Tamworth

We were very excited to pull into Tamworth, having heard and seen so much about this very musical town. We stayed at the Big 4 caravan parkwhich was a little disappointing but the staff very friendly. The town has a wonderful lookout that seems to go for miles up up and then up some more. The views were spectacular and we came across a very lovely tribute to the famous and much loved Smoky Dawson and his wife, Dot. Their ashes are scattered here in the garden. It was quite emotional to see and read this.

We visited the huge golden guitar and had our photo done here as does every other tourist and also visited the wax museum which is filled with famous country and western singers and bands. I think it does take visiting and seeing these things to really take in the history and stories attached to each one.

 Note this is the actual guitar with a gun attached used by Smoky Dawson in his TV shows.

                                                    Some golden oldies

                                                     Whos the odd one out?

Tamworth is a very large town and would be wonderful to see during the Music Festivals that it is renowned for.
There was also a cricket display featuring some very famous collectibles, bats, caps and signatures dedicated to the one and only Don Bradman. We couldnt believe the quality of and valuable items included.

A very strange event each night was the thousands of bats that flew over the  caravan park area each night. We weren't sure what they were at first but did some investigating. This huge colony of bats originally made their way here from Taronga Zoo where they were given their marching orders. We found where they sleep during the day so look at these pictures closely. Apparently they love these Palownia trees when they are in flower.

These last pics were taken just down from the caravan park and I have put them in just because it was such a pretty street.

Talkies soon

xx Sonia and John

White Kangaroos, Quilts and a Prime Minister.

White kangaroo

We passed through the famed Bordertown which is the home to a White Kangaroo

herd at a wildlife sanctuary. I have never personally seen a white kangaroo before so this was quite interesting as prior to this I didnt know they existed. Apparently they were discovered about 40 years ago by a local.

The other famous person to come from Bordertown is our ex prime minister, Bob Hawke.

Bob's House

The town itself is very pretty with a lovely park area for travellers rest and picnic.

The local Quilters had a huge display at the town centre hall with a beautiful selection of quilts made by extrely talented people. I have captured a few for the blog and would like to say this is for Beth, who loves quilting and would appreciate the work and love that goes into this craft.

Well off to other adventures. Talkies soon

xx Sonia n John

  

Free Camping

We have been lucky enough to stay in same beautiful free camps during our travels. We prefer to free camp but do need to charge a few things every now and again at caravan parks. Also when we had very hot days and nights its nice to have the air on too. Here is a sample of some of the free places we have stayed.

So these are just a few places. There are other places that charge 5 or 10 dollars a night with no amenities except maybe a toilet, and this is Ok to stay at too. Talkies soon X Sonia and John

Terowie and Petersborough

The little town of Terowie is between Adelaide and Broken Hill and Pertersborough is about 20ks north. Both towns are just chocca block with old buildings which, as you know, I just love to see. The unfortunate thing is that these old towns are literally falling to bits and the buildings in Terowie are a good example of what happens when a town dies when the railway closes down. What was once a thriving and hectic town is now literally a ghost town. Terowie tries to encourage the tourist trade by offering free overnight camping at the old railway station. It's a lovely spot (although freezing when we were there) and the lovely lady, Karen, at the information centre/cafe was very welcoming. There are 150 residents residing in Terowie but there will be one less now as the very day we left there, police did a search of one of the houses and found human remains in the fireplace and back yard. They have arrested the owner of the house who is now awaiting charging as the remains were found to have evidence of violence causing death. Very spooky that this happened while we were leaving town. Not exactly what you want to hear after you have spent the night there. Anyway, this town could be used in a movie except that if the buildings aren't restored or maintained they will just be beyond repair.

What was Very interesting though is that this railway station is exactly where General Macarthur stood when he said those very famous words "I shall return". This plaque commemorates the very spot on the platform.

Petersborough is also just as old but seems to have captured the tourists a little more. A very pretty town with much more restorations done and a lot bigger. The railway station was demolished in the 60s which is a source of regret for the town. One of the residents made an exact replica to scale of the station. The bricks were made from the original bricks were which had been used as landfill when demolished. The wood was also made from original beams. Quite amazing. Some of the buildings were very ornate. Note Queen Victorias head!!

We had a wonderful morning tea at the cafe and John had a delicious serve of lemon meringue pie that was almost as good as his sister, Beth's. I had the best hot chocolate drink and a homemade sausage roll. Yum! On to Adelaide Talkies soon Xx Sonia n John