There’s something mesmerising about the pit pat sound of
rain on a tin roof. It’s so calming, like a light, soothing, distant drumbeat that
lulls you into a stupor. And then there’s the other sound of rain on the tin roof
of your circa 1960s caravan park cabin that sounds a little more like Tchaikovsky’s
1812 Overture. Yep, that’s the one we woke up to today. When it finally abated
somewhat and I did get out of the invitingly warm bed (yep, still 13 degrees
here) and peep out the window, I was greeted with … mist, more mist. Seriously
though, it’s great to see rain – we’ve had drought, bushfires, heat – time for
some wet stuff. And hey, it could be worse; Wagga (our next destination) is
expecting 40-80mm in heavy rain today but should be pretty well cleared up by
the time we arrive. That’s what I like to see – a win/win.
At the designated time (9:30am) we set off for our adventure
westwards. We travelled through Mt Victoria intending to spend some time at
Little Hartley Village but were somewhat disappointed as there wasn’t much
there and what was there looked closed. Too early? Not sure. Anyway, we forged
on towards Oberon along a somewhat windy road with too many precipices for Gaz’s
liking. We had decided not to go to Jenolan Caves as the closest road was
closed due to bushfire damage and Kev and Gaz weren’t really that keen anyway. Maz
had found in her research a place called Mayfield Gardens, about 20 minutes
outside Oberon, and that’s where we headed.
What a find! We had a coffee and shared cake and then Maz
and I decided we would get tickets and look through the gardens. Once again,
Kev and Gaz not so keen so they stayed with Buddy at the café and apparently
solved the problems of the world in our absence. Maz and I had a great walk
through the gardens. They are extensive and spectacular. Now, I’m not really a
gardens sort of person but I was impressed. There was a lot going on – lots of
cool climate trees and flowers, landscaping, beautifully manicured stone walls
everywhere, water, water, and more water, grotto, obelisk, sandstone gallery
(replica of Hartley Courthouse ironically). It was all really thoughtfully
designed and beautifully maintained. We spent an hour or so wandering through,
taking lots of photos and also admiring the wildlife.
After we had worn ourselves out, we headed back to Oberon
for a quick bite to eat – meat pies in the park. I had left a couple of painted
rocks at Mayfield Gardens and I also dropped a couple in the park. A bit of
local shopping and admiration of the main street and we then decided to travel
home a different way. The countryside was glorious – it is so green now in most
places with water sometimes flowing in creeks and pooling in dams. We travelled
through Tarana, went past Lake Lyell, through Lithgow, to Bell and then back
across to Mt Victoria and the highway and home to Blackheath.
Always good to check out the old stomping ground at Lithgow
though we didn’t stop. We were shocked to see the destruction of the bushfires
and how close they came to the town. The Bells Line Rd was just a vista of
burnt out devastation as far as the eye can see. Incredibly, the bush is
regenerating already and there was a lot of evidence of green shoots on trees. There
was also a lot of workmen fixing railway and power lines. We did pass The Zig
Zag Railway which we had hoped would be open by the time we holidayed, but the
fires further delayed that endeavour so no luck there. All in all, it was a
fabulous day with drizzly rain for some of the time but much clearer skies out
Oberon way. Once we started the climb back up the mountain it was back to mist
and slightly heavier rain.
In the evening we self-catered once again – a yummy steak,
salad, chips combo. But before that it was the old 80s Trivia with “Gaz Rules”
reining supreme tonight. What can I say? I won again - thanks to The Cosby Show
and Acropolis Now – I am the 80s Queen for the second night in a row. After
dinner the boys got revenge by beating Maz and I at Euchre, but I’m just
warming up. We hope to go out to an Italian restaurant recommended by James
tomorrow night. No solid plans for tomorrow – the weather will rule us.
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