Carcoar – a historic village in NSW

This morning at breakfast the discussion was general and also where the other guests had been visiting the day before. The owner of the bread and breakfast suggested that one of the beautiful drives and place to see was Cowra which had a lot of things being done to celebrate the centenary of the First World War. We decided that since it was a beautiful sunny day maybe we should go there and leave the sightseeing of Bathurst itself for the next day.

The landscape of the Mid Tablelands is always beautiful. This area was fairly green given that everyone has been saying that we need some rain. Even here, as in the Lower Tablelands, there were wind turbines on the far hill. We did look for a name to the wind farm but the sign only said wind farm! 

  

Driving down winding road up and down the hills for 40 minutes we came up to a sign for Carcoar Village and being a brown tourist sign we decided to have a look. The village was not in view as we turned into the lane. Then you saw the drop down the hill and the village in the valley. This is the third oldest settlement in the Blue Mountains besides the Belubula River.

The place is quiet; I guess this is not the tourist season and also a Tuesday. The buildings have been well restored and preserved. The only places that appeared to be open were the post office and the general store. We saw 1 truck pass by, 1 Ute parked and 1 man walking across the bridge over the river. The antique shop would have been a good stroll around had it been open and yes a cup of tea would have been welcome had the tea place been open too. I think the court house was open but probably not for rubberneckers at this time of year and week. There are numerous museums listed in the tourist information and maybe it would be worth a visit during the season to see them.

Took a few photos of this lovely little hidden village and went on our way to Cowra.

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

Winter's Night

Winter’s night is very cold

It is 3C outside I am told

Willing my mattress and duvet to fit me like a mold

The night is dark and truly cold

I snuggle in the bed

Why are you fidgeting? he said

I am trying to get comfortable

Easing around to make pain less able

What are you wearing? He said

Fleece, of course! I said

Got my thermal socks on

A woolly cap on my head I don  

Hot water bottle warms my feet

Keeping myself tucked under the sheet

My arms and hands remain inside this cocoon

But my nose is going to freeze soon

I cannot wait till this cocoon warms

So I can sink into Morpheus’ arms

Walk in the Parramatta Park with a Three-year Old

I go regularly to the park with my husband for a walk which is not only a bit of exercise but also very relaxing in the peace and sounds of birds. Though I did take a few weeks out during this winter, when it was cold and wet, or when I felt dizzy and in pain. But then living with chronic illness like UCTD, there is not guarantee of anything and plan even for the day sometimes needs to be abandoned. So the good days are precious and even more so when I walk around the park or go to the beach. A wander in nature and by the water are my favourite pass times and Parramatta Park serves on both counts as the river flows through the park.

Going to park with children is always a different experience, especially when they are just toddlers. The view, from three feet high, is entirely different and the curiosity of a three year old is very cheering as it makes you think and shows you a different perspective too. So even when it is something you do often, just add a child in the mix and it becomes an entirely new and invigorating experience. Last week, I persuaded my niece and her daughter to come to the park for a walk. I have been trying to get them to come for nearly 2 years! We do have to go in their car, for I do not have a child’s seat and so cannot take the little one by herself.

There was excitement getting into the car, and she had her little pink lunch box with, she said her biscuits for the park. However, while we all got settled and strapped in she had chomped through the last one. All the way to the park the conversation revolved around what she took in her lunch box that needed the use of a spoon, which was slotted into the lid of the box. From ‘I use it to have my lunch’, to ‘it’s for eating my lunch’, to exasperated ‘pasta’ was the answer finally elicited. Since it was a weekday, we had to park the car inside the park, under a tree. Hats were donned and water bottles picked up, push chair set up, in case the little one got tired and refused to walk. Of course she had seen the playground as we drove past. The swings and slides and see-saw all a big attraction! So we had a deal that we would do a walk around the park, see the birds, flowers, trees and then end at the playground. She was happy with that deal. 

Right next to the car there were parrots pecking away at the ground covered in grass. So right away the bird watching started. There were 2 kinds – the white parrot which has a bit of red on either side of the beak and a small red patch on the breast – long billed corella  and the other a white parrot with a yellow crest - sulphur crested cockatoo. They seem to form a large gang and fly about from tree to tree and swoop down on the grass and find the small insects come out to warm themselves in the winter sun.

 Long billed Corella

 Suplhur Crested Cockatoo

Then we moved on to the path around the park. I showed her the small closed garden which is open for a couple of weeks in September when the wisteria and cherry trees are in full bloom along with other flowers. The trees with the big bats hanging in large numbers were now within sight. She was fascinated to see these ‘big birds’ hanging upside down and puzzled at the fact that these were not birds but animals (I think trying to explain the concept of mammals would not have gone down too well). The notice board said this is the biggest grey headed flying fox camp and a site for conservation. Something had disturbed them, we think, as they bats were making a lot of noise and flying about from tree to tree, where as they are usually pretty quiet in the daytime. We had gone there on the Sunday before and there was a booth with the conservationists to ‘meet a bat’. You could see the bat being held by the man and be educated about this wonderful and endangered mammal. That is when we realised that the furore in the bat camp was most likely a protest at one of them being held captive….. how very human!  

Grey Headed Flying Foxes

Across the river there usually is one tree with white ibis but today there were a couple and had a large congregation of these birds, presumably warming themselves in the winter sunshine. I have had one or two of these wandering in my garden sometimes. They are also found in large trees along the road or wandering about the large parks in the city. 

 

 Ibis in my front garden

After the excitement of bats we moved along the river back and started on the small flowers blooming in winter. The reeds, ‘grass in the water’ were dried out and required an explanation as to why we could not walk on that grass. There were rustling sounds of the lizards darting around. There were so many tiny blooms on trees and also on the small plants. The child had a fascinating time rushing from one to another. Looking at the colours – blue and yellows seemed predominant with a few odd red ones– as she said look at the sun flowers when she saw the bright yellows. Of course she enjoyed those as they were at her level and we stopped and admired each one and also dutifully photographed.

Then we reached the bench in the sunshine, right by the river bank, and it was time to stop and see the water birds – coots, moorhens, ducks and their ducklings, there were no cormorants today and neither the lone pelican ( a lost one I think, this far inland) we saw a couple of weeks back. After a few minutes rest we moved on. The next bit of walk is on the footpath as there is work being done on the other side of the road, to make a curved crescent shaped paved area, where usually concerts are held. So it was easier to sit the little one in her carriage! Once we got past this area she was out and running again. She soon learnt to walk in the lane meant for pedestrians and not stray into the bicycle lane. Her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, the hat abandoned for the hood of the jacket as it was pretty windy, and of course the non-stop chatter.

The remnants of the observatory were inspected and out of mouth of babes that’ these stones were in prison’, since a fence is built around them to stop vandalism and canvass on top, to protect them from the elements. The cannons on and by the war memorial were a hit as she wanted to sit on top of each one, plus an explanation of how the big gun worked. 

Then we proceeded to the lane that cuts across the park to lead us a little more directly towards the playground. The start of that is by the largest flat grassland in the park. This was the site of the first flight landing in Australia by Williams Hart, a dentist. It was on 18 November 1911 that Hart flew 47 miles from Penrith, via St Marys to Sydney, completing the first cross-country flight in New South Wales in 55 minutes; he was awarded a special plaque. Our little one pretended to read it as she repeated what I had just told her and then posed for a photo. 

The lane through the park has some lovely eucalyptus trees and a faint fragrance of its oils. There is a slightly sweet perfume of yellow mimosa like flowers of golden wattle, added to that. Then we passed a couple of pine trees and found a young pine cone that was still closed and oozing resin. Just holding it in the hand warmed it enough to get the resin softening and a wonderful perfume 

emanating. This one was taken home by the little one in the hope that it will make some nice perfume in the room. Next time, I collected a couple for my home. I hope to keep an eye out for the next round of pine cones and will try to fill my fireplace grate with them. They reminded me of the really large cones I found in Madeira all along the mountain walks. 

By now the young lady was tired out and sat in her push chair. Her mother was taking a unilateral decision to call it a day and go home. However, since I had promised the child a ride on the swings and slides, I asked her what she wanted to do. This is always wise if you wish to get the child to trust you and come along again to have some fun and run around in the park. Can you guess what she chose? Yes it was the playground. It was like she got second wind and had a good 20 minutes of going on every appliance there. And it was one happy but tired child who had to be persuaded to come away with a promise of another trip. The plans for the afternoon were made in the car, a jacket potato and baked beans for lunch and a nice long nap.