Nyngan to Bathurst : 365kms

Tuesday, 20th June.

The workmen who stayed last night in some of the caravan park cabins had all left for work by 6.30a.m., we didn't leave until 9.00a.m.  By that time, the sun was shining brightly and we were beginning to warm up a little.

There were some smooth sections of road for our journey from Nyngan to Dubbo, but for the most part it was bumpety bump which tended to make us feel a little 'seasick'.  Roadworks were being carried out a little way past Nyngan and we encountered several other roadwork 'go slows' before reaching Bathurst.

Our first  stop was at Narromine to top up with fuel, also buying a couple of f.a. cakes from Brenno's Hot Bake Shop, which we ate while sitting on a park bench in the sunshine,  near where a statue of local hero Glenn McGrath stands.  The second stop was at the 'servo' in Molong, for coffee which we sipped while sitting on a park bench in the sunshine (there seems to be a pattern emerging!)  Both Narromine and Molong seemed to be worthy of a little investigation but as we want to be in Sydney tomorrow, there was no time for sightseeing....as we say, we can't see everything.  However, we did enjoy the change in scenery, with rolling hills, farmlands with livestock grazing and lots of greenery.

We arrived in Bathurst at about 3.30p.m. and checked in to the Showgrounds for the night, a similar deal to the Broken Hill Racecourse, parked and unhitched the caravan and drove the short distance to Mt Panorama.  We went around the circuit once, then turned around and went around again in the opposite direction, surprised at how steep and narrow it is in some sections.  There were several others driving around, two cyclists struggling up a particularly steep hill and several people walking the circuit.  We were surprised at how pleased we were to have been able to drive around....what a highlight!

The forecast for tomorrow morning is for 1 degree so we may leave the heater on overnight.  This is our last night on the road, at least for the duration of our stay in Sydney where we will stay in the granny flat (a.k.a. the 'east wing') which is behind the home of our elder son, daughter in law and two of our grandchildren.  We're looking forward to fun and games with all of our family in the next couple of weeks.  The caravan will have a holiday at a storage facility in Kurnell until we leave for the journey home.