Dubbo, N.S.W.

We continued our journey east and took advantage of a special offer to stay in a Dubbo caravan park for three nights at only $20 a night. The offer was received by email from one of the caravan park chains and was only valid for 24 hours. It’s very rare to be able to accept an offer like this because you’re never in that right place at the right time. Such is the advantage of being flexible in your travel plans.

The main street of Mudgee.

In the main street of Narromine, the home town of cricket great Glenn McGrath.

We have fond memories of Dubbo, having stayed here in 1991 when the kids were kids and the four of us were travelling up the east coast of Australia in a hired motorhome. Unlike back then, we didn’t visit the Western Plains Zoo this time, but explored more of this town of 40,000 people. The Old Gaol is now restored as a tourist attraction and had some very clever audio-visual displays, although the treatment of prisoners back in the late 1800s was quite macabre. The wide, leafy streets of the city seem to be typical of these rural towns, and it was delightful to wander under wide shop verandas and large shady trees. We took the opportunity to meet up with Anne’s aunt and uncle and some cousins, and they gave us some good insights into living in this part of Australia.

 

In the main street of Nyngan, to commemorate the evacuation by the Air Force during the 1990 floods.

Being at the intersection of the Mitchell, Newell and Golden highways, Dubbo caters for many passing tourists as they travel in all directions, but its major industries are agricultural. There is also a major hospital and the Charles Sturt University. It’s on the Macquarie River, which runs into the Darling, which runs into the Murray. After three days we moved on to Mudgee and then Rylstone in the western foothills of the Blue Mountains, which has the Cudgegong River running through it before it flows into the Macquarie, and then the Darling, and the Murray. This huge river system seems to cover so much of Australia!

Rylstone is the home of James and Joanne, whom we met on our 2009 Turkey tour and have remained friends ever since. We parked the van in their yard but stayed in their house for four nights. With a population of about 600, it seems that we’ve met the entire town after a couple of days, because James and Jo have lived here for many years. It’s a hugely friendly town and we have a few days to relax and explore the area.