On the way to Bathurst

Well its holiday time again. Glad it comes around so quickly! There is so much to see in this new homeland of ours. Choosing the holiday place can just as well be done by sticking a pin in the map, since there is so much unseen. Originally we thought of going all the way to Dubbo but revised the plan to just go till Bathurst this time. The convenience of being able to book accommodation on line is a boon. After the last couple of mini breaks we found that booking at the last minute gets you much cheaper deals and since this is off season there are always some vacancies.

Bathurst Heights Bed and Breakfast looked good from the description, photos and feedback. They had the last room vacant which we booked. This time I remembered to inform family about my holiday even though the Wi-Fi was mentioned in the package. Last time the place had mentioned free internet access and we ended up having no mobile coverage either and boy was I in hot water with a few people who regularly look out for me on the net.

The journey was going to take about 4 hours plus a stop for lunch and so there was no real need to rush out first thing in the morning. After the morning routine, we packed the bags and shut the house and left for this mini adventure at around 10 30 am. The route was fairly simple – up the Great Western Highway to the Blue Mountains, Katoomba, then to Lithgow and finally to Bathurst. We could have gone via the motorway up to the Blue Mountains but at the start of a journey it is always nice to have the slower road.

The first stop into the mountains and an ideal place to have a rest break is Wentworth Falls. Originally this small town was called ‘Weatherboard’ after the ‘Weatherboard Hut’ which was built in 1814. One year later the name was changed to ‘Jamison’s Valley’ by Governor Macquarie. Eventually in 1879 that the name was changed to Wentworth Falls in honour of William Charles Wentworth, one of the three famous explorers, who first crossed the Blue Mountains. While I said this is ideal stopping place, it is beautiful and interesting in its own right and I mean to explore it more thoroughly one of these days. I think this is a case of it’s so near that I will do it another day and it gets put off. We had a lovely lunch at the Blue Mist Cafe and opted for fresh fruit juice instead of a hot drink.

Off we went with full tummies on towards Lithgow. This is another town which we have left to explore another day. We have been once and now not sure where exactly we got into town for as we missed the information centre (which is actually right on the main A32) and the main street had looked pretty quiet. This time we did see the tourist information and even stopped at it. There is a large miner’s lamp monument here for this is coal mining country. Indeed I have a similar small lamp I had bought in Wales. I love coming across these large monuments. I was told there are some along the way to Bathurst.

 Lithgow Lamp

The road around this area is very windy and fairly steep climbs and drops into the next valley. I lovely drive on this cold sunny winter day. The next monument was a big bath. This is just at the edge of a place called Raglan and is actually an advertisement to the local shop selling swimming pools. This is right opposite the road going to the Bathurst airport.

The Big Bath

Further in, just outside Kelso which appears now to be an overspill from the city of Bathurst but is actually a small town which is slowly getting merged into the city. This is now proper gold mining country and has seen a major gold rush in the early days. There is a large monument of a man panning for gold. We crossed the Macquarie River and came up to the tourist information place. Here we got a few local maps and leaflets of places to see and things to do. It is always interesting to browse in these places for they have loads of pamphlets and indeed souvenirs which I never buy.

 Gold Panning

The final leg of the journey was near as the next road takes us right to the bed and breakfast we were staying at. As the name suggest the place is on top of a hill and you get wonderful panoramic views. The garden is blooming in the front with a fountain which no doubt gets going in summer. I did enjoy staying there with the hosts so very friendly and full of helpful information.

Foggy sunrise

Slowly brightening day

 Bathrust Heights B&B