Travelling All Over The Countryside

This last weekend was the Queen’s King’s Birthday Long Weekend.  That will take a bit of getting used to.  It is also the traditional Bonfire Night weekend.

Last year we went to the community bonfire down at Portland and thoroughly enjoyed it, so we went again this year. It is held on the site of the former cement works, which has some wonderful old industrial buildings. 

I’d hoped to see the painted silos in the late afternoon sunlight, but we were a fraction too late.  They are still nice to see.  As you can tell, the weather was crystal clear, which bode well for the smoke from the bonfire, but also meant it would get quite cold.

As a part of the event, there are twilight markets in the old industrial buildings.

The bonfire was lit just on dark.  Now that is quite some fire.

We were rugged up, but were quite warm from the heat of the bonfire.  Note that Mick was wearing his new beanie.  It kept his ears nice and toasty.

Behind us, the old buildings look so good in the night.

There was live music, and they played continuously for the whole time we were down there.

I love a good silhouette.

We like to play at looking for monsters and creatures and faces in a fire and had some success this year. Can you see the poodle’s head?  Or maybe it’s a lamb?

There was also a snake’s head.

And a crocodile’s head with its mouth open.

The highlight of the evening was the fireworks display.  

It is rather handy that one of Australia’s main fireworks companies is quite nearby.

After the fireworks it was time to head home.  Once we left the fire, we discovered that it was quite cold, actually down to freezing point and it was only 8 o’clock.  Brrr!

We were out and about on Sunday too.  We had bought some honey at the Rockley Markets just before Christmas and wanted some more, so off to the markets we went.

It was a picture perfect morning and surprisingly warm.  They are a lovely market to visit.  Yes, we bought the honey we went for, as well as some fresh quinces, sauce, dried flowers, coffee and cake.  You have to have coffee and cake at events like this.  We could have bought much more, but we think we came home with enough as it was.

While in the village we notice that there is a new store opposites the pub.  When Mick was a kid, this was one of two general stores in the village, this one being Cullins store.  Mick’s family did much of their shopping there, as it stocked all sorts of things.

It now stocks all sorts of things, but more in the bric a brac and craft lines. Isn’t that light well in the ceiling wonderful.

Mick was pleased to see that many of the original fittings are still in place.

The village was a hive of activity, being a long weekend and sunny weather.  Of course, the fact that Matt Moran now owns the pub is a bit of a drawcard.

Once we left Rockley, we had to drive up to Orange for a family lunch, but took the scenic route, as we are inclined to do.

We had a bit of a bonus along the way…..

There were steam trains running out of Bathurst over the long weekend.  We have been on rides over the last few years, so didn’t bother this time.  Well, coincidentally, the train was just where we were driving, so we did a bit of train spotting.

There was a vintage diesel engine at the back that was helping on the steepest grades.

It was fun having the train travel beside us for a little while.

And then we had to wait at the crossing for it to pass, as we were taking a minor road as part of our scenic detour.

After lunch, as the weather was so nice, we decided to drive to the top of Mount Canobolas to see what we could see.  Mount Canobolas has an elevation of 1397 metres above sea level and is the highest point between the east and west coasts of Australia at its latitude.  Even though it is about 75kms from our home, you can see it from the hill behind us.

The explorer Major Thomas Mitchell was the first European to climb the mount in 1835, when he was setting off on his journey to explore he course of the Darling River.

Of course, there was a long standing connection to the Wiradjuri people, being a sacred initiation ground for young men and for making stone tools, as well a rich food source.

The main point of reference when looking for Mount Canobolas from the distance is all the communications towers on the summit.

You can see forever from up there, but we were surprised at how hazy it was in the distance.

And so ended another fun filled weekend. We were so lucky to have beautiful weather for both days, as Monday ended up being cold and bleak. As a result, we didn’t mind at all staying home.