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A Quick trip to NSW's Central West - an old brown dog, a grapefruit & a

A Quick trip to NSW's Central West - an old brown dog, a grapefruit & a

Old Nov 23rd, 2010, 06:02 AM
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A Quick trip to NSW's Central West - an old brown dog, a grapefruit & a

Looking for a couple of days away? Love Tuscany but haven't the time? Hop in your car & head West to Orange, Mudgee or Dubbo.

I might add a bit later, but just wanted to tell you how lush & gorgeous the countryside is right now. I took the Bells Line of Road, stopped at "Tutti Fruitti" at Kurrajong Heights for morning tea.
http://www.tuttifruitti.com.au/
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Old Nov 23rd, 2010, 12:22 PM
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It was the "Cherries - $10 a box" sign that caught my eye, and buckets of yellow tea roses outside the cafe brought me to a stop on the gravel a few metres past Tutti Fruitti.

A couple sitting on the verandah tell me I should try the fresh berry scones. Inside, there's a range of competitors for the scones, including a delicious quiche. It's only fair to have one of each with my coffee, isn't it?

Wandering outside to find a table, I realise the cafe's sitting in a couple of acres of rose gardens and find a shady spot on the lawn. The perfume is intoxicating & I'm back in my favourite Aunt's wonderful rose garden 500 miles & many years ago. So many roses are bred for longevity & appearance at the expense of aroma these days.

An old brown dog, a kelpie, wide as he is tall, wanders up & plops down beside me, the greying whiskers of many summers bearding his mouth. What IS that in his mouth? A raggedy yellowish half sphere.

Well, of course, it's a tennis ball, I can hear you thinking.

Try a grapefruit! A nudge invites me to toss the dropped piece and after a few throws, he settles down with a paw on my foot to finish his morning fruit. As you do. Apparently, he's preferred citrus to tennis balls since his youth and now, in his 16th or 17th year, isn't about to change.

Clutching a dozen Autumn coloured roses, the box of cherries and a jar of local creamed honey for my friends in Orange, I head back to my car in a Tom T Hall reverie of, "Old Dogs & children & watermelon wine." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4s3bT-Gk6I.

Here & there, a wild waratah or a bright of parrot catches my eye before the windy road flattens out beyond Lithgow & the last of the bellbirds' "Tink, Tink" mark the twists & turns. Turn off the sound system, open the roof or windows - the scrunch of the road, smells of the eucalypts, bush noises & bird song around the 25km "S" bends are uniquely Australian.http://www.anbg.gov.au/emblems/nsw.emblem.html

Purple paddocks of Patterson's Curse (Salvation Jane in SA), and patches of bright yellow daisies & mustard weed dot the green landscape as the mountains give way to undulating hills and are reminders of far off lavender farms & canola crops.

The poplar trees, so stark in Winter, are glistening with shiny new leaves & willows bend & sway over full creeks. Only the occasional patch of blackened tree trunks, stark against the green, bear testimony to the bushfires of our wilful, beautiful land & belie the "field & shaded coppice" vistas.
http://oldpoetry.com/opoem/21197-Dor...lar-My-Country
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Old Nov 23rd, 2010, 12:49 PM
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Great writing Bokhara!
I have just returned from a week in Central Australia and it is very beautiful at the moment. My vista was also disturbed by invasive exotics; buffle grass being the main villain rather than willows and rape.
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Old Nov 23rd, 2010, 01:26 PM
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Yes a lovely read - Thanks Bokhara but $10 for a box of cherries? It's almost worth the trip just for that bargain!
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Old Nov 23rd, 2010, 03:06 PM
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Very descriptive Bokhara, I almost felt as if I were there.
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Old Nov 23rd, 2010, 09:00 PM
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Loved it, Bokhara, thanks so much for posting -

"The poplar trees, so stark in Winter, are glistening with shiny new leaves & willows bend & sway over full creeks. Only the occasional patch of blackened tree trunks, stark against the green, bear testimony to the bushfires of our wilful, beautiful land & belie the "field & shaded coppice" vistas."

Perfect writing!
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Old Nov 23rd, 2010, 10:40 PM
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Amen to all of the above comments, Bokhara. You have painted a vivid word picture; one that brings a smile to my face as if I was there, enjoying the sights and sounds.
Rob.
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Old Nov 24th, 2010, 01:44 PM
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OOOOH Bokhara, all sounds so familiar and lovely !
And your not wrong it's gorgeous.

I'll second the Orange suggestion, lovely area to visit. We loved Orange it was a great part of our long drive around NSW. We met some lovely people too !!

Muck
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Old Nov 24th, 2010, 02:28 PM
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Hi Muck,

You can attest to the fact that it's not ALWAYS clear blue skies & green grass, can't you?

For the rest of you - Muck & Mrs Muck were in the Orange-Blue Mountains - Sydney loop when the huge dust storm hit last year.
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/we...0923-g0so.html
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Old Nov 24th, 2010, 05:27 PM
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On a hill just outside Lithgow I saw a huge mob (flock? herd?) of kangaroos last December, around 9am - must have been 50 or more just standing around.

Went through the same time the following week - and nary a one!

Was a pretty amazing sight, though.

G'day Muck!
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Old Nov 25th, 2010, 09:41 AM
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Yeah, that red dust was incredible. Hire car was covered.
So was most of Sydney.

I always thought collective term for kangaroos was a troop or mob? (Or dinner, did ya catch any Margo?)




Muck
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Old Nov 25th, 2010, 12:56 PM
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Mob is correct margo.
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Old Nov 26th, 2010, 12:54 PM
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@Mucky

yes - perhaps these were farmed kangaroos -it was someone's property. So one may well end up on my dinner table! (I fed the Mucks kangaroo when they were in Sydney!)
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Old Nov 26th, 2010, 12:55 PM
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delicious it was too !!!

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Old Nov 27th, 2010, 08:24 AM
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New South Wales gets pretty special as you go west. Parkes, on to Dubbo, head to Nyngan, then about 200 km of dead straight r5ad, and you are in Bourke. Maybe you’ve reached the outback at Bourke, when you cross the Darling, but the locals will always tell you that the Outback starts a little further West.

I love that part of the world – somehow that rather sun dried, parched landscape, just waiting for rain to come alive, speaks to me.

As does Bokhara’s trip report above. I think that Bokhara is a Bourke lass – any elucidation on that?
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Old Nov 28th, 2010, 01:14 AM
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Good stuff Bokhara. Spent a lot of time walking in the Blue Mountains and poking around the central west in my younger days while living in Sydney.
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Old Nov 28th, 2010, 06:24 PM
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Thanks everyone - you're very kind.

Was going to finish this today, but just had a call from the long-awaited painter to say they'll be here on Wednesday, so quick change of plan.

Peter_S_Aus: Close, but no cigar; although it's certainly true to say there's more than a drop of river water in my veins & a few gidgee roots in my soul.

We might just take a quick run up to Millthorpe before I have to go ... It's less than an hour's drive, so surely I can bash out a few thoughts in 20 mins.

Lithgow was best known for its coal mining http://www.lithgow-tourism.com/coal.htm and it still feels like it. Gritty, sunk in a valley, to the passer-by, it has a face only a local could love. I want to say, "Unremittingly glum as a Frank McCourt novel", but that's a bit mean. There’s certainly none of the showy exhibition of Lithgow’s underground wealth so evident in the Gold Rush towns & occasional rural properties a little further west. Maybe it's just Presbyterian modesty.

It does have the world’s best hamburgers, though. No idea what the place is called, possibly Charcoal Chooks, but it’s on the left hand side heading west. One of those, “I know it when I see it” places. None of this Macca’s sweet bun & beef “Patty” rubbish – these are the real deal. And you have to get out of the car to eat them. No burger for me today, though – meeting friends in Orange for lunch at the Union Bank.

Out of town & I'm amused to see there's a now 5km stretch of 110km where an eagle eyed cop pulled me over at 105km when I had to get around a semi to take the Mudgee Road, in another lifetime. Of course I got off - I was 22. And his uncle was our shearing contractor. I digress.

Here & there a jacaranda or a brick chimney in a paddock mark the spot of an old cottage; beautiful little churches whisper of the people who came, settled, formed communities and moved on.
http://www.bathurst-nsw.com/SofalaWattleFlat.html

Coming into Bathurst, I always glance at the Kelso sign & send my Mum a “Thank You” thought. She & her sisters were amongst the first students at Marsden, where the first Headmistress was the Queen Mother’s cousin, Miss Juliet Mabel Lyon.

From the NEGS(New England Girls’ School at Armidale) archives: “Born and raised in rural Victoria, Miss Lyon could trace her lineage to the British Royal Family via her noble Scottish ancestry. After studying at Cambridge University, Miss Lyon was appointed headmistress at St Margaret’s School, Brisbane. She became NEGS’ fifth principal during the last six months of the Great War. She resigned in March 1925 to become the founding principal of Marsden School, Bathurst.”
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/21783829

The boys went to All Saints, which amalgamated with Marsden some years ago (60’s/70’s I think). http://www.saints.nsw.edu.au/story

My mother’s memories of trudging into town to the Cathedral on freezing winter mornings was enough to keep her from sending me to her alma mater! She was right – I’m a warm blood & would have frozen to death.

I can’t imagine trekking down there hundreds of miles in sulkies & early cars as all those country people did. Imagine 500+ miles of dirt roads over ?days with a bunch of kids. That's why every village & hamlet had a hotel.

I’ve a couple of her old Report Cards and a pair of tiny tan leather gloves. Hard to imagine your Mother as a 6 year old, isn’t it?

I had the chance to find out about Bathurst cold in my 20’s. Having chanced our arm on finding accommodation after a race meeting in Bathurst, a young couple found themselves sleeping in their car with only a fur coat & a picnic rug between them & hypothermia. Could have been worse – we’d only been married a couple of months And the horse won.

I didn’t this time, but you might take the side road near Kelso & go past Abercrombie House. They open it to the public from time to time, but even from the road, it’s an impressive salute to the history & buildings of the 1800’s.
http://www.visitnsw.com/Sites/SiteID...c_bathurst.pdf

Just nipping into Millthorpe to pick up some Angullong wines from the Crossings. They’ve been in the district since the late 40’s/early 50’s and are an example of many country people’s decision to diversify their businesses; planting grapes in 1998 to complement their Angus beef & cropping.
http://www.angullong.com.au/

Millthorpe’s charming and has so much to offer, including some seriously good food and accommodation. Only about 20 mins from Bathurst. Turn off at Vittoria. http://millthorpevillage.com.au/

Remember I said the Central West could be Tuscany (or Provence)? Truffles are grown just out of Millthorpe, and you can go on a truffle finding expedition. Don’t know about the sniffer pigs of, “A Year in Provence” – but I’m sure any pocketing of the precious little pongsters would be met with a similarly dour response!

I’ve had some wonderful meals at Tonic, and am going with some friends after the Orange Food Week next year. http://www.tonicmillthorpe.com.au/reservations/ It’s only 15 – 20 mins from Orange & well patronised by locals as well as the growing troupe of city slickers discovering there’s a lot of good stuff going on over the hill.

I read or heard something about country towns over the weekend that resonated. It might have been in connection with the Rent-a-Farmhouse project.

Anyway, it was along the lines of ... “Country towns are like ducks on a pond. On the surface, it looks as if nothing’s happening. Yet underneath, they’re paddling like mad, making everything work.”

The upshot was that this city chap had moved to a country village with his wife & young family and was astonished at how everyone in the community hopped in to make it work – the same people might be running the volunteer fire brigade, pony club and helping out with the swimming club; sitting on the hospital Board; while others are Hon Sec at the tennis, golf & pre-school – all holding down full time jobs or running their businesses.

It doesn’t happen everywhere, or all the time, of course. And unless we're a local, or know some – we would have no idea what’s really going on in that sleepy little hamlet with the 70km zone 50 metres long through the “Town Centre”.

I'm absolutely chuffed to see ex-country youngsters returning and urbanites making "tree changes", bringing wonderful fresh ideas & new life springing up here & there, like some of these Central West towns.

Have a look at the Rent a Farmhouse project http://www.rentafarmhouse.com.au/INDEX.htm - while I pop into the Old Mill Cafe for a coffee. No website, but it’s on the Millthorpe town site.

On second thought, maybe you’d like to take a wander around Millthorpe, have a meal (Basalt at the Commercial is a good little winebar/bistro) somewhere. Plenty to occupy you for a while ... and much more fun than cleaning out rooms for the painters!
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Old Nov 28th, 2010, 09:31 PM
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I get to Bathurst quite regularly - but haven't progressed to Millthorpe yet. Saw a bit of Blayney a while back - not an attractive town. Agree with your description of Lithgow.
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Old Mar 3rd, 2011, 03:53 AM
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Found a nice spot for coffee break/lunch/dinner just outside Bilpin (Bells Line of Road) on the way back from this trip.

Apple Bar sounds like a roadside fruit stall, but it isn't - it's a surprisingly good restaurant/bistro.
http://www.applebar.com.au/

Local Government stupidity has put a halt to the Truffle Forages. Apparently Orange Council is demanding the owners install a fully sealed road and bus turning area on their property before they will allow them to run the tours. Estimated cost $100k. Gawd help me ...don't you just wonder what some of these idiots use to keep their ears apart? Needless to say, the owners ... er ... demurred, so it looks as if the tours will stop, unless someone on Council has a rush of blood to the brain.

I'm going up for Orange Food Week, so will be interesting to see what's happening then.

http://www.orangefoodweek.com.au/F.O...range-NSW.html

It's a great week, so if you're looking for something interesting 8th - 17th April ... book early if you want to go to something specific, they sell out quickly.
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Old Mar 5th, 2011, 01:14 PM
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Thanks for a terrific report Bokhara, I haven't been out west for ages. Orange Food Week looks very tempting...
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