Warrumbungle National Park

Back in early July we did a VERY  quick visit to the Warrumbungle National Park. A lot of the park was still closed due to the fires that recently devastated the area in January of this year.  We had intended to visit the park at that time but the fires obviously put our plans on hold.  It is a shame we did not see the park as it was but there was a beauty in the recovering landscape that was very inspiring all the same.

Regrowth is evident and in places the green growth frames the burnt areas in a reminder that nature is a cycle. This provided a lot to talk about with both children as we walked about and saw the evidence of the fires everywhere.

Siding Spring Observatory. This is a must see kind of place.  I was not sure what to expect but it was very child friendly with lots of hands on activities that made science fun.

You could stand on the scales to see what you would weigh on other planets.  I think I was about half a tonne on the sun but thankfully earth's gravity is different ;)

Then you could see what 1 litre of milk would weigh on different planets depending on their gravity.  Some were lighter and some you could not lift.  It was great and a wonderful way of demonstrating the concept.

Both children had fun and it was wonderful that there was so much for them to do so I was not having to tell them to not touch everything every two minutes like some places. 

The telescope was well worth the look too.

Whitegum Lookout was an easy walk that is sealed for ease of access.  This was a great walk to see the signs of the bush fire up close so that we could discuss it with the children.

Burbie Canyon was an easy 2 km return walk along a stream.  The children had fun walking (and running) along the track, scrambling and jumping the stream.

The lookout and Burbie Canyon walk were the only two walks open when we went.  I think more of the park is open now.  We will go back and camp one of these days so we can explore more of the tracks and the rock climbing too.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo - Part 2

Never mind the fact that these photos are from LAST school holidays and I am obviously so far behind in everything that I despair of EVER catching up; here are the rest of the zoo photos as promised in Part 1 some time ago...

My children are part monkey, they HAVE to climb on everything!  Thankfully the zoo caters for children such as mine and there are plenty of things for them to scramble on.

I love the zebras.  They are one of my favourite animals.  I love the distinctive stripes and the fact they are like fingerprints; all different.  I also think I like their similarity to horses.

We sat and watched the zebras standing in the warm sun for awhile before moving.  There was a baby foal that was very new but the mum was smart enough to have the foal in the middle of the big yard as far away from people as she could get.

More climbing...

This was a highlight.  The Galapagos Tortoises were under the heat lamps in the shed with the exception of this fellow.  He not only braved the chill but came over for a gentle pat.  The children loved it and it was very awe inspiring. 

Such wonderful animals with their wizened eyes.

There you go.  Given we visited way back in July this post has been a long time coming.  I have a lot of other things to catch up on too but I don't want to rush these things..!

Questacon

Over the Christmas break we found ourselves in Canberra briefly.  We had enough time to stop and visit for a couple of hours only so we decided to head to Questacon.

The children, despite being quite young, had an absolutely fantastic time.  There is so much to do, a lot of it hands on even for their stage although there was also a lot for older folk.

The children keep telling me they want to go back.  It is a shame we live so far away so they will have to wait until we are next on the road south. 

I cannot recommend Questacon enough. We all enjoyed it and will go back.

Easter Road Trip

We drove South to be able to attend a family party.  A 60th wedding anniversary.  60!
It was about 900km away which is a big drive with the kids, especially when you have to turn around and do it again to come home too.  They are little troopers!

Someone showed Possum how to use an iPad.  Now she keeps asking to play games on the Mr's phone because she knows how.  Blue was more interested in the party food, with a host of older relatives to encourage him he ate a lot of cupcakes.  It was a great afternoon.

On the drive down Blue looked out of the window and said 'look at the far away meadow' which I thought was a bit funny.  We have paddocks at home so I guess the telly is to blame for the meadow reference.

We spent one night in a motel on the way down, the kids slept while we put them in bed, but there was only one bed so we put one at each end and tucked them in.  Blue woke up a couple of hours later and whispered 'there is something in my bed' but was happy when I told him it was Possum.

Banjo the dog came with us.  I don't have his puppy card yet so couldn't put him in a kennel.  He is such a great traveler!  I put a little carpet square in the back under Blue's seat and Banjo jumped in and slept while ever the car was moving and got out to run with the kids at each park we pulled up in.

And as far as parks went, we pulled up in plenty!

Lightning Ridge

Further to our camping adventures mentioned in the last post, we also went to Lightning Ridge.  It was AMAZING.  So very different to anything I had seen before.

The bottle house.  The light inside from the sun shining through this glass would be amazing to live with.  I wonder how long it took to drink the beer in the bottles?  

In any given direction you would see either mounds taken from mines, shafts, or shacks.

A beer can house built in 1977.  I thought this was wonderful!

A Church knocked up for a film set.

And a castle made by Amigo.  It even has dungeons under that connect to this mine.

Part of me wants to live here.

I didn't find my own opal, but I bought some in a small pair of earrings :)

If you have small children there is still plenty of things to see and do, but don't go in Summer for a visit, it was already verging on too hot for my two smalls.

Brewarrina and Bourke, NSW

A week ago we set off West so the Mr could do a job near Bourke.  I had not been that far out before so we all jumped in the car to make a weekend of it.  

We found a campsite at the Brewarrina 4 mile and pitched the tents.   

There was toilets and cold showers which was great.  It was lovely watching the sun set over the Barwon river. and the children loved walking down to the jetty to look at the water.  Blue called it a 'creek paddock' but this was a bit bigger than our creek at home :)

Possum wrote a story about this trip at pre-school this week.  They both love camping and I was happy to see a new area.  

We saw the red dust of Bourke and put in a few hours of work too.

Pegging out ready for construction to begin.

I took the easy job driving the total station and left the Mr out in the heat.

Bourke was hot, which was a great excuse to have a swim in the Darling river when we finished this job.  If you are heading Outback for a visit I don't recommend Summer, especially if you only have a tent.

Road Trip

We had another occasion to hit the road the other day and as per usual I had my camera with me:

Cowra's World Peace Bell weighing 477 kilograms and made from melted coins and medals from the countries of the United Nations.  I rang the bell and thought of peace.

Canola near Molong.  I love the yellow of canola at this time of year. 

Modern Art north of Wellington at the turnoff to the Wellington Caves.  I don't often understand modern art and looking at it up close did not help in this instance.

Tambar Springs Cenotaph is said to be the oldest Cenotaph in Australia.