a whole stack of interesting lollies. All three of us head back across the wide road which seems wide enough for a horse and cart to turn in, and introduce ourselves to the lady serving and what appears to be her kids. We spend some time questioning selecting, a little sampling. We laugh with our hostess and finally we are waving goodbye and heading back to the car. Souvenirs in hand. Great little shop and friendly people.

Back at the apartment daughter and mum head off for a nap. I should too, but for some reason I’m mucking about and never make it to the bed. We’re none of us particularly hungry after what proved to be quite a substantial lunch. Mum has her doggie bag from last night, daughter and I sup on some food we brought with us. We vege out doing not a lot then hit the sack.

Day 1 - Friday 17 September - Macarthur to Dubbo

It’s late enough when we finish a spot of lunch and conversation with those we leave behind and hop into the car. We don’t get far before we realize we haven’t printed our itinerary. Again. This gives an opportunity for daughter to grab a windproof jacket.

Mum’s ready when we arrive and we ferry bags to be stowed in the bowels of the car carefully prioritized according to the anticipated need of the contents on our day’s journey. Colour coded for ease of identification, mum hands me a navy blue shopping bag. “That’s my swimmers.”

“Oh #@$%” says I. “I haven’t brought my swimmers.” I am greeted by a few moments of dumb struck awe from mum and daughter. When they finally find words:

“You haven’t brought your swimmers??? But you told me so many times not to forget MY swimmers..”

“I know. Bloody Hell.”

So it’s back home yet again. The pattern of my life these days. I really need a mental health break. I can’t wait to get across the divide.#

Theres a polish on the day though. It just shines. Warm but not hot. Clear blue skies, great visibility. It has that sense of glorious expectation that only a spring day can provide. After winter. After a still crisp morning. On a day like this there is only one route that calls. The Northern Road. Through rolling farmland framed by the low rim of the mountains which today are singing to us in rich blue tones. Daughter is driving and as I roam in spirit across the Cumberland plain and over to the Nepean River my thoughts rest briefly on what it must have been like in the days before Wentworth Blaxland and Lawson found a route across the mountains that had defied crossing for so long. Here on the road the mountains belie the rugged terrain of escarpments and deep valleys. They look mild and calm and simple.

We procrastinate in typical fashion as we pass several stands of freshly picked local strawberries. Unbidden daughter suddenly makes a turn in to a local farm. We pull up simultaneously with Range Rover full of young people. An elderly thick accented lady labours out from the farmhouse to serve us. We watch as the driver of the Range Rover, fit and muscular is assisted with the hose to fill his bag of strawberries with water for a brief wash, a quick splash to the car with the hose greeted by shrieks from the girls inside and laughter from the lady of the stall. Another bag to prevent drips in the car and he returns to his friends. All are smiles and laughter. A great match for the day.

Daughter opts for the $10 bag and we string the bag of strawberries, large and red and luscious the size of small plums, between the arm rests of the front seats. As we drive daughter and grandma indulge a shared love of medical and biological minutiae, diseases and such.

I have an errand in Penrith. A brief stop to deliver documents to our solicitor and we are finally on our way. But we have made a mistake. Goodness knows why, but I have directed daughter back to the south to join the M4 and head up through the mountain villages. Oops. It’s early afternoon, but still the traffic is congested. The roadworks on the great western highway continue and several bottlenecks later I am intensely frustrated by our lack of progress. This is why we usually head via the bells line of road. Note to self for next time.

All is not lost though and along the way the wattle flowering is still in full flight. Intense golden yellow in great swathes along the highway. At lower altitude these varieties are coming to the end of their show, but of course as we climb through the mountains things are a little behind. Some pink wildflowers too on small native shrubs. The mountain villages treat us to densely packed candelabras of the classic Magnolia soulangeana, with its beautifully sculpted purple and while tulip shaped flowers. A little later, I interrupt the conversation to draw mum’s attention to a gorgeous red rhododendron. Spring blossom trees sing their song of love to the bees in pinks and whites here and there.

Before long we are heading through Mt Victoria and we exclaim as we see a mob of kangaroos in a vacant block of land between the houses.

I call for a stop at the Explorer tree. I don’t recall ever having stopped here before. Just a quick leap from the car. Ooh. It’s nippy up here. I duck down to the tree. It’s just a rotten old tree stump with a plaque erected in the 1880s. Not at all a memorable stop. Now I come to think of it. I believe we have stopped here before on the way to the Capertee Valley. I stop mum and daughter from bothering with the gentle slope down to the tree. As I make my way back to the car I think of the frustration of indigenous people to this ludicrous worship of European explorers of their land. Indigenous people had several ways to cross the mountains. I understand one of them followed a river further to the south, down in Dharawal country. I recall some time not too long ago there was some vandalism done to one of the Bourke and Wills sites. A physical protest at the insinuation that the land needed to be “discovered” and the lack of celebration of a long standing indigenous ownership and management of this land.

We take the opportunity for a change of driver, giving daughter the chance to exclaim at the beauty of the scenes looking out across the rolling hills of the central west as we descend from the mountains and make our way in the golden light of late afternoon through to Bathurst. What a joy it is to be heading back into the central west. I feel the strains of past weeks lifting with the joy of driving on these beautiful open rural roads.

A lull in conversation and daughter sparks a new discussion. “So what is the view on prostitution in this car?” to which mum, who is never slow to pick up on any ambiguity in language, replies quick as a wink “well, I’m not in favour of prostitution in this car.”

Between voicing our own views; considering the sometimes challenging views of absent friends, and relating the story of Dell Bourke and the Yellow Hotel once of Lusk WY we are kept entertained for the run into Orange.

The sun is dipping down to the horizon, making beautiful silhouettes of the deciduous trees along the road. We pull over for a photo before heading in to Orange. Orange is such a lovely town. It must surely be one of the nicest towns in Australia. Many small towns are endowed with charm from the integrity of their historic streetscape which has been caught in a bit of a time warp as the existing structures continue to meet the needs of residents. Orange is that rare thing, a town which has continued to consistently prosper and slowly grow without becoming a horrible architectural mish mash. There are modern touches but they blend seamlessly with the old. Beautiful tree lined streets and parks.

It’s almost 6pm and we plan to eat in Orange. Orange is not only beautiful it has a reputation for good food as well. We pass Orange Kebab in the main street. That’s definitely a contender. We had the best kebabs of my life there on a previous trip. As we come to the roundabout with sign directing towards the botanic garden I make an impromptu turn. I think this was the way to a restaurant we ate at in orange before. A slow drive down an uncommonly lovely surburban street arched with the bare branches of delicious trees and lined with old houses, we pass a bar on one corner and I am encouraged to continue on as memory revives. Ah yes, here it is. I have no idea what it was called when last we visited, but it is now called The Harrison Restaurant and Lounge. Daughter and I breath deeply of the faint aroma of wood smoke in the air and venture in to enquire about a table for three. Soon we are shaking off the shivers of a brisk western night in the coziness of the restaurant. It has a lovely ambience. Linen napkins, french doors overlooking a beautiful flowering camellia. All bodes well for the opening meal of our long awaited spring road trip.

We peruse the menu and opt for a serve of tomato and bocconcini bruschetta. Appropriately as each serve comes with two pieces, our attendant offers to just have the kitchen bring us three. On arrival we find the bruscetta is constructed of thick slices of soft french stick, capped with a deliciously dressed fresh tomato salsa and a couple of slices of cherry bocconcini the whole lightly drizzled with a lurid green basil pesto. The colour of the drizzle doesn’t look natural its quite strange. We each take a slice. It is fabulously delicious. The colour is forgiven. A truly outstandingly delicious start to our meal.

None of us are really up for a huge meal, so we share an entrée between us of seafood cake with tempura prawns resting on a dill buerre blanc reduction. This was a bit disappointing. The sauce was a bit heavy and the tempura batter a little floury and not really light enough for tempura. The seafood cake was a little bland.

There’s not a huge range of options for the mains and they are all pretty conservative, comparatively unchallenging choices. Daughter and grandma go for the scotch fillet with diane sauce. I went for the surf and turf, which is also scotch fillet. On the up side each main came with mash and some nicely cooked broccoli. My surf and turf was quite nice, but again the sauce was a bit too heavy. My steak was cooked a bit more than I requested, but I like my meat ruined so it wasn’t a big drama for me. Still nicely tender. I enjoyed my meal.

Daughter and grandma’s dianne sauce was very strange. A little research reveals that there are a couple of interpretations of Dianne sauce. This one is the type that involves Worcestershire sauce and tomatoes, and no brandy. We are accustomed to the variety that involves a bit of brandy and cream and no tomato so this sauce is a bit of a surprise. It’s very strong. Their steak, which was requested med/rare, was undercooked, but it was beautifully tender. The sauce was too strong though and there was a lot of it so the sauce was hard to avoid. Not too big a drama as grandma was full after the shared entre and bruscetta anyway.

An offer of packing up grandma’s largely untouched steak, it is brought promptly back artistically packaged in aluminium foil shaped like a bird with arched neck and fan tail. The warm steak encased in the body giving an illusion of life. We settle the bill and head off into the night after a friendly farewell as the restaurant slowly fills with tables of cheerful diners. The best things about our meal this evening were the ambience, the service and the bruschetta.

By now it’s 7:30 and we have a couple of hours to go before we reach Dubbo. It’s well and truly night time, so we’re not that keen on going overly fast. Not much traffic on the roads. It’s peaceful with the bright dance of red and white reflectors in the light of our headlights. We discuss the colouration of cats and the associated genetic quirks and permutations.

By 9:30 we are busily heeding the numerous security warnings from host and notices in Dubbo Country Apartments and removing pretty much everything from our vehicle overnight. The apartment is fresh and cosy. It’s so good to arrive. 10pm and we’re settling down for the night.

#The great dividing range is a mountain range that runs from the far north of Queensland right down to Victoria. As you can see here, we commonly refer to it as “the divide”. Anywhere on the eastern side of the divide is referred to as coastal. Anywhere on the western side of the divide is called inland. The vast majority of Australias population leaves on the coastal strip along the east coast of the country…most of the rest lives on the coast around the rest of the continent.

Here's the plan! .. for Bourke and Lightning Ridge that is

Well, it's been a trying few months. We sketched out our Bourke early in the year and have only tweaked it slightly since, deciding to stick to accommodation accessible via black top (ie sealed roads) due to all the rain that's been around this year and our target destination is in black soil country.

Black soil is a tricky customer. Not a problem in dry weather, but almost impassable after rain. If it rains when you're on the black soil then you have to pretty much stop where you are and wait for the road to dry. I am told by a local that at this time of year (early spring) the road can take days to dry. Its not such a worry in the summer as the heat dries the road really quickly.

There's a famous Australian Painting called "Across the black soil plains" by George W Lambert. The link provided (in green) takes you to the image and a blurb from the George W Lambert Retrospective exhibited at the National Gallery of Australia but this painting is from the collection of the Art Gallery of NSW, so you could usually see it there if you are visiting Sydney. I digress...

Here's the deal.

Friday 17 September

Mum and daughter 2 will head off in the morning to fulfil their regular commitments. I'll spend the morning packing etc. Mum goes off to teach scripture in the local primary school, daughter to do a meals on wheels# run a couple of suburbs away. Both should be finished by midday. then we jump in the car and off we go, heading smartly with shared driving to Dubbo in central NSW.

Saturday 18 September

We are going to hit the ground running by heading off to Taronga Western Plains Zoo, which everyone says is really awesome. Daughter 2 was really excited when we booked a meerkat encounter, but the zoo is introducing a new female to the group and so the encounter got canned for a while. On the up side we got a free upgrade to a Big Cat Encounter. We've chosen tigers as mum has always had a thing for tigers.

Sunday 19 September

Today we have booked the Morning Walk at the zoo and this starts at 6:40 am. Then we can suit ourselves. Lots around Dubbo and Gilgandra to see.

We make our way up to Lightning Ridge for tonight and plan to eat at the Dig In for some camp oven cooking assuming they are operating.

Monday 20 September and Tuesday 21st

Two full days to enjoy lightning ridge. Monday we've got ourselves down for the Black Queen Theatre in the late afternoon. Lots else around the place to see as well, but we'll play it by ear.

Wednesday 22nd September

Today is the day we finally get to the fishtraps. Plan is to book the guided tour with an aboriginal guide. The tours are run from the museum which has recently opened. We've got ourselves pencilled in there for about 1:30 when the info centre reopens after lunch. Then we make our way over to Bourke for 4 nights.

Thursday 23rd - Saturday 25th September

We will explore around Bourke. Activities will be dictated by the weather and condition of the roads. We want to head to Leadknappers Reserve for the wildflowers, hopefully we've timed it OK for that. Maybe take a mud map tour or two. Then of course we'll head for a trip on the PV Jandra down the Darling River, and take the afternoon tour of Bourke and surrounds. Then there's always Mt Oxley. Somewhere in there, we will head up into south western Qld to see the sights at Eulo in outback Qld. Oh, and how could I forget, have to have a look at the back-o-bourke exhibition centre.. heaps of things to get round and see. I hope the weather stays dry so we can go on the dirt roads around the place, but if not, still plenty to do, or plenty of time to relax! I guess we'll see which it turns out to be.

Sunday 26th

Off from Bourke to overnight in Forbes. I must remember to stop by the bakery and get another of their delicious "dampers" while we're in town. It's not really damper of course. Bakeries, especially viet bakeries, have taken to calling any cob shaped loaf a damper. However call it what they will, the loaf we bought there last time we were in Forbes was seriously good.

Monday 27 September.

It's pretty tragic really and not terribly convenient, but we find we must always end our trips to the west, if we possibly can, on a week day. That way Grenfell Quality Meats is open and we can stock up and take some souvenir meat home for only the most favoured family members. Superb meat... and cheap as well. then it's home, probably fairly late as it's quite a drive from Grenfell.

So that's the plan anyway. Nowhere better for a mental health break than out to the western plains and the outback. I can't wait.

#Do they call this "meals on wheels" in other countries?? Basically its a volunteer service that delivers meals to (usually elderly) people in the community who can't cook for themselves any more. I am very proud of daughter for volunteering. She has a very busy life, what with her medical studies, boyfriend and friends, so it's full marks from me for making the volunteering a priority. :o)

Some Heritage Holiday Photos Sydney pre opera house and a few others too

So what was it like to visit Sydney about 50 or so years ago? I recently have been going through some old slides that were taken by my father. They date from the 1950s and 1960s. I think they're awesome and thought you might enjoy the opportunity to see them.

First the big guns. Here are some shots of the Sydney skyline pre - opera house. You can see Bennelong Point with the tram yard over to the right of the shot.


Next we look across Taronga Zoo towards the city, and second shot is more directly to the south. It looks very different in Sydney today.



In the early sixties the Royal Easter Show was big drawcard, as it remains today. It seems that leaving litter lying around Sideshow alley is not a recent phenomenon.

Before leaving Sydney lets have a look at the band new lookout constructed in Ku-ring-gai National Park's West Head. The view looks across Pittwater to Palm Beach. There's a lot more development and boats in this view today!


Still in Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, Bandstand hosted by Brian Henderson at the time, did some filming at the Basin when my family was there (they often were.. they spent almost every weekend on my grandparents cabin cruiser wandering around Pittwater).. Here we have Judy Stone and Col Joye, the pop idols of their day looking groovy...


In 1965 there were some pretty impressive storms. Dad caught some great seascapes following the storms. This first shows the rock pool at Collaroy dwarfed by the waves.

But this shot of storm surf is my favourite. I'm sure Dad must have been very happy with how it turned out. It's my favourite.


Heading out of Sydney now...

Touring the south coast accommodation options were few and far between. Caught in a storm in February 1958 my parents were driven to seek shelter in a ramshackle building that seemed to be only just standing. In later years the exact location was hard to pin down but the following shots were taken in the general area. A beautiful day next day for some photo opportunities.



The Tilba Tilba Post office was a lonely affair..


And of course Narooma was a popular stop on the south coast then as it is now.


A tour of the nation's capital was a different experience in 1958. At least this seems to be Canberra, I believe that is the spire given to Australia by the USA.. and is that old Parliament House there... but if so where is the lake? Not built yet.. note the river that is wending its way across the photograph. It was interesting to find this photo as I have recently read the memiors of Sylvia Curley who lived on Duntroon when it was still a sheep station.

Heading on from Canberra, my wandering parents appear to have come across this little town that seems well along the way to falling down!


I have another image of this town with a lake in the distance. Perhaps Lake Eucambene.. but I don't know for sure.


The following shots my mother thinks would have been taken at Surfers Paradise or Gold Coast back in the day when they were just getting started in turning it into the tourist spot it is today. These are some of the local accommodation options as they once appeared. These photos will definitely be making their way into my home decor!





Going overseas now to Hobart, in about 1962 my grandmother recorded this hip little square in Hobart. I wonder if it is still there somewhere..


We someimtes don't realise the little treasures that await us when we decide to take a trip through our parents travels decades ago. I am sure glad I didn't just stick to looking at the photographs of family!