Aussie Road Trip Day Five Friday 19th July 2013

A whole lotta nuthin'

Holidays never quite go to plan do they?

But that's half the fun! At least that's what I'm telling myself after missing seeing the Western Plains Zoo, which was to be a highlight of the trip.

Well technically we did see it .... through driving rain as we sailed past the entrance on our way to Parkes. Just as we saw the Vatican in Rome .... from the outside as we drove past in a taxi everyday without stopping to go in. The Sistine Chapel and Dubbo Zoo will have to remain "on the list"

The weather was truly vile, and quite frankly the idea of going around the zoo in the cold and wet and then having to make a mad dash to Hay (our next overnight stop) possibly in the dark and rain was NOT appealing.



Roameo found the dish looking like a large wine glass

Barb outside the dish

We sensibly chose to push on towards Parkes very early and arrived at the Parkes Radio Telescope Observatory in time for opening and for coffee at 8.30 am. This turned out to be a really good move. We were early enough to see the vast dish manouvred into position for the day. When we first saw it, the dish looked like a wine glass, but after much manouvering it ended up tipped at about a 45 degree angle. John said it was to tip out the water from the rain overnight (like those bucket affairs at water parks).

The dish about to move

The dish tips over

He was very absorbed by all the geeky information. I liked the whispering parabaloid dishes out the front.

John reading all the technical info

John in the gardens at Parkes Radiotelescope

We drove on along the Newell Highway towards Forbes, and stopped there briefly for a leg stretching walk. Forbes was rather  a pretty town with lots of nice old buildings in reasonable repair.

Pretty Forbes

Barb in Forbes

Contrastingly, West Wyalong (where we stopped for lunch) looked very down trodden and sad. Lunch was a bit underwhelming too, so we thought we'd stop for afternoon coffee en route to Hay at one of the small towns marked on the map between West Wyalong and Hay.








This is the view for 250 kilometres

What we didn't properly comprehend was that the 250 kilometre stretch was just a whole lotta nuthin'! We should've smelled a rat when the GPS advised us to drive 96 kilometres and go through the roundabout, then proceed 227 kilometres and turn right. It wasn't kidding. Apart from slight undulations and imperceptible bends the road went on and on through a largely bare landscape. John was astounded that you could see from horizon to horizon (just like you do at sea) without a tree or hill to sully the landscape.

I am SOOOO glad that we didn't do this stretch in the dark! Particularly as the petrol gauge was sinking lower and no towns with petrol stations appeared. The "towns" marked on the map were either non-existant or merely property entrances. It really did feel as though we were alone in the outback. There was hardly any traffic to speak of either. It was an eye-opener and a little bit eerie.




Hay Post Office



Public drinking water
fountain in Hay

Needless to say, we were very glad to gain the sanctuary of our motel room in Hay in daylight. Hay is a bustling neat little town with lots of historic buildings and well kept gardens. The rain has abated here for the present and I really hope it holds off for our trip to the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement tomorrow. I guess there's always Plan B if it doesn't!