Murrurindi NSW.

Murrurindi NSW where we stayed a night.  This town has less than 900 people, it's a tidy rural town.
There's a map at the bottom so you can see where we were in winter 2018 in relation to Sydney NSW.

Caravan Park at Murrurindi NSW.

17 km up the road we came across roadworks which was at Willow Tree.

On the way to Murrurundi NSW

After Sofala NSW we headed north through Growee where the cattle we on the 'long paddock' then over the bridge in Denman NSW through Muswellbrook but not into the town.
This is some of the scenery on the way.

On the way to Orange NSW

Went through Harden, Canowindra in NSW before we got to Orange NSW.
At Canowindra we had to buy a loaf of bread for lunch - but where to park as you can see by the photos plus we drove into town and not bypassed it.
My husband is always 'tinny' when it comes to parking he often gets just outside the door of where he wishes to shop, this time it was no different even with the caravan in tow..we parked right outside the towns supermarket in photo 4.
These photos were taken with my phone and I missed them when doing my previous posts.

Down the other end of town, the northern end we came across the park which was lovely - lines of date palms.

Past through Sofala NSW

Went through Sofala a small country town or village NW of Sydney and the Blue Mountains on a cool but sunny crisp morning.
Sofala, for local traffic only but we went in with the caravan turned around and came back out again.
The locals were curious and I'm sure our short drive through the town of about 200 people went through the area like a wild fire at 10.15am in the morning :)

Took the photos whilst moving along slowly from the vehicle.  The lady below was having cigarette and reading her phone in her dressing gown.

Dog on the Tucker Box, Snake Gully, NSW

Just out of Gundagai is the Dog on the Tucker Box at Snake Gully in NSW.
The Statue of the Dog was unveiled by the then Prime Minister of Australia Joseph Lyons in 1932 as a tribute to pioneers.
Joseph Lyons was born in Stanley Tasmania :)

The Statue was inspired by a bullock drover's poem, 'Bullocky Bill', which humorously describes a series of misfortunes faced by the drover, culiminating in his food being spoiled by his dog who sits either in or on his tuckerbox. (Similar to a lunchbox)

'Bullocky Bill'

As I came down Talbingo Hill

I heard a maiden cry,

'There goes old Bill the Bullocky-

He's bound for Gundagai.'

A better poor old begger

Never cracked an honest crust,

A tougher poor old beggar

Never drug a whip through dust.

His team got bogged on the five-mile creek,

Bill lashed and swore and cried,

'If Nobbie don't get me out of this

I'll tattoo his bloody hide.'

But Nobbie strained and broke the yoke

And poled out the leader's eye,

And the dog sat on the tucker-box

Five miles from Gundagai.

A wishing well at the foot of the Dog on the Tuckerbox, and a souvenir shop/food behind.

These are the ruins of an inn that was built by Joseph and Rosannah Carberry in 1857-8 and opened by them as 'The Limestone Inn' in April 1858. It consisted of twelve rooms with a cellar at the southern end, a detached kitchen, storeroom, stables and other outbuildings, all of them built of stone.  The Carberrys erected the inn to cater to the passing trade on the main road between Sydney and Melbourne, but it also attracted much local custom largely because of Rosannah Carberry's fine piono-playing.  In April 1861, a bushranger named 'Jack-in-the boots' and an accomplice held up the inn and robbed patrons and staff of their money.  After the Carberry changed the inn's name to '

The Australian Arms' for a short period, it was run by a succession of other licencees as 'The Squatter's Arms' from 1865 until it finally closed in 1876.  

Along the road to Gundagai, NSW

Before we went to Orange we drove passed Gundagai NSW not going into the town, we found a lookout and photo's are of the view we had from the caravan window whilst we ate lunch.

Songs and poems have been written around the area of Gundagai because the town represents a typical country town in Australia.

The song 'Along the road to Gundagai' was the theme song for 'Dad and Dave' and radio serial many years back.

Words to a song which was popular many years ago was written and sung by Jack O'Hagan.

   

Well there's a track winding back to an old fashioned shack
Along the road to Gundagai
Where the gums are growin' and the Murrumbidgee's flowin'
Beneath the sunny sky
There's my mother and daddy are waitin' for me
And the pals of my childhood once more I will see
And no more will I roam 'cos I'm headin' right for home
Along the road to Gundagai

There's my mother and daddy are waitin' for me
And the pals of my childhood once more I will see
And no more will I roam 'cos I'm headin' right for home
Along the road to Gundagai

Later in years made popular by the late Slim Dusty. This was the only version I could find!

Photo below was along the road, and never seen a yellow windmill before there was only a split second to take the photo out the window of the vehicle as we began to go around a bend.

On the way up North

Continuing in Winter 2018 up north in New South Wales (NSW) to Murrurundi, NSW for a night.
On the way we came across cobwebs on the trees with frost on them.
The country side appeared to be a bit dry for early winter it was later in our journey that we came across the drought.
Sheep are seen in the long paddock, and some might recall the meaning of the long paddock - it's the side of the road for km or miles where cattle or sheep feed.

We turned to the left at the junction

A few of the houses as we went through a town

This photo was taken as we were moving along so hence it might be a bit blurred.

As we left Orange, NSW

Whilst we stayed in Orange for 3 days in winter this year miss 6 year old granddaughter asked her parents, 'what is out there that Nanny and Poppy want to see and do see', so it was arranged that Miss 6 have an email address and that I send her photos each day for what I saw, in return she emailed me back with eldest son writing emails on her behalf.  This kept me busy as well as both of them.
During our time away Miss 6 and her dad went to Melbourne to a concert and then hired a car and drove to Canberra in our State Capital for a few days, going to Floriade (a flower displace) and a few other things whilst in Canberra. Miss 6's mum stayed home to look after her little brother Master 3.

On our way to the next stop for the night, before we left Orange there was another hard frost where the temperature was once again minus 7 deg C in the morning.

The landscape being covered in frost with frost on the trees.
The photos were taken from the moving vehicle as there was no where safe to stop to take photos.

This is a playground near Bathurst, NSW.

The unexpected in Orange, NSW

From Holbrook we headed to Orange having never been there.  What a surprise when we woke the next morning - hard to believe because never before have we seen such a sight.  We stayed in Orange 3 nights.

A bit about Orange, NSW which is a city in the Central Western region of New South Wales, Australia. Sydney is 206 km (128 ml).  Orange has an altitude of 862 m (2,828 ft) above sea level.
The urban population is about 39,755 people.  A landmark area nearby is Mt. Canobolas with a peak elevation of 1,395 m (4,577 ft) with lovely views of Orange.

Orange is the birth place of poets Banjo Paterson and Kenneth Slessor, although Paterson lived in Orange for only a short time as an infant.  Most Australians would know of Banjo Paterson's works.
The first Australian Touring Car Championship known today as V8 Supercar Championship Series, was held at the Gnoo Blas Motor Racing Circuit in 1960.
Part Wikipedia.

Reading the elevation one can see why the following photos are as they are.
This is what greeted me in the morning - never seen such a frost, we had 2 in a row.  These photos are of part of the caravan park, the outlook is part of the showground where two men were training their dogs.

That is our caravan on the bottom photo on the right.

It was spoken of the great vies on Mount Canobolas but alas at the lookout couldn't see much at all.

A street in Orange, typical of cities and towns in central Queensland.

Buildings in Holbrook, NSW

The town of Holbrook's buildings in the main street..
The Woolpack Inn Museum was once a Hotel, some history below from the Museum.

The Museum is a two story heritage listed historic building in the main st of Holbrook.
The original Woolpack Inn was opened in 1839 by John Mitten and continued trading until it was destroyed by fire in 1895.
The current building was built as the Criterion Hotel in 1895 and was affectionately known by the locals as the 'Bottom Pub' which continued trading until 1965.
In 1971 after a good deal of work by volunteers the Woolpack Inn Museum opened it's doors to the public.