An Orange Winter

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One of the most common comments I got while I was in Orange, NSW was "Oh, you're Canadian, you must be loving this weather!!"
Grrrr.

I don't mind the cold. Okay, that's a lie. I totally mind it. My Canadian blood has been spoiled with Canadian double-paned glass, central heating and proper winter clothing. I was not prepared for a winter in Orange, NSW.

Go ahead, make fun of the Canuk who can't handle an Aussie winter. Sure. But if it's -7°C outside, I do not expect to walk inside and still see my breath in the air!! I expect to walk inside to warm up, not continue shivering! I am also used to there being snow on the ground if it is -7° outside. Give me snow any day over just plain cold with no heating.

All that said, I did enjoy my time in Orange. And the four weeks flew by! It was a relaxing four weeks of doing sudoku, shopping in the various arcades, searching for a good cup of coffee, going for swims at the local gym, and trying out lots of new recipes. We went out to restaurants with Dave's coworkers and to the pubs with Dave's roommate. I took lots of photos of the frosted grass and plants in the garden and wandered around the beautiful public parks in Orange. I spent so much time relaxing that I didn't even check out the art gallery or the botanical gardens! It's a good thing I'm going back!

I did get one fun reminder about the joy of traveling: seeing new strange things (aka the mini-culture-shocks). I noticed the neighbour was pouring buckets of water on his car windshield in the morning. I wondered why on earth he would be doing that. It's too early in the morning for a car-wash!!
Then I realized that because the frost and snow is so irregular in Orange, no one owns an ice-scraper. So how else does one get the thick frost off the windows? I think an ice scraper will be an amusing gift for someone the next time I visit in winter!

While in Orange, we also drove up Mount Canobolis for sunset, and visited Wellington Caves which are nearby in Wellington, NSW. We debated driving down to Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains, but found the prices to be too steep. Wellington Caves were absolutely gorgeous and I'm happy we chose to go there instead!

I would have also liked to visit Parkes to see the radio telescope that helped transmit Armstrong's first steps on the moon, but that will have to be for next time. And some hiking atop Mount Canobolis would be nice too.

During my entire trip to Oz, we also visited friends and family in Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney. It was only a 6 week trip, and it flew by! The trip wasn't as action packed as past trips, but I still had fun.

Now it's back to Montréal, Canada to plan a wedding!

Enjoy the photos!

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Photos

Orange Frosty?
It was cold in Orange but at least I got fun photos!

Downtown Orange
The downtown part of Orange has some very nice buildings

Mount Canobolis Sunset
A very cold but pretty sunset!

Inside Wellington Caves
This is part of Cathedral Cave

Quack! It's Ned Kelly!
Aesop and Gulliver had to say hi to Australia's most infamous outlaw!

Windy Country
The areas around Orange are great for sheep farming and windmills.