Carcoar Dam and surrounding towns - 4 days of free camping

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Tuesday 14^th April 2015




Judy was a little sad at leaving Canberra, there were still places to see and she enjoyed the people we had met. We hope to keep in touch with John & Ann, who are from WA. Maybe we’ll return to Canberra to complete our exploration at some future time.

After our farewells we set off towards Yass, not really having an end destination in mind but knowing there was a good free campsite at Carcoar Dam, about 250kms north of us.

Yass is a big town, the commercial centre for the many large farms around it. It was one of the early towns in the settlement of NSW and there were many buildings dating back to the late 1800s. Parking for our rig was at scarce and we only saw a little of the town when we parked in a back street.

We continued on to Cowra and here we stopped at the Information Office where we had hear there was an excellent hologram presentation of the Cowra Breakout of August 5, 1944, when the largest Prisoner of War breakout in modern military history occurred at Cowra. More than 1000 Japanese prisoners launched a mass 'suicide attack' on their guards. The lives of 231 Japanese and 4 Australian soldiers were lost.To the Japanese, the disgrace of capture was such that it was better to die in armed battle than let family and friends at home know they were alive.We watched the 13 minute hologram and viewed the display learning quite a lot about this event. A long lasting friendship has now been developed between the people of Cowra and the Japanese who survived.

After a brief stop to view the bridge pylons which had been painted by Kym Freeman in 1995 and depict the history of the Wiradjuri people who inhabited the Cowra area prior to English settlement. They were amazing! We then drove into town and found a park before setting out to explore. Cowra has the distinction of owning the Australian World Peace Bell. This is usually located in capital cities around the world, but was awarded to Cowra in special recognition of the town’s long standing contribution to world peace and international understanding.

We will also remember this town, as on the outskirts we were stopped by the Highway Patrol for exceeding the 50kph limit by 18kph! We are normally so careful but this time we didn’t notice the limits. Luckily we were charged for being under 10kph over the limit, not 18. Penalty: $105 + 1 demerit, rather than $250 + 3 demerits.

Carcoar Dam is just before the town of Blayney and here we stopped to set up camp. It is a free camp, serviced by the local council who clean the toilets daily and empty the bins several times a week. The campsite is a large area on the side of a hill, which makes it difficult to find a reasonably flat spot to park, overlooking an almost empty dam and a wind farm. It is quiet and very picturesque. The dam holds over 36 000 megalitres of water when full and is used for irrigating properties downstream. The windfarm has 15 turbines and supply enough power for over 3500 homes.

We had a drink with a couple of campers after setting up, afterwards returning to the van to prepare dinner and then to do our respective jobs.



Wednesday 15^th April 2015



Woke up to beautiful, blue skies, no wind and temperature in the low 20s, what a way to start a day!

This morning we drove to Carcoar, a little up the highway from where we are camped. Carcoar has many historic buildings and its main street looks as if it has been lifted out of the late 1800s. The town has been classified by the National Trust due to the number of intact 19th-century buildings. In recent years the town has been used as a location for numerous film and television productions.

We took many photos of the buildings in the street, unfortunately, none were open for business. The weekends are when this place comes alive apparently. There was some activity in some, with people busy renovating the old shop-fronts.

Retracing our drive, past the dam site we came to the town of Blayney. This town too, has many renovated historical buildings and a helpful Information Centre.

One of the biggest employers in the town is the Nestle Purina factory, employing around 220 people and producing 100 000 tonnes of dry pet food annually. Driving past this large factory later, on the way to Millthorpe, we did not notice any bad odours or other environmental issues. This fits in with the factory’s commitment to minimise the impact of its operations. Seeing it has operated since 1989 they seem to have been successful.

The picturesque village of Millthorpe originally became an important town when the railway came to the town and they sent flour, chaff and later peas and potatoes to Sydney. When this trade died the town nearly did too, but now many of the buildings and houses have been restored and tourism, food & wine have become important to the town. We had lunch there and had a tasty lunch in the newsagent’s shop, the kitchen was attached to it and there was a friendly atmosphere here with several of the customers obviously regulars and chatting to the friendly owner.

On our return to the caravan early in the afternoon we relaxed and sat around reading and snoozing. The sky got quite dark around 1600 and we put away the awning and wound down the tv antennae just before a storm hit. The rain came down heavily, with some lightning and thunder. Suddenly the noise increased and on looking out we saw hailstones hitting all around us.

Thankfully this didn’t last long and after it stopped it was still and quiet again.



Thursday 16^th April 2015



This morning we drove for nearly an hour to the town of Canowindra to see the International Balloon Challenge, a hot air competition being held there. Disappointment! The launch times were at 6am and 4pm daily only, there was nothing else to see between times. Pity they didn’t tell you that in their advertising brochures.

We decided to continue our day by visiting the town of Orange, further north. Just before reaching the town we drove to the summit of Mt Canobolas, which at 1395m is the highest mountain between Sydney and Perth. The views weren’t good on the day because of the mist and haze but on a clear day would be magnificent. The summit is covered in antennas for phone and other telecommunications and as reception was so good we rang our friends Mark and Helena back in Perth. It was good to catch up with the gossip with good friends and both of us felt just a little bit homesick after the call.

Orange itself is another big old country town; big wide streets and many restored old buildings. We parked as the locals do, 60 degrees to the kerb, reversing in. Bit hard to get used to, but t does make driving out easier.

We had lunch here at the RSL club, these clubs allow visitors from other states; you only need to produce your driver’s licence. The meal was good and we were amazed at the variety of salad that came out with our quiche.

We had a lazy afternoon back at the van, reading and dozing outside. Judy has picked up a low grade infection and isn't full of energy at the moment.

The number of vans around us slowly increased during the afternoon until there were about a dozen on “our” side of the park by nightfall.



Friday 17^th April 2015



We woke up to a wet morning but decided to drive to Bathurst anyway. On the town outskirts we turned right to go to Mt Panorama, the car-racing track the town is renowned for.

The track itself is a public road when there are no events on, and in pouring rain Rags drove the complete circuit twice, each lap in opposite directions. When we drove in the same direction as the races are held Rags recognised many of the corners from watching the Bathurst 500 so many times. The “esses” in particular interested him, having seen the Cooper S dominate here in the mid 60s. Horrible corners with adverse cambers and sharp turns, no wonder the safety rails had so many dents and scrapes on them. The speed limit was 60kph for the whole track, so we didn’t get into any tight moments at all!

The track was the highlight of the day, for Rags at least, although Judy did manage to take some photos of historic buildings between showers as we wandered around Bathurst. Their tourist information centre provides a useful brochure called Bathurst Heritage trails which gives the history of many of the old buildings. So Judy was keen to see as many as possible.

Back at the camp and we were the only van left in our area, the others obviously off looking for drier spots.

We had a quiet afternoon, “pop flops” and “nanny naps” being the order. During that time five new arrivals set up camp, one inconsiderate owner wrecking the peace and quiet with his generator which continued running until early evening.

The weather has had us alter our travel plans, we are now going north towards Wellington or Dubbo. The forecast is for rain over the next 5 days, so the Blue Mountain area will have to wait for another trip.

As we were short of a couple of ingredients for our evening meal, Rags drove the 8kms into Blayney, at the same time refuelling the Jeep and 3 jerrycans as the fuel at one garage was 20c/l cheaper than anywhere else we have seen. He reckons the $20 he saved could be better spent on red wine!

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Photos

Yass
Fine old restored building.

Cowra Bridge Pylons
Murals painted by a local indigenous artist on the bridge pylons.

Peace Bell
The Australian Peace Bell at Cowra.

Carcoar Dam
Lovely free-camping area provided by local council.
We go out of our way to spend money in these towns to give our thanks.

Carcoar
Most places were closed when we were there but nearly the whole main street was either restored or in the process of being restored.

Carcoar Dam
The area around us filled up as the day progressed.

Mt Canobolas
It is a long, winding road to get to the summit in this national park. On a clear day the views would have been spectacular.

Bathurst track
We did a lap in both directions in pouring rain. The corners and road camber makes for exciting racing but we stuck to the 60kph limit.

Bathurst
The area also has some interesting historic features such as the Great war Memorial and the carillion.

Cowra
The Peace Bell

Carcoar
The restored main street.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Moving on
It is a bit sad to move on from a place you've enjoyed. But something interesting will be around the next corner.