Day 4, to Bathurst we go.

Coonamble was pleasantly empty so we stretched our legs, like many country towns it suffers from the seemingly ego driven reverse parking, but because it's more logical as well as being easier our superiors can't fathom the concept of changing.

Gulargambone has this wonderfully painted engine in the middle of town.

Gilgandra needs an assessment about this.

Gilgandra also has this wonderful art deco IGA supermarket behind the coo-ee statue.

Wellington has "blink off when exiting" signs on its roundabouts which appears to have resulted in no change to the approximately 0% of NSW drivers who ever indicate when exiting roundabouts (unless they simply turn left) despite the law requiring it.

Olivia looking happy at Molong, there's still a bit of colour in the poplars behind her but we came a bit late in the year. We don't get much seasonal change in Ingham, something that makes these trips an adventure.

After not seeing any price signs for accommodation since the keenly priced Gilgandra my memory cells recalled seeing the Hallows at Bathurst being well priced so I headed there and much to my amazement saw Daisy's twin there, as well as it having QLD number plates, incredible!

This was the view from just outside our door at the Hallows, Mount Panorama is a very well known and loved racetrack, as well as being a public road.

I found it odd that they had fitted the door latch in reverse but then realised since it's public accommodation the law required it, better that merely have to push on a bathroom door to open it than bash it down to retrieve a body.
The Hallows was a very odd but good experience, when we arrived the place was locked solid but had a phone number on the door, this is where Olivia becomes very useful as there's no way I would ever phone, Olivia tried the number but only got an answering service so we felt we'd be better off leaving but as soon as we got to the gate we got a call and after giving a credit card number we got a code that enabled us to obtain a security card that gave us entry. Our unit was good and we never had any human contact but our mood was very good after getting a room.

Days 2,3,4 Walgett.

We arrived at Walgett a bit after 16:00 to find my parents place locked up tight with chains on the fence, Olivia couldn't even get through to their phone, this was quite depressing since my Mother knew we should be arriving that afternoon, things of course got worse when we noticed that not only was this lovely central park closed at night, its lavatories were already locked, as well as the the ones around the corner from my parents, not very welcoming to visitors.

Later when we were wondering WTF we were going to do Olivia's phone rang while we were away walking and they still hadn't noticed Daisy parked outside their gate, depressing really.
Dad wanted a hand removing this old swamp cooler motor from their window, which resulted in allowing some light into their house.

I saw a 1979 photo of my Mother and I and since I didn't have a scanner I used daisy as a mount for taking a shot of it.

The result. Good enough for a scrappy shot.

A reverse photo from the first one, with the daily bus at the town stop, happily the lavatories were now unlocked and a safer place to go than at my parents.

I advised Olivia that this is why I don't park close to kerbs.

People still smoke even at these prices.

I set to work fixing their washing machine, when I saw it was a twin tub I instinctively zeroed in immediately to the drain pump, where in the past I've known problems. It was a good choice as a very dead and smelly frog had clogged the pump. Result a very quick and easy fix and a very happy Mother.

 Saying goodbye as we head off to Sydney.

More day 2.

After Injune we stopped at Roma to eat and fill up Daisy, Olivia wanted KFC but we wasted time due to it being before opening time, then we went to McDonalds which I feel was a big mistake as I couldn't make any sense of their menu, Roma must have climbed a few rungs of the social ladder and I just wanted to leave straight away but Olivia stuck it out and ordered a bit of their overpriced food, but the experience had both of us in a foul mood for too long. Happily Roma for about the first time in History had fuel priced lower than surrounding places, must cheaper than the profiteering Emerald.

Onward to Surat and another comfort stop at the pleasant Surat, a town which does a fine job of respecting the veterans.

This tree was from a seed from the lone pine at Gallipoli.

The sky was still grey, pity we couldn't swap it for the return trip when we faced north into the sun.

Here I am embracing my becoming a senior by wearing an appropriate hat whilst driving, this style gives me a Frank Sinatra look, pity that it doesn't help my voice or perhaps more importantly in Sinatra's case my diction.

Dirranbandi is also on a river's edge like I suppose most country towns, here an exercise machine adds a bit of colour to a bland scene. The fuel was also reasonably priced at Dirranbandi.

Day 2, Injune.

About 100 km from Rolleston in the morning we came up behind the first car for the day, naturally in an area difficult to pass instead of the easy country just prior to this hill cutting leading to the high point of the trip until we reached the NSW Central West.

I've been wanting to take piccies of this old loco in Injune for years and finally got a pretty good chance this time, despite the still grey sky.

Olivia boogieing with Injune legend Waverly Jackson.

One of our rodent catchers has grown.

Olivia has been looking a bit pale since we returned, she's scared of these things, or at least the snakes that outgrow them. Jimby on the other hand is quite happy to have them about and it could be the reason I haven't seen a rat for many years.

Quite a fair length.

A really easy fix was this clock.

I told Olivia that if she bought it when we were in Sydney that I would think I could replace the mechanism very easily.
So far the fix has been even easier, all I did was put a battery into it and it ticked into life, win!

Spell checker required.

Close, and as well as many Aussies would manage.