wayoutwestish2017

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Cowra - Young - Wagga Wagga

A rather large (and free) continental breakfast was presented to us in the morning and there was some delay in preparing to leave as Llyn said her tearful goodbyes to Linus, the black Labrador - obviously the genus loci of the motel. We first drove up to the Japanese Gardens which were magnificent - even if we didn't make it all the way around as our elderly bladders kicked in as we approached the final path loop. Nearby was the site of the Japanese POW camp that originated Cowra's close connection with Japan. 217 Japanese prisoners of war died in a breakout attempt that possibly was a mass suicide attempt. We visited the graves of the fallen in the nearby cemetery - one of the bloodiest clashes of cultures seen since the frontier wars. We moved on to Young and had lunch in a cafe in the Main Street - not intending to stay around for long. However, on the way out, we found the Lambing Flat museum, so we had to pull over to have a look (and relieve our elderly bladders.) It was more a regional museum jam packed with artifacts from before the founding of Lambing Flat to near the present with one room devoted to the infamous riots. Again, another clash with an Asian culture ending in bloodshed. Then the drive to Wagga Wagga (meaning "Many Crows" according to hasty iPhone research) through Cootamundra along an increasingly threadbare Olympic Highway. We must have been stopped by repair crews on at least three occasions. Finally, Wagga. Our motel is very nice (so far) and we had a quick dinner at Schnitz. Tomorrow, Albury and perhaps, Wonder Woman.

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On the road to #WaggaWagga #NSWest

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One Nation rejected this flag as being too subtle #LambingFlat #NSWest

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I am now old enough that technology that came into existence during my lifetime is now a museum exhibit #NSWest

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However we can all be united by #boardgames even back then #LambingFlat #Young #NSWest

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Another reminder of our blood soaked history with our neighbours #LambingFlat #NSWest #Young

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A memorial surrounded by the graves of the Japanese POWs who died during the breakout. #Cowra #NSWest

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All along another watchtower - the site of the Cowra POW camp, where the Japanese prisoners attempted a suicidal breakout #Cowra #NSWest

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The Japanese Gardens at Cowra. They're absolutely beautiful. #NSWest #Cowra

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Dubbo - Parkes - Forbes - Cowra

After an in room breakfast supplied by Woolworths, we drove out of the Cattleman Motor Inn, turned left onto the Newell Highway and drove out to Parkes. On the way we passed a pterodacytl - or what we assumed was a model of one. One can't be too sure nowadays. We just couldn't turn around in time to take a photo of it. So you'll just have to take our word. We made it to the Parkes Radio Telescope with seconds to spare, as far as our bladders were concerned. There's a certain aesthetics to science equipment, especially on such a large scale as a radio telescope which, after all, is just a giant overspecialised ear. It was in the stowed position, so it wasn't listening to anything at the moment. We went through the various exhibits but avoided the 3D cinema as Llyn can't see 3D. The science garden outside also had its own magic - an apple tree grown from a graft of the apple trees in Newton's garden, purportedly the one that inspired his theory of gravity. We tried out the parabolic whispering dishes at either side of the garden, then Llyn teamed up with a visitor who had come by herself, so she could experience its magic itself. This is the wonder of science, to see someone's face unfold in delight as they have an experience they've never had before and know that it's part of the natural world. We refuelled at Parkes, but couldn't see anything else there to stop for. I think we'd driven around the information centre but we weren't interested in the Elvis museum. There was another celebrity we wanted to catch up with in Forbes. On arrival in Forbes we stopped for lunch at The Bakery. Llyn thought it looked popular with the locals, and it was popular with us too. Very basic fare but warming and delicious. We walked to the local park and found some odd sculptures, part of the "Along the Illawarra" art project, checked out some of the local shops then drove to the cemetery on the outskirts of town to pay our respects to Ben Hall - oh, also to Ned Kelly's sister who was also buried there. Then the long straight road to Cowra, with a longer than expected toilet stop at Goologong which had a whole series of historical plaques in the park as it was a staging area for the Australian Women's Land Army. We made it to our hotel in Cowra and met the owner's beautiful black labrador, Linus. We had suffered some food and drink related clothes mishaps during the day, but we found there was a laundry over the road. The Chinese restaurant over the road provided a delicious dinner and then it was back to the room to watch David Stratton's history of Australian cinema. Next - the Japanese gardens in Cowra and a long drive down to Wagga.

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Our final destination for today was #Cowra which has Australia's World Peace Bell. Needless to say, we rang it multiple times. #NSWest

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#Gooloogong won multiple Tidy Town competitions until someone threw in the towel #NSWest

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And on to #Gooloogong - see the flood market for 1952? It's above the sign. #NSWest

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There is a shortage of Westerns in #Forbes #NSWest

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We found Ben Hall's grave. Just down the path from Ned Kelly's sister #NSWest

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Phwoar- what a control panel! #NSWest #parkesradiotelescope

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What a Dish! #NSWest #parkesradiotelescope