Albury/Dubbo/Bathurst/Canberra/Myrtleford

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Day 8 (11/4/21)Temps: Max 17C, Min 5C

Updated the blog this morning as feeling a little tired after yesterdays lengthy drive. Drove around Dubbo familiarising ourselves with the area & facilities.

Went for lunch at the Western Star Hotel. Quite basic & no frills sort of place. We both had Steak Burgers & shared Herb Bread. Herb Bread was heavily laced with herbs, while the Steak Burgers were soggy & falling apart while trying to eat them.

Drove a short distance & looked at the shops in the Dubbo CBD. Quite a lot of shops are closed down & empty. Still a lot of people out & about for a Sunday.

Decided on the attractions we want to see & their pricing & purchased a Great Big Adventure Pass, which gives you entry to:

Taronga Western Plains Zoo for 2 successive days

Wellington Caves (several tours to choose from)

Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitor Centre

Old Dubbo Gaol

The pass starts at a maximum of $89 each (unless you want to do multiple caves or other experiences). We got Seniors Discount so it worked out to be about $76 each, which saved us a lot of money on just turning up to each of the venues separately. The only requirements when you purchase this pass is that you must nominate & book your days for the zoo & the caves. The other two you can go to at any time you please.

Drove to the supermarket to purchase more drinking water as the weather has been quite warm & we are using more than usual. Returned to the caravan park which was now about 80%!e(MISSING)mpty & far quieter which was perfect. Shame it would not last long!

Day 9 (12/4/21)Temps: Max 20C, Min 1C

Woke up to a very icy cold morning and most likely temperatures in the minus, despite the official minimum reading for Dubbo being 1C.

Had to be up early to go to Jayco to try & get 2 LED light panel as the light above the kitchen sink was not working. Tested the panels in another light & found the panels are dead. 13 years old is not a bad life, but you would think they would last longer with spasmodic use. Perhaps the travelling on roads & vibrations also wears them out. Jayco said they are “too ancient” & we will need to replace the entire light. Will get it done next time I book the van in when we are back in Melbourne.

As this stop was on the road out to Wellington, we continued another 45 kilometres to go to the Wellington Caves for our tour of the Cathedral Cave. The tour lasts 1 hour & while part of the cave was closed due to Covid restrictions, the tour was still great value. We learned about a structure called The Altar, as back in the mid 1800's they used to conduct church services in the cave, until part of the area above became unstable. There are some remarkable sights within this cave which you will see in the photos. There is another cave called Gaden, but this was closed due to dangerous Co2 levels that occur occasionally Frequent monitoring of these levels are to ensure the safety of visitors.

We drove a short distance back into Wellington to have lunch at the Wellington Soldiers Memorial Club which is reported to be an exceptional place to dine & we would not be disappointed. $10 Chinese dishes are of a very generous size & the Szechuan Chicken, Honey Chicken & Spring Rolls were absolutely delightful. Following this up with dessert of Pavlova & Cheesecake left us well satiated. This is a must place to dine at & worth the 45km drive.

Needless to say we did not need any dinner tonight & were in bed early as we would be out again tomorrow.

Day 10 (13/4/21)Temps: Max 24C, Min 7C

Not as cold waking up as yesterday morning was. Headed off early to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo about a kilometre down the road. You need to get here early as it can get extremely busy later, plus there is a lot to see!

We decided to walk around, but you can hire bicycles, a golf cart or you can drive your own vehicle around. There is nearly 6 kilometres of track to circumnavigate the zoo, but you will walk more than this as some tracks go around the exhibits to allow you different viewing angles, which makes for a better experience. Sometimes the animals may hid in a particular corner, so you need to use the tracks to maximise your experience.

There are also 2 cafes; one at the start/finish & the other just over 2 kilometres in. Toilets are well located all around, so you can have regular stops. There are also picnic spots should you bring your own food.

We found the walking trails easy & each exhibit has detailed information about the animals. There is quite a wide variety of animals which makes for a more unique experience. There are keeper talks & feeding times should you wish to attend them. Exhibits also have a “virtual keeper talk” which you access by using a QR code. Well worth the entry fee alone & definitely a great place to visit.

We returned to the caravan exhausted; lots of walking, sun & concentration taking photos had worn us out. Needless to say we will sleep well tonight!

Day 11 (14/4/21)Temps: Max 27C, Min 7C

Went to the Royal Flying Doctor Service Visitor Centre. This is magnificently set out with well explained information, displays & interactive screens. We got here right on opening time at 9AM as it is known to get very busy, even on a mid week day. Doing so meant we were assigned our own RFDS Ambassador to escort us around, provide interesting information & explained how some of the displays worked. He even took photos of us; thanks Bryan!

There is a huge live screen that shows current flights right across the country. The RFDS has 77 planes nation wide. You also watch an 8 minute video where survivors speak about their horrific injuries & just what the RFDS means to the people in remote areas.

As it started to get more busy at around 1030AM, we took a break at the Cafe which is inside the complex. We then returned to read more & use the interactive displays, before looking through the shop that is well stocked with clothing & gifts that all put money back into this wonderful service. While we normally are careful with what we spend in tourist location shops, we made some purchases here in the knowledge that our money goes back into providing a valuable & life saving service to all Australians. After all, it may be you on your next trip in remote Australia that could need to call on the RFDS. Please give some support if you can.

Afterwards we drove to the South Dubbo Tavern for lunch. This place has $7.50 Chicken Schnitzels as long as you buy a drink. We expected the meals to be small, but it was quite the opposite. The size of the schnitzel is extremely large & is served with chips & salad. It was cooked perfectly & the flavours including salad dressing were also perfect. Definitely exceptional value & quite a busy place for a mid week lunch time.

Returning to the van & it being a fine afternoon, we decided to get the washing done as it was 27C. Deb returned to the washing machine to check on it & it had flooded the floor with water everywhere. Had to change to a different washing machine which we were not charged for to finish our washing. It did not take long to dry given the warmest day we would be getting.

A light meal of Plum Marinated Chicken Wings & a bit of tv saw us in bed & off to sleep relatively early.

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