PARKES 11th January

With the rushed trip through to Orange we missed some great territory and will have to do the trip through there another time.  Going over the mountains there was a great deal of fog in some areas which was very surprising as it was around lunch time.

We arrived in Orange which was an unscheduled stop as Stuart’s leg pain and back pain was worse.  I had phoned ahead and secured a doctors appointment to get a referral for a CT Scan.  This was all organised and the scan is set for Monday morning but a script that the doctor gave us on Friday seems to have eased the pain to a great extent.

With 3 days on our hands we went out to the Boronore Caves and although fairly small and unspectacular they were very nice.  After a bit of persuasion from Stuart I went into the 10 miters or so of rock in the dark (we did have a torch) bent at the waist into an amphitheatre which opened out to a small creek in the side of the hill.  As the climb down to the creek was rather steep and treacherous I chose to only come down to the first level and Stuart went all the way.  Only small but very pretty and with alcoves into the rock where I could picture the early Australians using this as a sleeping place with water nearby and shelter from the elements but so close to the open plains.  When it came time to go I couldn’t climb back up to the level Stuart left me on and had to climb backwards on my backside to where I could stand up.  Painful but worth it.

Looking from the entrance of the cave out

Once I climbed down to the large knob fron left of me I struggled to get back up so went no further

  The next day we went up to Mt Conobolus which is used by all the radio and TV stations for towers (of which there were many).  As the visibility wasn’t real good we left and satisfied ourselves with Devonshire tea at the tea house half way down the mountain.  In the afternoon we ventured out to the old heritage pioneering town of Millthorpe.  Gold was discovered there in 1851 and there is a lot of heritage in the area.  The museum of golden Memories is one of the best  that I have seen in many years and one that wouldn’t be seen on the coast as all of the machinery would only rust and there would be nothing left to put in museums.  Stuart found it very interesting considering his past in the farming industry in the area of Parkes only an hours drive away.  I of course just needed a toilet.....
We arrived in Parkes Tuesday afternoon after Stuart had a Steroid injection for his back after a CT Scan showed that he had compromised discs from L1 through to S1 so now he is almost pain free (for the time being)  We arrived at our usual spot at Stuart's cousin, Col's place where his wife Robyn is nursing a double hip replacement but doing remarkably well.
I fly home on Monday to get back into work mode and won't bore anyone with another Parkes Elvis Festival.