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Today we said goodbye to our camp site in the motorhome park at Mount Panorama. It was strange to wake without the sound of track preparation.
The entertainment this morning was watching another renter damage the motorhome they had hired (backing it into a light pole).
Brett and I had to make a quick trip to Mount Victoria to pick up our wine which we had left at Mum's. It was funny because it appears that there is no checking of glass in the motorhome park and we could have kept our winery finds with us. Oh well, lesson learned.
Unfortunately the trip wasn't as quick as we would have liked - it took an hour to get from Bathurst to Kelso. The whole trip to Mount Vic should have only taken just over an hour. We were behind a Police Bus up Victoria Pass and it was only doing 20km/h. At least I was able to take some more photos!
Needless to say, we didn't get to Mount Vic until 11.30 local (fake) time. We travelled the same direction as last time - up Victoria Pass and back via the Darling Causeway over to Bell's Line of Road. We stopped in Lithgow to do some shopping as our supplies were running low after being stopped at the track for so long.
On the journey back to Bathurst we went past some interesting vehicles which were leaving Bathurst and heading for Sydney. A truck full of ATMS, many of the Toranas I have already mentioned as well as some race cars on trailers, including the Ford Credit Falcon which had been in the Legends Museum. There were also replica cars - some were more authentic than others. (a Tru-Blu EL Falcon which wasn't even the right shade of blue being a prime example of a poor man's replica)
Another highlight for Brett and I was the trip down the hill into Meadow Flat. This hill is the first place I ever did 100 miles per hour (perhaps the only time I have gone that fast, I can't recall ever doing it again). It was when Brett and I were riding his Honda 550/4 Supersport - on our way to Bathurst in 1982 for the James Hardie 1000. We were overtaking a line of cars. There was a Valiant station wagon way in front of the line. I had my head down and was watching the dotted lines go past my left foot. The lines stayed near my left foot for what seemed line a long time, and I remember being a bit scared. When we crossed back I looked up and there were no cars at all in front of us. Where was the Valiant? We had overtaken it because we were doing over 160km/h in a 100km/h zone. Brett was super excited to have hit 100mph doubling.
Don't tell my Mum.
Back to today and back in Bathurst, we headed for the laundromat because we were running out of clean clothes. We again met some interesting people and had a good chat while waiting for the machines to finish doing what they do best. Down at the roundabout near the laundromat there was some interesting traffic but again I was too slow on the camera so no pics, sorry.
Steve and Val had been for a drive around the track already. Brett and I have driven the track a few times in the past and so didn't feel the need to do it again. You know that the circuit at Mount Panorama is all made up of public roads, don't you? Instead we drove to the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Park which is on the side of the Mountain just near the Mid-Western Highway.
After Val and Steve had finished their washing and shopping they met up with us and we continued down the Mid Western Highway to Blayney. Lots of familiar territory here although the alignment of the road has changed in may places, as has the Great Western Highway (can I just say - that highway is quite crappy in places and Great is a misleading description of the road conditions) since the days I travelled these roads regularly.
We turned off at Blayney and headed for Millthorpe. We then took a wrong turn and added a bit to our journey, but as usual there are no regrets as the scenery was so spectacular and the roads almost deserted (except for crazy school bus drivers who were on their way back to base after finishing their runs) School buses are not the best thing to be driving towards on narrow twisting roads but we made it through safely.
We got back onto the Western Highway near Lucknow. The country here is so green - I don't think I have ever seen it so green - I have seen it in drought too often. The towns seem to be thriving, there is a lot of development everywhere and this is so different to the depressed countryside of the 1980s and 1990s.
We took the bypass to the north of Orange (I didn't even know there was a bypass!) and then headed further north toward Stuart Town (where the man from Ironbark was from). You know Ironbark and Stuart Town are the same places, right?
The countryside here seems to change every time you go around a bend or over a hill. I tooks lots and lots of photos, but they really don't do it justice. We finally got back to the Mitchell highway and headed to Wellington Caves. We are overnighting here at the caravan park at the caves, and are planning tomorrow to check the caves out. Brett and I have been here before, and so has Val. It will be new experience for Steve.
The only other camper down here in the campground is a couple in a Naked RV slide-on. Steve has just bought one of these units and was very interested (along with Brett and Val) to check it out. I think they overwhelmed those poor owners with their enthusiasm.
I am so tired. Caving tomorrow!
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