Our December Travels - Bingara & Sawn Rocks

It's time to share more of our trip in December.  I shared the first installment here.

We spent two nights at the little town of Bingara. Mick and I have been through here several time and I had thought it would be a nice place to stay, with the caravan park by the river.

We went for an early morning walk and the river was looking a picture.  We loved these huge old trees.

The original old bridge is still in use. The water level was quite high and I assume there was a water release for irrigation from Copeton Dam, upstream, as the water was quite clear.

There appears to have been quite a bit of money spent lately, with a new walkway along the river and this new pontoon.

The swimming pool, next to the caravan park, has been upgraded during 2020 and looked amazing.  As the weather was still very hot, with temperatures in the high 30sC each day, it was being well patronised by the locals.  Apparently, the caravan park is next in line to be upgraded.

A place we wanted to visit was the art deco Roxy Theatre.  Mick and I have visited here some years ago, but wished to share with our friends.

The story goes that two Greek men came to town and established a restaurant on the other side of the street.  They eventually built this stunning theatre, opening in mid 1936. There is speculation as to why they considered building such a grand building in Bingara.  It was a small town back then, much like it is today, and there was already a cinema operating in the town.

The cinema operated until 1958 and the building stood empty for many years, but was still basically in its original condition.  The building, together with the Peters Cafe next door on one side, and the two shops on the other side were eventually purchased by the local council.  In the early 2000s the council gained a government grant and proceeded to restore the buildings, with a grand opening in 2004.

 Let's have a look at what all the fuss is about.

The council have completed an addition to the back of the building with all new facilities for performers as well as a large commercial kitchen and a courtyard to the side of the building.  A wonderful asset for the community.

There were several Peters Cafes throughout the state, generally operated by Greek families.

Many original or contemporary fittings were able to be used in the restoration of this cafe.  The beautiful travertine floor is original.

When Mick and I first visited, shortly after the restoration, they were looking for someone to operate the cafe.

Apparently, it has been operating as a cafe, but sadly, the COVID-19 shut down during 2020 caused the operator to close down.  They are now, once again, looking for someone to run the cafe.  I was really looking forward to visiting, but it was not to be.  Hopefully, next time we pass through we will be able to call in for a milk shake or meal.

In the foyer of the theatre there is an interesting museum on the history of Greek cafes.

After an early lunch, we headed west towards Narrabri, through some beautiful countryside, to find the "Sawn Rocks". This is part of the Kaputar National Park.  Mick and I visited Mt Kaputar a few years ago, but did not have time to visit Sawn Rocks.

The weather was in the high 30sC, so we were pleased that it was  an easy walk of just under a kilometre along a sealed path to reach the rocks.

We were a bit surprised to see vegetation reminiscent of a rain forest in this otherwise dryer environment.

It was interesting to read on an interpretive board that there are remnants of rainforest in some gullies, where a microclimate exists.  It didn't photograph well, but there was a huge area of maindenhair fern.

Finally, we reached a viewing platform where you had a great view of the Sawn Rocks.  What a spectacular sight.  They are formed in a similar way to the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

If you can enlarge the above photo, you can read about how they were formed by volcanic activity.  They extend 40 metres high above the ground and also 30 metres below the surface.

After the nice and easy walk along the path, there is a small set of stairs down to the creek at the base of the rocks.

At the base of the valley it is a jumble of rocks that, over time, have fallen from the rock formation.

This gives you an idea of the scale of the organ pipes.

At the base there was a little creek trickling away.

There were quite a few yellow faced honey eaters enjoying the cool water, on such a hot day.

When you look down, you can see the shape of the organ pipes, which extend deep into the ground.

As we were leaving we noticed that there was even a little tree growing out the side of the rocks.

We really enjoyed exploring this wonderful natural formation.  We think we may try to revisit the area in spring for the wild flowers, visiting here and also Mt Kaputar, which is so high that it has alpine plants at the top.  Something to scheme on.

After such a hot, strenuous activity (well, not really strenuous) we drove on to Narrabri to have an ice cream.  Sadly, being Saturday afternoon, there weren't any cafe's open, so we settled for a cool drink, before heading back to Bingara.

We enjoyed a delicious meal at one of the pubs to finish off our visit to the nice little town.