Friday 30 March 2012

Dubbo 26/3/12 to 31/3/12

Off to the Dubbo Zoo today.27/3 Man what a day! Now I will be sore in other places. Riding a bike for the better part of 4 hours today around the zoo. Great way to see it though. I loved the Giraffes and their long blue tongues. Nate loved the Meerkats, hey they are not as big as they seem on TV. Doug's favourite was the Hippo's which we really got to see up close, with his mouth open getting a wash.  Jacob's were the White Handed Gibbons for their acrobatic skills. Your ticket gives you access to the Zoo for 2 consecutive days, so we were back again the next morning to see the things we had missed. (Zoo is 300 hectares) In the car this time to rest our sore bottoms.

Lots to see in Dubbo, Japanesse gardens with huges gold fish and ducklings for the kids to feed and an amazing talking toilet. Dubbo Gaol which was very interesting and interactive with their displays. The resident Ghost giving a history of the Gaol.  The old gallows were a bit freaky. Doug and I had to go into the Solitory Confinement cell together as it was pitch black and both a little scared. Doug will have you believe he was fine with it, although he did use the torch on his mobile phone to find his way around and out. Big sook.

We went for a drive to Wellington to check out a cave and an old Phosphate Mine. On the way stopping at a local park we came across a Bunya Tree. The boys gathered some bunya nuts which we tried raw, not the best, but when we got home we boiled them up and ate them. Quite nice they tasted a bit like chicken. Nah they actually  tasted more like potato.

We explored the Cathederal cave which was very impressive and as the name suggests it looks like a Cathederal with the stalactites and stalicmites. They actually held church services, weddings and baptisms back in the 1850's.

The boys and Doug enjoyed the mine which was only used for 4yrs 1914- 1918 when they realised that there wasn't much Phosphate (which is prehistoric bat poo). It was reopened as a tourist sight 1996 and as they cleared it and excavated further they found heaps on fossils.

The boys found the best ever skate park in town which they visited regularly. It had a massive bowl with a Full pipe and a street section with 2 box jumps, ramps and grinding rails. (These are all Nates words I have no idea what they are).

While the boys where at the best ever skate park, with a massive bowl, full pipe and the street section with 2 box jumps, ramps and grinding rails, I did the house work (swept, moped and cleaned toilet) which took me all of 20 minutes. Moving from the boys room into the bathroom(also ensuite) then on to the kitchen and dinning area past the office and finally into the main bedroom.  Once completed, I kicked back and read my book. Any body jealous?. I'm loving this caravaning.

We are now on the road to Orange going via Parkes to check out The Dish.





Nate in the stockade. Doug asked if he could buy one for home. 




Say nothing, see nothing and hear nothing and same with the Kangaroos



Dubbo Zoo attactions







Jacob doing a no footer at the best ever skate park
Nate going vert in the bowl at the best ever skate park 

Zoo again
Nate's favorite the Meerkat






Japanesse Gardens


Old Dubbo Gaol  




Palmwoods Farm and Garden. That's not a hardware store.This is a hardware store





Boys having fun at the local water park in Dubbo




Phosphate Mine Wellington

Fossils

The Dish Parkes


Sunday 25 March 2012

Coonabarrabran 23/3/12 to 26/3/12

At the end of our huge 12.5k walk. Still smiling amazing.

Our set up at Coonabarabran

Jacob took this picture and did the frame. Pretty clever hey.

Sandstone caves

We are now in Coonabarabran NSW 24/3.  A lot cooler than Narrabri. Over night 6 degrees.  We had, well I had on 2 jumpers, trackie daks and socks and that's what I slept in. The boys had their bennies on.





The boys in photographic action


We had a great day today, a very strenuous one. We walked 12.5 ks return, but in that we climbed 300mts so the walk felt 3 times as long.  It took us 4 hrs return to walk to the top of the Warrumbungles (volcanic plugs formed 13million years ago)  to the Grand High Tops over looking the Bread Knife where the view was absolutely magnificent. Lots of different scenery to look out at. At the lower end we followed a creek and at the top shear cliffs.  Doug and I struggled a bit, but the boys weren't even puffed.  At one point there we about 300 stairs that we had to go up.

We had a big hearty dinner of silverside and veg that I made in my new Dream Pot which I just love. I put it on to cook before we left and it was more than ready 9hrs later. No electricity.

We are staying in a caravan park that is fairly spread out and not many vans. Our nearest neighbour is about 50 meters away which is great. Because we can yell at the kids and not worry about what other people are thinking. But in all honesty the boys have been pretty good. Just a little crazy sometimes.

The night sky's have been amazing, with what you can see. Which is obviously why there are so many high powered telescopes set up in the area.  Everything is just so clear and there seems to be so many more stars in the sky or maybe it's just because we are kicking back on holidays, in a caravan and taking the time to look up into the sky.

We stayed up and tried to take photos of the stars with a 1 minute open shutter.  Boys having a ball and now know more about their camera's than I do about my camera which I have had a lot longer.



The Warrumbungles where we walked up to the top of.


Part way up


We made it to the top of the mountain



Sculptures in the Scrub



Today we walked some more, visiting the Sculptures in the Scrub and The Sandstone caves all in the Pilliga State Forest.  Both were pretty spectacular. The boys loved the caves. Beautiful colours and formations in the sandstone. The caves are sacred aboriginal sites with some rock art. Then off to the Pilliga Pottery where we watched some pots being made with the potters wheel and also the carving into the clay to decorate which the boys thought was pretty cool.  Another huge day and ready for bed early. Off to Dubbo tomorrow. 


Tree of life made out of clay at Pilliga Pottery