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Published: February 16th 2014
After two hot days at Dubbo, mostly spent at the Taronga Western Plains Zoo, we headed south towards Melbourne. When we say hot days, 41.5c at 4.oopm both days. Bright skies.
However, as we drove south we noticed that the sky was changing in colour, but we were uncertain if it was rain cloud or smoke haze from the Victorian bush fires.
Our first stop south of Dubbo was at the Parks Radio Telescope. This is located just a few kilometres off the Newell highway with easy access. I knew these were big dishes, but its not until you get up close and personal that the impact of the size hits.
The 300 tonne dish is 64 meters in diameter, the total mass above ground level is 1,000 tonnes. For some reason I thought that this dish was redundant, but that is not the case, this is still a working radio telescope.
Well, actually it wasn't working while we visited as there was some cleaning and repairs in progress. There was a little shadow behind the dish screen that proved to be a tradesman in a large cherry picker working on the front face.
There are
Watch patiently
Murray River, Tocumwalinteresting displays in the centre including the ability to listen to the radio signals from distant pulsars. The speed of the repeat clicks from the pulsar indicates the speed of rotation. The fastest I heard seemed to be spinning at a crazy speed - one would be giddy if one could stand on one of these stars.
There is a nice café on site too - and with 41.5c a stop for iced coffee and carrot cake (with cream and ice cream) was a welcome refreshment.
Refreshed, we headed south to the little town of Forbes. (Population 7,000) This little town had it's routes in early farming in the area. The drive south showed that there is quite a diversity of farming in this area.
The good people of Forbes have provided a good rest area on the banks of their lake, and an easy walk into town where there is a good selection of shops for a small town. After a pleasant nights rest and a cooling temperature, we headed south again.
Certainly all this area is suffering to some degree from the drought, but from time to time there were bright green crops of
Grab some lunch.
Murray River, Tocumwal rice supported by irrigation systems. I guess we all have the image in our mind from Asia of hill sides with terraced crops. Out here you are hard pushed to see a hill, so everything is done on flat plains. If you go to your supermarket and find Sun Rice products, they are big growers in this region.
Our last stop before Melbourne was at an even smaller town (Tocumwal, population 1600) on the banks of the Murray River. There are some really good sepia styled murals of the early days of this region. This town was serviced by shallow draft paddle steamers that moved wool and grain out and brought supplies in to the local communities.
This town has a unique piece of engineering I haven't seen before - a railway bridge with a lifting centre span to allow the paddle steamers to pass under the rail track. No trains and no paddle steamers now, but certainly a nostalgic testimony to the ingenuity of the early pioneers of the region.
You should have heard the noise from my little Scotsman when the camping ground man said it's just $5.00 per person per night - sounded more
The big strawberry
Area between Tocumwal and Shepparton is famous for dairy and strawberries. like the massed pipe bands of Scotland. Cold showers only the man said - the little Scott did a twirl while reminding me of ancestors that took a bath in frozen lakes. I hushed that little spend thrift (sticky tape over the lips) and enjoyed a hot shower in the motorhome.
We now realised that the grey skies were in fact smoke hanging around, and you can see form our photos that there is a grey shift in the images. Still, travel photos are all about what you get on the day and record your travel experience.
The Murray River is home to red river gum trees and quite a variety of bird life. We saw some of the expected species, but with poor (smoky) light it was difficult to get photos.
As we pulled into the caravan park, Marg noticed a large Kedron caravan to our left and asked if the towie was a Troupie. On confirmation Marg got her note book and checked the rego - it was friends from Church (Anne and Jim) also heading to Tasmania. We hadn't expected to meet them until Melbourne, but they had enjoyed the riverside camp and stayed
3 nights there in the end.
By night fall the confusion over smoke haze and clouds was further clarified as drops of water fell. A quick check to see if the local fire brigade was hosing down a fire proved negative, it was The Good Lord sending gentle rain to this parched, burnt community. The temperatures dropped - rather like Coles ads - going down and staying down. By morning there were puddles around the camp - the first we had seen for days.
Due to the little Scotsman's enthusiasm we stayed two nights by the river and really enjoyed the tranquillity. We also walked (10 minutes) along the river bank to the town centre. This is an old town, but seems to be stable and surviving on both the tourist and pastoral trades. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at one of their coffee shops. I was surprised that the little Scott didn't complain at the cost- and then I realised I hadn't taken the sticky tape off his lips.
The drive south wasn't without drama. Marg drove the first leg south towards Tocumwal, and then after a break, I took over the driving. A few minutes
later a red truck was hard on my tail and anxious to overtake. I moved left where it looked possible for him to see ahead, but as there was a truck approaching, he should not have attempted to pass - but he did.
We always drop our speed to make the overtaking easier and quicker for the truckies, but this was insufficient to avoid a serious accident. When the front wheels of his trailer were adjacent to our cab, he pulled left to avoid the oncoming truck. I took action by driving partly on the grass beyond the road shoulder and further slowing. Fortunately we avoided contact and I was able to return to the road just before the grass dropped down into a culvert. Marg was really impressed at my skill in such a frightening situation. We haven't seen or heard from the little Scotsman since.
This area, particularly between Tocumwal and south was hit by the recent fires. We passed a little town which had escaped damage through some very clever burn offs. There were places where the Newell Highway had been on fire both sides of the road. The smell was a reminder to the
horror of these fire storms. Fortunately the rain has continued and reduced risks of any further fires for the time being.
We eventually made it through to Melbourne with some degree of luck after Tom Tom gave some ill considered advice as to directions. However, Tommy eventually sorted out the errors of his way and we were safely at our destination.
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Mum & Dad
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Good photos and comment
Good blog enjoyed the photos and comment. Now it's the big crossing tomorrow! Enjoy today and tomorrow around Melbourne.