We headed further into the wheat via Parkes, to Narromine to see Uncle Gordon.
(Emma Narrating)
We had lunch at a kids park, near Shepparton, after a slow leave from Penny and Stu's place. Then a quick stop at a farm coming into Young to pick up a couple of kilos of cherries. They were delicious and a great price and we had the box emptied in a few days!! As we headed off the beaten track to get the cherries I spotted a lovely retirement village for farm machinery in a field by the road, and had to stop for some pictures. We had visited one farm and were heading to another. I had hoped to catch up with Alicia, a friend of both my sister and my friends, who lives on a farm near Grenfell, but she must have been a bit swamped and didn't return my call. So we passed through that area without more than a toilet stop!! I was a little sad our route did not take us through Holbrook once again, but we were headed directly into Wagga Wagga. We found a great little freecamp, essentially in the centre of town with flushing loos and free potable water, where we filled our tanks again.
We had lunch at a kids park, near Shepparton, after a slow leave from Penny and Stu's place. Then a quick stop at a farm coming into Young to pick up a couple of kilos of cherries. They were delicious and a great price and we had the box emptied in a few days!! As we headed off the beaten track to get the cherries I spotted a lovely retirement village for farm machinery in a field by the road, and had to stop for some pictures. We had visited one farm and were heading to another. I had hoped to catch up with Alicia, a friend of both my sister and my friends, who lives on a farm near Grenfell, but she must have been a bit swamped and didn't return my call. So we passed through that area without more than a toilet stop!! I was a little sad our route did not take us through Holbrook once again, but we were headed directly into Wagga Wagga. We found a great little freecamp, essentially in the centre of town with flushing loos and free potable water, where we filled our tanks again.
(Paul Narrating)
The next day we drove on to Parkes where we decided to rest up rather than press on to Narromine, all the way from Wagga, in one day. We stayed at the showground which was basic but fine, particularly as we were the only ones camping there overnight. The evening we arrived, we got some schoolwork and washing done. There was no laundry at the showground so I took all the washing downtown to a laundromat. There was no one else in the small laundromat, and I was wearing dirty shorts, so I decided to take the smart option like the guy in the Levi 501s ad. With a short wash cycle time of only 24 minutes, what could go wrong? I read the kindle happily in my boxers for about 15 minutes , until a car pulled up outside and I realised that a young couple had quite a deal of washing to get through...I very cooly got the washing bag and lay it on my lap, and continued reading and with a stroke of great good luck, they left after only a few minutes, leaving their washing to finish unobserved! I walked out 10 minutes later with a great big bag full of clean clothes.
The next day we drove on to Parkes where we decided to rest up rather than press on to Narromine, all the way from Wagga, in one day. We stayed at the showground which was basic but fine, particularly as we were the only ones camping there overnight. The evening we arrived, we got some schoolwork and washing done. There was no laundry at the showground so I took all the washing downtown to a laundromat. There was no one else in the small laundromat, and I was wearing dirty shorts, so I decided to take the smart option like the guy in the Levi 501s ad. With a short wash cycle time of only 24 minutes, what could go wrong? I read the kindle happily in my boxers for about 15 minutes , until a car pulled up outside and I realised that a young couple had quite a deal of washing to get through...I very cooly got the washing bag and lay it on my lap, and continued reading and with a stroke of great good luck, they left after only a few minutes, leaving their washing to finish unobserved! I walked out 10 minutes later with a great big bag full of clean clothes.
The next morning after the clothes finished drying, we headed into town to the library to get some school work done at the library. Emma and I got the boys sorted out with work, and then I headed off into Parkes to try to find a church that was open so I could do a little bit of singing practice before I got back to Sydney. I rang the number on the notice board of the Catholic Church and they were only too happy to come and let me in, giving me the keys to the entire church and saying I could stay as long as I wanted to! I did about an hour and a half of singing before I made my way back to the family for lunch. We ate lunch in the park and then headed out to "The Dish". It was really great to see the iconic radio telescope, and the discovery centre had quite a few interesting things to see and do, including a few short films in 3D.
Soon enough it was time to head north and on to Uncle Gordon Heckendorf's farm. He lives about 30kms west out of Narromine. We pulled up at the farm and weren't sure whether anyone was home, but after a couple of knocks on the door, there he was with a very warm welcome. We did a tour of the house, and saw a lot of the old things that had been passed down from Marsie, before Gordon took off to pick up the next day's transport. We made dinner (Isaac's favourite of linguine with beef and green peppercorn sauce) and ate it sitting around the kitchen bench. Then it was off to bed for an early start in the morning. We were still suffering a little from the jet lag of changing from Western Australia's time zone, so our waking time was to be around 3:30am body clock time!! Ouch, but the day promised adventure and not a little mystery as we weren't sure what uncle Gordon had in mind.
We set off after a hurried breakfast. A time check at the gate told us we had made good time, as it was only 7:01am! We were going on a tour of the district and farms, in the fire engine. Needless to say the kids were pretty impressed with our mode of transport. We had a visit with a number of Uncle Gordon's neighbours, eating some wheat off a harvester, feeding some lambs, seeing old shearing sheds and so on while he did some reminding people of how to work the firetruck, so the volunteer firefighters are all ready in an emergency. We snacked away in the truck as we drove from place to place. We were pleased to see a large herd of cattle being "driven" the old fashioned way across the country. There was some sadness in the Top End that the whole way of life and the skill set of the drover were being lost, as more and more cattle were simply transported on trucks. Clearly some people can still do it! We were all a little worn out by the time we arrived at Emma's distant cousins, Trent and Sophie's place, and the kids enjoyed a milkshake and a little play with their kids. There was some climbing in and out of enormous machines with Uncle Gordon, prior to heading inside. When Uncle Gordon's sister in law Judy found we had arrived she shamelessly twisted Uncle Gordon's arm enough to take the kids out with him on his quad bike. By the look on the faces when they came back it was hard to be sure who enjoyed it more! Uncle Gordon enjoyed a snooze then, while Aunty Judy took us all out on the back of the ute to see if we could spot some ostriches in the back paddocks. We didn't catch any but we sure had some fun. So ute, firetruck and quad bike all in one day! And of course sitting in the farm engines... you'd think that'd be enough for one day. But wait, there was more!
Aunty Judy organised for us to visit another distant relative, Uncle John Radford, to see his magnificent bird collection. We had planned to see him while out west but it turned out to be best for him that afternoon, so we all went home to the farm in the firetruck, and headed back out again, in our car, to do just that. There was a truly amazing variety of spectacular birds of all sizes to see. The ugly baby macaws were a standout for me! Uncle John and his wife and daughter also showed us some elaborately decorated ostrich, or was it emu eggs. By this stage the kids were literally all lying on the grass, wiped out by a big day, with an early start. We took them home and bundled them into bed, not far behind them ourselves! We said our farewells before bed as Uncle Gordon had to leave early the next day, and we headed for Dubbo the next morning. Big thanks to everyone who put themselves out for us on our Big Day Out West!! We had a smashing time!
Aunty Judy organised for us to visit another distant relative, Uncle John Radford, to see his magnificent bird collection. We had planned to see him while out west but it turned out to be best for him that afternoon, so we all went home to the farm in the firetruck, and headed back out again, in our car, to do just that. There was a truly amazing variety of spectacular birds of all sizes to see. The ugly baby macaws were a standout for me! Uncle John and his wife and daughter also showed us some elaborately decorated ostrich, or was it emu eggs. By this stage the kids were literally all lying on the grass, wiped out by a big day, with an early start. We took them home and bundled them into bed, not far behind them ourselves! We said our farewells before bed as Uncle Gordon had to leave early the next day, and we headed for Dubbo the next morning. Big thanks to everyone who put themselves out for us on our Big Day Out West!! We had a smashing time!