The next few weeks of our travels are to be in the area of New South Wales that they call “The Heart of NSW”; we leave the NSW outback to pass through greener pastures of pastoral farming, canola, wheat and barley, part of the NSW food bowl, east of the Great Dividing Range.
The four lovely days we spent in White Cliffs soon came to an end. We found the area to be a good place for some R & R time. This time of the year seemed to be just the perfect time to visit. Noodling for Opal hadn’t made us rich but meeting a distant relative and her family made up for this.
On our way south, I remembered a lonely gravesite which I had seen whilst going into White Cliffs. We stopped I guess, to pay our respects to the deceased. There were no details on the headstone only the name. We think that of a drover in the pioneering years. One can only imagine the harshness of the surrounding landscape that the deceased endured. It makes us appreciate how far we have come as a nation & to really think of what could happen if we are not prepared for any changes in the environment.
By early afternoon we decided to stop for the night. Our camp was at a rest area approx 120km out of Cobar. We were amazed at how much the landscape had changed since we travelled along the Kidman Way in 2006, when it was very dry & the farmers were droving their sheep & cattle along the roadside for feed. Some farmers were even moving their stock about 50km over the hills for greener pastures. Now, wild goats roamed the country-side and we saw many along the way, fat and well fed, the number of young kids testament to good times, (for the goats that is!). The wild goat is captured and sent for live meat export to the Middle-East. They breed quicker than they can be rounded up though.
Cobar is an interesting town with a population of approx 5,500. It has been a busy gold & copper mining town in the past. Gold is still being mined & it was interesting to view the current open cut gold mine. Not as big as the one in Kalgoorlie, nevertheless impressive. Further out of town we drove to another working Gold Mine. A walk around the Golden Walk which the organisation has developed was interesting, they have displayed several large rocks in which we could see some flecks of gold & peacock ore, some of the old equipment used & sketches of the mine & its contents at different depths.
The town has several reservoirs; the Old Reservoir used to be the towns water supply but is now used for recreation & watersports. It is also available for camping. In this area there is a place called ‘Devil’s Rock’ which is an ancient rock formation which according to Aboriginal legend / belief is known as being a place of evil. The Newey Reservoir being the new reservoir is much greener & in town; Newey Reservoir is a good picnic area and a pleasant walk. However, a popular place for the local yobbos to hang out so free camping may not be advisable. There is camping allowed further around the reservoir. A quick detour from the reservoir to the town’s decommissioned railway station ensued and we came across a recently arrived goods-train, the wagons loaded with gas pipes which were being unloaded and transferred to road-train trailers. The following day, there was an article about it in the local paper, the 30-40cm pipes are for a major gas pipeline project, they will carry gas from the major gas-fields to the major cities in the East.
For the next few days after Cobar we decided to keep off-site & look for some freebie camps to stay. Our first stop for a couple of days was Lake Cargelligo. Lake Cargelligo was once a gold mining town. For the last couple of years the natural lake has been dry, but in December last year, water began to be released into it. The water comes from the Lachlan River, currently in good flow after the big rains further to the north-east. We camped within 3 meters of the lakes edge & during the couple of days we could see the lake level still rising. It was lovely to watch the various birds fly in during sunrise & fly out during sunset. There were thousands of water birds and of many species; we could only name a few: Pelican, Coot, Ibis and Spoonbills. The landscape both in & around the area is lush and green, so a substantial amount of rain has fallen this year. The temperature during the day wasn’t too bad, but the nights became quite cold, so when there is no power for our little fan heater, an early night tucked up in our warm bed was called upon. Early morning fog delayed the sunrise photo but the next day provided a blaze of glory as Sol rose above the landscape and across the water. See the pics on the album link.
Our next port of call was Gum Bend Lake, 3kms out of Condobolin; a bit bigger town than the last. Gum Bend is a local family picnic/camping area that has its history in the mining past. Many towns that had mining industries early in the last century had an area away from town where the workers and their families could relax and escape the dust and dirt of their job.
We were looking forward to camping along a lake again but, to our dismay all we saw was a tractor driving around on the lake bed spraying the vegetation. We found out that the weeds were being sprayed because the man-made lake was to be re-filled in the next few days. Alongside the camping area, the Lachlan River is in full flow. It is from here that the lake is to be filled. It is so good to see lots of creeks & rivers with plenty of water in them; it’s been quite some time since we’ve seen water flowing like this. Many road-side ditches were still full and more rain has fallen since.
An obligatory meat pie had to be taken along the main street of Condobolin; several architecturally interesting old buildings to photograph. Among these is the old fire-station with the fire-alarm bell that was to be rung, but NOT for chimney fires!
We couldn’t have been persuaded to stay at the local, very nice caravan park; they were hosting two regional dog shows, imagine the noise! Across the road, preparations for the weekend Condobolin Annual Royal Show, hurdy-gurdies and fair-ground equipment was being erected and tested. More noise! Having enjoyed the quiet of remote area camps, we have been spoiled.
Click on the link below to view some photos
http://picasaweb.google.com/108879761974384702036/WhiteCliffsCobarToCondobolin?feat=directlink
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