It’s always great to catch up with friends, and last night
was no exception. We had a fabulous evening with Carol & Michael reminiscing
about our Ulverston Way days and catching up on all their news – great food too
– you really get to appreciate the home cooked meals when you’re travelling!
This morning saw us once again packing up and leaving
slightly before 9 am to head for the NSW Fisheries Centre at Narrandera. We
foolishly decided to rely on the GPS – Maz had given us the name of the road –
and were sent all over the countryside for what should have been a very
straight forward trip. The first turn off we were instructed to take resulted
in a dirt road only a km or so in with the suggestion there may be another 28km
of it. Gaz did not like the idea of that so we turned back to the highway and
travelled along for another 20km or so then followed instructions again to turn,
once again, a few km in the road turned to dirt but this time we ploughed on
kicking up the dust behind us. Strangely, no one else seemed to be on this road…
We then approached a T intersection where the GPS advised us to turn away from
Narrandera – this was the point where I proposed a mutiny and overturned the
GPS’ instructions. We then proceeded another 15 or so km and almost missed the
place because there were no signs … of course there weren’t any signs, they were
all facing the other way … it was never expected anyone would come from the
other direction!
All the others were there waiting for us, wondering where we
could have got to. When I asked later if they would have been worried if we
didn’t turn up, Kev declared he would not have cared in the slightest lol. We
were then treated to an amazing tour of the Fisheries facility which is for
breeding and research purposes. Our guide was amazing and very knowledgeable.
We watched an informative DVD, looked at the various species of fish in the aquarium,
in particular, Agro, the large Murray Cod, and also got to see some of the
breeding pools out the back. Would thoroughly recommend a visit if you are out
that way, but you do need to book.
Our tour went past midday, so we were all starving by the
time we arrived in the park at Narrandera for a picnic lunch. We spent a very
pleasant time in the park, and I left a few painted rocks there in the
playground as well – the park is called Marie Bashir Park – I’m guessing she’s
from the area? (I saw a post on Facebook later that showed a young child who was
very excited to have found them.) My mum and dad lived in Narrandera for 18
months when they were first married, and I would say the town hasn’t changed
too much – the main street still has a lot of old-world charm. We went for a
little walk after sharing coffee and cake at a bakery after lunch.
We then proceeded in convoy to Lake Talbot, a water park near
the town, which is amazing. Big pools, water slides and freshwater lake for
other water sports. A lovely lifeguard showed us around and told is a bit about
the place. He said it has been a very busy summer as the bushfires have pushed
tourists inland. For example, on Australia Day they had 1,000 visitors to the
water park!
Our next stop was Leeton, where we briefly enjoyed the
amazing Tourist Information Centre and grounds – beautiful gardens, helpful
staff and a fabulous old homestead that was the Water Resource Manager’s home as
part of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA) Scheme which I remember learning
about at school. Once again, I left a couple of painted rocks and then we were
off for the short drive to Griffith – all these towns are reasonably close to
each other. We also went through Yanco and Gaz remembered that Yanco Ag College
beat Bass High in rugby league in 1967 and his friend Neil King dropped a
perfect pass on the wing and bombed what would have been the winning try. Poor Neil
was forever after known as “Bomber”. Could be time to let that one go, Gaz…
Arriving at Griffith about 4pm, we unpacked, Gaz went to do
a bit of shopping, I went for a swim with Wayne & Vicki – so refreshing! –
and then minded Buddy while Kev and Maz went to get wine. It was then to Wayne
& Vicki’s cabin where we congregated outside and played the new Reminiscing
game before a yummy dinner of steak, salad and potatoes cooked by Vicki. More
wine, clinkers for dessert (good pick up Gaz), and some discussion over our
itinerary for the week, and then it was back to our cabin for an early night.
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