Snowy River Cabins

Since we didn't stay in a town as such on our trip to the snow, I thought a post about our accommodation was warranted. I had come across mention of Snowy River Cabins on Facebook a while ago & liked the page thinking it would be a nice place to stay some time. Since it was very reasonable for the 5 of us + not too far away from the snow, we decided to try it out on this road trip.

We spent 4 nights there arriving in mid afternoon. Due to there being no mobile coverage, I had printed the instructions so we could find it. We found the instructions mostly straightforward. As we pulled up to check the last turn, Brendan pulled up beside us & we followed him the last part.

Our kids love animals & were very excited to see the dogs that greeted us. They were even more excited to meet the orphaned joeys that were inside - Miss 12 even got a cuddle of one. Brendan, Haley & the boys brought an echidna they had found to show the kids later that night. And we had several visits from Trigger the cat. In fact Trigger made herself very comfortable on the kids beds on several occasions! 

Brendan booked us in & pointed us in the direction of Cabin Number 2. Inside we found a cozy cabin. The kids slept in the main room while we had a smallish but quite adequate second room. The kitchen was well equipped & included a small fridge, stove top & microwave. Being made from cedar, the cabin proved to be very warm - we found we only needed to use the column oil heater. There were some other fan heaters but we found we didn't need them.

Cabin 2

We had a lovely view through the bush of the surrounding countryside & the start of the Snowy River. The kids enjoyed exploring some of the bush around us. It was lovely sitting on the verandah listening to not much more than the birds & a few distant cows.

On our last night we decided to have a campfire in the rock fire pit outside the cabin. There is also a wood BBQ, but we used the butane BBQ we carry with us to cook on. It was lovely to relax outside watching the flames & toasting marshmallows. 

View from Cabin 2 with wood BBQ & fire pit

We could have easily spent several more days there enjoying the peace & quiet - no TV or mobile phone to contend with! There were a range of games in the cabin that the kids excitedly made us play through at least once. 

We're already planning our next stay at Snowy River Cabins, hopefully in summer this time so we can have a go at catching some trout! And a chance to just hang out around the cabin, enjoying more peace & quiet.

Canberra Part Two

Australian War Memorial

Hubby & I had decided from the start we would visit the War Memorial while we were in Canberra. We were there on the 21st of August.

We spent most of the day there - and still didn’t see everything! The kids enjoyed the Discovery Zone (the school area open to the public 12:30 - 1:30 pm) and the multimedia displays. Miss 12 had been there last year with school but didn’t seem to mind looking at it all again.

Before we went, I had found out that the Wednesday we were going to go, the Federation Guard (the ceremonial unit of the Defence Forces) is at the War Memorial doing a catafalque (pronounced catapult) party at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This was in the afternoon, but during the rest of the day two members were on guard outside, with the guard changing every 30 minutes. Miss 12 was intrigued by this, especially the way they precisely marched in & out!

Changing of the Guard

It was another cold & windy day, so we were glad to spend most of the day inside. We did have our lunch outside again though!

At 4 o’clock, the catafalque party marched into place. Four members stand facing outwards around the tomb, with a fifth overseeing them, while another two stood outside - all with their heads bowed & firearms facing down. The guard was changed after 30 minutes, this time accompanied by a drummer.

Catafalque Party

We bought poppies to put on the Honour Roll. Peter placed one for his Great Uncle Colin, who was killed during World War II in a training accident. I placed one for Stanley Skinner - a distant relative of mine, who was killed in Ypres during WW I.

Placing poppies.

We watched the last changing of the guard before the Last Post ceremony. This is where they close the War Memorial each day with the National Anthem, the story of one of the people listed on the Roll of Honour & the Last Post. The catafalque party moved from the tomb to stand around the Pool of Reflection. It was really moving. People also laid wreaths, the cards are then put into the archives of the War Memorial.

Last Post Ceremony

When we left, the Federation Guard were standing outside. Miss 12 was marching out the same way they were. She went up to say hello & complimented one of the guys on his gloves! As we walked to the car, all three kids were marching like the soldiers.

Canberra Part One

When the kids said they really wanted to go to see the snow, we decided we'd also visit Canberra. Hubby hadn't been for a very long time, I'd been more recently, but still at least 11 years ago. We both especially wanted to visit the War Memorial due to some family history research I've been doing.

Where we stayed

I found when I was looking for accommodation in Canberra that it was pretty expensive - especially as we were looking for some kind of self catering set up so we didn't have to eat out every night. So I started looking outside of Canberra itself.

I found Crestview Tourist Park in Queanbeyan. It was cheaper than anywhere else I'd seen in Canberra & wasn't too far away. We had one of the Villa Cabins. We wanted something with linen included. The cabin was large enough for us & had a decent kitchen area - including a full oven & stove. We found it a bit cold unless we ran the reverse cycle air conditioning all the time but then we do come from a much warmer part of the country! There was free WiFi, but we had problems connecting & staying connected to it unfortunately. 

Overall we enjoyed our stay. It was quiet - it's not on the main road & even though we were close to the road there wasn't much traffic noise. We'd definitely stay there again, though if it's during winter we might request a few more blankets!

Where we ate

We did so well with our self catering that we didn't eat out at all! Which is pretty good for us. We did have coffee once - from Coffee Club of all places!

Where we went

We already knew where we wanted to go before setting out on our trip. Cockington Green, Questacon & the Australian War Memorial were those places. We did a bit of shopping as well. The kids enjoyed all the places we went to. Miss 12 had been on a Canberra excursion & had been to them all then.

Cockington Green

Cockington Green is basically gardens full of miniature buildings, people, trains etc. It has a quaint old fashioned air about it. There is an international section that shows off a variety of traditional buildings from other countries. A small train goes around the park at various times that you can get a ride on. 

Our kids enjoyed wandering around looking at the different displays. I'm always fascinated by the size of the gardens - in the immediate vicinity of the buildings, they are to scale.  The garden was quiet (it can be busy with school groups) & we didn't stay a long time - it was pretty windy & cold.

There are places to eat & shops nearby in the Gold Creek area - we looked around, but most of the shops were closed the day we were there. 

Questacon

Questacon a pretty cool science museum where pretty much nearly everything is hands on. The kids had been previously with my parents, but I had never been. Mr 11 & Miss 6 were happy running from display to display trying everything or at least trying to work out how things worked. Miss 12 was a bit less co operative, but it was more due to the background noise rather than being disinterested in what was going on. She especially loved when we were in the area where there were some experiments done for the kids. Oh & the earthquake room - all the kids loved that!

Outside I loved the Fallen Leaves sculpture. It really sounded so much like the wind blowing through leaves. (I did try & upload a video, but couldn't get it to work).

The kids loved the zylophone & lithophone made out of rock that were outside. Miss 12 followed the letters in the book on the lithophone to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Again there's a lot of school groups that go through Questacon we didn't find it to be a problem until we went into the gift shop. The kids are well managed by the staff, but it was pretty crowded. We just waited until a school group left to have a look around.

Boorowa

We didn't stay at Boorowa but spent a while looking around. We'd been through a few times before on our way home from Narooma. It was the first taste for the kids of how cold it was going to be in Canberra & at the snow!!

Where we ate

We looked around a bit & decided on the Old Clock Tower Cafe. It was a good choice. We were able to get gluten free toasted sandwiches for Miss 12 & I which were yummy. The other 2 kids also had toasted sandwiches while hubby had a steak sandwich. The gluten free bread was made at the cafe & was in the oven when we were there so Miss 12 & I shared the last of the previous loaf. It was enough for us. There was a variety of art & craft for sale as well. We found the service very friendly.

What we did

Basically we walked around town, looking in a few shops. I found one shop with a tiled front - most of the shops were old ones. 

The old Newsagent had tiled panels - looks like it's moved
across the road into a new building.

One antique shop was situated in an old bank - complete with the banks safe still intact.

The information centre here is housed in the old courthouse. There's a tea room there & a large collection of art & craft as well as tourist information.

Boorowa Courthouse - now the Information Centre

It's obvious that it was a large town at some stage from things like the courthouse. There are shamrocks stenciled on the ground in various places. They mark sites along historical trails (info about it can be found at the information centre). I couldn't work out why there would be shamrocks - until I found out there was a large population of Irish immigrants there. Each year there is a wool fest, complete with running of the sheep, to celebrate this Irish heritage.  http://www.irishwoolfest.com.au

Forbes

Forbes was the first stop on our road trip south to see the snow & visit Canberra. Hubby remembered going through Forbes to go to Canberr

a once with his dad, so we decided to go the same way.

We had taken our time to get to Forbes - my sister was in Dubbo with my neice - so we spent the morning with them. So it was mid afternoon by the time we got there.

Where we stayed

Usually we do pretty good with our accommodation choices - not this time. We stayed at the Aaron Motel. I should have taken more notice where it was situated when I looked it up. A motel across the road from a railway crossing & on a highway isn't exactly quiet. My train driver husband didn't mind the trains roaring past...

I would look at other motels before staying here again. While we were checking in, the manager took a phone call from an obviously dissatisfied customer. It certainly didn't make us feel that great about what we were about to walk into. The room was 2 adjoining rooms to make a family room. It was basic & looked mostly clean. Whoever cleaned the room last didn't check the fridge too well though - there was some leftover Tim Tams & a bottle of water in the fridge. The fridges were set so cold that the jug of water was frozen solid. 

Where we ate

We went to the Services Club for dinner. Roast night was good value - $13 got us a roast meal + dessert. The rest of the menu looked pretty good, but roast was what we all felt like on the night.

We relied on McDonalds for breakfast the next morning. One good thing about the motel, it was just near McDonalds. It was too early for coffee shops to be open & we hadn't seen any that jumped out at us in our drive around town the night before. I later saw one cafe that might have warranted a visit, but there didn't seem to be many cafes.

What we did

I wanted to check out the Vinnies in Forbes. It was a good move. Found a few good items for Miss12 & got a recommendation for a place to visit the next time we decide to go to Forbes!! 

The old railway station is now the Tourist Information Centre. Miss12 was fascinated by the story & pictures of Ben Hall. There was a room that had information, pictures etc about the bushranger. There was some nice crafts there too. I bought some apricot jam which was quite yummy. 

Forbes Railway Station - now the Tourist Information Centre

There's a lot of beautiful old buildings around the town centre of Forbes like the one below. 

Forbes Post Office

One of the big attractions is the huge cattle sale yards - a sight we passed on as we really weren't interested, but someone might be. We thought it might be interesting to go back one day, maybe to go further west from there.  

Scone

Scone is called the 'Horse Capital" and by the number of horse floats I see every time I'm there I can believe it. Usually it's just a pit stop for us on our journeys to Sydney, but sometimes we spend a bit longer. Mostly this is when picking up kids after stays with their grandparents in Sydney - it's approximately the halfway point.

I don't have a  detailed account of Scones attractions - due to the reason above, but we have eaten & stayed there in the past, so I thought it was worth mentioning at least.

On this visit we had a bit of a wait. The saddlery has an extensive range of western style shirts, hats, boots etc. We were after a new cap for Miss 12 which was quickly found. 

Unfortunately some of the older buildings are vacant & have been left decrepit - like the old cinema below.

I would love to hear the history of the place one day. Some of the shops we went in had pressed tin ceilings, which I love. Another building had a gorgeous tiled front, again a part of old buildings I love. It just seems to make the building a bit more classy somehow. 

Around the town are black metal outlines - all including horses of course!

There is a good park near the railway station - that's where we usually stop when passing through. It has some play equipment & the toilets are usually pretty clean. There's more amenities across the road at the Tourist Information Centre. 

We've previously stayed at Airlie House - it was comfortable & adequate for the night. The pool was appreciated by the kids (it was a 45 degree day). We ate at the motels restaurant that night and had a fantastic meal. The staff were pleasant & helpful, both in the restaurant & with the accommodation. 

Other than the motels restaurant, we have eaten at a couple of different places. One looks to have changed names & focus so I can't say how good it is - it looks nice though (One22). We usually go to Crowded House Cafe - mostly because it's close to the park. The food is nice too. My favourite is the corn fritters with tomato chilli chutney - I choose the gluten free version. The potato skins are also really yummy. They have gluten free bread which for Miss 12 is essential for the toasted ham & cheese sandwiches she likes. I've never had coffee there so can't recommend it. 

I'd like a bit more time to explore. There are some national parks etc close by which would be fun to explore too. I need to start a list of all the towns I want to go back to one day!!

Gilgandra

Our last stop on this trip was Gilgandra. We got there late afternoon so had a quick look around some of the shops before heading to find some accomodation.

Where we stayed

The Alfa Motel on the road towards Dubbo. It was really cheap for a family room. We were all in together, something that doesn't really worry us after doing it a number of times over the years. It was a smallish room, but fine for one night. We were at the back of the property, still not far from the road but it was quiet at night. There was a swing set right next door which kept the kids occupied for a little while. 

What we did

We had a walk along the 'Windmill Walk' in the evening. It was quite pleasant as the sun was setting. It's a tarred walkway along the edge of the river which has a number of windmills along it & was right across the road from the motel. The most interesting was an art piece. The other windmills really didn't look much different to us (well other than some having 3 legs & some having 4!)

'Ghost of Christmas Past'
Made by Year 7 students at Gilgandra High in 2005

Photo taken by DD6 on my phone!!

The next day we visited the Rural Museum & the Cooee Heritage Centre. The Rural Museum had some old buildings set up with old furniture & decorations. There was a hospital room, a school, church etc. The big shed is full of old machinery, farm equipment, telephone exchanges & lots of other random old items that are interesting to look at. Our kids had a ball running around taking photos of literally everything!

The Cooee Heritage Centre is attached to the Information Centre. The Cooee's were a group of 35 men who left Gilgandra in 1915 to walk to Sydney to join the war effort. Along the way they gathered 263 men through recruiting drives in the towns they walked through. There is a gallery in the centre outlining the walk & showing some items from the march. There are other galleries in the centre as well. One had a great display of photography. The other has a collection of items collected from around Australia. 

The rest of our time we spent having a look at some of the shops. There was an antique shop that was interesting to look at as well as the usual variety of other shops. Around town there are metal cut out figures, here mostly swaggie type figures or men in uniform.

A mural depicting the Cooee March. The figure in the photo
above is at the left of the mural.

Where we ate

We weren't sure where the best place for dinner was. After looking at the room service menu in the motel room & seeing butter chicken on it, both DS10 & I voted for room service. We weren't sure what we could get DD12 that would be gluten free, but hubby was talked into getting her butter chicken. For a kid that doesn't much like spicy food, she ate every bit of the chicken & rice - she wouldn't eat the sauce. The butter chicken was absolutely delicious! DD6 had a huge chicken snitzel, while DH had a steak. All the food looked great.

Brunch the next morning we went to Rock Cake Bakery, sort of styled like an old diner. The kids were impressed with the couch that was like the back of a car. DH & I had bacon & eggs while the kids enjoyed cakes - including a gluten free jaffa cake for DD12. The bacon & eggs weren't huge, especially when I didn't get toast with it, but it was enough. The coffee was again country coffee, but not too bad.

Lunch we had at a takeaway shop in the main street - either called Cafe 41 or Gilgandra Fish Shop (google maps shows both names, but when searching for it Cafe 41 doesn't come up) Nice food there too. DD12 & I had grilled fish & chips, once we checked the chips were gluten free. The other meals looked good too. They made sweet potato scallops which I would have had if I hadn't decided I need to not eat wheat!! There was a nice shaded area outside where we ate - including a nice mural around the wall.

We left after lunch to head home. Had one more stop along the way - a waterfall DH had been shown by a work mate called Hickeys Falls. 

Gulargambone

One of those 'how on earth do you pronounce it' towns that Australia seems to have plenty of! As the word means 'plenty of galahs', think of the first part of the word as Galah & the rest as it's written & you'll have it. On the sign it says 500 people, but I'm guessing as with most country towns it's probably less.

The first thing that greets you as you drive into Gulargambone (from any direction apparently) are large corrugated iron galahs. These are all through town as well & look really cool. There's even one hanging upside down on a TV aerial (though I didn't manage to get a photo of it).

One of the corrugated iron galahs - this one was in the park

Where we ate

2828 Gulargambone

We'd heard about 2828 as being the place to eat so that's where we went. The menu is basic, there was the choice of 3 things the day we were there. Two kids tried the bolognese bake, which they loved. DD12 & I shared a steak sandwich with caramelised onion & salad (but without the bread), while hubby had the same with the Turkish bread. We all enjoyed our meals. 

There's also a burger place at the other end of town & a Hotel.

What we did

2828 is also a gift shop & information centre. While we were eating lunch, they played the DVD showing how 2828 came about which was very interesting. The community came together to renovate the building & it is run by volunteers. They hold various functions during the year including the yearly 'Dinner under the Stars'. A variety of Tourism awards have also been won. They also helped with building the corrugated iron galahs. We bought a few souvenirs - DD6 was in love with a galah finger puppet + I got a few postcards. There was also a variety of tin wall hangings - I bought a Christmas tree that looks like it has been made from a pressed tin ceiling. 

As well as shopping in 2828, we went for a walk around town. There is a walk along the river which was quite pleasant & didn't take too long. It was signposted as an Aboriginal walk, showing some of the Aboriginal heritage of the town. Kids were very excited to see fish in the river!

River walk

One other shop we went into was a craft type shop. It had a random variety of stuff & DD6 was really happy to get a mug with elephants on it! The shop had obviously been a takeaway shop in a previous life - the counter was still there along with the mirror behind it. The sign out the front said coffee & milkshakes so I guess they made those as well.

Main St of Gulargambone

We didn't stay here as we were driving through. Looks like there is a hotel/motel & a caravan park. Pretty good for such a small town. We enjoyed our short time there & have already had requests from the kids to go back!!

Coonamble

Coonamble was our first stop on our latest road trip. Chosen because we were having a look at some of the towns my husband goes to for work (he works as a train driver). He doesn't get to look around when he's there & wanted to spend a bit more time looking. It's only about 90 minutes from home so we could leave in the afternoon and get there not too late.

Coonamble is on the Castlereagh River, a small country town in the middle of farming areas. Population is larger than our town with 3000 or so people. We didn't go too far from the main drag, not that there was a great deal there. As with most country towns, there are many boarded up shopfronts. I love looking at the old buildings & attempting to photograph them. Not always easy with traffic going past! The kids were suprised there was a theatre - we explained that the town would have been much bigger in the past.

Plaza Theatre - built after a fire destroyed the original theatre in 1929

Where we stayed

Cypress Motel (Castlereagh Highway Coonamble 68221400)

We were going to stay in a cabin in the caravan park but they were booked out. When hubby had asked, they had suggested the Cypress. It looks like it has been recently renovated. Typical basic motel but just right for what we needed. The family room had 3 single beds in a separate room though the wall didn't actually go to the ceiling! Looks like it was put in later & has been built so the ceiling fan can still operate! The main bed was comfy and the bathroom adequate with soaps & shampoos. It was reasonable for the 5 of us & nice and quiet at night! 

View from the back of the motel - looking sort of east!

Where we ate

For dinner we decided to go to the Bowling Club. Service was quick & prices reasonable. My steak was well done rather than medium, but that could have just been a mix up with mine & my husbands plates (he prefers well done). $13 got us a good sized sirloin steak, mashed potato, beans & zuchini & squash with tomato. Two kids had kids meals - chicken nuggets & chips. Our oldest has Coeliacs Disease so we ordered her a grilled chicken breast with vegetables - we had asked about the chips & they were battered. The kids meals included a slushie & a jelly cup. All 3 proclaimed the slushie to taste weird, but downed the red jelly cups quickly. Hubby had sticky date pudding & ordered extra ice cream for the kids to have with their jelly.

Next morning we needed coffee so headed for the main street. Went to a coffee lounge that hubby had been to before. Kids loved that we were sitting on lounge chairs. We basically had morning tea - coffee, cake + pies for the boys. Coffee was what I term country coffee - milky & weak. After 19 years in the country I'm used to it but should remember to ask for a 2nd shot! Fortunately we were able to get DD12 some gluten free passionfruit cheesecake which was quite nice. The boys proclaimed the pies good, though DS10 couldn't find much cheese in his cheese & bacon pie. 

What we did

Cool mural in an alley

Not a lot of touristy stuff. We wandered up the main street & looked in a few shops. We had driven around town when hubby took us out to where the trains are loaded with wheat. There is a museum, but it wasn't open while we were there. There are large panels on some of the buildings which are a 'Nickname Hall of Fame' - showing some locals with their nickname & caricature. We found a information book later that outlines a historical walk that shows off all the important historical places. Vinnies was the other place we went to - I like to visit Op Shops. Didn't find anything in my size unfortunately!

Yes a photo of a coin laundry is kinda random. But it comes with a funny story. When we drove past DS10 asked why there was a laundry to wash coins!!! 

Welcome

I used to get annoyed that we never seemed to travel anywhere exciting. We travelled sure, but mostly to Sydney or to other places we'd been to lots. One day I realised that we might not get to go to exciting, exotic places, but we did go to lots of places. And it was silly to think that travelling was only when you went somewhere fantastic!

I started looking at the places we visited differently. Looking for things to see & interesting features of the towns we did get to go to. The blog that helped me to change my thinking was 52 Suburbs. While I don't have the same eye for photography as the author (and somehow missed the fact there is a whole new blog on 52 Suburbs around the world), I like the idea of looking at the places we go as exciting areas to explore, even if some people think of them as boring or everyday.

So I thought I may as well document some of these towns in a blog. I've been thinking about doing it for quite a while & it's time to jump in with both feet!