Sweet Wayfaring

There's something just right having afternoon tea in a old guest house.

Junee is a railway town. It had a small beginning with the gold rush but in 1878 the railway arrived and a town became established near the line. The railway stimulated property selection and development because of the improved access to market for agricultural produce. In 1880 the railway sheds and workshops of Wagga Wagga were moved to Junee and a railway station was built in 1881. In 1952 the largest wheat terminal in the Southern Hemisphere was built here. The history lives on in the lovely iron lace buildings. We headed off to the Loftus (on the left) for afternoon tea.

We rolled into the caravan park and set up camp beside the small artificial lake mid-afternoon. It's funny what I notice now I am a photographer ... before that I doubt I would have taken much interest in the clouds reflected in the still water or the angle of the sun. I find photography and blogging has expanded my vision of my country ... not only in the detail but also in the broader scenery and history around me and gets me out and about in a way I never did before. What has it done for you?

On the way we passed though the fruit growing area of Young ... the bare winter shapes of the trees look gnarled and old not young.

What fascinated me about these dwellings outside Cowra was not so much their very sorry state of decay but the fact that they were earth houses going back from whence they came. While mud brick houses are quite in vogue today I was not aware of earth houses having much traction here in the past. Then again my knowledge of our built history is very poor.

Here's another shot of the country around here before moving on to Junee ... I like granite boulders and gum trees with blue-grey leaves. Of course I will also be keeping an eye out for other things I like ... abandoned farm houses ... no point in looking for Royal Hotels because we went along these roads at Christmas time so I've got them all already.

For Japanese POWs it was terrible shame to be captured, they would rather die than this. They staged a mass breakout in which several hundred were killed. And some of our own men died for their country that day on Australian soil. They are buried at Cowra as well. Cowra is now a place of international friendship and good will. This is a repost to participate in the Taphophile Tragics meme.

We are going on to the war cemetery next but first let me show you what I saw over the road from the POW camp -- a special treat for international readers who find our birdlife exotic. Take a closer look at those pinkish dots. Click here to see what Galahs look like close up.

You might remember that when we were last in Cowra we went to the Japanese Gardens and on an earlier occasion I wrote of the POW camp in Cowra . This time we took the time to visit the remains of the camp which also housed POWs sent in from other parts of the world as well as people interned because they were classed as 'enemy aliens' -- those from countries we were at war with. Cowra was chosen because it was isolated and a long way from the coast so hard for people to escape. All that remains today are the foundations of the old camp buildings and a replica of one of the watch towers (not shown).

Another look at the river from the big bridge before heading off for a big country breakfast at a cafe on the other side.

Looking down on the old low level bridge across the Lachlan from the high level bridge.

Then it was back up to the park from the river.

My morning walk took me down to the Lachlan River.

On the way we stayed the night at Cowra. I took an early morning walk thinking perhaps there would be some good shots like at Mudgee recently because the caravan park here is also by a river. Every town turns up its own delights. On the morning walk on the grassy sports oval I saw country lines ... so different from the sea lines I have done so often. There are to be more country lines before this trip is done.

It's a long weekend and we are off to Junee which is 430 kms to the south west of the mountains ( View map here ). When we passed though the town at Christmas time I said I would like to visit it again with more leisure. What a difference . Last time it was a seering hot 40C and dry but about to rain. This time it was a crisp cool 10C and the land was green with promise of a good season.

I've shown Lake Windemere before here and here . There has been good rain this summer and autumn so the trees are in the process of being redrowned. That's it for this trip. We are heading out for a winter trip west tomorrow. It was a long weekend so we could range a little further than usual.

And the sun slipped away on another great weekend. Just one more shot to go on our way back home tomorrow.

The sun is winking at us behind yet another country church sitting in the middle of nowhere. This one is somewhat grander than usual.